Last modified: Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Daily IU news update
August 30, 2006
Court says IU doesn't have to reveal details of Knight firing; Judge keeps Knight firing records sealed; IU trustees don't have to reveal Knight firing details; Judge rules for IU trustees in Star's open-records suit
Bloomington Herald-Times, Indiana Daily Student, ESPN and Indianapolis Star, Aug. 30 -- A Monroe Circuit Court judge has ruled in favor of the Indiana University trustees in their effort to prevent the opening up of records leading up to the firing of basketball coach Bob Knight. The Indianapolis Star brought the lawsuit, contending IU violated the state's open-records law in its refusal to release the unfiltered information related to Knight's 2000 dismissal. Full story1. Full story2.
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Groups doing well, but needs more help; Program that's key to attracting minority students needs some company if IU is to make its goal
Bloomington Herald-Times (editorial), August 29 -- IU's Groups Student Support Services program, featured in a two-day series by H-T reporter Steve Hinnefeld, must be one of the key components to helping IU meet its goal. The program helps first-generation college students - those without a parent who has completed a four-year college degree - get a strong start on the university experience. Full story.
Dangerous alcohol levels worry police
Bloomington Herald-Times, August 29 -- With Indiana University back in full swing, area police agencies are busy handling alcohol-related calls. Since Aug. 22, the IU Police Department has cited 30 people, including 21 IU students, for alcohol-related offenses ranging from public intoxication to drunken driving to illegal consumption. The number is down from last year, when IUPD cited or arrested 58 people during the same time frame, but Capt. Jerry Minger said the level of intoxication is worse than last year. "The biggest concern for us is the number of times we've had to call ambulances," he said. Full story.
Purdue, IU search for presidents; Ivy Tech president plans to step down
Purdue Exponent, Bloomington Herald-Times, August 29 -- Indiana University and Purdue University both seek new presidents. The departure of Bloomington-based Ivy Tech Community College said Monday he also plans to step down. Full story 1. Full story 2.
At long last, a list we can value
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Aug. 30 -- In a nationally syndicated column, Scripps Howard News Service's Dan Thomasson reported on a new report that measures a university's stature on the strength of its commitment to helping save the nation's cities from increasing blight. IUPUI was ranked fourth. Full story.
IU chemistry building closed briefly because of chemical leak
Bloomington Herald-Times, Indiana Daily Student, August 29 -- The Indiana University Chemistry Building reopened Monday morning after hazmat teams closed it in the early morning hours to handle a chemical leak. According to IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger, a professor in the chemistry building smelled something suspicious and called a building manager at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday. Investigation revealed a leak in a small tank of hydrogen chloride in Room 338. Full story 1. Full story 2.
IUB students fight for extra seat on search committee; IUSA leaders say trustees should give undergrads a voice
Indiana Daily Student, August 29 -- Student leaders are petitioning the IU board of trustees for a larger part in the search for IU's next president. Members of the IU Student Association, Residence Halls Association, the greek community and other campus groups will present a letter to the board this week voicing concerns that the only student member of the recently appointed Presidential Search Committee is Michael Renfrow, a graduate student from IU-South Bend. "We are concerned because the IUB campus is primarily undergrad," RHA President Matt Jarson said. "I don't believe a graduate student at the South Bend campus who has never lived in a residence hall or taken a class here can fully represent Bloomington." Full stor
Reviewing the reviewers; WE SAY: Princeton Review ranking misrepresents IU students
Indiana Daily Student (editorial), August 29 - In the most recent Princeton Review, IU received rankings that have students, faculty and administrators up in arms. While receiving a lower ranking for "party school" at No. 13 than the number one ranking it received in 2002, IU is ranked the No. 4 school where "students almost never study." Many at IU, including interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Zaret, believe that the rankings from the Princeton Review are not credible. IU Director of Media relations Larry MacIntyre has specifically criticized the survey's method of data collection. Generally, the view of these members of the IU community is correct. Full story.
Freshmen stay the course of IU's campus ; First day goes smoothly, students face few problems
Indiana Daily Student, August 29 -- Though most freshmen have spent a lifetime navigating only one building to go to class, they were given the challenge of navigating an entire campus when classes started yesterday. But many freshmen who might have worried about sitting down in the wrong class on their first day of college were relieved to find out their day was not as bad as anticipated. "I was pretty relieved to not go in the wrong room," freshman Leslie Nix said. "I was pretty scared." Nix, along with several other freshmen, got acquainted with the location of her classes prior to the first day. Freshman Nate Meyer said Welcome Week helped him get oriented with campus. Not all freshmen had days that went off without a hitch, though. Full story.
IU to admit students free to women's basketball
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, Aug. 29 -- Indiana University will admit students without charge to women's home basketball games this season in hopes of boosting attendance. The Hoosiers averaged 1,349 for 14 home basketball games last season, which ranked 10th among the 11 teams in the Big Ten. Purdue, in contrast, ranked ninth in the nation and second in the Big Ten at 7,264 per game. Full story.
Ivy Tech enrollment increases by 21.7 %:Figures released Tuesday show 4,570 students at school
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 30 -- Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington released final fall-semester enrollment figures Tuesday, and they set another record: 4,570 students, up 21.7 percent from last year. John Whikehart, the chancellor of Ivy Tech-Bloomington, said new programs and the increased ease of transferring credits to Indiana University have spurred the growth. Full story.
College fires; Alcohol and fire a deadly mix
USA Today, Aug. 30 -- 54 college students were killed in off-campus fires since 2000, according to a USA TODAY study. Though such devastating fires are infrequent, they follow patterns that largely are preventable. The newspaper's report included the two off-campus fires at IU Bloomington in December 2002 and May 2004. Full story.
IU voices in the news:
Is reading sinking? Some worry that reading is in decline, others not so sure
Bloomington Herald-Times, August 29 -- Some worry that reading is in danger of losing its place in the world -- with potentially dire consequences for society. Among the worriers is Bloomington author and Indiana University professor Scott Russell Sanders. Students in his own classes at the university don't seem to have the same ability or interest in reading as in the past, he said. "I think the decline of reading is a great loss to our society, and I think it also imperils democracy." Full story.
Questioning Plastic's Safety
Ivanhoe Newswire, August 29 -- Bisphenol A, a chemical used in the production of certain plastics may contribute to the development of breast cancer. IU Bloomington chemist Theodore Widlanski led a study showing that in a laboratory setting, breast cancer cells internalize and concentrate bisphenol A. Full story.
Katrina Provides Lessons About Charitable Giving
Associated Press, August 29, 2006 -- A year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, experts are taking a hard look at how well relief operations functioned, including those backed by charities and other nonprofit organizations. Patrick Rooney, director of research with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in Indianapolis said, "That helped to minimize the problems with fraudulent groups." Full story.
Show & Tell; Local learning highlights
Bloomington Herald-Times, August 29 -- Fourth grade is not too early to start thinking about a career. That's one of the messages in "Explore: Your Guide to School Success," a free booklet the Indiana Department of Education is providing to students in Bloomington and around the state. The booklets are produced by the department of education, the Indiana Commission on Higher Education, and the Learn More Resource Center, based at Indiana University. Full story.
After the storm; Students still healing one year later
Indiana Daily Student, August 29 -- One year after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, New Orleans natives enrolled at IU are still dealing with their losses, both in financial and emotional terms. Despite everything that has been taken away from them, these students remain optimistic that the rebirth of the city will come. Full story.
Student group protests Wal-Mart spree
Indiana Daily Student, August 29 -- Fifteen members of the IU chapter of No Sweat!, a labor rights organization, attempted to block shuttle buses of shoppers from entering Wal-Mart for IU's traditional Midnight Madness shopping frenzy Friday night. Group members linked arms and carried a banner that read "Rolling back prices -- and workers' rights," holding their ground as buses attempted to get past. "One of the buses was kind of trying to run us over," group member and IU senior Bridget Kennedy said. Full story.
Exercise helps after high-fat meal, researchers say; Exercise after a high-fat meal key to healthy arteries; Exercise Helps After Fatty Meals; Post fatty meal exercise reverses damage; Physical activity reverses arterial damage from high fat meal; Double Bacon Cheese Burger ... With a Side of Cardio?
Indianapolis Star, South Asian Women's forum, Fox 28 (South Bend), UPI, Evansville Courier & Press, Ivanhoe Newswire, Aug. 29 -- If you need another reason to take a brisk walk or bike ride after a big dinner, Indiana University kinesiology researchers have one for you. They found that physical activity after eating a high-fat meal not only reverses the damage to arteries but also improves their functioning compared to before the meal. "What happens four hours after that high-fat meal is that your artery looks just like the arteries of a person who has heart disease," said Janet P. Wallace, professor in IU Bloomington's Department of Kinesiology and co-author of the study. "What our study showed is that when you exercise after that meal, it doesn't look like a sick artery anymore," she said. Full story 1. Full story 2. Full story 3. Full story 4. Full story 5. Full story6.
Intentions of Marsh investor ring loud and clear
Indianapolis Star, Aug. 29 -- Do Marsh Supermarkets shareholders care what Braden Leonard thinks? We'll see soon enough, but the local hedge fund manager has entered a relatively new realm for the secretive investment pools: activist shareholder. "It is becoming less unusual for hedge funds to make these disclosures," said Bob Jennings, an Indiana University finance professor. "That part is not much different than other activist shareholders." Full story.
Your drunk self is not necessarily your true self; Beware of temptation to see alcohol as a truth serum, experts say
Delaware News-Journal (Indianapolis Star article), Aug. 30 -- Do people show their true colors when they're under the influence? Alcohol researchers and treatment experts say there is no simple answer. Alcoholics are likely to have less of a check on their behavior when they are drunk, says Dr. Sean O'Connor, a psychiatrist at the Indiana University School of Medicine. O'Connor says he is not surprised that an admitted alcoholic who knows he will be subject to public scrutiny might get belligerent when arrested. Full story.
In 10 years on Tour, Woods rocks golf's world
San Jose Mercury-News, Aug. 30 -- This article about Tiger Wood's impact on golf cited a 2004 IU study, which showed that golf saw a typical annual increase in participants of around 1 percent before 1996. Seven years later, that increase was 5 percent. Full story.
Setbacks don't sink 78-year-old champion: Masters swimmer Monica Ullmann, 78, of Norway, working on her thesis at IU
Bloomington Herald-Times, Aug. 30 --
Monica Ullmann has suffered a stroke, undergone a mastectomy and had her left knee replaced. But those setbacks have not slowed the 78-year-old Norwegian, who remains a world-class swimmer. She's won 48 Norwegian Masters championships, plus a dozen Scandinavian and European championships. "Competing gives me a reward for all the training I do," said Ullmann, who's spending five weeks at Indiana University doing research for a thesis on Masters swimming for her master's degree in sports medicine." In Norway, Ullmann enjoys rock star status in the world of Masters swimming. Full story.
In the Chronicle:
College Board Reports Largest Drop in SAT Scores in More Than 30 Years
In a year when confidence in the SAT sunk among some college officials, scores on the test fell, too. On Tuesday the College Board, the nonprofit group that owns the widely used examination, announced that the average combined scores on the SAT's mathematics and critical-reading sections for the high-school graduating class of 2006 declined by seven points from the previous year -- the biggest one-year drop since 1975. Average scores on the math section fell two points, to 518, and reading scores fell five points, to 503, out of a possible 800 points. Full story.
Public-College Graduates Accrue Almost as Much Student-Loan Debt as Private-College Peers, Report Says
Students who attend public universities and state colleges graduate with nearly as much student-loan debt as those at private colleges on average, according to a report released on Tuesday. The report, "Student Debt and the Class of 2005," is the work of the Project on Student Debt, an effort being led by Robert M. Shireman, a former senior education-policy adviser in the Clinton administration. The project, which is being financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is working to develop public-policy proposals to reduce the burden of student debt on those least able to afford it. Full story.
Online Courses Fuel Growth in Colleges' Continuing-Education Programs, Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education, August 29 -- Online-course enrollments now account for about a fifth of all continuing- and professional-education enrollments at the typical college or university, and online courses continue to attract more students to continuing education, according to a report. The report, which is based on a survey of 43 nonprofit institutions, predicts that online continuing-education enrollments will grow by about 20 percent each year for the next few years. "What gets a lot of attention in this area is the for-profits, but just in our sample, we have about 175,000 enrollments, so that's a big chunk of the market," said Sean R. Gallagher, a senior analyst at Eduventures Inc., the research and consulting firm that conducted the survey and produced the report.
Full story.
Measure Barring Censorship of Student Reporters Becomes Law in California
Chronicle of Higher Education, August 29 -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Monday a bill that grants broad protection from college censorship to student journalists. The law, which passed the state Legislature overwhelmingly, is a response to a federal appeals court's decision upholding censorship of a student newspaper at Governors State University, in Illinois. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the case, prompting the California Legislature to take action. The State Assembly approved the bill last spring, and the State Senate did so earlier this month. Full story.
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