Page 2C

THE MICHIGAN DAILY NEW STUDENT EDITION UNIVERSITY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1994


I

ON-LINE
Continued from page 1C
University's Digital Library Program.
"Instead of having to go to the shelf to
pull it off, you can have it printed
from the computer."
This service is sent electronically
to the computers so students can ac-
cess it from their dorms or homes
with a computer and a modem.
"Students can look at these jour-
nals from anywhere at any time, they
don't have to come to the library,"
Lougee said.
The number of periodicals that
you can search through will also be
expanding. "The goal is to eventually
have magazines available for every
discipline needed at the University,"
Lougee said.
Also coming soon will be the link-
age of the on-line card catalogs of all
the Big Ten schools as well as the
University of Chicago and Illinois at
Chicago. This expands a student's
search for information from the
University's 6.6 million volumes to
58 million volumes total. "That will
really be remarkable," said Univer-
sity Library Dean Donald Riggs.
"With this system we can realize col-
lectively what we can't individually."
With improving delivery time of
the books, it is hoped that a book can
UROP
Continued from page 1C
students and faculty. Gregorman said
the GPA and minority student reten-
tion rates of those in the program is
higher than the University average.
Lucchesi said that while students
come to his office as members of the
UROP program, many stay on and
continue to work in his laboratory
even after they leave the program.
"There is an excitement to it," he
said, noting research is about "uncov-
ering one of nature's mysteries."
Students said the program allows
them to feel more involved in their
education.
LSA senior La Chenna Cromer
was in the program during her first
year at the University. She now serves
as a peer adviser for the program.
"It made me more aware of what
my classes were really trying to tar-
get. It also made class more interest-
ing because research correlated with
class work," she said.
C oSD 313)T572-G577a
ESAFETY GIR/2B2Wahtonaw # lAM
Ysilanti MI 46197

eventually be transferred from one
school to the University within 48 hours.
A smaller version of this technol-
ogy will be in place by the end of this
year linking the on-lineecatalogs of
Michigan State and Wayne State to
the University.
Even farther down the road, but
technically achievable now is a pro-
gram called Mosaic. This program
not only links on-line catalogs, but
actually transfers the content of the
item electronically over the phone
line. Not only does it transfer words,
but also sounds, pictures and mov-
ing images.
One day a research paper could be
handed in on a disk that includes
moving graphics or audio programs.
"All new information is created in
digital formats," said School of Infor-
mation and Library Studies Dean
Daniel Atkins. "We now have a way
of recording data that can then be
represented by electrons, photons,
magnetic fields, things that can be
moved at the speed of light."
But all the old material needs to be
scanned and converted into digital
format. "Some portion of the collec-
tion will be retrospectively scanned,
but the costs would be prohibitive to
do that,"Atkins said. "We will be living
in a hybrid world of print and electron-
ics for a very long time."

Racist e-mail message
rekindles free speech,
technology debate

By JAMES M. NASH
Daily Staff Reporter
With a racist e-mail message dis-
tributed worldwide, a computer hacker
last spring injected fresh controversy
into simmering campus debates over
free speech, harassment and informa-
tion technology.
The hacker - who has not been
identified or caught - pirated another
student's e-mail account to send the
message, addressed from the "Organi-
zation for the Execution of Minorities."
Within a day, the unwitting victim
of the prank, LSA senior Vincent A.
Krause, was swamped with more than
100 angry e-mail and computer jam-
ming devices in protest of the racist
message. Krause maintained his inno-
cence, and officials from the
University's Information Technology
Division (ITD) backed him up.
But the true culprit may never be
caught. "We have not been able to
identify the individual who posted the
message," Vice Provost for Informa-
tion Technology Douglas Van

Houweling said two months after the
note was distributed.
The message - a collection of off-
color jokes about Blacks and other
minorities - triggered heated re-
sponses from the University's top of-
ficers. It also added fire to the continu-
ing debate over use of information re-
sources.
The University's earlier policy bar-
ring electronic hate mail was found
unconstitutional, so the hacker's only
violation was to send the message un-
der a false name.
And falsifying the origin of the
message is amazingly simple, accord-
ing to ITD officials and other computer
experts reacting to the racist message.
ITD officials pledged to tighten secu-
rity at campus computing sites, but
admitted that confounding all hackers
is impossible.
"Right now, it is very easy to send
a message that at least superficially
looks like it came from someone else,"
said Keri Gluski, the University's sys-
tem projects coordinator.

Students can use the.

DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily
Angell Hall Computing Site at all hours of the day.

For beginners, computer
help is a phone call away

I

SHEPARDSON
Continued from page 1C
will allow you to recreate, rather than
live, an all-too-painful experience.
Always go out in groups of 10 or
more after 6. Spend study time mak-
ing zany, nutty answering machine
messages or decorations for your dorm
room door. (Avoid pretending to ac-
tually be on the phone during the
message or playing long sections of
songs.) Eat a balanced diet of com-
plex carbohydrates, multi-grained
breads and avoid trans-fatty acids.
Have rollerblades surgically attached
to your feet. This will save time and
strengthen leg muscles. Engage in
late-night discussion debating the
merits of air travel vs. train travel
with a member of the opposite sex.
Rinse. Repeat, if desired.
At the same time, broad, compli-
cated matters of University policy
will not be on your mind. Debating
the merits of a code of student con-
duct, listening to the supposed hor-
rors of an alcohol policy or a regurgi-
tation of wasteful University spend-
ing is not on the agenda of students-
to-be. I understand completely.
To the few students, waiting in the
albeit small wings to become the New
Student Leaders 2300: The Next Gen-

eration, I applaud you. You'll have to
sign for your checks later.
And indeed, why should you be
bothered by University policies or
any issue for that matter. Leave that to
heaven.
For many years, whenever I have
been given a soapbox to write from, I
have pounded out the same general
message: Ordinary people must strive
to make a genuine difference, not
repackaged, loosely-goosey syco-
phants masquerading as leaders.
Issues abound. Upset that you can't
let a friend use one of your umpteen
meal credits? Complain to friends.
Call the Housing Division. Start a
petition drive.
Enraged that skyrocketing rises in
tuition are keeping you or others from
graduating? Call Vice President for
Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford
and ask to talk to her. Stage a rally.
Individuals do not change policy.
The masses, leading lives of quiet
desperation, do. But at the Univer-
sity, there are hardly any masses to
speak of. The Vietnam-Watergate stu-
dent protestors gave way to the 1980s
cries for divestment from South Af-
rica, University recognition of Mar-
tin Luther King Jr. Day and the disso-
lution of the campus police force.
But the voices of students today

have fallen strangely silent. While
administrators continue to listen to
the opinions of a handful of students,
without the backing of a large group
of students, there is no driving voice
to insist that changes be made. Protest
does work, however rarely it is tried.
In January, members of the Black
Student Union held their own series
of MLK Day events to protest the
University's failure to include them.
And the University vowed to work
harder to include them.
What gets the attention of num-
ber-flipping administrators wearing
expensive suits and sitting in assigned
seats is large numbers of students.
Not the student government, not the
Daily, not handpicked leaders.
It is ordinary students. The people
sitting next to you in chemistry or
great books. When issues confront
you, be they trivial or monumental,
take action.
Be it in fraternity or sorority meet-
ings, code trainee sessions or regents'
meetings, if something doesn't sound
right, speak up. Let your voice be
heard. Do not be content to let others
carry the water. Strive to open the
floodgates. And let me know how it
goes.
- Shepardson is an LSA senior and
the Daily's managing news editor

By JEN DiMASCIO
Daily Staff Reporter
Angell Hall's computer consult-
ing area displays a wall full of dis-
membered disks. Disks that once
stored hours and hours of research
and thought were transformed into
symbols of panic and despair.
But using Michigan's ample com-
puter resources can be a rewarding
experience. Just remember a few
simple rules.
1. 764-HELP.'2. When saving a
document repeatedly, always save on
the computer's hard drive. 3. Always
make a backup copy. 4. Save infor-
mation on a floppy disk only before
leaving the center - especially dur-
ing paper rush time. 5. Store disks in
a plastic case. 6. Even better - learn
how to create an Institutional File
System (IFS) account. It will enable
you to discard floppy disks forever.
Call 763-8961 for more information
about IFS accounts.
More than 30 computing centers
are scattered all over campus. Each
residence hall houses a small lab and
main hubs are located at Angell Hall,
the basement of the Union, the School
of Education Building, NUBS, North
Campus and the UGLi.
To log on to the University's com-
puters for the first time, each student
must have a uniqname - a glorified
double password. To get a unigname
bring your student ID to a residence
hall site, Angell Hall, NUBS or the

Union. While you're there, pick t*
Michigan Terminal System (M)
electronic mail account.
If you need directions to any com-
puting center dial 764-1817.
The University's current e-mail
system, called MTS, is often criti-
cized for being too old and too slow
and susceptible to crashing. To cor-
rect this, the University is gradually
phasing MTS out in favor of a Unix-
based system. Unix is a simpler 9
more efficient way to send e-mail.
Currently MTS can be easily
crippled if the mainframe breaks down
or needs to be repaired. Unix, how-
ever, is linked to several mainframes,
so if one is incapacitated a user can
access another equally powerful main-
frame instead.
The Information Technology Di-
vision frequently sponsors workshq
to teach students how to use various
types of software and e-mail systems.
But, if you only need computers for
word processing - for typing nasty
term papers, drag the arrow to the hard
disk and keep clicking the box that says,
"Word." Then type - and remember
the first six rules - they'll keep you
and your professors sane.
Consultants are located at Ang4l
Hall and NUBS and will answer fg
computer question that you may have.
If they cannot help dial 764-HELP, a
24-hour hotline, to talk to a computer
consultant. Or start looking for a
hacker.


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