Page 6
The Behrend Beacon
Students are wired for life, study finds
By Leslie Brooks Suzukamo
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
ST. PAUL, Minn. _ Susan Bush and Jessica Armstrong
were in pain. No Internet. No life.
When the 20-year-old students lived on campus at St.
Paul's Macalester College, the school's high-speed com
puter network connections gave them autobahn-speedy
access to cyberspace
But when they moved off campus this fall, they elec
tronically screeched to a halt.
"We don't have the Internet at the house yet, and I'm
going through such withdrawal," Bush moaned one re
cent afternoon.
"We can't get e-mail at home, we can't get the Web,
we can't download new music. I am going crazy,"
Armstrong said
A recent national survey of how college students use
the Internet suggests Bush and Armstrong are hardly un
usual.
The Internet has become such a part of college stu
dents' lives that they can't tathom living without it any
more than Americans can do without running water, says
the Pew Internet and American Life Projecfs "The Internet
Goes to College" study.
Students' online habits could have a profound impact
on future online usage and may help kick the Internet
economy out of its doldrums, the researchers believe.
College students have long been in the vanguard of U.S.
Internet users, and they've become its most pampered
users. Colleges and universities nationwide have spent
millions rewiring ivy-covered halls into 21st century in
formation-technology nerve centers.
The University of Minnesota has just completed a $63
million renovation of venerable Walter Library, part of
which involved stuffing fiber-optic lines under floors and
between walls to allow Internet access within 18 inches
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of "an Ethernet port per pillow" in the dorms is contrib
uting to a housing crunch. Many students don't want to
leave their high-speed access, says school spokesman
Tom Grier.
And at St. John's University and the College of St.
Benedict near St. Cloud, Minn., even computerless stu
dents can find Internet-connected machines in nearly
every classroom, meeting room and residence hall.
"Students in their pajamas can use them 24 hours a
day. They're übiquitous here," says Jim Koenig, director
of information technology services for the sister schools.
The Internet has long been a college phenomenon, says
Steve Jones, the Pew study's principal author and head
of the Communications Department at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Professors developed the technology for the early Net
more than 30 years ago. In the 19905, students dreamed
up its most popular tools: the browser, the search engine,
music-file swapping. Jones believes the online behav
ior of students now is a harbinger of things to come.
Researchers tracking the behavior of Chicago-areas
students at 10 campuses as part of the study saw a rush to
embrace high-speed Internet access by recent graduates.
"They were used to broadband in college and it was hard
to let go afterwards," Jones says.
While it's hardly surprising that college students like
the Internet, Jones was surprised how deeply students
have absorbed it into their daily lives.
Nearly four-fifths of college students say Internet use
has enhanced their education. Nearly half say e-mail lets
them express ideas to a professor that they wouldn't have
aired in class, Jones says.
College Internet users are twice as likely as all Internet
users to download music, 60 percent versus 28 percent
in the general population _ and to use instant messaging.
Nearly three-quarters of students depend on the Internet
more than on their school libraries, leading library pro
fessionals to fret about plagiarism and sloppy research.
Bush and Armstrong, enif - a recent si' • day
outside the Maratester 'nter w' de-
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scribed how the Net is woven into their lives
They take exams online. Professors e-mail them and
post assignments or schedules on Web pages. Some profs
require students to e-mail papers or post them online in
stead of handing them in.
The Web has boosted college social life, too. Not only
do students use e-mail and instant messaging to stay in
touch with family and college friends, but also to form
virtual study groups and to maintain long-distance rela
tionships with high school chums, according to the Pew
study.
Armstrong has even sent instant messages to room
mates sitting a few feet away. "We kind of do it just to he
funny," she says.
"It's like, 'You want to go to dinner now?' ' Yes.' 'Cool.'
It's the epitome of laziness," her friend Bush says.
The instinctive networking skills of to-day's college stu
dent could reshape the wired workplace of the future, the
report suggests
Multitasking, or running several programs at the same
time on the same computer, also could drive adoption of
technologies that blur the lines between work and home.
A strong online-gaming subculture could lead to more
demand for super-fast connections, eye-popping com
puter graphics and robust interactivity, the report adds.
The new wired worker could turn out to be someone like
David Chiu, a tech-loving Macalester senior. He started
using the Internet in junior high before the Web made it
easy to navigate.
His silvery, cigarette-lighter-size cell phone can con
nect a laptop computer to the Web wirelessly. He uses
the Web for everyday tasks such as checking New York
City subway and train schedules when he goes home to
visit family. Online research and games are part of his
life too.
"I think I do everything that everybody else does, but
I do more," Chiu say said.
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Basketball
coach's banquet
joke criticized as
offensive
by Becky Bartindale
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. _ An impromptu attempt at
racial humor by San Jose City College's head
basketball coach has prompted the chairman
of a local Latino organization to call for an in
vestigation of recruitment practices and a plan
for "racial equity" in the basketball program.
Victor Garza, who heads La Raza
Roundtable, said he was offended by remarks
made by longtime coach Percy Carr during a
presentation on the basketball program Aug.
13 at a meeting of San Jose/Evergreen Com
munity College District trustees.
The remarks and their aftermath also have
sparked debate over how Carr's employers
should have handled the incident.
Among other things, Carr spoke about San
Jose City College players who had gone on to
four-year colleges and other successes. He in
troduced assistant coach James Giacomazzi, a
former player, and told a story about how
Giacomazzi came to join the team.
"I don't usually get white guys in my pro
gram, 'cause I don't like 'em. They can't play
anyway," Carr said, drawing laughter from the
room. "This guy called me one day and said
that he was going to come to San Jose City
College. And I just said, OK, I am going to
meet him out there. But this guy isn't coming.
All the white guys are going to West Valley."
Carr, who is black, was not available for
comment, but earlier this month he wrote a let
ter of apology to the chancellor and board mem
bers.
His remarks, he said in the letter, were made
in jest. Isle pledged to continue seeking diver
sity in his players and coaching staff.
"As a coach, a sense of humor is very im
portant," the letter states. "I am much more
comfortable on the basketball floor than with
people in a public setting. When you work with
a lot of coaches and players, the camaraderie
that goes on back and forth between us creates
a different environment. If my comments of
fended anyone, I sincerely apologize."
To Garza, who learned about Carr's remarks
from someone who attended the meeting, hu-
mor is no excuse
"The statement was made, and it doesn't mat
ter in what context it was made," Garza said.
"That should not be allowed, even in a joking
manner. When we make a mistake, we have to
pay for it, even if we don't mean it with mal
ice."
Garza said Can's remarks raise questions
about whether the basketball program treats
people of all races fairly.
San Jose City College President Chui Tsang
said Garza's letter has been referred to the cam
pus Office of Diversity. In the meantime, Tsang
said, he has spoken both with Carr and the as
sistant coach, Giacomazzi, who thought noth
ing of the remarks.
"They joke around about this all the time in
the department," Tsang said. "He said Percy is
like a father to him."
Tsang said some former players who heard
about the controversy have rallied to Carr's de
fense, including one white player who offered
to fly in to make a statement on his behalf.
Can "has a very good reputation on campus,"
Tsang said. "There has never been any com
plaint about Percy being biased against any
person. The guy has contributed tremendously
to the college."
During his long tenure at San Jose City Col
lege, Carr has taken the team to the playoffs
25 of 26 years and to eight state champion
ships. His performance has gained him entry
to the California Community College Basket
ball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame. He
is known at the college for his work with stu
dent athletes to keep them in school and to en
courage them to continue in college. The
C.A.R.R. Program works with student athletes
to develop study skills and provides tutoring
and other educational assistance.
"If he hadn't made those remarks, he would
be my hero for what he's doing with these kids,"
Garza said.
Garza also takes board members and college
administrators to task for failing to rebuke Carr
in public, during the meeting, for what he said.