PAGE 2, THE BEHREND BEACON, SEPTEMBER 24, 1999 'w T
NEWS AND WEATHER
Y2K On-Campus: How to prepare
by Juliana Harper
staff writer
Computers in student labs at Be
hrend were made compliant for Y2K
over the summer, but how prepared
is your PC for the Year 2000? "Stu
dents must check their own systems
for Y2K compliance," says Ronald
Hoffman, Y2K Officer and Com
puter Center Manager.
Penn State's goal is to preserve
desktop computers wherever pos
sible rather then replace them. "We
are working closely with the
University's Y2K taskforce to make
sure all recommendations applicable
to our computing environment are
being implemented. We also estab
lished a local Y2K taskforce at the
College last Spring. The local task
force was charged with checking all
College computers for Y2K compli
ance and making recommendations
to either replace those which aren't
compliant or develop procedures for
fixing older systems. This work is
about 90 per cent complete," says
Hoffman.
Although work is almost finished
on all the college computers, stu
dents must prepare their personal
computers for the 'millennium hug'.
Every PC has at least one problem
related to BIOS (Basic Input/Out
put System). "Students must check
their BIOS and make sure it will do
Festival continued from front page
Dr. John Lilley, Provost and Dean,
with Mrs. Gerrie Lilley, will host the
Provost's Reception in the Reed
Wintergarden at 5:30 p.m.
The Matchbox Players cast is re
turning to the Studio Theater and will
perform three shows over the course
of Saturday and Sunday. The first
show will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Sat
urday, followed by a 9:(K) p.m. show
and a 2:30 p.m. show on Sunday.
Saturday night will also hold the
Athletic Hall of Fame Reception and
Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Five Behrcnd
alumni will be inducted into the Ath-
leap years," says Wendy Kallgren,
staff assistant, Division of Humanities
and Social Sciences. Students also
must make sure that the regional set
ting is set for four-digit years instead
of two. Systems may need to he up
graded to do this.
The University suggests pretesting
PCs. This will help determine whether
or not the PC hardware can support
and maintain dates into the next cen
tury. The University will also provide
start-up disks or documentation on
how a student can create
,his or her
own start-up disk that they may use
when starting their computer for the
first time in the year 2000.
Students who own Apple and UNIX
operating systems do not have to
worry about their systems being Y2K
ready because they are already com
pliant. But people with these comput
ers still must make sure that their soft
ware is Y2K-ready, or they could still
have problems that they may not be
anticipating.
Software will need to be upgraded
to Y2K compliance for PC users as
well. Microsoft Office 97 is one pro
gram that will require updates to he
Y2K-ready. "We do not expect any
major College computer related Y2K
problems. The only problem students
may experience is gaining access to
locations outside the University that
are not Y2K compliant, but there
should not be too many of these," says
letic Hall of Fame. The inductions will
take place in the Reed Union Building
Commons.
At 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, the
entertainment will "swing" into Erie
Hall as Frankie Maintain and 10 pieces
will perform for Bchrend students and
families. Dinner has been cancelled
for the event, but the Swing lessons and
dance will remain as scheduled. The
event is free and will conclude the
events for the night.
Rizzo commented, "The Gathering
Field and Frankie Maintain are two
great parts of the weekend students
Hoffman
IT students do not prepare for the
Y2K hug. potential consequences in
clude: complete system heakdown
(inability to USC laser printer. start up
computer, or receive e-mail), or par
tial-system breakdown (at first com
puter seems to work. then the user
slow') loses files).
There are our different levels of
Y2K readiness. The most desirable
is Year 2000 reach,. If a computer is
Year 2000 reach ith some issues,
there are issues that will not stop the
computer, but may cause occasional
difficulties (incorrect date calcula
tions. invalid date comparisons). A
Year 2000 functional computer is
problematic, hut it w ill work. The
user of One of these computers must
take pre-emptixe measures for the
computer to \i ork ‘‘ell. The final
stage is Year 2000 defective. This
computer w lit be a nuisance and will
have incorrect information, and it
must he replaced
"[don't think there will he a prob
lem as long as students prepare their
own computers. - says Kallgren.
"Students should refer to the
University's homepage regarding
preparation for PC's for Y2K at
http://www.psttedu/Year2ooo/ae
tion/intro.html,- says liollman. For
extra help, the Computer Center
should he able to answer students'
questions and concerns.
shoukl not miss
Sunday v ill give students and their
families a chance to wrap-up their
weekend with brunch being held at
Dobbins from 11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Students and their families are en
couraged to take advantage of this op
portunity. "I think it is a great oppor
tunity for students, families, faculty
and staff to conic together and cel
ebrate the season and community of
Penn State Behrend." said Rirto.
..This is a great %\ eekend lull of ma
jor entertainment...
Lion Cash comes to Behrend
by Karl Benacci
staff writer
Over the summer the id+ Office
improved the id+ cards by putting
Lion Cash chips on the front of the
Lion Cash can be used in the laun-
dry machines, some vending ma
chines, copiers, the color printers, and
in tit uno's. Money can he put on the
id+card in two ways. A student can
go to the id+ Office in the Reed Build
ing (payment by check can he done
there) or they can go to a Lion Cash
machine (a.k.a. Card Value Center)
and feed money into the machine.
LionCi.ish machines are located in
the Reed Building (by the vending
II&SS continued from front page
Dr. Dean Baldwin, Assistant Direc
tor of the School of H & SS, is in
of \ ed in the Study Abroad program
for students who are interested in
leaving the U.S. for a semester and
earning credits in the process. He re
cently returned from a five-week trip
to England with several students in
the program.
"Currently, we offer three, six, or
nine-credit study programs in the
Study Abroad program, - he said, be
fore offering more potato chips to the
students around hint. "The students
[on the trips were able to study for
about two weeks at one of the local
colleges in England], and explore
,onto of the historical sites of En
gland. They were able to earn credits
for their education while exploring
new places.' .
The broad ranges of opportunity in
side the school are just the beginning,
as many students round out during the
Police And Safety
(=J.)
9/17/99 An officer caught a student pulling wooden construction stakes
from the ground in the S Lot and throwing them into the woods. As a result,
the student was cited for disorderly conduct.
9/17/99 A complainant reported finding numerous signs stapled to trees
between Reed and Glenhill Farmhouse with a questionable message written
on them.
9/19/99 A complainant wanted to advise this office of the on-going dispute
between Perry and Niagara Hall regarding the benches and other complaints
with Niagara.
9/20/99 Complainant reported some problems with some of her "friends."
9/21/99 Complainant reported obscene messages being left on her dry
erase board since the beginning of the semester.
N t% 4 O
40
WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK
SEPTEMBER 24-26, 1999
it
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41 + 1101`1* ,
v it t ,
r k4N,
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4 .
Friday Saturday Sunday
INCREASING CLOUDI- PARTLY PARTLY
NESS. 30% CHANCE OF CLOUDY. CLOUDY. HIGHS
RAIN SHOWERS. HIGHS HIGHS IN THE IN THE MID-70'S.
IN MID-60'S. LOW 70'S.
machines), the Academic Building
(also by the vending machines), and
in Yarnell Hall (in the laundry room).
The money on the Lion Cash chip can
not he replaced if an id+ card is lost
because the chip on the card holds the
money information.
"I dislike if I lose it, it costs more
to replace and it's inconvenient to put
more money on it," said Derrick
Hennehicque, 07 PET. Andy Markle.
06 EET, remarked, "It's a pain. You
have to put the card in two machines
instead of just putting money in one
machine."
There may even he more uses for
Lion Cash in the future. If restaurants
ever decide to buy the machines that
can read the Lion Cash chip, then Be-
picnic. Jessica Mann, a History ma
jor, decided on her major after a
World History Class she took in high
school
"It was so fascinating, the way the
teacher taught it, that I knew I wanted
to take it up during college," Mann
said, laughing after she was asked
what her thesis was on. "It's a really
complicated story, hut I finally
claimed my major in History, and de
cided that my focus for my thesis
would he in ancient history."
Ron Vandenberg, a junior, chose to
he an English major, which has two
options: creative writing or literature.
"Usually, the senior thesis for get
ting the major culminates in a port
folio of your past writing,"
Vandenberg said, sitting hack on the
picnic table bench. "You're taking
300-400 level English courses, meet
ing with your adviser, working on
your portfolio. But you probably
hrend students will he able to pur
chase food by using Lion Cash at those
restaurant ,,
Students commented on what
changes could he made to improve the
use of Lion Cash. Troy Grossi. 03
Marketing, said, "Have a record, have
how touch is on the card, and how
much is used. in case the card is lost."
Hennehicque also remarked, "If ev
erything used it. it wouldn't he so an-
110,.1g
If you ha \ c any problems or ques
tions about Lion Cash call the id+ Of
fice at 898-6035 or stop in the id+
Office ‘‘ Inch is located in the Reed
Union Building.
ouldn't take something you wrote
from English I S. because it probably
wouldn't he good enough."
There are plenty of opportunities
in the school. especially for those who
are thinking about majors in a hand
ful of particular fields. Many of the
advisors are available for questions
or concerns you may have about the
majors, and they are all readily avail
able through email or phone. The
school is also ()Hering several activi
ties this ear for students to attend,
including speakers, film series, read
ings, and theatre & music pert
MEE=
If you would like more information
on the school of Humanities and So
cial Sciences. upcoming events, ad-
visors Or majors, you can go to their
website (vww.pseriemusedu) and
click on Academic Programs. then
School of Humanities and Social Sci