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Internet connection quickened By Melissa DeLoach
A year after the university’s bandwidth was doubled, Information Services will again increase the speed and capacity of access to the Internet. Assistant Provost for Information Services Dave Edmondson, said by the end of October logging onto the Internet will be four times faster than September 1999, when the bandwidth was last increased. The estimated cost for the increase in bandwidth is budgeted at $40,000. Bandwidth is the number and size of files the network can handle at a given time. Edmondson said an increase in student enrollment, the number of students who own a personal computer and the technology the Internet provides all play a role in why the speed of Internet access has been slow on campus. Carrie Calabrese, a sophomore social work major, said because the speed of the Internet is slow she spends twice as long writing term papers and projects now than she has in the past. “The Internet was never this slow last year,” Calabrese said. “TCU should have been prepared for things to run so slow and done something about it earlier in the summer when the decision came to admit more students.” Edmondson said the university can’t afford not to increase the bandwidth. “Electronics are set to run at a certain speed,” Edmondson said. “Just like only so much water can fit in a four inch pipe, only so much data can streamline on a network until it eventually saturates.” According to university statistics, freshman enrollment has increased from 1,330 in 1995 to 1,493 in 2000. Roughly 80 percent of students in the residence halls are connected to the Internet in a given day, Edmondson said. “More people on campus are using the Internet,” said Bill Senter, technical services manager for Information Services. “In 1995, when the residence halls were wired to the network, only 300 students had a personal computer. Last year there was over 2000 computers registered on the network.” Senter said the boom in technology and the vast interest in using the Internet also affected the decision to increase the bandwidth. “You can do just about anything on the Internet,” Senter said. “From buying airplane tickets, checking weather, online banking and other entertainment, the options are endless. Five years ago we never would have expected the Internet to be this big.” Currently, all Internet traffic coming in and out of the network is being monitored and given a certain priority to prevent certain programs and applications from slowing down the Internet, Senter said. E-mail has a higher priority than music or movie files. Chad Kingsbury, a senior math major, said although he spends hours waiting for downloads, the time it takes does not stop him. “I like that I can test out anything from a new CD to a lesser known band before I go out and buy it,” Kingsbury said. “And even if it takes three hours to download the latest ‘Batman’ cartoon, I (will) just wait around until it is ready.” In February, Information Services banned the Napster Web site because it saturated the university’s bandwidth. Napster is a Web site that allows users to download and share music files. Melissa DeLoach Clintons cleared in Whitewater By Pete Yost WASHINGTON — Prosecutors concluded Wednesday there is “insufficient” evidence that President Clinton or his wife committed a crime in Whitewater, bringing the six-year investigation to an anticlimactic end four months before the president leaves office. Presidential aides breathed a sigh of relief that Independent Counsel Robert Ray’s businesslike statement contained no harsh language that could cause trouble in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign to win a Senate seat from New York. Ray’s six-page statement dissipated a cloud that bedeviled the Clintons since the 1992 election campaign and that made Clinton the most investigated president since Richard M. Nixon, who resigned rather than confront impeachment and removal from office. “I’m just glad that this is finally over,” Mrs. Clinton said, questioning why so much money was spent. The president ignored a question about Whitewater as he strolled through the White House Rose Garden with Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato. Ray has one major piece of unfinished business in the record $52 million independent counsel investigation — a decision whether to indict the president after he leaves office for his conduct in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. A grand jury was impaneled in July in Washington to help make the decision. It was the same independent counsel office under Ray’s predecessor, Kenneth Starr, that first catapulted the Lewinsky scandal onto the front pages and spurred Clinton’s impeachment and Senate trial, where he was acquitted. Ray said his office investigated at least seven separate criminal allegations involving the president or his wife in Whitewater. “This office determined that the evidence was insufficient to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that either President Clinton or Mrs. Clinton knowingly participated in any criminal conduct,” Ray said. However, the prosecutor cited “delays in obtaining relevant evidence” — including the refusal of Whitewater real estate partner Susan McDougal to testify, “the failure by the White House” to produce Mrs. Clinton’s law firm billing records until 1996 and legal challenges to turning over White House lawyers’ notes of conversations with Mrs. Clinton. The White House was low-key in its response. “Robert Ray is now the latest investigator to complete an examination of the transactions related to Whitewater Development Co. and conclude that there are no grounds for legal action,” White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said.. Black Alumni Alliance provides link to university By Yonina Robinson Created to provide an avenue for black alumni to participate in university life and interact with current students, the TCU Black Alumni Alliance was added to the TCU Alumni Association this summer. The alliance was founded by six black alumni who now make up the steering committee: Sharen Sloan Tot, Jodye Newton, Kim McIntyre Kindred, Donald Graves, Darron Turner and Correlia Allen. The alliance includes cooperation with Southern Methodist University. “We are currently planning an event with the executive board members of TCU and SMU’s Black Alumni Organizations,” said Horatio Porter, vice president of programming for the alliance. “We are looking to do a mixer after the TCU vs. SMU football game at one of our members’ homes.” Allen, vicepresident of publicityfor the alliance, said the outreach with SMU is a part of their goal to expand beyond TCU. “We are seeking to connect ourselves with the community at large while maintaining our ties to the university,” she said. Turner, vice president of community service for the alliance, said the organization is planning to annually adopt low-income families for the holidays and establish a book drive for a local elementary school, social service or community library. The alliance also plans to create a reading program and may work with SMU to host a “Bring-a-Toy Christmas Party.” Rosena Turner, vice president for educational and cultural activities, said the organization is identifying ways to catalogue the expertise and professional background of all alliance members. The information will be used to compile a resource database for graduating students, she said. The alliance is also pairing members with current juniors at TCU to help them with career planning. Rick Hightower, the financial manager for the alliance executive board, said his involvement comes from a desire to give back to students what others gave to him. “These role models and mentors were multi-talented individuals serving as dictionaries when the situation needed a definition, serving as Bibles when a word was needed and as a microphone to amplify the voice that needed to be heard,” he said. “They met the need. We can meet the need.” Yonina Robinson Emerging Leaders II breaks barriers By Michael Davis During the first class of Emerging Leaders II students discussed the alienation, difficulty and rewards of being an effective leader. Taught by Tom Sullivan, director of fraternity and sorority affairs, the class of 45 students meets 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions about values and leadership, and learn how to combine ethics and action. Sullivan said he plans to ask students to share actions within the Greek community that do not meet up with their individual values. The class will also seek to define diversity. “Diversity is about respect and understanding,” Sullivan said. “Not whether you agree with them or not, but whether you appreciate them.” During the first session, Sullivan asked students to share what they felt they brought to the class. Several students said they brought experience because they currently hold leadership positions in their Greek organizations. Others said they brought a global perspective because they come from a variety of places. All students expressed a desire to learn. Lisette Gerch, Zeta Tau Alpha president, said her experience at a summer retreat for sorority and fraternity members exposed her to Greeks from around the country and helped her break down her stereotypes of people from different organizations and different parts of the country. Patrick Burke, a Delta Tau Delta member, said he had been to four universities and he noticed some positive things about TCU even though he had only been here for four weeks. Sullivan said he brings a passion for working with sorority and fraternities. “I also have an interest in learning,” he said. “I want to see you do the best you can.” During the course, Sullivan will require students to bring in articles showing abuses by the Greek system. He also plans on showing a video that focuses on perceptions about fraternities and sororities. He also wants to expose students to cultural events that are outside their comfort zone. Samantha Randklev, a Zeta Tau Alpha member, said she chose to take Emerging Leaders II because she wants to run for a Panhellenic executive position. She also said the class may help break down competitive barriers between Greek organizations. Sullivan said throughout the course he will invite student leaders to speak. Walker Moody, Interfraternity Council president, and Kate McArthur, Panhellenic vice president of management, are scheduled to speak. “I want students to leave with a grasp of your own leadership values,” Sullivan said. “It is easy to have values, but it is also easy to put those values aside.” Michael Davis |
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