Daily IU news update
Aug. 28-29, 2007
Indiana joins drop in SAT scores
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 28 -- Indiana high school graduates scored slightly lower this year on the SAT than Hoosier students did the year before them, mirroring a national trend that College Board officials said wasn't large enough to constitute a long-term trend. The College Board released the findings this morning. Full story.
State SAT scores point to pattern of writer's block
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 29 -- Despite ramped-up efforts to improve high school students' writing skills, the state's average writing SAT score still lags behind the national average by 11 points. Full story.
Dean receives Bryan Hall bomb threat via e-mail
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 28 -- Police officers were dispatched to Bryan Hall Sunday after being notified of a bomb threat, IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger said. Around 10 a.m., a dean in the building received a threatening e-mail mentioning a bomb around Bryan Hall, a building where the University president and other administrators work. Full story.
Survey: Smoking, drinking, drug use down in grades 6-12
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 28 -- Drug, alcohol and cigarette use continued to decline this year among Indiana adolescents, according to a survey by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University. Reported use of cigars and pipe tobacco, binge drinking and certain prescription drugs increased, according to the survey. But the center's director cautioned against reading too much into the increases, saying they may have resulted from changes in the survey. Results of the 17th Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents are scheduled to be released. Full story.
Campaign aims to curb drunken driving; 'Get a Ride' program organized by county prosecutor
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 29 -- A new campaign directed at students aims to cut down on drunken driving in Monroe County. "Get a Ride!" is a campaign developed and organized by Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal. "If you choose to drink, you don't have to get behind the wheel," Gaal said during a press conference Tuesday. Full story.
Clarian Health names Stephan replacement
Inside Indiana Business, Aug. 29 -- Clarian Health has promoted Rebecca Carl to chief marketing and community relations officer. Carl will assume many of the responsibilities held by Bill Stephan, who in September will join Indiana University as vice president for engagement. Carl has served as director of marketing and corporate communications since 2005. Full story.
Report: More resources needed to address Latino student growth
Inside Indiana Business, Aug. 28 -- Despite well-intentioned efforts and a recent influx of funding from the Indiana General Assembly, more resources and different tactics are needed to address the huge growth in the number of Latino limited-English-proficiency students in the state, according to Indiana University researchers. That's the conclusion of a special report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University. Full story.
IU guides show students the way
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 28 -- During the first two days of classes,174 volunteers were strategically placed on campus to help students find their way around campus. Full story.
How exactly do we stack up?
MSU State News, Aug. 28 -- With a looming 9.6 percent tuition increase in the fall, MSU has the highest percentage increase among Big Ten schools. While that may not equate to paying more this year than other Big Ten schools in a dollar amount, it still says a lot about the state of Michigan, MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said. This story details increases across the Big Ten and includes IU at the median. "However, for the rest of the Big Ten, there are tuition increases and less state support for higher education - the median increase is held by Indiana University at 5 percent, while the average across the conference is 5.15 percent." Full story.
Police issue more than 200 alcohol citations; Excise, IUPD crak down during Welcome Week and scores of alcohol citations issued late last week; Excise police focus on violations related to minors acquiring or consuming alcohol as IU students return
Indiana Daily Student and Bloomington Herald-Time, Aug. 28 -- Police cracked down on underage drinking this weekend, issuing about 200 alcohol-related citations to students during IU's Welcome Week. From Wednesday through Sunday, the Indiana State Excise Police wrote 181 citations, a 60 percent jump from last year's count of 107. In addition, the IU Police Department made 32 arrests, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger. Minger said 13 of their arrests involved some sort of medical assistance, including an unconscious individual who recorded a .27 blood alcohol content level. Full story 1. Full story 2.
Freshmen brand AlcoholEdu 'boring,' 'pointless'; Several hundred yet to complete required course
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 28 -- Three hours of studying -- give or take a few minutes -- awaited freshman Andrew Myers. And it was not even for class. Myers, along with the rest of the 7,000-student freshman class, is required to take an alcohol education course called AlcoholEdu. In the first year of the program, it has already been met with negative assessments from many students interviewed for this story. Freshman Aubrey Chase summed up the course in one word: pointless. "I didn't think it was effective," Chase said. "A lot of people are doing it because they have to and are not paying attention." Full story.
Comcast, big Ten Network gridlocked; Deal not likely to be made by Thursday's launch
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 28 -- So much for making nice. After weeks of negotiations, the Big Ten Network officially announced last Thursday that it will not come to an agreement with the cable provider Comcast in time for the network's Thursday launch. As a result of this decision, viewers who subscribe to Comcast or Insight, which will become Comcast, will miss out on the network's opening telecasts, including the IU versus Indiana State game this Saturday. "We have said for at least a month that if we can agree that the network belongs on standard basic cable, then we can negotiate everything else, including the price," said Mike Vest, a media relations manager for the network. "They just haven't negotiated with us at all. They have said 'sports tier or nothing' and that's not really a negotiation process." Full story.
Classes begin at newly smoke-free IUS campus; Lighting up OK only in vehicles
Louisville Courier-Journal, Aug. 28 -- By afternoon on the first day of classes, Indiana University Southeast Police Chief Dennis Simon hadn't seen a single person light up a cigarette on campus. "I think most people got the message" about the school's decision to go smoke-free on Aug. 1, Simon said yesterday as the new academic year opened. And he credited IUS officials for doing an effective job of making the faculty, staff and more than 6,000 students aware of the new policy. Full story.
BioCrossroads' seed fund invests in life sciences company
Inside Indiana Business, Aug. 28 -- FlowCo, developer of the LumenRECON device - a devise that helps size and deliver stents more accurately to patients undergoing coronary stent procedures -- recently received a $250,000 investment from BioCrossroads' Indiana Seed Fund I, Indiana's only targeted life sciences seed stage investment fund. Dr. Ghassan Kassab, the Inventor of LumenRECON and Founder and President of FlowCo said that the funding will enable the company to make a human-use prototype for clinical trials scheduled to take place by next summer. The company is currently preparing regulatory documents for the study. Full story.
Boring life compared to today's standards
Journal Review, Aug 28 -- According to the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use survey, conducted by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University, Bloomington, pipe and cigar use, as well as binge drinking, increased. The survey was analyzed from data involving 158,632 students in grades six through 12. The people who used cigarettes when I was growing up, would probably never have dreamed that many kids today are finding alternative ways to use tobacco, according to the study. These ways include the use of hookahs and water pipes. Full story.
IU woman nominated
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 28 -- Indiana's Jessica Gall, a cross country and track runner, is among 30 nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. Full story.
Campus Bus Service adds 2 routes
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 29 -- Extra bus routes were met with a record number of riders Monday. The campus bus service hauled more than 23,000 passengers on the first day of classes, utilizing its full 23-bus fleet for the first time in at least a year. Full story.
Freshmen receive free entry to first football game
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 29 -- In its latest marketing strategy to draw more fans to Memorial Stadium to see the football team play, the IU Athletics Department is giving all freshmen free tickets to this weekend's IU vs. Indiana State football game. Full story.
Students can visit South Korea via new class
Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 29 -- While most students will be celebrating their first week of the 2008 summer vacation, 20 select students will welcome the summer in an entirely different fashion. Full story.
IU voices in the news:
Commentary: Excise officers have offered local businesses free classes on how to spot fake IDs.; Gonzales resignation brings sigh of relief
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 28, 2007 -- Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for five years between 1993 and 1998. During her final two years, she served as acting assistant attorney general. So the IU professor knows more than a little about how the Department of Justice works. You could almost hear her sigh of relief Monday when contacted for commentary about the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "There's no question that the attorney general had lost credibility in the eyes of Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as the general public," she said. "It's good for the Department of Justice, and it's good for the rule of law. Now, maybe the country can move on." Full story.
My View: Watch for the kids out on our streets
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 28 -- This commentary is written by Dr. Joseph O'Neil, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Riley Hospital for Children and IU School of Medicine. Full commentary.
Be cautious in using home treatments for the skin
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 28 -- Beth Brogan, assistant professor of dermatology at the IU School of Medicine is the source in this story about skin care. Full story.
Discoveries: 'Cynical shyness' the explosive type
Chicago Tribune (Health Day News), Aug. 28 -- An extreme form of shyness called "cynical shyness" could be what motivates some teens to gun down fellow students at their schools. Affecting mostly males, it can lead to violent behavior such as that at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in 1999 or, more recently, Virginia Tech, according to researchers at the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany. "Cynically shy people are shy people who are motivated toward moving to others, and then they are rejected," said Bernardo Carducci, lead author of the study and director of the institute. "Shy people truly want to be with others, so they make the effort, but when they are rejected or ostracized, they disconnect. Once you disconnect, it's very easy to start being angry and hate other people. It's you against them, and they become what I call a cult of one. ... Then it becomes easy to start hurting these people." Full story.
Benefiting from bacteria; Helpful germs in food and supplements can keep you on the road to good health
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 28 -- Dr. Mark Corkins, co-director of nutrition support at Riley Hospital for Children and associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine is a source for this story on probiotics. Full story.
Students clue into forensic science
USA Today, Aug. 28 -- This story examines the increase of students studying forensic science. It notes that the field is increasingly dominated by women and uses IUPUI as an example, citing the 90 percent of the forensic science students there are female. Full story.
Gene May Hinder Spread Of Prostate Cancer
Science Daily, Aug. 27 -- Lisam Shanjukumar Singh, Ph.D., of Indiana University in Indianapolis and colleagues showed that prostate cancer cells that overexpress OGR1 formed fewer metastases in mice and migrated more slowly in laboratory tests. Full story.
Marijuana-Like Chemicals Guide Fetal Brain Cells
The Ledger Online, Aug 29 -- Neuroscientist Ken Mackie of Indiana University, another leader of the new study, says that natural cannabinoids can reach very high concentrations but are secreted by the brain in precise locations. THC would activate CBRs indiscriminately, he says. "The effects of endocannabinoids released in a regulated fashion," he says, "will almost always be different from THC from smoked cannabis." Full story.
Power plant plan stirs debate; $2 billion Edwardsport project touts new coal technology
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 29 -- Supporters say Duke Energy's plan to build a Knox County electrical generating plant that uses "clean coal" technology can help address the nation's -- and the world's -- most pressing pollution problems. J.C. Randolph, an Indiana University environmental science professor who teaches courses on global environmental change, said it only makes sense to pursue technological solutions to energy problems. "If Duke can develop more effective ways of capturing CO2 -- and if that technology transfers to others countries such as China -- then, yes, they have made a contribution," said Randolph, who has no involvement with the Duke regulatory case. Full story.
Schools must be stimulating, challenging, engaging
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 29 -- Ethan Yazzie-Mintz, director of the High School Survey of Student Engagement at the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy at Indiana University, wrote this column that says "Of the 81,499 students across the country who completed the survey in spring 2006, 75 percent stated that one of the reasons for their boredom was that the 'material wasn't interesting.'" Full story.
Analysis: The Semiotics of Sexual Behavior
NPR's Day to Day show, Aug. 28 -- Allegations of lewd conduct in a public restroom by Sen. Larry Craig raise the question of how foot-tapping or hand-waving in a toilet stall can lead to an arrest. Dr. Michael Reece, associate professor for public health at Indiana University in Bloomington, researches sexual behavior, anonymous sexual encounters and the venues where they take place. He talks with Alex Chadwick. Full story.
From the Chronicle
SAT Scores Decline for Second Straight Year, as Experts Debate Cause
The College Board announced on Tuesday that the average combined scores on the SAT's mathematics and critical-reading sections for the high-school Class of 2007 declined to the lowest point in nearly a decade. Officials at the College Board, which owns the examination, attributed those changes to a larger and increasingly diverse group of test takers. Full story.
Three Years After Starting College, Many Part-Time Students Have Left, Study Finds
Three years into their college careers, more than two-thirds of part-time students who started college in the 2003-4 academic year had left the higher-education system without a degree, according to a report published this month by the U.S. Department of Education. Full story.
Civil-Rights Panel Wants Law Schools Required to Disclose Key Affirmative-Action Data
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights plans to issue a report today calling for federal and state officials to require law schools to disclose detailed information about their use of affirmative action in admissions and the short- and long-term success of the minority students they enroll. Full story.
The IU Daily News Brief is a service of IU Media Relations. This is only a sampling of news about IU and higher education. To subscribe, or to remove your name from the distribution list, please contact Susan Williams at sulwilli@indiana.edu.
