Paper cranes hang from the ceiling in long, colorful strands of yellows, reds and pinks. Two students criss-cross an intricate pattern of yarn on the front windows. Tables set up just when you step in contain half-installed works of art.

The Jordan College of Fine Arts Annex—also known as the JCX or the annex—is almost ready for its art show.

Many students will recognize the recently converted area as the former Jordan Academy of Dance, located next to Facility Services at the corner of Boulevard and 52nd Street.

The building contains four studios. Two will be dance studios and used mostly for physical well being classes. Currently, they’re rented to Dance Kaleidoscope.

The other two are the university’s first art studios for its art + design program.

Opened at the beginning of the semester, the two studios host the program’s more intensive programs. Next year, the annex will hold all of the art classes, including the core art class “Perspectives in the Creative Arts: Introduction to Visual Art.”

“The most important thing is that students can leave out their work while it’s in progress,” said Elizabeth Mix, associate professor of art history. “It has been the most challenging part of not having our own space.”

In addition, Mix said it’s nice to have rooms that are set up for art work, with sinks and storage closets for supplies.

“It’s just so beneficial to come in on my own time,” said Jasmine Gonsalves, a freshman art + design major. “We aren’t as confined in this space, and I think it will make the show more art-like.”

The new space has given them an entirely new art show to look forward to. To accompany ART NOW, Art at the Annex is open to the public Thursday and Friday.

Mix said that the show, as opposed to ART NOW, features installation pieces from the art + design program’s “space” and “function” classes. In addition, the program’s two thesis students, Laura Kramer and Daniel McCullough, present their final projects for the show.

“At the annex, we can do what we need to do because it’s our space,” Mix said. “It’s a flexible space to create the art show we’ve always wanted.”

Both speakers at Clowes Memorial Hall next week are respected nationwide for their stories—but not quite for the same reasons.

Humorist and best selling author David Sedaris will speak Tuesday night as part of the Clowes season, and journalist Dan Rather speaks Monday night as part of the Celebration of Diversity Lecture Series. Tickets are still available for both shows.

Rather’s career spans most of modern history. Rather was the first network television journalist to report President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, gaining attention from the CBS News headquarters. He became the network’s White House correspondent in 1964, later covering the Watergate scandal during Richard Nixon’s presidency.

“He’s reported on every aspect, every major event and turmoil we’ve had in the past years,” said Nancy Whitmore, director of the Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism. “In that regard, he’s an excellent speaker for diversity.”

He replaced Walter Cronkite as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in 1981, retiring in 2005.

During his 40-year career, Rather reported from Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, interviewed Saddam Hussein, covered President Bill Clinton’s impeachment and Sept. 11.

Rather now hosts “Dan Rather Reports,” a weekly news program on HDNet.

“Regardless of whether you’re a journalism major or not, you can relate to his stories,” said Kyle Inskeep, a senior electronic journalism major. “He has firsthand accounts from prominent time periods when he was covering major news events.”

Admission is free, but tickets are required.

Sedaris is known for his hilarious and often self-deprecating humor in his seven collections of essays and short stories.

Although based on fact and his own life, he often exaggerates details to create more humor. He is a regular contributor to publications such as Esquire and The New Yorker along with National Public Radio.

Sedaris has had every one of his essay collections appear on The New York Times best-sellers list.

Hanna Yaeger, a senior English major, said that the lecture is too expensive for her student budget, but she would love to see him if she could.

“He has such a unique voice,” she said. “He’s not afraid to poke fun at himself. He’s done some crazy things, but no subject is taboo for him.”

Her favorites include Sedaris’s accounts of his job as an elf at a shopping mall and the time he was going to be a mod artist and did lots of Ecstasy.

“I laugh out loud when I read his stories,” she said.

Sedaris is not doing press for this event.

Rather is traveling and unable to do press for his talk.

Tickets are $40, $50 or $55.

Classes are wrapping up, exams are approaching and Program Board’s concerts committee and MEISA, the recording industry club, are providing students with one last shebang.

The annual spring concert line-up was announced Wednesday. Dev, Zion I, DJ Benzi, Shiny Penny and the Critical Shoes and The Tribe and Big Cats! will perform at the first Butlerpalooza, scheduled for April 21 on the mall.

“We wanted to do something different, so we’ve been planning this since July,” said Maddie Silverstein, junior and concerts co-chair. “We wanted to do a festival because we wanted to be able to diversify the music that Butler students listen to.”

Headliner Dev is a hip-hop based artist that most students have probably listened to on the radio. She’s performed on hits such as “Like a G6” and “In the Dark.”

Silverstein said her committee was very excited to get Dev as its headliner. Silverstein also liked that they had a woman headlining.

Zion I is also a hip-hop group that focuses on “futuristic” sound and socially conscious lyrics. DJ Benzi is a fairly well-known disc jockey who has mixed songs by both Mike Posner and Diplo.

Shiny Penny and the Critical Shoes is a local rock band from Kokomo. Sophomore recording industry studies major Brad DiCarlo does vocals and plays the guitar and drums in the band.

They previously played in the Reilly Room in February.

“This is one of the more legitimate shows we’re going to be able to play,” DiCarlo said. “Dev is a pretty big artist, so we’re excited to share a stage with her.”

Finally, The Tribe and Big Cats! is a rap group that sticks to the idea that rap can be fun without being stupid, and meaningful without getting too heavy.

“We’re trying to push rap places it hasn’t been before,” Spencer Wirth-Davis (or Big Cats) said.

While the band members have never played in Indianapolis before, they’re always excited to play at a college.

“You know you’re going to have a good built-in crowd,” Wirth-Davis said. “It’s always well-promoted and well-run. College shows are always a lot of fun for us.”

As for the rest of the show, Silverstein said it’s been a great experience for herself and her two co-chairs, Kyle Wehr and Kevin Hansen.

“There have been a lot of speed bumps, but it forced us to think on our feet and work with the administration,” she said. “We’re really happy with the outcome. We’re hoping we’ll be able to do the same thing next year.”

The festival will last from 4:30 to 10 p.m. on April 21 on the south mall close to Jordan Hall. The concerts committee is also planning on bringing food trucks to the festival, although none have yet been lined up for the event.

While Butler University erupts with color and life as the plants revive, the Butler Campus Farm has taken advantage of the unexpected warmth to start business.

Tim Dorsey, the recently hired farm manager, has been leading the effort, taking care of a farm that keeps getting bigger and more advanced each semester.

Dorsey said that they’re not entirely ahead, since the space is so new.

“With all the early warm weather, I keep thinking we should be further along,” he said. “Then I look at the date.”

Things that have been planted so far include onions, shallots, herbs, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and native flowers. Nothing is in the outside growing space yet, though. It’s just inside the hoop house.

The hoop house is similar to a greenhouse. The key difference is that greenhouses are heated, while hoop houses, or cold houses, are not. Even during the winter, if the curtains are closed, temperatures within the house can reach up to 90 degrees.

Plants have been growing there all through the winter months, planted in October. The hoop house plants take a bit longer to grow, so only now is the produce being sold to local restaurants.

Dorsey said the Patachou brand—especially Napolese, its pizza restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue—has been their best customer, although Black Market on Massachusetts Avenue has purchased from them, along with about nine more restaurants. Arrangements have already started with Twenty Tap on College Avenue.

It’s a lot of work, but Dorsey said that besides his regular student volunteers, many groups on campus offer their help on weekends, including local alumni and a group from Ross Hall.

Some of his regular volunteers include Amy Coffman, a junior education major, and about nine other education majors. They work on the farm once a week with students from IPS 91, who in turn do related projects at school.

“I’ve learned so much,” Coffman said. “It’s been really enjoyable having this opportunity.”

The farm is also eager for the new buildings around the intramural area to be built, and one will include counter space for farm pickup. Normally, they sell on the Mall, but the new space will be temperature-controlled, allowing the produce to stay fresh right until it’s picked up.

“It gives our customers a chance to touch base with the farm,” Dorsey said. “They really get to see the area where their produce is being grown.”

Photo by Anne Carpenter

Sophomore Bob Barrick sounds like a mix of Bob Dylan and Jack White, is inspired by Jimmy Buffett, plans to take his band to Mars and just won Java Jams. That’s just the beginning.

Bob Barrick is tired.

The sophomore English major and recent Java Jams victor spent the night before our interview in Bloomington, where he and his band—still untitled—performed at one of the member’s ex-girlfriend’s birthday party.

The ex was described as a “vegan econut”— so it almost makes sense the band ended up performing at a farm (in the absolute middle of nowhere) where the kitchen was outside and trash was composted.

“We performed from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.,” Barrick said. “We started marching around outside at one point, making up songs.”

While odd, it may not seem surprising to those who saw Barrick perform his intense, folk-rock songs at Java Jams, bringing in a full band the last round that included an accordion, an oboe and a banjo.

While they performed mostly original songs, they picked the Beatles’ “Do You Want to Know a Secret?” for their challenge song, giving proper respect and channeling a ‘60s  vibe.  You almost expected them to be in suits, playing on the “American Bandstand” stage.

“I’ve been singing since I was a wee boy,” Barrick said. “I picked up a guitar when I was 11 or 12.”

He and his band, however, didn’t form until around December. Some of them also came to the interview tired from their long night in Bloomington.

They included Scott Janz, senior music composition major; Brendan Cavanagh, sophomore English and education major; and Josh Turner, freshman digital media production major.

Turner, however, did not go to Bloomington, instead singing at the “Pirates of the Caribbean” live show at Clowes Memorial Hall last weekend.

The band has an easy rapport, talking at length about the night before and planning their future as the first band on Mars.

They do, however, have more short-term goals. They’re playing at the Help Heal Haiti benefit concert this Saturday, attempting to play some shows at Indiana University and planning on making an EP soon.

Also, as part of their Java Jams prize, they will open for the still-unannounced spring concert band.

Their other Java Jams prize was a $100 gift card to any place of their choosing.

“We chose Chili’s,” Cavanagh said.

Their back and forth isn’t all fun and games, though.

They take their music seriously—but not too seriously—citing Wilco, Animal Collective, The Band and Bob Dylan as influences.

Barrick specifically cites Jimmy Buffett, which seems odd when you compare Barrick’s folk tunes with Buffett’s light-hearted beach music. Barrick, however, said that the musician has had the most impact on his life and that he grew up with Buffett’s music.

They describe their music as lyrically introspective, conveying emotion through a song instead of telling a direct story.

Janz states it much more simply, saying that they just like to groove.

They may not know exactly where they’re heading just yet—except, maybe, Mars—but their success in the third round and Barrick’s personal success in the first two rounds may have given a push to start a musical career.

“He’s really grown as a musician,” said Katie Carlson, a junior Java Jams judge. “I was really impressed with his originals—he’s got a Bob Dylan, Americana feel to him. He managed to have everyone in the room zeroed in on him.”

Photo by Josh Morris

In 2010, columnist and author Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller created an eight-minute video for young people facing harassment as more LGBTQ students started committing suicide because of bullying.

The video had a simple message: It gets better.

Butler University is hosting its own “It Gets Better” week, culminating in Savage speaking in the Reilly Room tonight.

It is hosted by Student Government Association’s Podium Expressions with help from Butler Alliance, the PuLSE Office and R.E.A.C.H.

“We’re really excited,” said Chris Ring, Podium Expressions co-chair and senior digital media production major. “It’s something different Podium Expressions hasn’t done before. Rather than just entertainment, we wanted to have a cause and raise social awareness.”

Taylor Meador, Alliance president, said that Dan Savage has been awesome starting this movement. She said his own life was pretty rough, as he was a gay man being raised in a Catholic family and going to a Catholic school.

The week started Monday at Starbucks, where students could answer trivia questions about the project and enter a drawing if they were correct.

On Tuesday, video tape sessions took place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing students and faculty and staff to share their stories in their own

“It Gets Better” videos. The segments will be compiled into one Butler video. A script will also be offered for those not comfortable with making up their own.

Ring said he hopes the video will be edited in time to show at Savage’s speech.

Tonight, Savage will speak, and the Blue Crew will be handing out purple “It Gets Better” T-shirts. From 1 to 4 p.m., Counseling and Consultation Services in the Health and Recreation Complex is offering Safe Space Training.

“The subject [LGBTQ rights] isn’t taboo, but it’s definitely a concern that we need to address,” said senior Sarah Kuchinsky,  Podium Expressions co-chair. “We have an active LGBTQ community, and we need to support them.”

Meador said it’s important to remember that even if bullying stops in college, the effects can still remain, and the Butler community should be active.

“In college, we become educated and learn about individuals rather than groups [and their stereotypes],” Meador said. “I think Butler accepts the lifestyle, but we need to start helping further the rights of people outside the bubble.”

Photo by Caitlin O'Rourke

After tomorrow’s final Java Jams round, Butler will have its own indie rock American Idol. We asked the judges from round two to tell us their thoughts about the five contestants.

The three judges from the night included Dan Snodgrass, who supplies guitar and vocals for local band The Bonesetters; Katie Carlson, a junior marketing major, former leader of BU Coffeehouse; and Ashley Plummer, Butler’s new media coordinator and lead guitarist for local band Neon Love Life. Of the five, Bob Barrick, Kelly Baumgartner & Sora Lyu and the Matthew Ferris Band advanced. The competition begins at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Reilly Room. Each contestant has to perform one Beatles song as a Coffeehouse challenge.

BOB BARRICK: “Cannonball Days,” Ryan Adams; original songs
Dan Snodgrass: Bob performed a song that he said was the first he had ever written. I wish my first song would have been half as good as his.
Ashley Plummer: I really thought he engulfed a Tom Waits sound, which so many try to do, but can’t.

KELLY BAUMGARTNER AND SORA LYU: “I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz; “Seven Nation Army,” The White Stripes; “Piano Man,” Billy Joel
Katie Carlson: The White Stripes cover was out of this world. Why didn’t Jack White think of that?
AP: They stole my heart when they did “Seven Nation Army.”

MATTHEW FERRIS BAND: original songs
AP: Their songs were really catchy. I didn’t like the Broad Ripple duck song—it seemed a little childish.
KC: The guitar solos were exceptional.

TAYLOR NIETA: “Stand By Me/New Soul” mash-up, Ben E. King, Yael Naim; “I’m No Good,” Amy Winehouse; “Make You Feel My Love,” Bob Dylan
DS: The mash-up she did was beautiful, and she had impeccable talent. I am, however, guilty of laughing when she didn’t know that “Make You Feel My Love” was originally by Dylan.
KC: My God, that voice. It’s one of the best I’ve heard.

TAMARA AND EVAN: “Don’t Know Why,” Norah Jones; “Yellow,” Coldplay
KC: Tamara is a delightful performer. You can tell she loves it. I wanted her to get into it more and move around.

Photo by Reid Bruner

Expect your pockets to feel a little lighter, Butler. The Real Business Experience  projects have firmly established themselves on campus.

RBE is a program for sophomore business students.

Students form teams, think up a business idea and then attempt to market it to the campus community or wider, depending on the product.

Businesses this year are many and varied, from managing a rock group to selling environmentally friendly laundry soap to setting up a hygiene product vending machine just outside C-Club.

Kegan Saajasto, a sophomore management information systems and finance major, is part of the group that implemented the vending machine.

“As a freshman, it was just an unmet need,” he said, referring to having easily accessible products such as condoms, toothpaste and shampoo. “The bookstore sells some stuff, but it’s super expensive, and the hours aren’t always convenient. Also, many freshmen don’t have cars to go buy it elsewhere.”

The vending machine has a collection of condoms, mouthwash, toothpaste and brushes, chapstick, floss, shampoo, vaseline and hand lotion.

Saajasto said condoms are by far the most popular. The price range is 50 cents to $4.

He said the business has had a positive reaction, but his group is not as well known as it would like to be.

“We’re facing more setbacks than anticipated,” Saajasto said.

However, the group already has several new promotional ideas, including putting stickers on some of the items and giving the winners Starbucks gift cards.

Robert Beckett’s group took a different route—they’re selling EnviroNuts, an all-natural organic laundry soap.

The soap is made from shells of nuts that grow in India, and four or five are placed in a small cotton bag, which is then put in the washing machine.

Beyond that, however, Beckett said the soap also helps to break down the buildup that chemical laundry detergent causes. The product is USDA certified organic.

Beckett said he found the idea online when searching for business ideas and thought it was really creative.

Beyond just Butler’s campus, the group has sold its product to Good Earth, a natural food store located in Broad Ripple, although it was turned down at many other stores.

“We’ve learned how to hear no,” Beckett said. “The whole process has really made us think outside the box in how to market and sell the product.”

Beckett said his group has already gone past the break-even point and is continuing to think of new ways to sell, including using Beckett’s  fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.

Members of his fraternity will take order forms and make a slight profit on how much they manage to sell. The group hopes to reach a larger audience this way.

“It’s essentially the same idea of selling Girl Scout cookies,” Beckett said.

While both groups said the program has been a lot of work, they said it was worth it for the experience they’re receiving.

“It taught us that business isn’t easy, however cheesy that sounds,” Saajasto said.

We may not have Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee-Lo or Blake Shelton, but Butler University is searching for its new voice.

Java Jams started last Wednesday with seven eager participants, although only five of them will continue to perform again on Feb. 29 during the second round. Only three of those performers will make it to the final round on March 8.

“We’re pretty excited about how it turned out,” said Elissa Chapin, co-chair of Coffeehouse, which sponsors the event. “We wish we could have had more try-out, but all the acts definitely proved their talent on Wednesday.”

Tamara Bodnar started the night off by singing lively versions of “Taylor the Latte Boy,” made famous by Kristin Chenoweth, and “City,” a ballad from Sara Bareilles.

Next up was Brendon Holl, who performed some original tunes, giving off an alternative rocker vibe. He was followed by Kelly Baumgartner and Sora Lyu, who performed the Old Crow Medicine Show song “Wagon Wheel” and then did an about-face with a slowed-down version of Drake’s “Headlines.”

Then, the Matthew Ferris Band was up, the only act with a full band. The band also performed original songs, giving off a Guster vibe with a more heavy rock feel.

Gabrielle Tartara performed her own original songs as well. She performed alone and brought back memories of ‘90s women singer-songwriters.

Bob Barrick performed after her, sounding a bit like an acoustic Jack White on his own original songs.

Finishing the round was Taylor Nieta, performing “Go North” by Missy Higgins and “Big White Room” by Jessie J, sounding like a mix between Kate Nash and Ingrid Michaelson.

Holl and Tartara were the two participants eliminated in the first round. Although Tartara said she wished she could have made the second round, she has no regrets about participating.

“I love to perform,” Tartara said. “Just a chance to play for a crowd was fulfilling. It was definitely worth it.”

Tartara said that she thought all the performances were great, but she really enjoyed how unique Barrick’s performance was and thinks he could have a great shot at winning.

Neita advanced to the second round, competing for the second year in a row.

“Nothing beats the rush of performing for your peers,” she said. “Opportunities like this are what make me a better musician.”

Barrick also is an alum from last year. He said that the crowd seemed more sparse than last year, but they were extremely supportive of all the acts.

He said that he enjoyed Tartara’s performance because her voice reminded him of Joni Mitchell’s.

Chapin said audiences can only expect more surprises for the next two rounds. Last year, the final-round contestants had to perform a Michael Jackson number as a surprise challenge. Although Chapin couldn’t release what this year’s challenge is, she said she thinks everyone will really like it.

Also, some guest judges should be expected. Dodge from My Old Kentucky Blog is expected to make an appearance, and Ashley Plummer, new media coordinator for Butler by day and guitar player for local band Neon Love Life by night, will help out at both of the next rounds.

The next round will be held in Starbucks on Feb. 29. The third and final round will be held in the Reilly Room on March 8.

Photo by Caitlin O'Rourke

The Butler Community Arts School provided another groovy way for working adults—and students—to enhance their artistic abilities.

The school began an adult African drumming class last week to add to their adult piano class and adult big band class held in the summer.

Matt Harris, a Butler University  graduate who majored in percussion, said he was eager to teach the class.

“I wanted to share the music that I had learned,” Harris said. “Once a group learns and internalizes this music, the energy is indescribable. I wanted to bring that energy to people in the community that normally might never experience it.”

After details had been worked out, Karen Thickstun, who is in charge of the Butler Community Arts School, said she was very excited to include the class in their curriculum.

Thickstun said she is glad to add more to the program as she has had many requests from adults through classes for multiple instruments.

Currently, the class has about nine members, including a Butler student, a couple of Butler faculty and staff and other members in the community. Their second class was last night.

Mary Beth Sekela, a senior creative writing major, said she heard about the class from the Butler Connection.

“I’m the only [Butler] student in the room,” she said. “It was neat to hang out with a group of people I would never spend time with otherwise. The drumming is a hoot as well, obviously.”

Sekela has been playing the djembe, a drum that originated in West Africa, for about nine months. She said she is a bit ahead of the other students, but she enjoys playing with a group of people.

Catherine Usher, the administrative specialist for enrollment management at Butler, is also taking the class.

Usher and her husband recently took a motorcycle trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville, N.C. On Friday nights, there was a drumming circle in a park downtown that they happened to come across. Approximately 200 people, ranging widely in age and nationality, came together to drum and dance.

“A lady let me borrow her drum, and I was hooked,” Usher said. “It was invigorating, and the energy was so positive and the group so diverse and inclusive.”

Usher said Harris is a great instructor and that the group has such good energy when drumming.

“The students in this class all come from different places and backgrounds and are very nice and interesting people,” he said. “Some have played drums before, and some thought it would be fun to start.  The wide variety of skill levels and backgrounds is what makes it so enjoyable to teach.”

He said that the class is working on a traditional West African drumming piece called “Ku-ku.” Within the first class, the students were able to layer four different rhythms within the group.

For interested Butler students, the Butler Community Arts School offers an adult beginning piano class starting June 6 and a big band workshop beginning July 21. Contact bcas@butler.edu for more information.