IDS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | IDSNEWS.COM
Giesler honored at club hockey game BY MARY KATHERINE WILDEMAN marwilde@indiana.edu
The game was won, and the IU hockey team silently jumped the rink barrier and formed a circle in the middle of the arena, sticks in hand. John Gerhan, an IU player, took off the No. 5 jersey he was wearing, slid it onto a hanger, and hung it on the rink’s wall. It wasn’t his jersey. It was his best friend’s. Gerhan picked up his stick and joined the rest of the team. The players pounded their sticks on the ice about five times, then raised them in the air. It was a final salute to their former teammate and friend, Michael Giesler. Everyone called him Goose. One other player had worn No. 5 since Goose left the team in 2012. But after Goose died suddenly while skating on Feb. 1, the team agreed to retire it in his memory. “He only played really one full season, but he was all of our best friend,” Gerhan said. “I wouldn’t want to see someone else wearing his number, personally.” Single file, the players left the ice as silently as they came. Gerhan kissed two fingers, brushing them on the jersey as he skated past. Giesler only played on the team for the 2011-2012 season, but he was a member of a Bloomington league team after he left and was familiar to everyone in the Bloomington hockey community. Gerhan and Giesler were friends since the pair tried out for the team. Both from Minnesota, Gerhan’s school beat Giesler’s in the sport during high school. That was the topic of conversation the last time Gerhan saw his best friend. Giesler was hanging out with the team, drinking a couple beers and having a good time. “It really could not have been a better last night with him,” Gerhan said. “It gives me good peace of mind.” Giesler still came to IU hockey games whenever he could, even though he was often working on Saturdays at Kilroy’s, said Dan Emanuel, a senior member of the IU Men’s Hockey team. Giesler was finishing his degree requirements at Ivy Tech, living in Bloomington and working at the local bar, said Stephan Nicklow, a close family friend.
PHOTOS BY AMELIA CHONG | IDS
D-Force dancers perform "Tao Yao," roughly translated to "tender peach," during the Chinese Student and Scholar's Association's 2014 Spring Festival celebration Friday at the IU Auditorium. "China Concept" featured pop-and-lock dance techniques. "Tao Yao" dancers, dressed in costumes that resembled peaches, performed a traditional dance.
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Campus Chinese New Year celebration brings in more than 1,000 students BY SUZANNE GROSSMAN spgrossm@indiana.edu
Piles of food waited for more than a thousand guests as they stood in a line stretching from IU Auditorium’s lobby through the atrium to celebrate the Chinese New Year, China’s biggest annual holiday. The New Year began at midnight Jan. 31, which is usually when the big celebration happens. Many students travel to be with other family and friends in the United States, sophomore Choaman Li said, so the IU Chinese Scholars and Student Association planned the event a week late this year. The New Year, often called the Spring Festival, is a time for Chinese to reunite with family, sophomore Xixi Zhou said. She said people typically watch TV together and eat a lot of food. “We miss our parents,” Zhou said. “Some people don’t miss them, but most of us do.” The IU CSSA did its best to accommodate Chinese students by making the event close to the celebrations students would have taken part in at home. “We have the big shows to make us feel like home,” Li said. “Most students come
D-Force dance group members applaud and wave at the audience as the 2014 Spring Festival comes to a close Friday at the IU Auditorium. D-Force performed two dances - one traditional and the other modern - at the annual event organized by the IU Chinese Students and Scholars Association.
here to feel like a big family. It’s beautiful.” Several volunteers worked to organize the event. They directed people, served food, sang and danced. Freshman volunteer Anita Ma served food and said she was surprised by the amount of traditional dishes.
The volunteers served braised pork cut into cubes in brown sauce, a tomato and scrambled egg dish and a small round pouch made from dumpling dough, SEE NEW YEAR, PAGE 6
SEE GIESLER, PAGE 5
Raas Royalty collegiate competition showcases cultural Indian dance BY ANTHONY BRODERICK aebroder@indiana.edu
Half the seats in the IU Auditorium Saturday night were filled by dance teams donning multi-colored sequined costumes, scarves and golden bracelets. Competitors in the Raas Royalty Competition waited for their turn to perform. The fifth-annual collegiate dance competition featured a West Indian dance style called garba raas. Admission was free, as the goal of
the competition was to spread cultural awareness of Indian culture nationwide. “Raas is a form of dance style that requires spirit, hard work and sensational choreography,” said Harini Gurram, director of the Raas Royalty roundtable. “It is truly an honor for IU to sponsor this event, so we may be able to reveal our cultural influence to students unaware of it, to create a memorable experience for all.” The Raas Royalty roundtable is a student-run organization
dedicated to spreading the joy of raas. Eight teams from across the nation traveled to Bloomington to compete against one another. The teams included the IU HoosierRaas, Carnegie Mellon, Emory University, University of Florida, Houston University, Stanford, University of Illinois, University of Pittsburgh and Rochester University. Gurram emceed the event and introduced each team as SEE RAAS, PAGE 6
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The University of Rochester team performs garba raas style dance, which includes fast-paced movements and jumps.