THE BEHREND BEACON
Lost
show
by Jonathan Purkiss
The Echo
University of Central Arkansas
CONWAY, Ark. Sam hasn't
studied for his test tomorrow or for
any of his tests all semester.
Although he was supposed to be in
class an hour ago, he opted to spend
his time with some friends - digital
buddies - in a chatroom he frequents.
He skipped lunch with his
roommate to spend time online in the
computer lab. Sam isn't expecting to
pass any classes this semester, hut
he is glad that he is the only person
in the computer lab at that moment.
With everyone else in class, the
campus network is a little faster and
he'll he free to chat until the next day
if he wants, which he prohabl)
Sadly, Sam, a hypothetical college
student, has become lost in
cyberspace. He is an example of a
growing number of real-life online
addicts.
According to a study released by
the American Psychological
Association, 6 percent of all Internet
users, approximately 11.5 million.
show signs of Internet addiction. The
fastest growing number of these
online addicts are college students.
'Net addiction has most recently
been classified by specialists as a
"behavioral addiction. - unlike a
chemical addiction. Other heha oral
addictions include such activities as
watching too much television or
spending too much time gambling.
Behavioral addictions can cause as
many problems for college students
as chemical addictions.
"I see that most or the time.
students utilise the net for other
activities beside education. - said Dr.
Kimberly S. Younii. executi\e
Colleges battered by Floyd still recovering
by Christine Tatum
TMS Campus
Septemhcr 23. 19991
CHICAGO (TMS) —l\carl, a week
has passed since Hurricane Floyd
battered the East Coast. dumping
torrential rains het \\.ecn South
Carolina and New York, hut students
at colleges in many coastal states arc
still feeling the storm's cil,:cts.
Severe flooding damaged se‘cral
campuses ruining libraries,
destroying several priied possessions
and forcing students to translcr
temporarily to campuses less affected
by the storm.
Officials at Rutgers University
announced Thursday that they 'ere
considering sending a total of about
6,900 students on the university's
Busch and Livingston campuses home
until water supplies were replenished.
Both schools remained without water
Thursday.
to students and to urge them to
conserve water left in very limited
supplies by taking fewer showers and
trips to the bathroom. Both schools
closed bathrooms in academic
buildings and scattered a combined
total of 140 portable units on campus
Severe flooding overwhelmed and to serve students.
Harvard education for $500? Web
Site allows students to bid for college
by Christine Tatum
TMS Campus
September 22, 1999
CHICAGO (TMS) —A new Web site
is offering students and their families
a chance to bid on the price of a
college education.
The site, eCollegebid.org, made its
debut last week. So far, no colleges
have agreed to participate, hut Tedd
D. Kelly, the site's creator, hopes to
have 25 to 50 colleges signed up
before the year's end. Applicants are
not charged to use the site, but
member institutions are expected to
pay Kelly a yearly fee to participate.
r'.'s how the site works:
er providing a variety of
mation— including standardized
scores, grade-point average and
4ss rank in high school, intended
tajor and desired geographic
.ocation visitors to the site offer
to pay a certain amount to attend
NATIONAL CAMPUS NEWS
in cyberspace:
signs of Internet
director of The Center of Online
Addiction at the University of
Pittsburgh.
Young travels to college campuses
to warn students and faculty of the
dangers of online addiction. The
signs are always the same: grades
drop. social life can he measured on
one hand and, most importantly,
those hands spend all day typing
away at keyboards, sending pleas
"It becomes an addiction as they try to
pull themselves away from the Internet
to write a paper, study for a test or read
for class."
into cyberspace.
Young said that grades often
decline after students spend time
using the Internet, whether it is
chatting. playing fantasy games or
posting to newsgroups, instead of
doing their schoolwork.
"It becomes an addiction as they
try to pull themselk es away from the
Internet to ‘tt, rite a paper, study for a
test or read for class, - she said.
Young said the lure of the Internet
lies in its opportunities lot
stimulating companionship,
especially for college freshmen who
may he missing that in real life.
"In se‘eral cases, [freshmen] are
most vulnerable due to the abrupt
adjustment ot being away from home
for the first time and the ease at
shut dovk n loyal water plants.
prompting school officials and R( Y7 - (17
members on both campuses to
distribute hundreds of bottles of water
"My professors say
I can borrow their
books, but it vvon't be
easv
college. School officials review the
hid and determine whether it's a fair
offer given the applicant's attributes.
If a college finds the hid acceptable,
it responds to the applicant within 10
days. Any college accepting a hid
promises to assemble a financial-aid
package that meets all the applicant's
costs for attending college. An
applicant can accept or decline an
offer, or press to negotiate further, but
is asked to respond within 30 days.
On the Web site, Kelly
consultant who has worked for more
than 30 years with colleges on issues
concerning student recruitment and
enrollment explains the type of
schools he's hoping the site will
attract. "They are mostly private
colleges that are not 'household
names' and do not often make the
'rankings' found in the popular
media," he says. "They are, however,
colleges that offer challenging
academic programs of study,
- Chrktine Hoffman
at Lodi
Cctiripw,
making friends online. ,,
Young said these college students
never fully integrate with the rest of
the campus; they remain isolated
with their computer.
Other aspects ()I' Internet addiction
include online gambling and stock
trading that have the potential to
devastate hank accounts, and a
growing nuinher of Internet users are
becoming mA ;ire 01'01111[1e trailing. 01
-Dr. Kimberly S. Young. e\eLutive
director of The Center of Online
Addiction at the University of
Pittsburgh.
auction sites that are destroying
college students' pocketbooks.
There have been attempts to
classify these various types of 'Net
addictions. The Center for On-Line
Addiction, acs berspace resource for
online addicts. suggests list: main
types of net addiction:
• C) herSCXIILII addICCIOVIS ( LKkik:l 'lons
to adult Chat 10(11111 on C) help( (1 . 11
cyberavlationship addiction ((intim:.
friendship, made in chat woins.
NIUDs 1u lICV, that replact.
real lile rricnd, and I wink
'Nci coinpukiwis (c()lnpukiv4.:
online giinl)ling. online auction
tIAIIIIL 1
Inlorindtion o\ RmilpHINR,
Wch tiurli i I , r da1;11) . ,t , ,c ~cArchc,,)
SluJLrlll CHI IZLIN2ct Acv,
Brl.lllSk\ ICk C.1111111.1 , ,c ILV,cr
CIC at.I\I , ,CLI
tip 1)011 vvalrr 1)C10I(' 111k111 , 2 it ,I11(1 to
LAC ~ 1)01112C half, 111‘,1,,it1 Crs.
Student; anil ItlCtlll\ .it IIC11,:1,111
College in Lodi, N.J.. ‘A hat ,at)!
orriciak ha\ - milli( it, or
dollars - 111 hook , . ;111(.1 altiable
!-loot.) vstticr - \oint.icak..llllll2 tt fuili
as 8 feet seeped into the campus'
lihrar\ • factilk iLL, ant! cafeteria.
:\ school maintenance v orker even
‘:aught \ cat p near the dining hall.
No one on the I odi campus was
injured dririn. , _ the storm. but spirits
\H err ce rt i n I A dam ie fled. said
freshman Christine Hoffman. ho lo s t
all of the notes she had taken since the
start of the new semester. "My
prof essors say I can borrow their
hooks, hut it won't be easy, - she said.
At St. John's College in Annapolis,
Md., students worried about the
damage done to The Liberty Tree, a
beloved hit of state history. The 400-
excellent athletic programs, and
active student/social activities. Many
of these college are simply not known
outside their region. -
Web-based bidding might be new,
but wheeling and dealing fora college
education isn't. Discounts for
desirable students in the form of
scholarships, grants and other forms
of financial aid have risen at several
colleges and universities. According
to The Chronicle of Higher
Education, some private colleges now
give hack to students as much as 40
percent of their tuition income in the
form of scholarships and financial
While the new site may encourage
students to consider schools they
wouldn't have otherwise, many
college admissions officers caution
that it's unwise to start a college
search by focusing solely on cost
especially given that many private
schools offer financial aid packages
OCTOBER 1, 1999
Students
addiction
• computer addiction (obsessive
computer game- playing or
programming aspects of computer
science)
The Center of Online Addiction
offers these tips for heating Online
addiction before you have to go to
a counseku
• II the Internet is what you crave
after getting out of class, try doing
something different before going
into cyherspace. Go to the cafeteria
with some friends or t
y studying
in the lihrary for an hour before
checking your e-mail.
• Time yourself by setting a watch
alarm. Because Internet users tend
to lose track of time, online addicts
can benefit from having their time
monitored for them.
Ironically, online addicts can also
get help from "the beast'' itself.
Several chatrooms, newsgroups
and mailing lists are available for
people who can't seem to pull away
from computers. Using a support
group system to help addicts, these
resources can help addicts find and
help each "heat - their obsession.
There arc even counselors who talk
to addicts online, urging them to
deal with their offline lives.
The wehsite for The Center of
On-Line Addiction at is a great
online source for information on
'Net addiction. The site offers
information for "cvherwidows,'.
victims of spousal online addiction,
and gives explanations of various
types of cyher addictions as well
as giving real-life contacts for
people looking for help. Those
seared that they may he addicted
can take a series of Internet
addiction tests at this site to
determine which type of addiction
they may sillier.
year-old tulip poplar is in critical
condition with a 15-foot crack in its
trunk. }furl icane Floyd also loosened
a large limb on the 96-foot-tree.
sending school officials scrambling
to build a temporary fence that keeps
people at least SO feet away from it
-- a sad development, many students
say. given that the college's
commencement has been held under
the tree for 200 years.
Tree experts ailsised the college
to remove what is now a potential
hazard, but Christopher Nelson, the
college's president, said the Liberty
Tree \‘ ill stay.
"(It's) not just a tree," he said. "It's
a symbol of our national identity."
In all, there were 13 Liberty Trees
one in each of the original
Colonies where the Sons of
Liberty met and planned the
American Revolution against the
British. Maryland's is the last
surviving Liberty Tree.
significantly cutting the price of
tuition. They also encourage
students to consider the entire
spectrum of an institution's
offerings before deciding whether to
attend.
"Focusing only on cost is a had
thing because state and federal
assistance programs really have
been set up to let students have a
choice," said Wendy Branham,
assistant director of admissions for
the University of Indianapolis.
"Sure, people have to decide how
much an education is worth to them,
and that is a very personal,
individualized decision. But it's
amazing how many students miss
out on the smaller, more
personalized attention they can get
at smaller private schools because
they've heard that bigger schools
are cheaper. That's not always the
case."
Bomb explodes on
Florida A&M campus
by )a id Cox
Knight Riddei Tribune
September 2_3, 1999
TALLAHASSLE, Ha. knsions
ran high among students and
administrators ;it Honda A
University un Wednesda\ ;titer a
small bond) evplutled and a caller
spo\ mg racial epithets \Awned that
"this is just the heginnitql.."
It's the second homhing at the
historically wit\ etso in three
\Accks. and hut[ are belle\ ed ti) he
racialk motivated.
No one wa,, injured in either blast
Police cars and a bomb van sit in front of a building on the Florida
A&M University campus after a pipe bomb explosion last
Wednesday. The bomb is the second in less than a month.
School was closed for the rest of the day.
"Do wu really think this the
end local ;WC all iliatc \VIAL
TV quoted umdentilicd nr,in
called the srattun alter the c \ ph ),lon
"This is just the hrothet.-
Author itics belie e the caller Ind \
he the sante ratan t•onktt...ted the
station on Aug 31. \\ arning ;ihout
bomb that \\ ent 01l in the building
v‘ here FANII: Picsiticiu
Humphries oilicc I,,calcd
"We're not sit in categor it
is related. - said Tallahassee c:2ional
Fl3l super\ isut l3v ion Price - Hut
you ha \ e to certainly consider that
a possibility.-
FAMLJ 1.1()1
historicalk black collc2c The
appal cm pips I , loLied in it
mcn's rt....tritont in a (tom
building that luni,r Ili uni nits
Na\A ROTC and coHtt-2c
tcchnttlog
Authorities ha \ e sLispc,l,
last week. the 1-131 alltl VANII'
officials pleaded w ith the public (or
any information about the first
bombing in August and ()tiered a
reward of up to SIO.OOO
The man first called the television
station shortk before Wednesda
explosion at around 10:47 a.m.
FAMU spokesman Eddie Jackson
said university officials did not get
word of the homh he. fore it
exploded.
WTXL assignment editor Mike
Roberts. who took the man's call.
said he used a lot of profanity,
including the ‘‘orcl "nigger - and
other racial remarks.
FANAU police iecci‘ed another
bomb threat around I tor one
of the unk ersit) 's administration
buildings. But a second bomb \A„as
not found as of late Wednesda
Authorities are imestigating the
Aug. 31 bombing as being racially
motivated because the man w ho
called the television station made
similar racist remarks as the caller
Wednesday.
But unlike the bomb three weeks
ago. Wednesdays bomb packed a
much stronger explosion. F\ NIIS
Jackson said. Damage from the blast
was limited to some ceiling tiles and
other fixtures in the hathwom. he
said.
"It's more than disastrous I don't
know it I can I ind ihe proper words
to express how furious e are,"
Jackson said.
The building where Wednesday's
blast occurred is at the south end of
a popular gathering strip for FANIU
students called "The Set. - The
administration buildiii ! where the
Aug. 31 bomb exploded is on the
north end of the strip. Many students
ondered whether one of their
classroom buildings would he the
next and win the area where students
congregate the most is being targeted.
"He's s) stematically knocking off
major portions of FA MU, - said
Bisrat Gehru. 19, of Orlando. "They
ain't ing.-
['ANIL student affairs director
Ronald Joe fielded questions from a
tense crowd of students, who
gathered at the plaza outside the
school cafeteria at lunchtime.
Why clou't y'ail put [a security
ullicerl in front of every building to
stop this sicko. - one student asked.
A/ mar Dun nel, a junior from
Nliami. suggested that the university
%1 as putting students' lives in danger
by continuing to hold classes.
Gebru asked Joe: "What measures
arc going to he taken to make sure
this doesn't happen again?"
"I can't tell you at this time," Joe
said. "I would tell you to plan on
coming to class Thursday."
F'AMU officials closed the campus
at 3 p.m., hut it was reopened about
o hours later. All classes were
scheduled to resume Thursday. Two
dormitories near the building where
the booth exploded were evacuated,
hut students returned to those dorms
later in the evening.
Authorities roped off about a six-
Nock section of the campus after the
\ plosion ill order to conduct their
in \ esti cation.
Emplo . \ ees in the Navy ROTC
(Tram, kk hose offices are closest to
the bathroom where the blast
occurred, reported hearing a loud
explosion and seeing smoke.
Esa Frazier, a secretary for the
program. said Capt. Robert L.
Cunningham was walking near the
bathroom when the bomb went off.
Frazier was in her office near the
restroom when it exploded.
"When I stepped out into the hall,"
Capt. Cunningham said, "there's
smoke coming out of the restroom.
Get a flashlight. There's been an
explosion." Frazier said. She then
called the campus police.
FAMU President Humphries was
in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday
hut urged authorities in a statement
to use all of their resources to catch
those responsible for the bombings.
The university set up a toll free
hotline for parents and anyone else
who wants to check on students or
faculty at FAMU. The hotline
numher is 1-800-50 I -5352. State
Unix ersity System Chancellor Adam
Herbert said everything possible is
being done to protect students.
faculty and staff on the 500-acre
"I encourage anyone who has
information regarding either of the
Hubings to contact law ent4cement
aL!encies immediately, - Herbert said.
But no matter how diligent FAMU
officials react to the two bombings,
they cannot make the campus
completely safe, said the FBl's Price.
"This is a big campus and this is a
free society, so it's going to he hard
to he vigilant and lucky at the same
time. - he said.
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