Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Volume 5, Number 64

1) ITS hopeful about bandwidth solution
2) World news roundup
3) Campus events

SPORTS IN BRIEF

1) Women’s basketball one win shy of school record
2) World sports roundup
3) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.
I’d like to know what kind of snow shovels the college staff uses.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the low 20s.
I spent a good amount of winter break shoveling snow, and I never got the driveway anywhere close to as perfect as the paths all over campus.

Tomorrow: Partly sunny. Highs near 40.
No, this isn’t a humorous way of congratulating them on a job well done – I really want to know their secret!

TODAY’S SHARPLES MENU

Lunch: Moo goo gai pan, jasmine rice, *vegetable moo goo gai pan, eggplant casserole, baby lima beans, mixed vegetables
**Mexican bar

Dinner: Boneless center cut pork chops with chutney roasted red bliss potatoes, *three bean casserole, broccoli-mushroom bake, vegetable blend
**Pizza bar

NEWS REPORT

1) ITS hopeful about bandwidth solution

After a semester of aggravation over the installation of a bandwidth shaper that limited the speed of downloading and sending large files through the campus network, things are finally looking up for Information Technology Services.

Mark J. Dumic, Manager of Networking, Systems and Telecommunications for ITS, said that over winter break new hardware and software was purchased for the bandwidth shaper, improving last semester’s situation a great deal.

During peak hours, all 10 Megabits of the college’s bandwidth will be allocated according to a somewhat complex system whereby faculty, staff and administration are assigned a priority level of 10 and students 1 (10 being the highest).

But at less high-traffic times, all the excess bandwidth won’t go to waste like it did last semester. “Students will be guaranteed a minimum of 256 Kbits in both incoming and outgoing directions,” Dumic said, “But if more is available, it will be split evenly among all those who need it.”

This new system wasn’t a possibility last semester. Dumic said bandwidth shapers are a relatively new technology, only emerging in the last year or so, and improvements are constantly being made. The hardware the college bought is the highest speed version currently available and runs two and a half times faster than last semester’s version.

They also bought a new version of the software, which makes it easier to adjust the bandwidth allocations. Last semester, Dumic made adjustments in the minimum bandwidth allocation to students manually; thus, he was only able to do it a handful of times. The new software does it automatically, every second of every day, assuring the use of all the available bandwidth by whoever needs it at any given time.

The new policy does allow one individual to have access to an extremely large amount of bandwidth at a given time, but only if the person has good timing. If someone logs on at 4:00 in the morning to download large files and s/he is the only user sharing files, s/he will have access to nearly all of the available bandwidth. But as soon as a second user needs bandwidth, the allocation to the first user is immediately cut in two. Likewise if 10 users log on next.

Overall, students should expect to see download speeds considerably faster than those of last semester, even during peak hours. Dumic said students account for roughly 80 percent of the bandwidth use, so faculty and staff use doesn’t factor much into the equation, despite their higher priority level.

“I think this is a much better approach,” Dumic said. “I promised the community that I’d keep up on advancements in the technology, and I’m pretty comfortable that what we have in place now will suit us quite well for this semester,” he added.

Dumic didn’t rule out the possibility that the college may eventually have to buy more bandwidth, but he is confident that this new system will please all involved in the meantime.

– Jeff Heckelman

2) World news roundup

Four of the seven convicts who broke out of a Texas prison six weeks ago and allegedly gunned down a policeman on Christmas Eve were captured near Woodland Park, Colorado on Monday. A fifth inmate shot himself inside a motor home after being surrounded by authorities. Police are still searching for the other two inmates.

On the 28-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion, President Bush signed a memorandum restricting U.S. overseas aid to international groups that promote abortion. The Clinton administration had a policy on unlimited family planning. The memorandum that Bush signed brings back the policy that his father and former President Reagan had instituted before him.

Meanwhile, as Bush prepared to release his agenda in a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, senators wary of Bush’s education motives were busy making plans to resuscitate a K-12 federal education law that targets money for the nation’s poorest children – as well as other education efforts that bogged down in Congress last year.

Iraq’s foreign minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf will hold talks next month along with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on ending the stalemate over U.N. sanctions and weapons inspections.

A crippled oil tanker is threatening the livelihood of all who inhabit and depend upon the Galapagos Islands this week. 60,000 gallons of oil have spilled from the tanker Jessica, and it is polluting the seas, endangering the famed wildlife of the area, and also endangering the local residents who depend on fishing for their food.

3) Campus events

“Foraging Behavior and the Two Pollen Economies of Pollinator-Plant Interactions.” by Neal M. Williams, University of Calgary.
Kirby Lecture Hall, 4:15 p.m.

Ballroom Dance
Upper Tarble, 9:30 p.m.

SPORTS UPDATE

1) Women’s basketball one win shy of school record

The women’s basketball team won their 13th game of the season Monday night, defeating Lincoln 64-48. They will go for their school record-tying 14th victory this Wednesday at home against Haverford. The game will start at 6:00 p.m.

The Garnet used a balanced attack to defeat Lincoln on Monday. Katie Robinson ’04 and Heather Kile ’02 led the scoring attack with 12 points each. Kile added a team-high 11 rebounds and four steals while Robinson pulled down seven boards and grabbed four steals. Sarah Tufano ’03 added 11 points and Heather Marandola ’01 chipped in seven. The team’s record is now 13-2, 5-1.

2) World sports roundup

Former Carolina Panthers receiver Rae Carruth was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years, 11 months in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and firearms charges. Carruth was convicted Friday of plotting to kill his pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams. …Two of the NFL’s other prime role models, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Giants quarterback Kerry Collins, have been the main focal point of the intense media spotlight surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. …Andre Agassi defeated Todd Martin to reach the men’s semifinals at the Australian Open, while Jennifer Capriati upset Monica Seles to reach the women’s semi.

3) Today’s and tomorrow’s contests

Today:

There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:

Women’s swimming at Bryn Mawr, 6:00 p.m.
Women’s basketball vs. Haverford, 6:00 p.m.
Men’s basketball vs. Haverford, 8:00 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We share a great goal, to work toward a day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law … to build a culture of life, affirming that every person at every stage and season of life, is created equal in God’s image.” – President George W. Bush, after signing a memorandum banning US aid to foreign organizations supporting abortion.