The Stetson Reporter

orter Florida's Oldest Collegiate 9\fezvspaper Extended Forecast Highs in th e mid 70sjows in the mid 50s Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Souret): WecrtharChonnel February 11, L99? Stetspnttiiversity • DeLand^ Florida Volume 109, Number 16 This Week... Credit Can Get the lowdown on the plastic, page 2a. Career Services Program Discover program to help confused students, page 3a. Unsolved Mysteries? Michael Raymond as Roscoe TTGort ex- amines Stetson's enigmas, page 4a ?f* Baseball opener • The Hatters run into trouble against South Alabama, page 6a. Campus Dating Is it dead?, page lb. IMANI—where was everyone? Band receives poor turnout at CSA event, page 2b. Technology plan faces shortage of funds by Davina Yetter the stetson reporter Stetson's current technology plan is facing a $1.3 million deficit, according to Stetson officials. To compensate for the shortage of funds, Stetson will either have to delay some of its networking plans or use slower conduits in parts of the campus until funding is available, said Vice President of Information Technology Shahram Amiri. The existing technology plan, which would use the fastest-available networking conduits through out the entire DeLand campus, would cost $5.2 million to implement. $3.9 million has been allocated to the budget for this project for this year. The current plan involves the placement of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) conduits throughout the entire campus, including student residence halls. ATM conduits transfer information at 155 megabits per second, as opposed to standard cables, which transfer data at 10 megabits per second. Since there is not enough funding to place ATM conduits in all parts of campus, Amiri said, he Construction Projects Continue :'.'. i .Photo by Davina Yetter Construction of the Hollis Center continues on Rinker field. Constructwn of the Wilson Center also began last week. Job market for graduating by Colleen DeBaise college press service Dan Witalec, a senior economics major at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, interviewed with 25 companies this past fall in search of a job in finance or consulting. "It takes up a lot of time and I've really worried about it/' he said, of job hunting. "I've been dissed by a lot of companies I really liked. If s really stressful." But, Witalec has received an offer-and it's only December. "I'm thinking about it, but a lot of companies don't even come [for campus recruiting] until January that I'm interested in," he explains. Job hunting may still be nerve- wracking, but much has changed since the early-'90s recession, when graduating seniors banged their head against the wall in search of a single job prospect " In fact, the Class of 1997 can look forward to the friendliest job market in years and higher starting salaries, a new survey predicts. Overall, employers said they expect above a six percent increase in job opportunities, said Michigan State University in its annual report, "Recruiting Trends." "When characterizing the overall job market for new college graduates this year, employers described it as stronger than a year ago," said Patrick Scheetz, director of MSU's Collegiate Employment Research Institute and author of the report. Starting salaries, on average, are likely to be as much as four per- . cent higher than last year, according to 508 employers surveyed. ^ Engineering continues to top the list of estimated starting salaries. Chemical engineers can expect the most, or $42,758, for their first year on the job, closely followed by mechanical, electrical and industrial engineers. Charles Sestok, a senior physics major at MIT, is asking for a salary as high as $45,000 as he interviews for a job in electrical en- gjneering, management constdting or finance. "I looked at those'fields because there's a market for people with quantitative and analytical skills—people who cart program computers and solve math problems," he said. According to the report, the most sought-after grads are computer science majors, computer programmers, systems analysts, computer engineers, marketing and sales majors, actuaries, transportation and logistics management majors and electrical engineers. Also, employers are searching out grads with excellent communication skills and Internet experi- . ence, the report noted. As part of his job search thus far, Sestok has interviewed with " campus recruiters, met with MTT„ : alums and checked puthisparents' business connections. "Ithinkit's goingpretty good," Sestok said. "I've had a lot of interviews. A couple of companies have offered to fly me out to their headquarters." On the other hand, the report notes that journalists can expect the lowest starting salary—$22,102. Other fields low on the list of starting salaries include, telecommunications/ home economics/ natural resources and liberal arts! The report also noted that college grads will find the most job :;. opportunities in the southeastern and north Central states. Ovetedl/'job prospects are very good in all regions of the cptuv try—better in some than others, but <good throughout the country," Scheetz said. is investigating other options. The most promising prospect for installing voice, video and data technology in residence halls is through cable modems, said Amiri. These modems would work through television cables to allow students to connect to the Internet and the campus network The use of cable modems is new to most colleges and universities, said Amiri. He is currently in negotiations with Jones Communications, a cable provider, to see if this option is feasible. If Stetson does not use cable modems, the university will network as many buildings with ATM conduits as funding allows. Regardless of which option Stetson chooses, the main lines for the campus network will be made of ATM conduits. According to President Doug Lee, Stetson has already allocated over $5 million to the Center for Information Technology, including the total operating, equipment leasing, and capital budgets. Lee attributes the $1.3 million deficit to the university's commitment to buy higher-quality, more expensive technology after this year's budgets were approved by trustees. Amiri attributes the $1.3 million deficit to the university's choice to allocate more funding to other "competing needs," such as the building projects. Amiri said he was "cautiously optimistic" that the cable modem alternative would work out. "Even at the slowest point [in the campus network], we would still have the latest technology in voice and video," he said. "However, I wish that we could do everything [in the original plan]." Lee expects funding to be available in the future to fully implement the original plan. Lee said that despite the current budget setback, Stetson's technology will continue to improve. "The common denominator in all of this is that [campus technology] is getting better and better—just look at what we had last year." Celebration, NEA announce joint project by Davina Yetter THE STETSON REPORTER The Stetson University Center at the Celebration Teaching Academy and the National Education Association (NEA) will develop a Master Teacher Institute to offer the country's educators the latest in instructional practices and research NEA President Bob Chase, in a speech last Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washing- tori^ DiC.,armbuhced plans to enter into the agreement with the Stetson University Center. The Master Teaching Institute will be a three-day program based on instructional approaches and practices being implemented at the Celebration School and in schools throughout the nation. "We are very excited to have the National Education Association on board with us at the Stetson University Center," said Larry Rosen, director of the Stetson University Center, who attended the Press Club reception and luncheon. "This partnership will enhance the horizons of teachers across the nation by offering a program spotlighting the best in educational practices today." The institute will be established at the Celebration Teaching Academy, part of the new town of Celebration which is being developed by a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. NEA, through its National Center for Innovation, will maintain a permanent desk at the Celebration Teaching Academy and will serve on a board that will shape and focus the curriculum for the center, Rosen said. "NEA will be providing Stetson University with a $150,000 grant> part of NEA's full contribu tion of more than $500,000 over the next three years. NEA expects to link the Master Teacher Institute with national teacher education programs under development Plans are to present "We are very excited to have the National Education Association on board with us at the Stetson University Center." -LarryRosen- the first programs at'the Stetson University Center in early 1998. "The alliance of NEA and the Stetson University Center, under Dr. Rosen's leadership, is excellent news for teachers across the nation eager to carry a broad variety of the latest innovative instructional practices into their classrooms," said Stetson University President Doug Lee. The Celebration School is a kindergarten through grade 12 public school, owned and operated by the School District of Osceola County, with input from Stetson University and Celebration Company representatives. The 36-acre campus will serve more than 1,000 Osceola County students each year. At the Celebration School, students of mixed ages are taught in a "neighborhood" environment, and individual cur- riculums are designed for each student In addition to serving as a professional development center for teachers, the Teaching Academy will also be a site for future continuing education programs for Stetson, functioning as Stetson's "greater Orlando area" campus, according to an August presentation by Teaching Academy representatives. The town of Celebration is located near Orlando in northwest Osceola County. When complete, Celebration may'include up to 8,000 residences, along with state- of-the-art education, health, commercial, retail and recreation facilities. HP1 ■,. ■****•*■*. „ * .\AadmSngL yr<--- T . ▼ PhotobyBettyBrady The Teaching Academy at Celebration is nearing completion. Halftime's could lose license due to underage drinking by Stacey Bassett the stetson reporter State beverage officials have threatened to revoke Halftime Sports Bar's liquor license if it doesn't respond to a charge that it served underage patrons. On Oct. 10, about 18 people were arrested on charges ranging from underage drinking to open container violations. Bill Jennings, co-owner and bartender, told The Orlando Sentinel hisbusiness has made major changes since a bartender was caught serving liquor to minors in October. The Horida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Daytona Beach notified Jennings and his brother, Frank Jennings, that the bar's license would be revoked Feb. 19 if they didn't seek an appeal. The bar remains open in the meantime. The Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco received numerous complaints from parents, other businesses and the Police Department. Betty Adazzio, acting lieutenant at the Bureau, told the Sentinel that "it was an ongoing problem that we had to address. We investigated this and found many of these complaints were accurate." When a business loses its license the first time, a $1,000 fine must be paid and the license is revoked for seven days. If a business license is revoked a second time, the penalty is $3,000 and a 30-day suspension. ' Jennings told the Sentinel that many changes have been made at Halftimes as a result of the charges. "Someone now sits at the door to check ID. We have people who walk through the bar [periodically] to check ID. I consider myself having one of the best records in town for not serving minors," Jennings said. ■ I