Page 4 - ThePhoenix1996-97

Thursday, September ~._1996 - Page 4 NEWS Internet up to speed at WMC;. students finding better ways to communicate, find romance Continued from page 1 as well. at WMC. In high school, he worked with Foundation, but that he was unaware of the on-line catalog system that did not exist in E-mail runs 24 hours a day, though the computer art and graphics but never had an total amount of money spent by the school the old library. Before this, students could labs aren't open at all hours, but has halted e-mail account. Johnson said he has mostly so far, and Mathews said that it was a hard check out two or three typewriters owned or "freezed" several times since it was in- taught himself how to use the Internet and number to calculate. Newsome said Wash- by the library. stalled. Holthause described this as "great" has even created his own web page. On ington College, in Chestertown, Md., spent Edward Holthause, technical services considering the school's network is only a this page, he's written about himself, cre- $2 million just to create an information ser- specialist, left his job at a local computer year old and they're "still learning things." ated artwork, and scanned in photos. vice and Holthause said that Messiah Col- srore 10 years ago to aide students in the It has halted because of problems with the Another student, a junior who wishes to lege, in Pennsylvania, has also spent this WMC academic computer labs, and help Domain Name Server, a machine located in remain anonymous, has even found love and amount in creating a network. print resumes with the single laser printer Newsome's office, through which all e-mail romance through e-mail. Last semester she The IBM compatibles in the Lewis and the school owned. accounts must run before being sent out. spent each morning from 8:30to 10 and then Hoover Labs have been replaced this sum- In addition to the academic computing During the last freeze Holthause said the again in the afternoons, "talking" to a man mer by Pentiums running Windows 95. In center that employed two people, there was problem was fixed by the replacement of a in Spain with whom she now has a "rela- order to run the most current software, she a computer center with four employees that faulty part in the Domain Name Server. tionship." This student first received an e- said the computers will have to be updated met administrative needs. These two cen- WMC gained access to the Internet "en- mail account last fall and started writing to every three years. Much of what Mathews ters were merged in 1993 as Computing Ser- vironment" last summer through the Internet her friend in Spain in October. Recently, he does for Information Services is plan for the vices, but recently changed its name to In- provider BBN Planet that requires a yearly flew to Maryland to visit her. She said that future. She said that in order for WMC to formation Services. feeof $11,000. The Internet, said Chris all her time on e-mail has not affected her keep up with other schools, "we'll need a The name change was made because of Mathews, director of Information Services, school work because she makes sure she has better network, one with a fiber-optic back- WMC's acquisition of an Internet environ- "was purely text-based information technol- it done beforehand bone." ment. The original Computing Services dealt Access to higher-speed fiber will occur with a "local area network," according to Unlisted e-mail number an option at WMC during this fiscal year, which began July I, Newsome, that only allowed students and If you already have an Internet account through WMC. your Internet address is cur- and upgrades will be made to a Tl line. This faculty to communicate with others on cam- rently available on the college's World Wide Web site. To most students, this is an advan- will increase the yearly fee to about $20,000 pus but not to the outside world. The tage. It means that people who want to contact you, such as your friends at other schools, to $25,000, but this line will mean faster Internet, explained Newsome, is an "actual can find your Internet address and send you e-mail if they have access to the Web. How- connections to the Internet, said Mathews. gateway to the outside world." ever, must as some people prefer to have their telephone number unlisted, you may not Another upgrade will be the replacement of Information Services has been kept very the mini-computer located in Information busy during the past year. "We have too want this address freely available. If you would like your Internet address removed from Services that handles all of the school's ad- the page, please send email toWalIaceNewsome(whn@nsl.wmc.car.md.us.) much to do down here," said Holthause. ministrative records. The new Unix mini- Courtesy of Infonnation Services WMC's computer network currently oper- computer will have more speed, capacity, ates under a 56K connection which means ogy." In January of this year, WMC gained Though these students spend a lot of time and reliability, Mathews said. 56 thousand kilobytes of information can be access to the Web, a program on the Internet with WMC's new computer technology, they WMC students have Internet access, in- handled per second. Newsome said that at "providing capabilities for graphics, sound, have not caused problems like other students cluding e-mail, but not World Wide Web certain times of the day, most often between video dips, and color," said Mathews. sending harassing messages to one another. access from the dorms. 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 8 p.rn. to I a.m., 95 Professors have begun to take advantage These students, Newsome said, have been "Soon 1see all students having quick and percent of its capacity is being used. He ofthese valuable new information resources given warnings and if the problems persist easy access to the Internet and Web in the credits this to over 900 students who now in the classroom. "There is a huge amount their aceounts will be taken away, though this dorm rooms," said Mathews, "and we'll be have e-mail accounts. of information available to us now," said has not had to be done yet. Story said there communicating more through e-mail, which , Holthause estimates that around 200 Richard Dillman, assistant professor and have been problems with students accessing will cut down on our use of paper, and save computers are available for students on cam- chair of the communication department. pornography on the Writing Centercomput- more trees." !IUS, bringing the total to about 500 used by "Communication with students is much ers but that no actions have been taken Holthause said in the past it was easy for students and faculty. He said considering easier." against this. "We walk a fine line between the school to plan the amount of hardware the size of the school, the ratio of computers Dillman requires his students to have e- the students' right to access information and to buy and where to set up labs, but that with to students is very good. mail accounts on which to send homework the fact that this is a public academic lab," the ever-evolving Internet, it's impossible to In January of 1995. 30 students and fac- that is returned to them graded, providing she said. predict what will be needed in the future. ulty were selected to use the e-mail system what Dillman calls "a faster turnaround." He Story said that in the Writing Center stu- ''The Internet drives our network," he said. for three months to integrate the system and has worked with students to teach them how dents have been asked to stop doing their e- Neikirk explained that the Internet is see how it worked. During the 1995 faJl se- to be a "Web professional," or manager, for mail so other students could type papers, but "spreading faster than sliced bread," and is mester, WMC began to offer e-mail accounts one credit. for the most part students "breeze in and a highly volatile environment. "There's a free to all undergraduate students and fac- Pamela Regis, associate professor of En- breeze out" when coming to check their e- joke I like to tell people," he said. "I ask, ulty, and by the middle of the semester, glish, also requires her advanced composi- mail. Students have been "very courteous" 'how old is the Internet?' and the answer is, graduate students were allowed to have them tion students to have e-mail accounts. She and have "succumbed to peer pressure" when 'it was born this morning." conducts class in the Writing Center where waiting lines have developed. Fall Writing Center Hours students compose essays on the program Sarah Snell, a senior political science Hoover Lab Hours Clans Works, copy and paste them onto e- major, had not touched the Internet until May Monday Monday 10:30 a.m.-12:30 pm. mail, and then send to other students to be of her junior year when she had to look up 8:30 am-midnight 3 p.m.- 12 midnight critiqued in class. Regis describes the whole information for a paper. "I don't like tech- process as very "convenient" and is requir- nology," Snell said. "I'm always afraid Tuesday ing her technical writing and freshmen En- something is going to blowout of it [com- Tuesday 8:30 a.m.-midnight 8a.m.-l0a.m. glish classes to have e-mail this fall. puter]." 11:30 a.rn. -l:l5 p.m. Regis has been involving her students Snell said that students spending so much Wednesday 4:30 p.m.-12 midnight with computers since they first arrived on recreational time on the Internet "should be 8:30 a.m.-midnight campus. Dr. Brian Wladkowski, assistant given more work by their professors." She professor of chemistry, graduated from also fears that with the increased use of com- Wednesday Thursday 8 a.m-9 a.m. WMC in 1988. "I didn't even know what a puters in the classroom, professors will be- 10 a.m.-midnight 11:30a.m.-12:30 p.m. Macintosh was," Wladkowski said, who was come too dependent on them and that per- 2 p.m.-3 p.m. familiar with what computers were but not sonal contact with students will be reduced. Friday 7:45 p.m.-12 midnight how they worked. He said part of his fresh- Chris Mathews has a different point of 8:30 a.m.-midnight man English class with Regis was learning view. She said that WMC will need to "find how to use the new word processors in the better ways to use technology academically" Thursday Saturday 8 a.m.-1O a.m. Writing Center. to keep its standards equal to other schools. 10 a.m.-4p.m. 11:30 a.m.-l:15 p.rn. Today, Wladkowski said that students, "We will be seeing multimedia presentations 3 p.m.-12 midnight especially in the science field, have "so much instead of lectures," said Mathews. She used Sunday more" offered to them. In the science de- the example of an English class learning partment, molecular modeling is now done about Shakespeare in which the professor 12 a.m-midnigbr Friday 8 a.m.-10 a.m. on computer and students can view mol- can show his students video clips of a play 11:30a.m.-12:30 p.m. ecules in 3-D. Ironically, Wladkowski said being acted out and the words actually be- Lewis Hall Windows Lab "we think computers have enveloped our ing heard spoken on the computer. Tech- 4 p.m.-6 p.m. whole way of thinking" but he still has stu- nology "will not get rid of professors, but Starting September 3 the hours for the dents tum in papers typed on typewriters. enrich education," she believes. Windows Lab in Lewis Hall are: Saturday-Closed For students like sophomore Ben Newsome said that the Internet and e- Johnson, an undecided major, the Internet mail systems were initially made possible Sunday-Thursday Sunday 1 p.m.-12 midnight occupied a lot of his time during his first year through a grant from the National Science 6:30 p.m.-IO:30 p.m.