Will they go to the polls?

On Election Day 2000 we stood in line for 2 hours and 45 minutes to vote. You read that correctly - 2 hours and 45 minutes. We vote in a gerrymandered precinct that includes many student residences, and the line was enormous. In the next precinct over there are almost no student residents, and the wait to vote was about ten minutes.

As you might expect, we got to chatting with our neighbors in the line, some of whom were students. We were pleasantly surprised that they stuck out the long wait to vote, but dismayed to hear them say they didn't realize voting took so long. We had never ever had to stand so long in line to vote before (heck - we don't think we've had to stand in line that long to do ANYthing before!) and we tried to encourage the students by telling them it is not always such a long wait. And we pleaded with them not to be turned off to voting by their experience. They were patient as saints.

We are in the heart of Sodrel-Hill country, Indiana's 9th Congressional District and one of the most hotly contested Congressional races in the country. The president himself was in the district the other day, stumping for the incumbent Republican. We love politics, and we're looking forward to Nov. 7. It will be interesting to see if the students turn out for this one too.

Who knew?

Here is an interesting headline from today's Chronicle of Higher Education:
"Liberal 'Groupthink' Puts Professors at Odds With Most Americans, Report Says"

Some of the major points of the report, per the Chronicle:

Professors are three times as likely to call themselves "liberal" as
"conservative." In the 2004 presidential election, 72 percent of those surveyed voted for John Kerry.
Almost one-third of professors cite the United States as among the top two greatest threats to international stability -- more than cited Iran, China, or Iraq.
Fifty-four percent of professors say U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is partially responsible for the growth of Islamic militancy.

You can read the whole thing here.

Body art on the wane? We can only hope!

The best way to kill a customer's appetite is to have the server or the waiter present themselves with an unusual piercing - the eyebrow is bad enough, but the two things we really can't stomach are the tongue stud and the nose ring on the barrista that looks like it belongs on a bull. The latter is, simply put, disgusting, while the former is distractingly awkward and painful-looking. And now here's proof that it's a bad idea. Maybe it's just us, but we think (thankfully!) that the piercings fad seems to be fading. Now if we could only say the same thing about tattoos . We read somewhere that 25 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 have tattoos. Permanent ones. Twenty FIVE percent! We also saw that New Yorker cartoon showing the subtext of every tattoo, to wit: "Ask me about my parents' divorce." Does anything scream, "Take me seriously! Hire me!" less than a tattoo?

Didn't see this coming!

Well, well, well. There is a t-shirt that is very popular around B-ton: The front says "Dry campus"; the back continues: "My a##". We suppose sales of this type of t-shirt may drop off soon. Turns out the campus is a bit damp.

Easy credit + college costs = crushing debt?

Although today's ids article focuses on graduate student debt, it nonetheless highlights a growing problem for ALL students.

The facts of the matter are that many students must take out loans to finance their educations and all students - undergraduate, graduate and professional school students alike - are easy prey for credit card companies. As our kids learn how to delay gratification, they also need to learn this hard truth: Easy credit can mean long-term hardship.

Campus style watch

Last year it was all bared bellies all the time; this year the layered look is in. Female students are wearing long, clingy undershirts under shorter clingy shirts or cropped jackets. Sweatpants are still over-long for both males and females. Of course the ever-popular flip-flops are ubiquitous for both sexes, which is fine on a day like to day when it is sunny and 75 in Bloomington. We will never understand how these kids endure life in flip-flops all winter long, but that's what they do, all in the name of fashion, we suppose...

IU faculty approve requirements for all students

Surprisingly - and sometimes to the consternation of incoming freshmen - IU has not had this sort of thing until now. From our point of view, these new requirements look very close to what the College of Arts and Sciences requires of all its majors. Here is the meat of it:

Required common ground courses include three credits of English
composition, three to four credits of mathematical modeling, six credits of arts and humanities, six credits of social and historical studies, and five to six credits of natural and mathematical sciences. Also included is a requirement to complete the second-year level of a world language or six credits in world culture courses, or an approved study-abroad experience.

There is more:

Shared goals include intensive writing experiences, information fluency, diversity in the United States and some type of enriching educational experience, such as an internship, a capstone project, student teaching, an honors thesis, or a musical recital or performance.

A few things are not clear to us, but we'll keep you posted as things develop:

• What is meant by "diversity in the United States" as a "shared goal"? Does this mean all students must take some sort of class that emphasizes diversity?
• When do these new requirements go into effect?

Why college is so much fun, Part 1

Important people from all walks of life come to campus to speak, and everyone gets riled up. Students have so much energy for this kind of thing. Expect a war of words on the letters page of the ids for weeks after this.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Every student seems to have a cell phone these days, which sometimes causes problems in the classroom. Dave Baker, IU's celebrated professor of jazz studies, has hit on a way to make the sound of the cell phone into music to our ears.