Last modified: Tuesday, February 5, 2002
2002 Little 500 will establish new scholarships to memorialize IU victims of 9-11 attacks
Public contributions invited
EDITORS: Additional information on Little 500 and the three IU students' parents who died in the Sept. 11 attacks is available from the IU Office of Communications and Marketing at 812-855-3911. By 2 p.m. EST, video will be available from WFYI-20 in Indianapolis (317-633-7410) and an online video feed will be at https://broadcast.iu.edu.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University students competing in this year's running of the Little 500 bike races will be riding for much more than glory and being part of the history of a half-century campus tradition depicted in the movie Breaking Away.
This April, riders in the nation's leading collegiate cycling event will be creating three new scholarships to memorialize victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks who have ties to IU and to honor the courage and commitment of all Americans. The first 9-11 Scholarships will be presented Sept. 11 as part of IU's observance of Patriots' Day.
Since 1951, the IU Student Foundation has used the race and other student activities to raise money for student scholarships. It awards more than $50,000 annually in scholarships.
The 9-11 Scholarships were announced today (Feb. 5) on the IU Bloomington campus by student leaders, three IU students who lost parents in the Sept. 11 attacks, and IU Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Stephens Brehm.
Proceeds from Little 500 race activities -- which support 34 scholarships annually for working IU students -- will be used for three new $1,000 scholarships being created with input from three students who lost their fathers in the attacks. Funds which had been set aside in a "rainy day" fund will be used to support the existing scholarships.
The IU Student Foundation also hopes to attract contributions from others who want to be part of making the scholarships possible.
Three IU students are known to have lost their fathers in the World Trade Center attack. One student lost his brother, and an alumna working in the World Trade Center also died in the attack. The exact number of members of the IU family directly affected by the events of that day remains uncertain.
The three IU students who lost fathers at the World Trade Center -- Joshua Goldflam, a senior from Melville, N.Y.; Rachel Jacobson, a sophomore from New York, N.Y.; and Jessica Moskal, a sophomore from Brecksville, Ohio, helped to establish criteria for the new scholarships, based on qualities found in their parents. They will not be the first recipients of the scholarships.
Many IU students who will compete in Little 500 races on April 19 and 20 attended today's announcement. They were represented by Rose Hirata, a senior from Fort Belvoir, Va., who said the races will have added meaning this year. Her father was inside the Pentagon at the time of the attack but survived unharmed.
"To the members of the IU Student Foundation, the Little 500 is much more than a bike race. For over 51 years the students have been raising money to award to working students," said Abby Quinnette, IUSF president. "Now we are extending our reach. The new scholarships motivate us to put forth an even greater effort because we are creating a way to remember the victims of that day forever."
Race proceeds from the 2002 events and public contributions will be used to create the new 9-11 Scholarships. The future amount of the scholarships will depend on how much is raised for the fund. Event organizers expect that this year's race will raise about $40,000 in net proceeds. About $60,000 would be needed to establish a fund that could provide for three $1,000 scholarships annually. The public is invited to contribute to the scholarship fund.
IU Bloomington Chancellor Brehm said that today's announcement is a great example of IU students helping other students, which is the ultimate aim of the IU Student Foundation.
"As we educate our students and prepare them for the world of work, we also are teaching them how to be citizens," Brehm said. "I think it is quite clear that today's announcement of these new scholarships exemplifies the very best attributes of citizenship in our university.
"These scholarships represent our solidarity with and caring about Josh, Jesse, Rachel and all the members of the IU family who lost loved ones on September 11," Brehm added. "These scholarships also express our great sympathy for members of the IU family who have lost a loved one in military service and our appreciation to those members of the IU family now serving in the military."
Now in its 52nd year, the Little 500 is known as the premier intramural collegiate cycling event in the nation. It was created in 1950 by Howard S. Wilcox, then executive director of the IU Foundation, who was inspired by a bike race at an IU dormitory and by the Indianapolis 500.
The men's race attracted international attention through the 1979 Academy Award-winning film Breaking Away, and more recently it has been featured in major publications such as Sports Illustrated and USA Today. Any full-time undergraduate student at IU Bloomington can ride in the Little 500, and most riders have never competed in any other cycling race.
More than 20,000 people attend the men's and women's races every year, with the net proceeds used for working student scholarships at Indiana University. The races allow the IU Student Foundation to award more than $35,000 in scholarships to IU students every year.
For more information on how to contribute, contact the IU Student Foundation at 812-855-9152.
