0 - W3- -is - - 16 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER Dollars And Sense SEPTEMBER 1988 SEPTEMBER 1988 Life And Art U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPA Weaver, Hardball clash in battle of computer games By Marc Weinberg Daily Bruin U. of California, Los Angeles Computer sports games are, by and large, a waste of time. Either they are strategy-oriented and feature poor graphics, or it's the exact opposite - great graphics but not the least bit chal- lenging. Frequently, it comes down to choosing the most important feature: graphics or strategy. Here's a review of two games that each retail for less than $40. Earl Weaver Baseball Tested first on the Amiga computer line, Electronic Arts' Earl Weaver Base- ball attempts to bridge graphics and strategy and comes out beautifully. An ingeniously designed game with numerous features, this game fares well in both areas - it looks great and pre- sents an excellent challenge to its users. On the graphics end, the game is shown through a split screen, the left side showing the full field of play while the right gives a close-up of the pitcher- batter duel. Fielders move back and forth in anticipation of the pitch, then break at the crack of the bat. The graphics are equal to the best, presenting a life-like animation of the pitcher's windup, batter's swing and movement of the ball. In terms of strategy, however, this is undoubtedly the best game on the mar- ket. The users can make batters bunt, swing away, hit and run or aim for the opposite field. Other features range from being able to choose what ballpark the game is played at to checking wind conditions or turning a radar gun on a pitcher. Users may draft their own team from 200 players who actually played from 1900 to 1975. The only point the game's designers seem to leave out is the ability to argue a call with an umpire. And unlike many games, the program is not copy- protected, allowing a user to transfer it to a hard disk. Overall Grade: A- Hardball On the graphics end, Accolade's Hardball succeeds in topping Earl Weaver Baseball because it achieves ac- tion on the field more clearly. It blows Weaver off the map in terms of graphics and physical control of the players, despite the fact that Weaver graphics are excellent. However, in terms of strategy, real- ism or statistics, Hardball pales against its Electronic Arts competitor. While a number of offensive and defensive op- tions are available, they hardly com- pare to what Weaver offers. Furthermore, players and teams are imaginary and the user cannot draft players and create teams. The computer doesn't keep statistics or find out details that make baseball a strategic sport (e.g., a pitcher's effectiveness as a game progresses, wind factors, etc.). Overall Grade: B + Macintoshes not immune from viruses By Pamela Lindsay The Shorthorno U. of Texas, Arlington When Apple Corp. stated in a_ brochure that "thousands of people= have gotten more than they bar- gained for from their Apple compu- ters," it wasn't referring to scrambled data, inability to print and frequent system crashes. a But that's exactly what they got. Some Macintosh Computer users are being stumped by computer viruses. "They can cause the whole system to crash, preventing you from acces-P sing any information on the hard disk," said Beth Riblet, an Arlingtond Computer virus: A. rog- a Make back-ups for hard and computer store manager.ram that resides, unknown to floppy disks. The viruses initially breezed unde- the computer user, on his or her tected through a network connecting hard or floppy disks either Whenever obtaining anew teced hrogh newor conecing damaging or destroying prog- program, write-protect the disk computers by telephone. Computer rams, files and data. Damaging immediately and make a copy. users who have downloaded software, and destroying may, entail re- traded, borrowed or shared a Mac generating mistakes, altering n Use vaccines. These arein- may become virus victims. other programs or erasing stalled once and work auto- These tiny, invisible programs -m rybanks.hVyrufe pert vatcall to help protect a disk believed to have originated on the diciiae;thyaft pr vcie r p'etve o West Coast - spread from program sonal computers as well as com curative), . puter systemns/networks. to program and have invaded the P Wach or nusaW ile Macintosh community like a biologic- Infection: The act ofim- appearing on 4 disk, orsudden al virus. Several university machines plementing a virus onto a disk. changes in file lengths. Some are infected. viruses do not damage files but School officials don't know how gradually icreasethe size of many systems are infected, but a vac- theprmngtrogrsm ofhi the file untifit is unusable; cine has been developed as a preven- computer which guards against a Kim Trainor, The Uni esdy Dcily, tive measure. the viru Texas T ech Cartoons not a joke to enterprising artist Shaffer By Hope Hennessy Mustang Daily California Polytechnic State U., San Luis Obispo Thousands of his fellow students see Grant Shaffer every day and don't even realize how famous he has become. His art is seen in newspaper illustra- tions, comic strips and countless adver- tisements throughout San Luis Obispo. Grant Shaffer is a localcelebrity. And though his face may not be famous, his work and his signature are. His list of past accomplishments is as long as his list of goals for the future. It's not surprising, since Shaffer said that he first started drawing when he was three years old. He won his first award at age five for a picture of the flying nun. Since then, Shaffer's cartooning ta- lent has been unstoppable. Last year, he won first prize for his on-the-spot editorial cartoon and first prize for best newspaper illustration at the California Intercollegiate Press Association (CIPA) convention. At this year's CIPA competition, Shaffer won first prize for his editorial cartoon and second and third prizes for his newspaper illustrations. Not only has he done illustrations for local advertisements and real estate brochures, he also illustrated several books and is currently the illustrator for kin.,1 '.4 NEW MOM AT 1. Illustrator Grant Shaffer and friends crowd around Shaffer's workspace, where most of the artist's ideas spring to life. Volleyball Monthly, an international magazine. Oddly enough, cartooning was never a goal for Shaffer. But as fate would have it, he was invited to draw for Mus- tang Daily on his first day at Cal Poly. For Shaffer, opening the paper every day is "getting an immediate reward." And having his name next to his work is "like getting free advertising." Cartooning, however, hasn't come as easily to Shaffer as it seems. He said the hardest part of cartooning is coming up with an idea. "I consider myself an illustrator trying my hand at cartooning. So my cartoons don't always turn out funny, although people assume that they al- ways will be," he said. "I walk around campus and when I see something, I write it down. Whenev- er I think of an idea or have a dream, I write it down." Another way Shaffer gets inspiration is from reading comic books. However, he doesn't just read comic books, he has a collection of nearly 4,000 that are worth around $6,000. For now, Shaffer is looking ahead to more immediate plans. In January, he will begin a two-and-a-half yea tration program at the prestigi Center in Pasadena, Calif. Eventually, Shaffer hopes tc commercial art a career. "But I' continue cartooning on the si said. "I would love to work for M DC comics. Some people don't c it an art, but I look at each pa comic strip as a painting. "I'm always most proud of th innovative thing I've done. I am looking at the next step," Shaffei think it's healthy to look at yoi and not be 100 percent satisfie Older students flocking back to campu H- t- U C) C) C) to _J J J Entrepreneur Jason Savoie kneels by his invention - backpacks sewn from pants. Sewing up a storm ... What started as a favor for his girlfriend has turned into a money-making venture for Jason Savoie. The business major at Nicholls State U. is making backpacks from old blue jeans supplied by the customer. He made his first about two summers ago when his girlfriend's backpack fell apart. Savoie, who was work- ing in his uncle's upholstery business at the time, said it takes almost three hours to complete a backpack. "The bags have sold themselves by word of mouth. I'm working almost every night to meet the demand,"said Savoie, who's now also making duffel bags, eyeglass cases and beach bags. Deborah Rouse, The Nicholls Worth, Nicholls State U., LA U." Mom's mustard brings in the bacon ... Two students, Dave Saggau and Dan Austin, have teamed up with Craig Hagen and are marketing mustard that Saggau's mother, Mona, created. The mustard is compris- ed almost entirely of ingredients grown in North Dakota, a state that offers one of the most hospitable business climates anywhere because initial costs are much less than those in a metropolitan area, Dave Saggau said. The trio hopes not only to place "Saggau's Family Pride Sweet Hot Mustard" on restaurant tables but also to sell its product in supermarkets throughout the world. If the mustard sells well, the partners may market Mona Saggau's home-style barbeque sauce. Tim Zak, Dakota Student, U. of North Dakota U.. Lies, lies, lies . . . Caroline and Michelle Enter- prises, a company aptly named for Texas Tech U. students Caroline ONeal and Michelle Phillips, markets T-shirts with the "Top 10 Lies Heard at Texas Tech" printed on the back. After consulting an attorney, locating a screen printer and obtaining permission from the dean of students, the pair was in business. The women, who have sold about 250 shirts, will donate between 15 and 25 percent of their profits to an outreach group for drug and alcohol abusers. The students say they have actually heard all of the "lies" they print. And the No. 1 lie, according to Caroline and Michelle? "Texas Tech was my first choice ..." Trey Hattaway, The University Daily, Texas Tech U. U.. Magazine covers flexible music ... When he was 13, Richard Shupe decided he was fed up with commercial music and threw away his record collection. "I knew there had to be more out there," he said. So Shupe started an alternative music newsletter which he sent to music promoters and record companies. His "low-quality" newsletter turned into Reflex, a magazine dedicated to alternative music. Shupe has distributed Reflex throughout the world. One of the magazine's unique features is the Flexidisk, a vinyl record inserted in each issue that looks suspiciously like the disks of the Jackson 5 found on the backs of Frosted Flakes boxes 15 years ago. Mary Pagnotta, The Brown & White, Lehigh U., PA U.. Hanging art in people's ears ... Two Stanford Graduate School of Business students, Ed Earl and Norton Rappaport, are developing The San Francisco Rock and Roll Museum. They have their work cut out for them - they need to raise $20 million to fund the non- profit museum, which should open in three to five years. Determined to find the feasibility of the project, the pair oversaw a research study done by a consulting company. The research predicts the museum will draw between 300,000 and 500,000 people annually. "I think of this museum as a way to hang art in people's ears," Earl said. Michelle Finkel, The Stanford Daily, Stan- ford U., CA , Campus scene changing; 18-year-old high school grads no longer the norm By Virginia Ross The Penn Indiana U. of Pennsylvania Of the approximately 13,000 stu- dents attending Indiana U. of Pennsyl- vania's (IUP) three campuses, over 6,000 are considered non-traditional, according to a study being conducted by a graduate sociology student. "Traditional students are usually those who go from high school directly to college," said Dorothy Reyna, presi- dent of IUP's Adult Student Associa- tion. "They are usually able to spend 90 to 95 percent of their time on campus. Non-traditionals have families, work and church organization responsibili- ties. They have a difficult time juggling their home and college lives. . . and have a lot of pressures to deal with." The American Association of Adult and Continuing Education considers a non-traditional student someone who is 25 years of age or over and is working on a four-year degree:Anne Arsenault, the association's representative for Women's Issues, says the majority of these students are women. "A lot are housewives, divorced women or single mothers who are going to college, usually for the first time," Arsenault said. "There seems to be a national trend toward the older stu- dents. The number of 18-year-olds is going down and the majority of students are older." According to the U.S. Department of Education, there were about 2.8 million women over 25 who attended college compared to about 1.8 million men in 1975. The projected total for 1988 was 3 BRYN HENDRICKSON, DAKOTA STUDENT. U. O' NC million women compared to 2.5 million men. The U.S. Bureau of the Census re- ported that between 1975 and 1985, women students over 25 went from 11.8 percent to 17.4 percent of all under- graduates nationwide. These women "not only have school, but they also must deal with family problems, kids, possibly work, their homes," Arsenault said. "We're trying to Wake Forest University ... a different school of thought. WAKE FOREST MBA With special emphasis on: .International Business - Microcomputers - Small class environment . Broad-based management . Experiential learning * Close student-faculty relations . Integrated curriculum Non-traditional students lobbied legislators at the State House to stop taxing educational loans and grants so that they can afford to raise their families and attend school. Wendy Stephens, president of the Non-Traditional Student Association, told a senate committee hearing in July that GuaranteedbStudent Loans and Pell Grants should not be counted as income because the extra income caused their welfare to be cut. Wisconsin and Minnesota have already passed laws dictating that no state benefits will be taken away from students because they receive scholarships and other forms of aid as income. Erik Deckers, The Ball State Daily News, Ball State U., IN help them deal with it all by standing their needs." Student Kathy Bradford said 1 toughest thing is when her foL old son Jerrod asks her to plea home from school. Bradford is studying educat: says that in addition to her fan school concerns, she experien added strain of being on welfai "I can get Pell and PHEAA but not a GSL (Guaranteed E Loan)," she said. "For any am money you get in excess of your your food stamps are cut. It n difficult to feed your family." Reyna said that in addition ti with financial constraints, ma dents, especially the older womE difficulty with professors. "Ma fessors assume you have all 1 time in the world to get things d don't acknowledge the problen students have with their childrE jobs, whatever." In addition, she said, traditic dents seem to be concerned wit integration whereas non-trad are in college for self-fulfillment seeking to better themselves. For more information call toll-free: (800) 722-1622 or write: James Garner Ptaszynski, Admissions Director, Wake Forest MBA, 7659 Reynolda Station, Winston-Salem, NC 27109 (919) 761-5422