By Victor Drabicky staff reporter A month after access to the Napster Web site was first banned, a possible solution is in the works, said Dave Edmondson, assistant provost for information services. "We are looking at a possible solution right now that would allow us to do network shaping," Edmondson said. "We tested some new software this past weekend but had some problems with it. Now, we are working with the vendor to find a way to fix the problems we had." Edmondson said the banning became necessary after the university's bandwidth became saturated by the Web site earlier this month. The saturation was impeding TCU community members as they tried to use the Internet, he said. About 200 other universities have cited similar problems, according to a report by the Associated Press. Network shaping allows Internet use to be prioritized, thus preventing programs such as Napster from slowing down people using the Internet for other reasons, Edmondson said. "Prioritizing Internet use will help to make sure the university's resources are being used the best way possible," Edmondson said. Napster allows users to download and share MP3 music files. However, the size of the files can clog a server if multiple users are downloading at the same time. Edmondson said TCU's solution is similar to one Indiana University and Napster officials have been working on and will test for the next two weeks. Mark Bruhn, IU's information technology policy officer, said a majority of the changes were made within IU's network rather than with the Napster program itself. "We have installed a lot of Local Area Network software that allows us to give and take priority to different types of Internet use," Bruhn said. "We lifted the ban on Saturday and have been monitoring it to make sure the software is working correctly. We have had to tweak with the software a little bit, but it really is too early to tell how effective the changes have been." IU put a filter on Napster use on Feb. 12 because of bandwidth problems, Bruhn said. "After we put a filter on Napster use, we contacted the folks at Napster," Bruhn said. "It turned out the people at Napster needed some information on Internet use, and we needed some information on Napster itself. Each of us went our separate ways and came back with the same solution. Now, we will be testing our solution over the next two weeks." Napster spokesman Dan Wool said changes in Napster could help ease bandwidth problems many universities have experienced when using it. "We have developed a way for Napster to search within a university network before it searched the general public," Wool said. "In other words, if you were searching for something by the Grateful Dead, Napster would find it on your LAN first. Only if it couldn't be found there, would Napster search elsewhere." Edmondson said despite work on a possible solution to the Napster ban on the TCU campus, students still need to be informed of possible legal problems. "The real issue isn't when Napster will be available on campus," Edmondson said. "Students just need to remember that what they are doing is (potentially) illegal."
Victor Drabicky
By Natascha Terc staff reporter Tanglewood residents have been complaining about the amount of traffic and speeding through the neighborhood for years, but for resident Lynette Jensen, the problem hit too close to home. Jensen said she was walking on Hartwood Drive last spring with her 5-year-old daughter, who was riding her bike with training wheels, when a car sped by and terrified the child. "The car came around the turn, and my daughter froze," Jensen said. "There I was carrying my hysterical child in one arm and her bicycle in the other. I don't think the car even slowed down." Jensen said she hopes the installation of speed humps and another traffic light will deter people from cutting through the neighborhood. "Honestly, there are a lot of young people that drive fast through the area," Jensen said. Diana Vazquez, traffic safety coordinator for the city of Fort Worth, said there have been ongoing traffic problems in the neighborhood, which is east of South Hulen Street and north of Bellaire Drive South. Vazquez said a traffic plan for the area includes the installation of speed humps on Hartwood Drive and Harlanwood Drive, a reduced speed limit of 25 mph and a traffic signal at the intersection of Hulen and Hartwood. "We're really excited about this plan because it's going to be used as a pilot program for other areas of the city," Vazquez said. "We can look at neighborhoods as a whole, which is a much better way of dealing with traffic problems than focusing on individual streets." Terry Haney, former president of the Tanglewood Neighborhood Association, said much of the traffic through the neighborhood is from TCU activity. "We don't mind that the area is used as a cut-through, but it's the way the drivers are going about it," Haney said. "We have a lot of students who live in the area that speed through the neighborhood to go to class." Haney said she hopes the reduced speed limit and police enforcement of it will make people aware that it is a neighborhood and not a thoroughfare, like Hulen Street. City Councilwoman Wendy Davis, who represents the area, said she tried to expedite a traffic plan in the neighborhood when she got into office. Davis said residents in other neighborhoods near TCU want to make changes to reduce speeding and traffic. "The neighborhood east of Colonial Parkway near Sherley and Park Hill Drive want to do something similar to the Tanglewood neighborhood," Davis said. Residents of the Sherley/Park Hill neighborhood will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at University Christian Church to discuss a possible neighborhood plan. "I do think we have problems with speed, but it's not just because of the TCU (students)," Davis said.
Natascha Terc
By Jeff Anderson staff reporter Students wanting to live in the Tom Brown/Pete Wright Residential Community were upset with the sign-up process last Friday, students at the sign up said. Jackie Hernandez, a junior elementary education major, said the process was not organized well. "People have been camping out since seven this morning," she said. "The sign-up times are too late." Nancy Grieser, coordinator of housing assignments, said Residential Services set the sign-up date for 6 through 9 p.m. Friday. It was posted on a flier and sent to everyone living on campus. Pete Wright sign up was scheduled first so students would know if they got into the apartments. It would give them time to register for another hall if they didn't get in, she said. "I think that the information was presented clearly," Grieser said. "Last year there was a lot of confusion because sign up for Pete Wright was at the same time as other residence halls." Jeff White, a sophomore biochemistry major, said he arrived about 7 a.m. to wait in line for a room. "Someone waiting pulled out a piece of paper and started an (unofficial) list for everyone to sign," White said. The line for the sign up started inside the Commons Building but ended up having to move outside because of space, White said. Everyone waiting agreed that an unofficial list was a fair way to get students' names in order, he said. Elizabeth McElveen, a sophomore biology major, said she went to stand in line at 11 a.m. and spoke with the hall director. "She told me to stand in line and not worry about putting my name on the list because it wasn't official," McElveen said. "I did what I was told to do, and now I've wasted the whole day." Josh Barrier, a junior business major, said students had to continue with their daily activities. "I understand people have been camping out here all day, as have I," Barrier said. "But people have to go to work and have to get to class." About 5 p.m., Amy McDurham, Pete Wright hall director, posted an official sign-up sheet. Celestina Phillips, a sophomore advertising/public relations major, said she was not happy with how the official sign-up sheet was posted. "I didn't like the way (McDurham) came out here and said, 'You guys handle this. I don't want any fighting,'" Phillips said. McDurham was unavailable Monday for comment. When the official sign-up sheet was posted, a student began transferring the names on the unofficial list onto the official sign-up sheet. "(Residential Services) thought perhaps people would come at 4 p.m., but we did not expect them to be there at 7 a.m.," Grieser said. "I feel the names were put on the official list in the order they were on the unofficial list." Grieser said the sign up was intended to be on a first come/first serve basis. There was not a priority list based on time or credit hours for students wanting to move into the apartments, she said. "We did not expect such a massive turnout as there was," Grieser said. Gunther Russell, a parent, said his daughter couldn't be at the sign up so he waited in line for her. His daughter has been trying to get in the apartments since they opened, he said. "It looks like she won't get in again," Russell said. "I've been here for five hours now." Russell said he does not understand why the university would set themselves up for criticism. The sign up should be based on a seniority system, he said. Grieser said once the vacant spaces were filled, a plan was devised to get the remaining students on the waiting list. A preference information form was filled out by students on the waiting list, she said. The nearly 60 students on the waiting list are a continuation of the first come/first serve official list, she said. "We can't meet the needs of all the juniors and seniors wanting to stay on campus," Grieser said.
Staff Reporter Reagan Duplisea contributed to this report. Jeff Anderson
By Jaime Walker staff reporter Starting today, TCU students will have the power to change the final exam schedule at their fingertips. With a few mouse clicks, students can transform an e-mail from the House Academic Affairs Committee into a voice for change. Or a voice against it. In an all-campus e-mail sent to the student body Monday night, students can vote on whether they want to have a study day in the middle of finals week, said Brian Casebolt, committee chairman. The current exam schedule groups two study days together on Thursday and Friday, creating a four-day weekend. The proposal would move one study day to the Wednesday of finals week, Casebolt said. "The change will benefit both students and faculty," he said. "This way faculty have a day to grade exams, and students break up their study time. As it is now, many students use that long weekend to do other things." George Havrilla, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said he uses the long study period to study, not to party. "What I really wish is that we had a whole week to study before finals," he said. "I think the new plan suggests that we need someone to hold our hand and make us study. We are in college now, and we make those choices. I do see how it will help faculty, though." Roger Pfaffenberger, chairman of the Faculty Senate and a professor of decision science, said faculty are likely to support the proposal because the change would benefit them for several reasons. "If I could give my senior finals on Friday, it would save time and a lot of work," he said. "I am sure quite a few faculty members would agree with me. I have no doubt that we will support this proposal." Pfaffenberger said students might challenge the plan more than faculty. "Some students use that four-day weekend to go out of town," he said. "But this plan can really benefit students who want to capitalize on the increased study time." Both Casebolt and Pfaffenberger said this week's student survey will play a critical role in changing the finals policy. "This survey will be a big indicator of student support," Casebolt said. "Without it, our chances of revising the policy are slim to none." Pfaffenberger said the survey, coupled with faculty support, has power. "Changing our finals schedule means changing a long-time status quo," he said. "If we really think the change is necessary, we need to recommend it with a unified voice." Casebolt said the survey's results will be reviewed at the end of the week before official recommendations are made to the administration. "We really need at least 10 percent of the student body or 700 students to respond," he said. "Our hope is to get 2,000 students to take three minutes to fill the survey out. That is a really reasonable number." Pfaffenberger said for a change to be made, the University Council would have to approve the revision. The University Council is a board composed of administrators, professors and students that reviews academic changes, including those made to curriculum, the academic calendar and graduation requirements. "In the end, if the chancellor supports it, we could see a change as soon as next semester," he said. "In that case, these surveys will definitely help out."
Jaime Walker
By Priya Abraham staff reporter Interviews, meeting people and speeches characterize Recruitment for students pledging sororities and fraternities. Winter coats could also become part of the picture if Recruitment is delayed. "I think it should have been done years and years ago," said Gregg Franzwa, a professor of philosophy. "Fewer people would be emotionally injured by the process if we were to delay it. Fewer people would be sucked into something which, on later reflection, they wish they hadn't done." This year, the Student Relations Committee of the Faculty Senate is studying the advantages and drawbacks of delaying Recruitment. Committee Chairman Bill Ryan said in a faculty survey, 62 percent of professors said Recruitment should be deferred to January, while a third said it should remain in the summer or early fall. About 140 faculty members responded to the committee's survey. "We're trying to look at the data and do this objectively," said Ryan, chairman of the department of communication sciences and disorders. "This is not something we're frivolously doing. It'll be something we do in the best interest of everyone." Tom Sullivan, coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, said delaying Recruitment would increase the amount of social and rumor-mill activity among fraternities and sororities in the fall and the amount of competition among participants in the spring. "(It would) force a sense of competition beyond what we already know throughout the entire spring," he said. "Deferred recruitment is a reaction by faculty, staff and administration. (It's) what they think would be a quick fix." Ryan said his committee contacted 18 to 20 universities to get their policies on Recruitment. He said Southern Methodist, Baylor, Vanderbilt and Duke universities delayed Recruitment until January. Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin and Oklahoma State University have Recruitment in the beginning of fall. Pepperdine University has Recruitment one month into the fall. "There's any place on the continuum for deferring (Recruitment)," Ryan said. Denise Santos, a junior deaf education major, said delaying Recruitment would mean sororities losing money because new committee members did not come in for a whole year. Santos was a freshman at Baylor and said she saw her friends continually worry about how they looked and acted instead of their studies. "They had delayed Recruitment the whole semester, and it was ridiculous," Santos said. "Their focus was on that the whole first semester." Andrew Fort, a religion professor, said he was on a committee made up of faculty, staff and Greek and independent students that voted unanimously 10 years ago to delay Recruitment. He said first allowing students to get into the academic track and form other social networks helps them establish their identity. "If a university's primary mission is academics, then that's what we should be communicating," he said. Fort said the recommendation of the university-wide committee was overruled by Chancellor William Tucker. Sullivan said if Greek participation interferes with academics, any other organization would do the same. "Any organization, whether it's the football team, Alpha Phi Omega, Campus Crusade for Christ - all of them have activities, requirements and goals that need to be met," he said. Nowell Donovan, the Charles B. Moncrief chair of geology, said he has generally not encountered any problems with students' grades suffering because of fraternity or sorority involvement. He said providing an environment where students are comfortable intellectually is more important than delaying Recruitment. "I'm not sure of the fundamental importance of the issue," he said. "To me, it seems almost trivial. My problem with the system is that it's not inclusive." John Horton, a senior biology major, said he enjoyed having Recruitment before classes began. "You haven't built up large stereotypes with fraternities or sororities that many times aren't true," he said. "It helps work off a clean slate. You can see for yourself who they are." The Student Relations Committee, which gives its report to the Faculty Senate in May, will now survey randomly selected students about delaying Recruitment.
Priya Abraham |
Melanie Winchester, a sophomore psychology major, said college
students are forced to speed because they often take on too many responsibilities.
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