Illinois Wesleyan students garnered a $7 million verdict for a plaintiff in a simulated trial Wednesday based on an actual court case.

Associate Professor Robert Kearney’s business law class argued the real pending lawsuits of two families against Comcast cable company and a subcontractor in the case of the Chicago “cable murders” in the very real courtroom of the McLean County Law & Justice Center (115 E. Washington St., Bloomington).

In the actual lawsuit, which has not yet reached court in Chicago, families were seeking to hold Comcast and a subcontractor accountable for employing the man who is accused of raping and murdering two women while in their homes to install cable systems.

The jury, comprised of 12 volunteers from the community, heard arguments from students who took on the role of lawyers for the plaintiffs and defense. After deliberating an hour, the jury found only the subcontractor responsible, awarding the family of one of the victims the $7 million decision. Student plaintiff attorneys argued the subcontractor was negligent in failing to remove the cable installer from duty after the first murder. The volunteer jury found Comcast not negligent in the case.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Although the workload for an Illinois Wesleyan student can be heavy even without extracurricular activities, some opportunities are too good to pass up. For members of the School of Theatre Arts, the Phoenix Theatre offers this kind of opportunity, which allows the students to put on plays of every genre or style, to work independently of IWU professors and to put to practical use their abilities in acting, directing, design and stage management.

Founded over 20 years ago, the Phoenix Theatre houses about 20 productions each school year, about four of five times the amount of productions that took place five years ago.

Located in the “Underground” next to the coffee shop in the Memorial Center, the Phoenix Theatre is a small “black-box” theatre which seats only 50 people at the maximum, equipped with lighting instruments, a lightboard, furniture and prop pieces. Every semester, students are allowed to put in an application to the Phoenix committee, a group of eight students and faculty led by Phoenix Coordinator Charles Haugland, a senior theatre arts and English major from Aurora, Colo. If the proposal is accepted, the student will be allowed to use the theatre space for rehearsals and performances as needed and will also be provided with a small stipend upon request.

Each semester, students put on a wide variety of plays and performance pieces ranging from light-hearted musicals as in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change to classical drama as in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Different clubs and groups have also used the Phoenix as a place to perform including the Musical Theatre Society that put on a full-length musical, Zombie Prom in the fall of 2006 and the Shenanigans theatre group who performed Death… or Something in the fall of 2003. Approximately 20 productions take place every school year, about four or five times the amount that took place just 5 years ago.

Since first-year theatre students do not perform in department plays or musicals and instead focus on production aspects of a performance, the Phoenix offers these students an outlet to act during their first year on campus. Also, the theatre gives all students the opportunity to be exposed to a large number of plays of a variety of genres at no cost.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It is tradition for many graduating college seniors to go on vacations with friends before entering the “real world.” Adam Bohr, Illinois Wesleyan University senior and 2003 graduate of Aurora Central Catholic High School, found a way to combine both a fun activity and a way to give back to the community while taking advantage of one last summer vacation. The accounting major will bike approximately 3,700 miles cross-country as part of the Bike & Build program before starting work in real estate tax at Ernst and Young in September.

Bike & Build aims to raise funds for affordable housing projects while introducing young adults to the cause and engaging them in a unique and interesting way. The group has contributed more than $750,000 to housing groups to fund projects planned and executed by young adults. In the process, its participants have collectively biked thousands of miles and educated countless communities across the country about the affordable housing crisis in America. Bike & Build’s grant program also supports projects involving young people all throughout the nation, including many Habitat for Humanity endeavors.

The nine-week bike trip will begin on May 17 in Virginia Beach and end on July 25 in Cannon Beach, Ore. Along with nearly 30 other bikers and three group leaders, most in their 20s, Bohr will bike through Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho before ending his trip in Oregon. The group will bike during the day, starting out with easier rides and working up to 100-mile days through flat terrain, stopping at nine different sites to help with building efforts. Local churches and community centers will provide the group with dinner and a place to sleep throughout their journey.

“I’ve always wanted to do a program like this, but have held myself back,” Bohr said, expressing excitement about his upcoming trip. “There’s something so great about being outside, going on an adventure, and being able to help others in the process.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Erin Anderson, a senior chemistry major at Illinois Wesleyan University, was awarded the annual Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry by Iota Sigma Pi, the National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry. The award is presented annually to only one student in the nation.

The Freeburg, Ill., native and 2003 graduate of Freeburg High School will receive a certificate and $500. According to Ram Mohan, IWU associate professor of chemistry, “The Iota Sigma Pi award, designed with the objective of promoting interest in chemistry among women students, recognizes first and foremost excellence in chemistry. It is indeed a testimony to Erin’s outstanding academic achievements, especially in research, that she was selected as this year’s winner.”

Anderson has worked as a research assistant in synthetic organic chemistry for Mohan since 2004, and presented the results of her work at the annual American Chemical Society meetings in 2005 and 2007. She has also authored and co-authored two articles published in leading international organic chemistry journals.

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