The Stetson Reporter

Stetson Florida's Oldest CotkgiaU 9\(kwspaper eporter inner JL. llllilillllpi iiw««i:ii« i*«r®p^»! mm ii« > ISg Sili Sp;|!:;WS#K: «;* jl.;.;;;;:: mvifajjljiy This Week... GMAT Test Fraud High-tech pencils % j 4 used in ~ " GMAT test fraud, page 2a. Full-Ride Scholarship Stetson establishes a new full-ride scholarship for academically successful iki <4 « incoming students, .... page 3a. L**c Prayer Sn Schools «A student shares her thoughts on the issue of prayer in schools, page 4a. Basketball Season Stetson's men's and women's basketball teams win in preseason action, page 6a. SGA surveys Most students favor 24 hour visitation^ 7 days a week Student Support of 24/J VlSSTATIOM IN RlSlDSNCI HMLS Strongly Oppose 43% lyFovor 54.9% 6.5% Oppose Neutral 8.5% 25.4% by Davina Yetter THE STETSON REPORTER Over 80 percent of students living in Stetson residence halls favor changing the visitation policy to allow members of the opposite sex to visit 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to a recent survey conducted by the Residence Hall Association of SGA. The results of the survey, which was approved by the Institutional Research office, will be used as evidence to support an SGA bill which requests phasing in a 24/7 policy at Stetson. The visitation policy bill will be voted on at this week's SGA senate meeting. The SGA bill, introduced by Jeff Pointe and Joe Kelada, requests that Emily Hall .Accident victims' continue recovery would be used to test a 24/7 visitation policy next semester. If the bill is passed by SGA and approved by the administration, the policy may be implemented before the spring roommate-change week. At an SGA open discussion last week, Director of Residential Life David Bergen said that while the visitation policy was something the university could "study and possibly modify," he thought that it would be "unrealistic and difficult" to implement this spring. Bergen added that the policy was not something that he could not approve on his own, as such a policy change could "have serious ramifications...not just negative, but also positive." Bergen compared the potential visitation policy change to last year's alcohol policy change. He said that while the "fallout" might not be as severe as that of the alcohol policy change, the university would need to evaluate the possible consequences. The university would also need to look at how other schools comparable to Stetson handled their visitation policies, said Bergen. SGA President Lindsey Brown stated that changing to a 24/7 visitation policy would be a chance for Stetson to be "proactive instead of reactive" by responding to student needs, rather than the trends of other universities. The proposed visitation policy bill would limit members of the opposite sex to spending three consecutive nights in a residence hall. This limitation would be intended to prevent members of the opposite sex from moving in the hall. In the 1996 Student Satisfaction Survey, 40.2 percent of students responded they were dissatisfied with the current visitation policy, while 41.5 percent were satisfied. DeLand High Homecoming Parade Christmas Events A calendar of local Christmas eyents-including everything •from parades to concerts, page lb. Ransom review Ransom gets rave reviews from student critic Brantley Craig, page 3b. by Stacy Gum the stetson reporter : Vince Fries'Progress: 7 Stetson student Vince Fries is still in intensive care after falling from his loft and through a glass table last week. "He is awake 15 to 20 iriinures at a time and is eating real food," Fries' house father, Tracy Jackson, said. "The brain swelling is subsiding, but they say it will be at least one to two weeks before they can tell the condition of his brain." "They [doctors] say he'll have six months to one year of rehabilitation because of the severe brain trauma." Jackson said. Fries was expected to undergo surgery for a herniated disk yesterday. Michael Cassidtfs Progress-. The accident that could have killed Stetson alumnus Michael Cassidy and his fiance in September will not stop them from planning their wedding. "We've got the church and the hall, and we're getting the groundwork set." Cassidy said. After about^two months, Cassidy remains in a wheelchair. His injuries from a head-on collision included a fractured left hip socket and left femur and a crushed right ankle. "The good news is that I'm in a wheelchair now and can get in and out of a car," Cassidy said. "I've improved so much. In the hospital I couldn't even turn my self over. His task now is to be able to walk down the aisle by September of next year. "Thaf s the goal," Cassidy said. "My fiance [Samantha Lej is always giving me a hard time [saying], Til let you rest now, but you better be ready to walk down the aisle.'" In January Cassidy will start therapy to put weight on his legs again. "Right now mentally, I'm ready to go, but I'm bedridden," Cassidy said. "It gets pretty crazy." A supervisor at a local Target store, Cassidy is unable to work because his job requires him to do a lot of walking. To combat his boredom, Cassidy plans to take some TV classes offered by DBCC. "This has been a blessing in disguise, because I get to go to school again and not have to pay for it," Cassidy said. Since the accident, Samantha has fully recovered from her injuries and returned back" to work. Her mother, Chi Le, who sustained a broken neck, had surgery and returned home to California. Chi is expected to make a full recovery. The accident occurred when a motorist going 20 miles over the speed limit crossed the center line, hitting Samantha's car head-on. Cassidy is thankful to be alive, and said he wishes motorists would slow down. "Is being late that important?" he asked. "Leave five minutes early if it is, and don't threaten everyone's life because you didn't leave early." Photo by Kompheak Koeut Dozens of cars and floats travelled through campus on Woodland Blvd. last Friday afternoon for the DeLand High School Homecoming Parade. Parade participants and onlookers fought the looming showers, while Stetson students were able to listen to the parade from nearby classrooms and residence halls. Aimiri; Computer labs are back on track The computer lab in the Lynn Business Center may not be a bar n a Hemingway story, but it is a 'clean, well-lighted place." "Finally," stated Vice President of Information Technology Shahram Amiri, "we at CIT can say with confidence that the computer labs are where we expected them to be at the opening of school. The last several months have offered some challenges." The three-room lab in the LBC basement doesn't bear any scars of the struggles with the delayed remodeling of buildings, the conversion from the McDonnell-Douglas to the Hewlett-Packard system, a lightning strike, or a computer virus. The LBC lab contains 50 Pentium computers and 14 Power Macs. The work environment has been improved with large plate glass windows, sound-deadening c arpet on the walls and floors, new furniture, and improved lighting. The fully staffed "help" area is separate from the computers. The lab is primarily a "Win dows 95" environment with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), Netscape, Eudora, Telnet, PageMaker, and FTP. SPSS and Minitab are available only on the IBM-compatible machines. The centralization of the primary student computer lab has lowered employee costs and allowed the clustering of the latest technology, according to CIT. The 30-40 person "help" staff of qualified student assistants can cover all the lab hours. The lab is open Monday-Thursday (8 a.m.-mid- night), Friday (8 a.m.-5 p.m.), Saturday (noon-5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon-midnight). "I am proud of the CIT staff," remarked Dr. Amiri. 'They rolled up their sleeves to assist in bringing in the new servers and to convert 6,000 programs. They helped deliver and set up more than 350 computers for the labs, faculty, and staff—all with a new boss and 33% turnover in CIT personnel." CIT installed two new servers. The Hewlett-Packard is used to consolidate the functions of the many mini-servers once used. The second server is a backup to the Tophat system. Students now have 36 modem lines for remote use of Stetson's system. Two e-mail systems—Tophat and Group Wise— are in place. "We are just beginning-—in the labs and throughout the campus," added Amiri. "We want a permanent projection system and a 'smarf classroom right there in the lab. We will have computers in the library and another student lab in Elizabeth Hall. Plans are in the works to have the entire cam- pus—including the residence halls, the CUB, the Gillespie Museum, and Presser Hall—wired for networking by next year." Other computer labs with restricted student use are in Elizabeth Hall (Digital Arts), Sampson Hall, Sage Hall, Presser Hall, and the Gillespie Museum. "Students need to remember that even computer technology is an imperfect science," warned Amiri. "While there is more and "We are just beginning—in the labs and throughout the campus/' -Shahram Amiri- VP of Information Technology better equipment, there still will be waiting during the semester's busy times. People tend to wait to the last minute to do their research and papers." Amiri said he wished students would be more considerate when using the University's new technology. "A few are deleting printer driver commands, programs, operating systems, and .INI files. Others install pornography and obscenities as screen-savers. All this costs everyone time, money, access." The VP of CIT sees technology as a way to unify the Stetson community. He hopes it will be like the LBC computer lab—a clean, well-lighted place. Sfoll Center dedication planned for January, ©ther profects delayed by Davina Yetter the stetson reporter As the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center nears completion, construction on the Hollis and Wilson centers has been slightly delayed, according to Facilities Management Director David Noyes. Due to the large number of construction projects happening in the Central Florida area (over $2 billion worth), Noyes said it has been more difficult to coordinate efforts with area contractors on issues such as pricing and scheduling. "We are taking our time to make sure all of our bases are covered," said Noyes. Noyes said that while the basic plan for the projects is still in place, the technical aspects are still being worked out. The Stoll Center is still on schedule and should be ready for its dedication ceremony on Hta« Jan. 17,1997 "barring some act of God," said Noyes. Tennis coaches are working with contractors, testing the courts as they near the final stages of construction. Other upcoming projects are the networking of the technology infrastructure and the library addition. Some of the networking of residence halls may take place during Winter Break, when students are gone. Students will be informed prior to the break if their hall will be affected, said Noyes. The architect is doing preliminary designs for the library addition. The starting date for construction will be contingent on the progress of the other building projects.