The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - September 3, 1996 - 11C More than lust art, music and computIers . « University f graduate T> ~: ~:Maxey and }r her family .. enjoy a Y summer 3 day on - K. North Cam- pus behind the School of Music. st webeb s 4.no< MARGARET ,:,: 4 ,:, "* k.4. "MYERS/Daily . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Just flol the b e b uses nort 4 S ' ?:.:. , .y;. >y 4~ t, 04 By Matthew Smart Daily Staff Reporter Central Campus isn't the only place where students gather knowledge to earn their degrees. Located just a few short miles from the heart of the University, North Campus is home to the College of Engineering, the School of Music and the School of Art and Architecture. It is also home to undergraduate and graduate students living in Bursley Hall. Vera Baits Housing and the Northwood apartment complexes. University buses provide free transportation between Central and North Campus. The main bus stop on Cen tral Campus is .ocated at the Ruthven Exhibit Museum. The Pierpont Commons bus stop is the main pick-up- and-drop-off point on North Campus. Each of the dif- ferent routes stop at both points, and buses usually come within five to 15 minutes. "The buses are fine weekdays," said Matthew Houser, an Engineering senior. "Weekdays they run about every 20 minutes, but you can wait as long as 40." While cars are a good alternative to buses across campus, parking is difficult on North Campus and almost impossible on Central Campus, he said. Construction has been a major presence for the past year across campus. The Lurie Memorial Bell Tower now stands as the centerpiece of North Campus. The carillon's-lowest note will be played by a six-ton bell, one of dozens of bells specially crafted in the Nether- lands for the enormous instrument. "The construction has been an inconvenience, but you're really proud of (the campus) when they are done," said Engineering senior Christine Seto. "In the past year it has gotten a lot prettier." "I definitely think it's one of the best engineering campuses," Seto said. The new Media Union is meant to merge the creative aspects of disciplines across the entire campus. It will house an electronic library, interactive multimedia classrooms, a virtual reality laboratory, theater and per- formance spaces and design and innovation studios. "Every activity in the (Media) Union will test whether the technology is there just for its own sake or is really useful for helping creative people," said Ran- dall Frank, Media Union project director. The Media Union currently houses the offices for the Computer Aided Engineering Network, the engineering library and many of the engineering computers previ- ously located in other buiidings. "The Media Union is like a mall," Seto said, referring to the large atrium and abundance of space. Along with the Media Union, the newly constructed Engineering Center will provide more classroom and computer laboratory space for students. But classrooms and bus rides aren't the only thing North Campus has to offer. The Pierpont Commons has a bookstore, three restaurants, a cafeteria, a video game arcade and offices for the Department of Public Safety and other Univer- sity departments. The campus also has numerous sculptures, including the Wave Field, which is an earth sculpture carved and molded from the ground. It looks like rolling waves of water stuck in time but made of dirt and grass. Other sculptures abound across the campus land- scape, making North Campus a good place for a walk- ing tour, Houser said. The cornerstone to undergraduate life on North Campus is Bursley, the newest and one of the largest residence halls at the University. Houser has lived in Bursley for three years. "Bursley probably has the best food of all the dorms," Houser said. "Everyone should eat at least one meal at Bursley." He added that there aren't many places to eat on North Campus, as opposed to the many cafes and restaurants on South State Street and South University Avenue on Central Campus. "We really need more places to eat. Wok Express doesn't really count as a place to eat," Houser said. "You're never very far from a bunch of computers,' Houser said. "You rarely have to wait for a computer. Not at all like Angell Hall." Angell Hall is the largest computing site on campus and is located on the west side of the Diag on Central Campus. Lines of students waiting to use computers are frequent there. Seto said that although she has lived on Central Campus and will continue to live there, she enjoys North Campus. "It's a good getaway," she said. Houser said he enjoys Bursley and North Campus for a number of reasons. "It's close to all my classes," he said. "It's quiet. If you need to get some studying done it's great. If you want to party you can go down to Central;" Houser said. While Houser said that Bursley may seem isolated from the activity of the rest of campus, he pointed out that Bursley has its own type of culture and atmos- phere, with a variety of residence hall activities, includ- ing a yearly Bursley street party. "There's really not too much to do on North Campus, so there's not much else to do but be friendly" Houser said. The dorm has short halls, allowing people get to know each other without the pressure of getting to know everyone on the floor right away, Houser said. Wh Lurie Bell Tower rises over North Campus. The bell tower, which contains a six- ton bell to play its lowest note, was dedicated in April. U I FILE PHOTO ecent University graduate Inger Rasmussen works on a flyer to publicize her Bachelor of Fine Arts photographic exhibition. tudents use computers for papers, e-mail, game playing, desktop publishing and programming, among other things. Students addicted to e-mail By Matthew Smart Daily Staff Reporter One of the things a world-class uni- versity like the University of Michigan >ffers is a world-class computer system, and part of that sophisticated computer system is electronic mail. Whether it's a message to a friend in Australia, a plea for more money to a par- ent or a confirmation of a study group with classmates, e-mail is essential com- munication for many University students. "I use e-mail every day," said Matthew Guthaus, an Engineering unior. "I work through my e-mail." Guthaus works at the Computer Aided Engineering Network, which supports computers and other resources for North Campus classes. E-mail is a tool for communicating with another person or with a group ouickly, efficiently and cheaply. home using a modem. The most popular program to access e-mail is called "pine." The program lets users create folders to store messages and create mailing lists, like a list of friends to whom the user often sends messages. Mailing lists allow a person to send many copies of a message to an entire group of people. "Mailing lists are good, but people abuse them," Guthaus said. "When advertisers get on them they are annoying." " o Addresses for mailing lists are public, and probai advertisers can send unsolicited messages. messa Many incoming stu- dents learn about e-mail day, bu during summer orienta- tion or during the first abouti few weeks of the acade- Guthaus said he has a mailing list of people who graduated from high school, with him. Most are students at other uni- versities around the country, with quite a few on either coast. "It's a great way to keep in touch, Guthaus said. Students with computers at home or in their dorm rooms can also access e-mail if they have the proper connection. This usually requires a modem and special software. ITD has resources to help students in their e- y 50 mail endeavors. Resi- dence halls also have es a staffs to answer questions. When students go t only back home for a visit or over the summer, they Iye can continue to keep in touch through e-mail. Have we got a deal for you! We have a serious overload of top-quality used books at way low prices. From anthropology to zoology, if it's a UM text, we've got you covered, at great savings. " Save 25% or more * Over $800,000 worth of quality used books (and we're tired of lugging them around!) " When you want to sell them back, we pay the same price as for new! Extended hours during book rush! rg i I