http://indianapublicmedia.org/news News from your public radio and tv stations Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:40:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 2006-2007 iupublicmedia@gmail.com (News) iupublicmedia@gmail.com (News) posts 1440 News from your public radio and tv stations News News iupublicmedia@gmail.com No no http://www.newsmatters.org/img/NewsMatters144x144.jpg http://indianapublicmedia.org/news 144 144 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/activism-focuses-coal-burning-iu-part-ii/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/activism-focuses-coal-burning-iu-part-ii/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:39:04 +0000 Daniel Robison http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7791 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/activism-focuses-coal-burning-iu-part-ii/feed/ 0 4:05 Part I: Coal at Indiana University Last fall, the Sierra Club began pressuring a handful of college campuses to end their use of coal as a ... Part I: Coal at Indiana University Last fall, the Sierra Club began pressuring a handful of college campuses to end their use of coal as a heat and power source. Indiana University, with its coal-fueled Central Heating Plant, was one of the schools targeted. Since then, students on campus have held rallies, collected thousands of signatures on petitions, and tried to sway IU administration in face-to-face meetings. While their efforts have yielded few results so far, they say theyrsquo;re in it for the long haul. Therersquo;s a few spots on IUrsquo;s Bloomington campus where you canrsquo;t avoid the clog generated by 40-thousand students going to and from class. And Coal Free IU has planted representatives in one of them, clipboards in hand. ldquo;We have an art installation of grave stones. And train carts full of representations of coal with facts and figures about how much wersquo;re burning right here at Indiana University and its impact of public health and the environment,rdquo; said Monica Embrey, founder of Coal Free IU. Shersquo;s not a student -- shersquo;s a full-time employee of GreenCorps, a non-profit environmental activism group. And shersquo;s working on behalf of the Sierra Clubrsquo;s campaign against coal on college campuses. ldquo;And wersquo;re gathering signatures on our petition to [IU President Michael McRobbie],rdquo; she said. That campaign is staffed by a large number of volunteers, who Embrey has given talking points. ldquo;We only needed one more! Dang. I really feel like guilt works on most people. Are you recording all of this?rdquo; one volunteer said during a recent petition gathering effort. ldquo;Itrsquo;s on Fee Lane. It powers like three-fourths of the campus,rdquo; another volunteer told a signee. Some of what they say simply isnrsquo;t true. Some is. ldquo;Normally Irsquo;m against signing something I havenrsquo;t read all the way through, but, okay,rdquo; said one student who agreed to support Coal Freersquo;s mission. While the group has collected thousands of petition signatures, Coal Free IU President Lauren Kastner says, more than anything, the group needs credibility for IU administrators to consider its ideas. ldquo;Education is one of our top prioities. We donrsquo;t want people just signing the petition. We have people say, lsquo;Wait, what am I signing again?rsquo; And thatrsquo;s great,rdquo; she said. ldquo;We want people to think twice.rdquo; To some, the grouprsquo;s efforts are as welcome as a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking. Just ask Mark Menefee. He runs the heating plant where the students have held boisterous rallies. ldquo;I think it is a media stunt to yell lsquo;dirty coal.rsquo; I think that avoids the issue,rdquo; Menefee said.ldquo;Wersquo;re just wanting to be really careful because we really do like wersquo;re getting attacked in an unfair way.rdquo; Despite some tension between the group and the university, IU Vice President Tom Morrison, the schoolrsquo;s point-man on the issue, met with students in the group in November. They wanted a public commitment to transition the plant to cleaner fuels. That didnrsquo;t happen. ldquo;Their horizon is we want to see action now. We want you to stop burning coal right now. And my reaction is, lsquo;I donrsquo;t disagree with you,rsquo;rdquo; Morrison said. ldquo;I know they want us to flip the switch off on that tomorrow. And I canrsquo;t give them that. But I do think wersquo;re working on the same goal,rdquo; he said. Morrison says the students will not see the change theyrsquo;re asking for within their time at IU. Or in the foreseeable future. Still, Kastner sits down again with Morrison on March 23. She says her group has already started to change its strategy, admitting students came on too strong by asking the school to eliminate coal altogether. Kastner says the group will press IU to work toward becoming climate neutral by joining 674 other s... Articles,,Audio,,Bloomington,,Business,,Economy,,Communities,,Content,Type,,Education,,Featured,,Features,,Government,,Politics,,Health,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Podcasts,,Science,,Technology,,Slideshows,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page,... iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-address-wfhb-concerns-waldron-sale-monday/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-address-wfhb-concerns-waldron-sale-monday/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:45:52 +0000 Stan Jastrzebski http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7788 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-address-wfhb-concerns-waldron-sale-monday/feed/ 0 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/part-coal-indiana-university/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/part-coal-indiana-university/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:34:28 +0000 Daniel Robison http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7768 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/part-coal-indiana-university/feed/ 1 4:30 Part one of a five-part series With winter nearing its end, Indiana Universityrsquo;s coal-powered heating plant will scale down its operations. But it will ramp up ... Part one of a five-part series With winter nearing its end, Indiana Universityrsquo;s coal-powered heating plant will scale down its operations. But it will ramp up again next fall, and every year after that until the university decides otherwise. Thatrsquo;s led student and environmental groups to call on IU to transition away from burning coal ndash; the top source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ndash; in the middle of campus. ldquo;Bzzzhellip;bzzzzhellip;bzzzzz!rdquo; An alarm sounds at the IU Central Heating plant. Itrsquo;s just one of the dozen or so bells and buzzers that litter the white noise soundscape here.nbsp; Assistant Director for Utilities Mark Menefee stands by a coal boiler with a two thousand degree inferno raging inside. He says the plant has tried to reduce pollution in recent years. ldquo;Wersquo;ve changed the control systems, wersquo;ve changed the emissions systems. But the boilers, theyrsquo;re 1940s technology. Itrsquo;s old stuff,rdquo; he said. The university heats and cools 12 million square feet of buildings just on its Bloomington campus alone ndash; thatrsquo;s just less than double the size of the Pentagon. Menefee says many buildings are inefficient and therefore lose energy. He says ailing half-century-old pipes carry steam to man buildings where the temperature is all but impossible to regulate. But he says this laundry list of inefficiencies, which leads to burning more coal than necessary, could be fixed. ldquo;That takes capital investment. And that is hard to find. Especially in the last twenty years or so,rdquo; he said. The university has spent about $34-million to renovate the plant, including replacing two of the original boilers, which remained from the plantrsquo;s construction in 1955.nbsp; Baghouses ndash; fabric filters designed to catch coal ash ndash; now trap nearly 70 percent of the plantrsquo;s particulate matter. And by injecting lime and carbon into the filtering process, some of the mercury that would otherwise pour out of the smokestacks is held back. ldquo;It would be easy for us to turn off the switch tomorrow. But then wersquo;d all look at each other and say, lsquo;Now what do we do?rsquo;rdquo; said Tom Morrison, IU Vice President for Capital Projects and Facilities. He says the most logical alternative to burning coal is switch to natural gas. But even before IU saw a recent $60 million cut from the state, he says the university didnrsquo;t have the cash necessary to make the switch to burning more natural gas, which emits roughly half as much carbon. Menefee says he could do it if the money was there. ldquo;I could make that happen in four hours,rdquo; Menefee said. The problem with natural gas is that its price is more volatile than coal. Morrison says with dwindling state support, increasing student fees would be one of the only ways to accomplish the switch. ldquo;Then the question is, lsquo;Would you pay that? And we also have to reduce the offerings in your [academic] major,rsquo;rdquo; Morrison said. Menefee agrees, noting the subject is tough to broach. ldquo;Therersquo;s nobody in the administration that wants to stand up in front of anybody and say, lsquo;Irsquo;m for coal and forget everything else. We want to burn some coal,rsquo;rdquo; Menefee said, laughing. ldquo;We burn coal because of the money.rdquo; Itrsquo;s cheap because much of what IU burns is mined in-state, and Indiana has an estimated 500-year supply of the resource. Menefee says last year, IUrsquo;s plant burned about 60,000 tons (120,000,000 pounds) of Indiana coal. ldquo;So wersquo;re underneath the coal silo right now. Therersquo;s capacity for a thousand tons of coal in this silo. In the winter time we can burn 400 tons of coal a day. So therersquo;s two and half days worth of coal here,rdquo; Menefee and Morrison agree IU is stuck with coal as its heat source for the time being. But that answer hasnrsquo;t been goo... Articles,,Audio,,Bloomington,,Business,,Economy,,Communities,,Content,Type,,Education,,Environment,,Features,,Government,,Politics,,Health,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Science,,Technology,,Slideshows,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-homecoming/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-homecoming/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:46:10 +0000 Douglas Wissing http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7741 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-homecoming/feed/ 0 3:58 Itrsquo;s early morning at a National Guard hanger at Stout Field in Indianapolis. A crowd of family and friends is waiting for loved ones to ... Itrsquo;s early morning at a National Guard hanger at Stout Field in Indianapolis. A crowd of family and friends is waiting for loved ones to return from Afghanistan. Therersquo;s kids in pajamas; wives in high heels; parents with proud smiles. [slideshow 1] Martha Gardner said she's ldquo;Thankful that Godrsquo;s bringing themmdash;all, the whole troopmdash;home safely.rdquo; Donna Copes, who's husband Brian is on the transport said there's one prevailing feeling.nbsp; ldquo;Oh, relief," she said.nbsp; "Itrsquo;s been a long year, but it has not been as long as I thought it was going to be. I think the last two weeks have been the longest of the whole time.rdquo; ldquo;Very proud, is how Maxie Gardner pronounced herself.nbsp; "Excited. Happy. So happy I could cry if that makes sense.rdquo; National Guard Family Readiness Assistant Kimberley Goodin helps returning vets and their families reintegrate to the United States. Shersquo;s also waiting for a soldier: Sgt. Mjr. Robert Goodin. ldquo;Very excited. But I work all the homecomings," Gooding said.nbsp; "So itrsquo;s always exciting when we can connect families and the service members back together. But itrsquo;s even more that finally my husbandrsquo;s going to be part of it.rdquo; When vets return home ndash; or de-mobilize, in military slang ndash; a series of Yellow Ribbon events helps connect them and their families with financial, medical and marital assistance. ldquo;What theyrsquo;re going to do as soon as they get here, theyrsquo;re going to head down to do their demob at Camp Atterbury," said Kimberly Goodin.nbsp; "Then after that they will return home. Then wersquo;re going to start our 30-, 60- and 90-day Yellow Ribbon events.rdquo; Maxie Gardner said it takes some time to reintegrate. ldquo;Therersquo;s always a month or two of adjustment. Of letting go some of my reins and handing them over. But itrsquo;s kind of a relief, too.rdquo; [slideshow 2] A siren begins to wail, signaling the farmer-soldiers are near.nbsp; A cheer breaks out in the crowd when the troops appear.nbsp; The formation breaks into clots of happy families Hugging and kissing and crying tears of relief. Agribusiness Development Team commander Col. Brian Copes holds his granddaughter, Emma, who says theyrsquo;re going on a long-planned holiday to Disney World. Back on home soil, Col. Copes said the mission overseas was worthwhile. ldquo;Certainly we felt good about what were able to accomplish: the knowledge base, and certainly the array of relationships we were able to bequeath to the second team when they came in. Yeah, it was worth it. I feel very good about the mission.rdquo; So the Agribusiness Development Team, its roots deep in Indiana soil, has completed its mission and now watches its replacement, the 219th ADT, continue the work of the last year. And these farmer-soldiers, back home again in Indiana, now return to the lives they left mdash; in the arms of their loved ones. Articles,,Audio,,Communities,,Content,Type,,Cultivating,Afghanistan,,Education,,Government,,Politics,,Indianapolis,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-purchase-waldron-baac-emerge-debt/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-purchase-waldron-baac-emerge-debt/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:49:12 +0000 Stan Jastrzebski http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7735 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-purchase-waldron-baac-emerge-debt/feed/ 0 1:54 In order to help settle the Bloomington Area Arts Council's six-figure debt obligation, the city of Bloomington has agreed to temporarily purchase the John Waldron ... In order to help settle the Bloomington Area Arts Council's six-figure debt obligation, the city of Bloomington has agreed to temporarily purchase the John Waldron Arts Center.nbsp; The city will buy the assets of the building and take over its deed for 150-thousand dollars -- far less than the space and its contents are worth.nbsp; In exchange, the Bloomington Area Arts Council agrees to pay off its debt within 30 days and allow the city to find a new owner for the building, which once served as city hall.nbsp; But Mayor Mark Kruzan said despite the fact the city is buying the space at a fraction of its value and intends to re-sell it, he doesn't expect the city will turn a profit. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl4gsNUPOx0 "I would like to recover the value of the assets and repay whatever account is used to pay that $150,000," Kruzan said. "The city's never expected a profit from this facility." Kruzan said as many as three groups have been considered as possible purchasers of the Waldron, but adds the new owner will have to agree to certain deed obligations, including keeping significant space reserved for the arts and allowing radio station WFHB, which operates out of the ground floor, to continue to lease the space.nbsp; But the mayor said a new owner is likely to raise the rent on the station, which collects money largely from grants and public donations.nbsp; WFHB General Manager Will Murphy said he hopes his station will be granted a deed to its part of the Waldron property, saying a potentially large increase in rent could eviscerate the station. "It doesn't do us much good to have a guarantee that we're staying here if thenbsp; rent is 10 times what we're paying now," Murphy said. "We're operating on a shoestring budget as it is, operating entirely on volunteer effort, aside from three full-time members and two part-time staff members.nbsp; So, increasing our rent by ten times?nbsp; Any organization would understand that that's not a viable plan for the future." Murphy says WFHB currently pays 125 dollars a month in rent, as well as paying for its own utilities, aside from water.nbsp; Mark Kruzan says he'd like to have a new owner in place by summer. Articles,,Audio,,Bloomington,,Business,,Economy,,Communities,,Content,Type,,Government,,Politics,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/mcrobbie-spins-favorite-tunes/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/mcrobbie-spins-favorite-tunes/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:44:40 +0000 WFIU News http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7712 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/mcrobbie-spins-favorite-tunes/feed/ 0 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-replacing-119th/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-replacing-119th/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:13:33 +0000 Douglas Wissing http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7699 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-replacing-119th/feed/ 0 3:50 The Indiana National Guard has made a five-year commitment to agricultural development in Khost Province, Afghanistan. As the first Agribusiness Development Team, or ADT, finishes ... The Indiana National Guard has made a five-year commitment to agricultural development in Khost Province, Afghanistan. As the first Agribusiness Development Team, or ADT, finishes up its deployment, the second ADT organizes to replace them. The Indiana National Guardrsquo;s 119th Agribusiness Development Team was the first unit of Hoosier farmer-soldiers to deploy to Khost Province, a wild, insurgency-plagued region in the Afghan-Pakistani borderlands. nbsp;And after a year-long mission, itrsquo;s time for the 219th ADT, to continue the development work. Speaking from the giant American air base at Bagram, Afghanistan, 219th commander Col. Michael Osburn said the 119th team has a transition plan. ldquo;Wersquo;ll wind up and hook up with our counterparts; the commander, sergeant major, deputy will hook up with out counterparts and see exactly whatrsquo;s going on," Osburn said.nbsp; "Theyrsquo;ve got a robust plan for us.rdquo; Afghans place great emphasis on personal relationships and tribal loyalty, so the ADTs are emphasizing Indianarsquo;s commitment to the region and its people and the connections between the Hoosier teams. Osburn says the transition plan includes many meetings with tribal elders -- which the military calls Key Leader Engagements -- to introduce the new team. ldquo;And I believe theyrsquo;ve got the leaders coming, again, so that we can do a face-to-face, and they can see who we are and we can see who they are," Osburn said. Col. Dan McMillan, the deputy commander of the 219th, said his team will continue the first teamrsquo;s work with hydrology, orchard management and education, as well as start some new projects of their own. ldquo;Well, one of the things wersquo;ve been working with Purdue is a grain storage project," he said.nbsp; "Another thing wersquo;re toying with is possibly a micro-cannery or something like that. I know the first teamrsquo;s worked a little bit with the local slaughterhouse. Hoping to expand on that, get them set up with a little more sanitary environment.rdquo; Back in Indiana, the 219th ADT went through combat training at Camp Atterbury, as well as language and culture classes at Indiana University. Led by professor Kevin McNamara, Purdue University provided Afghan-appropriate agricultural education. ldquo;Wersquo;ve been working with the Indiana Agribusiness Development Team and Agribusiness Development Teams from a few other states to help prepare them for going to Afghanistan as an ADT," McNamara said.nbsp; "To help them understand basic agriculture, to understand the difference between U.S. agriculture and Afghan agriculture and kind of give them types of things to look for or the types of marginal changes they might make to help Afghans improve their agricultural output.rdquo; But Command Sergeant Major Pat Fromme said training in Indiana only partially prepares the soldiers for the Afghan reality they experienced almost immediately: ldquo;The first big clue that we werenrsquo;t at Camp Atterbury anymore was when the missile blew up that landed back there behind the tent," he said.nbsp; "That wasnrsquo;t an artillery simulator. That was the real thing.rdquo; In our final segment: The 119th returns home. Articles,,Audio,,Content,Type,,Cultivating,Afghanistan,,Education,,Featured,,Government,,Politics,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page,,WFIU.org,Top,Story iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-married-military/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-married-military/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:42:27 +0000 Douglas Wissing http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7692 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/cultivating-afghanistan-married-military/feed/ 0 3:49 Counselors often tell soldiers the price is freedom is highmdash;very high. Not just for the soldiers, but also for their families. Cpt. Sarah Wright is ... Counselors often tell soldiers the price is freedom is highmdash;very high. Not just for the soldiers, but also for their families. Cpt. Sarah Wright is a clinical psychologist who serves as a Combat Stress Counselor in eastern Afghanistan. Speaking from her frontline post, she said military deployments can devastate marriages. ldquo;The divorce rates, the army has put out the divorce rates are just skyrocketing,rdquo; Wright said. ldquo;Numbers-wise, marriages are going down the tubes.rdquo; Divorces in the military, already well above national averages, soared after 9/11, when repeated deployments further strained marriages. Counselors say about half of the married soldiers in Afghanistan will experience the threat of divorce or legal separation while deployed. An army chaplain, who asked to remain anonymous, said combat trauma isnrsquo;t the main reason soldiers in Afghanistan seek help. ldquo;Primarily, soldiers come to me when they are struggling with relationship problems back home,rdquo; he said. ldquo;Itrsquo;s interesting to see a 20-something young man, with a rifle over his shoulder, trained to engage and kill the enemy if necessary, say, lsquo;My heart is broken.rsquo;rdquo; The chaplain says commanders can often predict which marriages will suffer during the deploymentmdash;young, shaky relationships primarily. But sometimes there are surprises. ldquo;Some of the tougher ones are the ones that are good in the states, but it sneaks up on them, and it scares them," the chaplain said.nbsp; "And it scares their love.rdquo; And so the chaplain and other counselors begin the work to rebuild fractured marriages that are half a world apart. ldquo;Gut-wrenching. I tell them, lsquo;Yoursquo;re going to eat your guts out several times over. Itrsquo;s going to be awful, itrsquo;s going to be miserable. Yoursquo;re going to cry. If you can do that work, your marriage, your relationship, can be better. Donrsquo;t let Afghanistan destroy the family.'" The chaplain tells the soldiers they need to stop the hurtful behavior, they need a truce, and they need to put off divorce decisions while deployedmdash;particularly if there are kids. But he says returning home is no panacea: ldquo;And sometimes going home is actually harder, even if you didnrsquo;t have problems while you were deployed. Itrsquo;s extremely complex.rdquo; But back home the military has an array of counseling services to help returning vets reintegrate with their families. And the chaplain says there is another agency involved: ldquo;Irsquo;ve been extremely humbled by the power of love,rdquo; he said. In our next segment: the second ADT prepares to replace the first group of farmer-soldiers. Articles,,Audio,,Content,Type,,Cultivating,Afghanistan,,Education,,Government,,Politics,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/county-health-clinic-proposed-officials-argue-cost-savings/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/county-health-clinic-proposed-officials-argue-cost-savings/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:47:21 +0000 Regan McCarthy http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7685 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/county-health-clinic-proposed-officials-argue-cost-savings/feed/ 0 1:04 Officials say a county health clinic could provide savings for both employees and the countyrsquo;s bottom line. The clinic would offer regular appointments with a ... Officials say a county health clinic could provide savings for both employees and the countyrsquo;s bottom line. The clinic would offer regular appointments with a board certified physician for county employees and their families and officials hope the clinic will even have a small pharmacy with no co-pays required. Human Resources Director Rhonda Foster said employees will also have the chance to meet with a nurse practitioner who will act as health coach helping employees to set wellness goals. ldquo;Right now what wersquo;re looking at is being able to enhance the hope-pays, thatrsquo;s our wellness program, so if the employees are working to meet their objectives and their goals there would be some type of benefit. It would be an enhancement or there may be some monetary benefit if they do meet those objectives and goals,rdquo; Foster said. Foster said she thinks the clinic would reduce both absenteeism and presenteeismmdash;those are instances in which employees come to work but feel so poorly they get very little done. Employees will also be allowed to visit the health clinic while staying on the clock. Articles,,Audio,,Bloomington,,Business,,Economy,,Communities,,Content,Type,,Government,,Politics,,Health,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/iu-group-heads-ny-honor-founder-close-gap-part-2-2/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/iu-group-heads-ny-honor-founder-close-gap-part-2-2/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:35:05 +0000 Shameka Neely http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/?p=7677 http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/iu-group-heads-ny-honor-founder-close-gap-part-2-2/feed/ 0 4:57 A civil rights lawyer and Harvard law school graduate originally from Elkhart, Ind.,nbsp; Thomas Atkins became Indiana Universityrsquo;s first African-American student body President in 1960 ... A civil rights lawyer and Harvard law school graduate originally from Elkhart, Ind.,nbsp; Thomas Atkins became Indiana Universityrsquo;s first African-American student body President in 1960 and made it a priority to assist underrepresented groups, by providing academic support, leadership activities, and cultural exposure. For the better part of the last two decades, Indiana Universityrsquo;s Atkins Center has kept up the mission of its namesake by partnering with grade schools to offer mentoring and guidance from minority students at IU to a younger generation.nbsp; Director Vincent Isom said that includes a message of overcoming challenges. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfe55vrOME "Wersquo;re hoping to plant a seed that college is a reality for them, most are first generation college students and are in an environment where they think itrsquo;s not possible to go to colleges," Isom said. Thomas Atkins lived in New York for several years before succumbing, in 1998, to an illness named for another prominent New Yorker -- Lou Gehrigrsquo;s disease. And this school year an Atkins center group traveled to Manhattan to work with students in Atkinsrsquo; adopted home town. The Atkins group visited PS 145, the Bloomingdale School, on Manhattanrsquo;s upper west side.nbsp; The school has more than 450 students.nbsp; More than 60 percent are Latino and about 30 percent are African-American.nbsp; Teacher Ivelisse Alvarez said serving such a diverse student base presents its own challenges. "Itrsquo;s so complex. So many things, so many challenges and these are things that we encounter every day," she said.nbsp; "Many times itrsquo;s the shelters; we have a large population of students in temporary housinghellip; others its issues with housing, immigration, second language, unemployment. According to statistics from the New York City department of education for the 2008-2009 school year, PS 145 scored below the city average in a number of areas.nbsp; City University of New York sociology and black studies professor Dr.nbsp;R. L'Heureux Lewis said school data tells an important story. "No matter where you go in the United States yoursquo;ll find gaps in performance and I donrsquo;t think these gaps are inherent or genetic or they come from parents," he said. "I think therersquo;s a chance for us to do something to block and reduce and change the opportunities that people face so Indianapolis needs to be experimenting, Bloomington needs to experiment." One such experiment is one-on-one mentoring offered by the Atkins Centerrsquo;s program, in which IU sophomore Ceceily Brickley participates. "I just hope that I can help a kid want to go to college and have that drive to go to college even if maybe financially their not in the best situation," said the sophomore. "I really hope that I can just motivate them to go to college.nbsp; They see kids like me who reach out to them and it makes them want to do the same, in turn one day, for other kids." One experimental program which hasnrsquo;t worked, at least for minority students, Lewis said , is often seen as a leader in broad-based childhood education. "In the 1970s the emergence of Sesame Street was a land marknbsp; because people were very excited and because it was educational programming," Lewis said.nbsp; "But we actually had an evaluation by Thomas Cook that found for economically disadvantaged families because parents were not watching the program with their children and able to talk with them about the different lessonsnbsp; middle class and affluent parents got much more out of it and their children performednbsp; way higher than students who were from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.nbsp; Largely because their parents were working." But officials at PS 145, like Assistant Principal Lorraine Uhlmann, say the Atkins Center program appears to be working for students like Kwame, a 4th grader with a passion for art. "Kwame has changed... Articles,,Audio,,Bloomington,,Communities,,Content,Type,,Education,,Government,,Politics,,Local,News,Podcast,,News,Categories,,Special,,WFIU,,WFIU.org,Front,Page iupublicmedia@gmail.com no No