Free Republic

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Valparaiso University announced Tuesday that it has adopted the Beacons as its new team name, replacing the Crusaders, a term school officials dropped this year after saying it had been embraced by hate groups. The university's president, José D. Padilla, said the private Lutheran school's new nickname "directly connects to the University's motto, 'In Thy Light We See Light,' and represents the Valparaiso University community in many ways."

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Valparaiso University announced Thursday that it is dropping the team name Crusaders, the school mascot and all logos associated with the term that it said has been embraced by hate groups. The decision comes after a decadeslong debate that had intensified recently because groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began using the symbols and words. The school's faculty and student senates each passed resolutions calling for the change and the university's alumni board of directors supported reassessing the appropriateness of the team name. The Crusades were a series of bloody religious wars starting in the 11th...

Born in Valparaiso, Chile, on November 25, 1915, the great Latin American leader, General Augusto Pinochet. The very idea of referring to a Latin American ruler as “great” is a rarity. So many of the rulers south of the United States have been vicious, not just recently, but since ancient times. From the Incas and Aztecs of old to the Fidel Castros and Nicholas Maduros of the present, Central and South American rule has traditionally resulted in permanent poverty, usually awash in blood. Augusto Pinochet is the exception. He ruled from the date of his coup d’état, September 11, 1973,...

Firefighters battled deadly forest fires in Valparaiso, Chile for a second night after coastal winds whipped up the flames again. At least 12 people were killed and 500 injured as the blaze swept through the hills above the city, destroying 2,000 homes and forcing 10,000 people to flee.

Lansing woman shot at in road-rage incident on I-80/94 11 hours ago • Times Staff GARY | A Lansing woman was shot at in a road-rage incident Sunday on I-80/94, with one bullet hitting the back of her car, Indiana State Police said in a news release. The 33-year-old woman told police she was on 25th Avenue in Gary driving her Chrysler 300 slowly because of potholes. She said a car behind her was following too closely, so she braked to get the car to back off. The braking apparently angered the other driver. The woman said the driver got...

September 14, 2012 9:53 am by clatham Evacuation due to threats on campus. Immediately evacuate ALL buildings and get as far away as possible. More information to come. Every building on campus??? http://www.utexas.edu/emergency/

Secuirty Alert This is an emergency message from North Dakota State University. NDSU is requiring all employees and students to leave campus by 10:15 a.m. This includes residence hall students, who, if necessary, should walk to locations off campus. This also includes the downtown buildings and agricultural facilities. NDSU received a bomb threat, prompting this evacuation. Updates will follow. Do not call local emergency numbers for further information in order to permit emergency lines to remain open for emergency calls. Updates to this announcement will be made when information becomes available. This message is authorized and transmitted by the University...

Students at North Dakota State University in Fargo and the University of Texas in Austin have been ordered to evacuate their respective campuses this morning because of bomb threats. There was no indication that the two events were connected. This alert was posted on NDSU's website: "NDSU is requiring all employees and students to leave campus by 10:15 a.m. This includes residence hall students, who, if necessary, should walk to locations off campus. This also includes the downtown buildings and agricultural facilities. NDSU received a bomb threat, prompting this evacuation. Updates will follow." The University of Texas has issued an...

Valparaiso outfielder and new MLB draft pick Kyle Gaedele says he is proud of the major league bloodline that runs through his family — no matter how short it is. Gaedele, whom the San Diego Padres picked in the sixth round of the draft on Tuesday afternoon, is a great-nephew of 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel, the shortest (and lightest) player in major league history and star of its greatest stunt. In 1951, St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sneaked Gaedel (legally) into the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. Wearing uniform No. 1/8, Gaedel — who was ordered...

The annual Valparaiso University Archaeological Institute of America lecture series will begin Sept. 21 with a discussion of Roman cartography and the creation of a map that would influence Christian mapmaking for centuries. Richard Talbert, professor of history at the University of North Carolina, will discuss "The Magnificent Peutinger Map: Roman Cartography at Its Most Creative" at 8 p.m. in Harre Union Brown and Gold Room. The lecture is free and open to the public. Talbert will discuss how the ancient Romans came to realize that maps are not mere factual records, but also value-laden documents, focusing on the powerful...

Authorities say five teen girls were repeatedly groped and threatened on a Portage school bus for months before the two 17-year-old boys and one 16-year-old boy were arrested in February. A Porter County judge on Thursday ruled the repetitive pattern of behavior by the boys showed that they were beyond rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system. Juvenile Magistrate Edward Nemeth also wrote that there was a need to protect students and deter similar actions

Palin rally tickets available in ValpoBY TIMES STAFF Tuesday, October 14, 2008 INDIANAPOLIS | Tickets to see Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin Friday in Noblesville, Ind., will be available Wednesday and Thursday at Porter GOP headquarters in Valparaiso. John McCain's running mate is scheduled to speak at 4:30 p.m. EDT Friday at the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville. Doors are set to open at 3 p.m. Tickets to the Road to Victory Rally -- Palin's first visit to Indiana -- can be requested at johnmccain.com. But campaign officials recommend going through one of a dozen distribution sites that...

Ind. House Wrongly Valued at $400 Million VALPARAISO, Ind. - A house erroneously valued at $400 million is being blamed for budget shortfalls and possible layoffs in municipalities and school districts in northwest Indiana. An outside user of Porter County's computer system may have triggered the mess by accidentally changing the value of the Valparaiso house, said Sharon Lippens, director of the county's information technologies and service department. The house had been valued at $121,900 before the glitch. County Treasurer Jim Murphy said the home usually carried about $1,500 in property taxes; this year, it was billed $8 million. Most...

VALPARAISO | Police said the Valparaiso High School student accused of slashing five of his classmates told officers God directed him to do it because they were "sinners."

An important U.S. high-tech manufacturer is shutting down its American operations, laying off hundreds of workers and moving sophisticated equipment now being used to make critical parts for smart bombs to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Insight has learned. Indianapolis-based Magnequench Inc. has not yet publically announced the closing of its Valparaiso, Ind., factory, but Insight has confirmed that the company will shut down this year and relocate at least some of its high-tech machine tools to Tianjin, China. Word of the shutdown comes as the company is producing critical parts for the U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)...