Tutor pleads guilty to rape
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25, 2015
IDS INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | IDSNEWS.COM
From IDS reports
Benjamin Haile, a former tutor at Pinnacle School, pleaded guilty to one charge of child molestation Tuesday, according to Monroe Circuit Court records. He also pleaded guilty to rape and sexual misconduct with a minor. According to his Facebook, Haile worked at Kilroy’s Sports Bar. Haile, 21, was arrested in 2012 when a seven-year-old girl at Pinnacle, a nonprofit school devoted to helping children with dyslexia, said he touched her inappropriately at school. She reportedly told police she was sitting on Haile’s lap while watching a movie at school and Haile put his hands into her pants and down her shirt. Haile was 19 years old at the time. On Feb. 2, 2015, Haile was also booked into Monroe County Jail for new offenses of rape level 3, meaning the victim is unaware of the act, and sexual misconduct with a minor, according to court records. Though Haile pleaded guilty, a representative from the Office of Circuit Court Judge Marc Kellams said Haile has not been sentenced. Procedure requires the completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the Monroe County Probation Department. Judgment is withheld until the investigation is complete. Haile’s sentencing hearing will take place at 11 a.m. Nov. 10 at the Monroe Circuit Court for all offenses, according to court records. Annie Garau
Council votes to fund shelter Cora Henry corahenr@indiana.edu | @coraghenry
The Bloomington City Council voted 9-0 to appropriate $15,000 to keep open the Community Sheltering Project, formerly Martha’s House, for the rest of the year. “(The appropriation will) give us a chance to regroup and see what we can do to continue in the future,” council member Tim Mayer said. A special session of the council met at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to vote on funds to keep the homeless shelter running. Martha’s House declared bankruptcy earlier this year. Perry Township and other local organizations and donors supported the shelter through the summer. “Sometimes it takes the threat of losing something to rally,” council member Susan Sandberg said. “It came too close to closing.” Sandberg said too often people assume others will step up to fill needs, and Bloomington cannot afford to lose any support for the homeless. The $15,000 will come from the Jack Hopkins Social Services funding program, which supports local programs that provide food, shelter and healthcare to disadvantaged populations. “It fits within the spirit of the Jack Hopkins fund,” council member Darryl Neher said of the decision. Every council member who spoke praised the appropriation. “This appropriation is a tangible step toward putting our money where our mouth is,” Representative Stephen Volan said. He said in past years he heard assumptions being made about homeless, and he said he is pleased with the current conversation. Rev. Forrest Gilmore of the Shalom Community Center thanked the council for addressing the issue. He was part of the board that kept the shelter from closing this summer and he said the proposal reached the council through a community effort. A collaboration between Perry Township, the board, city and council kept the shelter open, but they did not have sufficient funds for the rest of the year until SEE SHELTER, PAGE 6
The music studio Russian Recording has redone not only their studio, but also its business style, focusing on creating music and releasing concept albums.
Russian Recording’s revival has included new equipment, new furniture and repainting, a process owner Mike Bridavsky said he has found therapeutic.
Record studio revival Bloomington resident revamps business model to sustain Russian Recording PHOTOS BY RACHEL MEERT | IDS
Having recently redone the interior and stopped the numerous house shows that were played at the studio, owner Mike Bridavsky said he wants to focus on making great music and concept albums. By Jack Evans jackevan@indiana.edu | @JackEvans
Mike Bridavsky said he knew he wanted to spend his life making records when he was 14 years old. It was sometime around his early high school years, around the time he got a cassette four-track, around the time he and his friends, instead of going to parties and getting drunk, would go to his house and spend the nights recording “really weird stuff,” like adaptations of the songs sung by the dwarves in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” “I didn’t really think I could make it as a musician, but the combination of science and magic together is really perfect,” he said. “You have something people need from you that can also be creative. I was like, ‘Dude, that’s perfect.’” Two decades later, Bridavsky is 12 years into the existence of Russian Recording, his Bloomington-based recording studio. Though the studio has consistently
worked with Bloomington staples such as Good Luck, Turn Pale and Busman’s Holiday and notable figures in the greater indie music scene such as Mac Demarco and Magnolia Electric Co., 2015 marks something of a revival for the studio and for his dream job. The revival — “almost a grand reopening,” as Bridavsky said — involves interior decorating and Lil BUB, Bridavsky’s cat, who skyrocketed to fame a few years ago. “My cat got really famous a while ago, and that came at a time when I was pretty jaded on recording,” he said. “I was in financial despair because the studio cost so much money. I was also just in a funk and pretty grumpy about recording.” Lil BUB’s sudden fame helped relieve Bridavsky’s financial stress, and when studio manager Kyle Houpt started working at Russian last year, Bridavsky decided to make some changes at the studio. About a year ago, the studio stopped having shows, which it had done for a time.
Read more about Lil BUB Lil BUB helped this studio owner keep his business afloat. Check out the story of Bloomington’s Lil BUB in Tuesday’s IDS. Bridavsky said he had started to get more emails about having shows than about recording bands, and he said he didn’t want Russian to become known more as a venue than a studio. Furthermore, he said the physical element of the shows put too much stress on him. “People would trash the place, and some shows would be like 200 people, and there was graffiti all over the bathroom,” he said. “There was a time in my life I thought that was cool, and I could party and hang out with people. But I’ve got a kid now. I’m married, and I have too much work to do. The idea of having a show in my recording studio is the SEE RECORDS, PAGE 6
Experts discuss sustainability accountability By Julie Masterson julmaste@indiana.edu
Students and faculty gathered Thursday to debate who is accountable for sustainability. The School of Public and Environmental Affairs, in collaboration with the Integrated Program in the Environment, the IU Office of Sustainability and the ISOS Center for Social Responsibility presented “Who’s Responsible for Sustainability?” a public panel featuring speakers addressing the topic of sustainability from public, private and nonprofit perspectives. Kent Richards, a professor of environmental economics and policy at SPEA, as well as an affiliated professor of law at the Maurer School of Law, organized the event. Richards said the panel was spurred by SPEA’s recent review of its sustainability concentration, which resulted in 19 recommendations for strengthening the concentration. Among the many goals identified within the review, Richards said two were particularly important. “First, we set the goal of providing our students and the greater Indiana community with the opportunity for training in the skills, standards and
concepts that are critical for sustainability professions,” Richards said. “Second is the goal of providing our students with an understanding of sustainability that incorporates private, government and not-for-profit sectors to create a truly tri-sectoral approach.” Richards said the panel marks one of the first small steps in reaching these goals. In order to provide a breadth of perspective on the topic, the panel included four speakers from a variety of backgrounds and expertise. “What will emerge, we believe, is an exciting program that prepares students for careers and fluency in the field of sustainability,” Richards said. First to speak was Karen Cecil, the director of global environmental sustainability at Cummins, which is a corporation of complementary business units that design, distribute, manufacture and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, according to the company’s website. Cecil is responsible for the company’s global and environmental strategy and goal setting, including business integration and measuring. She is also responsible for em-
TIANTIAN ZHANG | IDS
Executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council Jesse Kharbanda speaks during a panel called “Who is responsible for sustainability?” on Thursday at the IMU.
ployee engagement, environmental relations and external reporting. “The business community has an important role to play in sustainability,” Cecil said. Outlining the company’s strategy, Cecil explained the steps Cummins is taking to become a more sustainable company.
“We have the resources, we have employees who care and want to be part of the solution, we have problem-solving skills and tools,” Cecil said. “So really, a win for the environment is a win for Cummins, it’s a win for all business, it’s a win for our SEE PANEL, PAGE 6
IU alumni anticipate conflicts of interest in athletics partnership By Taylor Lehman trlehman@indiana.edu | @trlehman_IU
The IU Media School announced Tuesday that it officially agreed to a partnership with IU Athletics. The partnership is a close collaboration between not only IU Athletics and the Media School, but also the Cuban Center, which will open in the spring of 2017, and the National Sports Journalism Center, which moved from IUPurdue University Indianapolis to IU-Bloomington in early Septem-
ber. While both sides present broadened opportunities for Media School students, IU journalism alumni see a conflict of interest within the partnership. “What is the point of the partnership?” said Michael Sanserino, 2009 graduate and former Indiana Daily Student editor-in-chief. “Schools across the country are developing internship relationships without partnerships. It’s just too close of a relationship for comfort.” According to a Media School
press release Tuesday, the partnership will provide advanced coverage of IU sports and allow students to use the high-end technology that will be housed by the Cuban Center, as well as open up more career and internship possibilities. The negative backlash in reaction to the announcement came as a surprise to new director of NSJC Galen Clavio, who has served as an assistant professor of sports administration at IU for six years. “The reactions I’ve seen made
me think that people thought that we hadn’t already thought about all of these things,” Clavio said about the conflicts of interest. “I think when people saw the announcement, they thought, ‘Oh, here we go. The Media School is going to do the Athletic Department’s bidding.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. I don’t think there are going to be many conflicts.” IU Athletics Assistant Director Jeremy Gray said the main SEE PARTNERSHIP, PAGE 6