Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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With a bored expression, Dave Maytes looks over his news- paper to see if his terminal is back in service. When the VAX system shut down, it delayed many students. Photo by Mark Strecker Providing a demonstration of the Electronic Campus, Stacy Lee explains the VAX system to Gov John Ashcroft. The gover- nor attended opening ceremo- nies for the system and official- ly switched on the Electronic Campus. Photo by Mark Strecker Keying in part of Shirley Rey- nolds ' paper, Nedal Almobaied edits mistakes. Assistance was available in B.D. Owens Library. Photo by Mark Streckei Electronic Campus 2 1

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Technical difficulties Expanding system suffers growing pains n apers could be typed in the con- venience of one ' s room. Library books could be looked up within a matter of minutes, and locating friends was no longer a frustrating task. Technology at its finest From 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. hiad been integrated into the when the mail mode was ac- learning environment at Northwest with the installa- tion of computers in every residence hall room and faculty office. For the first time, students and faculty members had access to a computer system at their fingertips. Students ' expectations for the system were high, and those expectations were often met with disappoint- ment when the system fell short of perfection. However, with any ad- vancement came problems. Gntil the initial difficulties were overcome, students faced setbacks when using the new system. It was a hassle, Chris Gose said. It was too crowd- ed in the library to print any- thing off. For this reason, some stu- dents avoided using the computers. 1 had to type my paper in, file it, and go to the library to print it out, Ken Campbell said. The typewriter was still right there. The advantages to having a computer in every resi- dence hall room were some- times also disadvantages be- cause of the large number of people who had access to the system. The majority of use on the VAX system was dedicated to the mail mode. cessible, there was a waiting queue. The waiting queue was sometimes close to 200, and that meant waiting for a cou- ple of hours, Campbell said. When the University tried to eliminate this problem, however, some students felt their corrective measures were too drastic. Though I agreed with shutting the mail service off during the day, 1 thought we should have been allowed to at least read our mail mes- sages whenever we wanted, Robin Brockman said. Another measure taken to avoid students mono- polizing the system was the automatic log-off for users logged on the system more than an hour, or for those who had been inactive for five minutes. The measure, though effective, seemed to irritate users. It was upsetting when lit- tle messages flashed on the screen while 1 was writing be- cause it left a blank space in the middle of what 1 was typ- ing, Campbell said. Though the measures al- lowed for some control, they didn ' t guarantee immediate access for users. Dr. Jon Rickman, director of Com- puting Services, expressed doubt toward a day when ac- cess to the mail mode would be easily attained. The amount of money that had already been spent toward the project was im- mense, and administrators seemed to favor investing in the academic capabilities of the system rather than in the mail service. Another area that seemed to raise opposition from stu- dents was the directory. It list- ed each student ' s name, ad- dress and phone number, all of which were available at the stroke of a few keys. 1 didn ' t like the student directory because someone 1 didn ' t even know could have found out where I lived, Di- ana Jensen said. It took away from my privacy. Students and faculty were also unsatisfied with the fact that the computer could shut down or log them off at any minute, regardless of what they were working on. It made me angry when 1 was right in the middle of an assignment and the system shut down for repairs, Kar- ralena Roberson said. The frequent problems were no surprise to those people directly involved with implementing the system. We expected considera- ble problems in September and October because the system was new, Rickman said. Administrators continued to make improvements in the system as it was adapted to meet the needs of students and faculty. Even though the system didn ' t meet their ex- pectations at times, adminis- tration continued to focus on and improve those areas that caused problems, n Debbie Allen 20 Electronic Campus

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Sweating it out Graduates bear the heat of uncertain futures A .s 439 graduates perspired under commencement gowns, thoughts of satisfaction and gratification filled their minds. Although some couldn ' t shake the desire to be somewhere else, other graduates used the time for contemplating the future and reflecting on the past. The May 9 ceremonies marked the 81st spring Com- mencement exercises. More importantly, they marked both an ending and a begin- ning for graduates. 1 wish my parents could have shared the proudest day of my life, Hong Kok said. Still, there were so many questions. 1 wondered, what now? Where do 1 go from here? Others related to Kok ' s uncertainty. 1 was ready to get out of school, but i wasn ' t really sure if 1 was prepared for the future, Jodi Brady said. When 1 looked back on my college years, I couldn ' t real- ly think of anything 1 had learned to prepare me for that step. Ready or not, graduation day had finally arrived. Seniors had looked forward to the day since the begin- ning of their senior year and some since their freshman year. The commencement ad- dress was delivered by Mis- souri Secretary of State Roy Blunt. In his speech he fo- cused on computers and praised Northwest for ad- vancing into the computer age with the Electronic Campus. Although computerization was an important issue for the University, some gradu- ates felt the topic was over- used during Commence- ment exercises. I thought spring gradua- tion ceremonies had nothing to do with the graduating seniors, Kirby Small said. All they were doing was rant- ing and raving about the Electronic Campus, and none of the graduates were able to use it. As graduates listened to an address some thought didn ' t apply to their class, the heat added to the annoy- ance. It seemed long, and it was incredibly hot, Tina Steinke said. But I wore shorts under my gown, so I was more comfortable than some. espite the heat, most graduates were glad they went through the ceremony. College would have seemed incomplete if I hadn ' t gone through it, Steinke said. Other graduates went through the ceremony to please their parents. A majority of graduates just went through Com- mencement ceremonies be- cause their parents hadn ' t gone to college, and they wanted to see their kids graduate, Brady said. Whether they wanted to be there didn ' t matter to graduates who still ex- perienced excitement, spec- ulation or sadness. Part of them tried to hold back tears D ' during their good-byes while helping friends fix collars and tassles. Others reflected on regrets, thinking there had been things they would have done differently. L ooking back, I wish I ' d have taken things a little more seriously during my freshman and sophomore years, Dawn Prall said. Also, I think 1 would have gotten more out of it if I had taken more classes that interested me outside my major. Many considered their fu- tures. Was the next step getting a job, marriage or an- other degree? Jobs were becoming specialized, so we had to be specialized in our areas, Bra- dy said. I wasn ' t really wor- ried about where I ' d be be- cause I knew I couldn ' t get a job without my master ' s. I knew I ' d be back. Others felt they were ready to join in the working class without obtaining another degree. I was looking forward to getting into the job market, Andrea Maxwell said. Gntil they realized the graduates crossing the stage were their classmates, some hadn ' t put much thought into the future. It hadn ' t really hit me that I was graduating, Cathi Jones said. It was really exciting. Whether their discomfort was caused by the heat of Lamkin Gym or uncertainty about their lives. Northwest ' s newest alumni realized they were doing more than just stepping across a stage. They were stepping across the threshold of their futures. D Teresa Mattson ■y:--. i . 2.2. Graduation