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Thursday, October 26, 2006

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Total Clips: 3

	Date	Outlet
Auburn University Targeted By E-Mail Virus	10/26/2006	WTVM-TV
Museum plans Rural Studio road trip	10/26/2006	O-A News
College freshmen face big choices Sudden freedom from parents brings even more access to alcohol	10/25/2006	Columbus Ledger-Enquirer


Auburn University Targeted By E-Mail Virus 10/26/2006 WTVM-TV Brock Parker		Return to Top
Auburn University students are getting burned by an official-looking e-mail. If you're not careful, it can download a virus onto your computer. Like many campuses, Auburn relies heavily on e-mail. 'It's really helpful because the teachers can e-mail us, and we find out information through e-mail. It's like our main communication here,' said Kelsey Westerman, a freshman at Auburn. Also, like all universities, Auburn keeps records of their students. However, there's a bogus e-mail that's fooling many into putting their personal information and computers at risk. 'In this case, it was from an account called 'abuse@auburn.edu', which is not an account that we use. It sounded very official. The e-mail is written in a format that you would receive from a higher-up level warning you about something,' said Seth Humphrey, AU information technology specialist. Humphrey said clicking the link in the e-mail can download a virus onto your computer, but it's not yet clear if it erases information or steals it. Humphrey and his team are tracking down the offender while alerting faculty and students. 'Our part of it is educating the users and how to respond when they get an e-mail like that. If it's suspicious, don't open it. If you do open it, don't click any links, delete it and get it out of your inbox,' Humphrey said. Shaye Smith said she always trusts e-mails if they come from a campus address, but now she'll double-check. 'Sometimes I don't even look to see what it says. I just click on the links, so it kind of makes me more cautious,' said Smith. A similar e-mail made its way around Auburn's campus a couple of years ago, but they tracked the sender down. Humphrey said they'll again find out who's sending the bogus messages, but until they do, be careful what you open. You can see the e-mail and AU's warning by clicking here.
Full Story

Museum plans Rural Studio road trip 10/26/2006 O-A News Jessica R. Elmore		Return to Top
Rural Studio projects designed and built by more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students since the program's 1993 birth will be the focus of an overnight excursion hosted by the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Nov. 4-5. Although the program has touched the lives of Marengo County citizens living in Demopolis, Faunsdale and Thomaston, the majority of the tour was planned around the projects located in and around Hale and Perry counties in the cities of Akron, Greensboro, Moundville, Newbern, Marion and Uniontown and Selma in Dallas County. Planned in conjunction with "Rural Studio: Education of the Citizen Architect," an Auburn University Architecture Department exhibit on display at the JCSM until Nov. 5, the excursion will travel to some of the Rural Studio's most famous buildings, such as the Hay Bale House and the Butterfly House. Participants will first shop and lunch at the Rural Heritage Center, a former school building renovated to serve as a community hub in Thomaston, which also serves as resource for developing new sources of income in the region - one of the poorest areas in the state. Founded by Auburn architecture professors, Dennis K. Ruth and the late Samuel Mockbee, the Rural Studio was designed to improve the living conditions in rural Alabama while providing hands-on experience to students. "The mission of the Rural Studio is to enable each participating student to cross the threshold of misconceived opinions to create/design/build and to allow students to put their educational values to work as citizens of a community," according to http://cadc.auburn.edu/soa/rural%2Dstudio/home.htm. "The Rural Studio seeks solutions to the needs of the community within the community’s own context, not from outside it." After lunch, the excursion will move on to the Rural Studio's headquarters at the renovated Morrisette House in Newbern, view Student Pods and the Subrosa Pantheon dowtown, and conclude with dinner served at the Newbern Volunteer Fire Department, according to JCSM services coordinator Andy Tennant. "The excursion group will retire for the night at the Historic St. James Hotel in Selma. "Built in 1837, this hotel recently underwent a six million dollar restoration; each guestroom is appointed in 1830s period style, featuring solid oak furniture, luxurious draperies and architecture unique to the era." The second day of the trip will feature structures created or renovated by the Rural Studio including the Music Man House, the Glass Chapel, the Lucy House, the Hay Bale House and the Butterfly House and outlying projects such as the Antioch Baptist Church and the Perry Lakes State Park. The remaining 10 spaces may be purchased until Oct. 27 for $159, which includes meals, motorcoach transportation and hotel. The last day to reserve a space is Oct. 27. For a special family rate, contact JCSM K-12 education curator Stephanie Burak at 844-3486. Tennant can be reached at 844-3081 for further information or to reserve a space. jelmore@oanow.com \| 737-2563
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College freshmen face big choices Sudden freedom from parents brings even more access to alcohol 10/25/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Hernandez, andrea V.		Return to Top
AU students were quoted in this story. Oct. 25--Each fall, universities and colleges across the country welcome a new batch of first-year students. And at this time, amidst choosing between Human Anatomy 101 and Introduction to Economics, or which fraternity party to attend, college freshmen will face choices involving a substance with an arguably ubiquitous presence on college campuses nationwide alcohol. Some students may choose to stay away from alcohol, while others may decide to dabble. Other students may choose to engage in activities like funneling and binge drinking or drinking games like beer pong and flip cups. Making decisions about alcohol can be crucial in a student's first year. According to a 2002 college task force report to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, some first-year students are among those who drink the most in college. Anecdotal evidence also suggests the first six weeks of the first semester are crucial to freshmen academic success, according to the NIAAA report. And because the early part of freshman year is when many students engage in heavy drinking, it may interfere with successful adaptation to campus life, the report read. About one-third of first-year students fail to enroll for their second year. Why freshman year? For many, freshman year is the first time students are away from home. Moving from high school to college, you definitely have a sense of more independence, said Amelie Yonge, 24, a 2005 Auburn University graduate. You have more freedom, more privileges. You just make your own rules. A number of local upperclassman students said that first taste of freedom also means a first taste of alcohol for some. Your whole life, you're sitting there and your parents are watching over your shoulder and making sure you're doing your homework at night, said 21-year-old Trawick Prince, a senior at Auburn University. And then once you graduate and you're here, you're now on your own and your parents are however many miles away, and it's just kind of like an urge for some people to go out and go crazy just because they have the opportunity they didn't have when they were in high school. Cheryl Yatsko, Columbus State University counseling center psychologist, said that developmentally, traditional-age freshmen may be more susceptible to peer pressure than older students when it comes to drinking alcohol. When you're 18, your friends are everything, and that's developmentally normal, Yatsko said. The social world is where alcohol comes into play... I think that's the hook for them -- if that's what their friends are doing, that's what they'll do. Yatsko noted this may not be applicable to everyone's freshman year experience. Availability Sarah Bradley, a 20-year-old junior at Columbus State University, said it was her freshman year when she saw many of her peers drinking. And she said she still sees that trend among the younger students. They're trying to fit in and they see a lot of older people drinking, she said. They're trying to do the cool thing. If they had never been exposed to alcohol before, curiosity may spur first-year students to try it, she said. Prince said that for underage students, alcohol is pretty easy to come by, whether it's at parties, tailgating events or get-togethers at a friend's apartment. Obtaining alcohol directly is possible as well if an older acquaintance buys the liquor or if underage customers buy it at gas stations that don't ask for ID, he said. Once you're in college, alcohol is going to be there, Prince said. It might be more difficult (for underage students) to purchase alcohol and get into certain places, but alcohol is around. Erin Wilkinson, a 21-year-old senior at Auburn and member of the sorority Kappa Delta, said that while alcohol was not allowed at Greek social events, it was usually available at the events' after-parties. Tailgating is another venue where alcohol could flow freely for students, underage or not. On a recent Saturday, Wilkinson sipped a beer and ate fried chicken with some friends at an Auburn University football tailgate. The whole tailgating thing, that's what it's about -- eating, drinking, she said. You drink all day. Throughout the tailgating grounds that day, beer funneling and games like beer pong were some other activities popular amongst younger tailgaters. Prevention At Columbus State University, staff members work to prevent accessibility to alcohol, especially in the dorms. Courtyard I, the university's freshman living area that houses about 400 students, is labeled as dry, meaning all alcohol is prohibited. A lot of our freshman students come on campus with an idea of on-campus life that they receive in the media -- the keg parties and the beer castles and everyone walking around in a drunken stupor, said Todd Myrick, associate director of resident life at Columbus State University. But being caught with alcohol can have serious consequences, such as citations and loss of scholarships, he said. Courtyard II -- dorm housing for sophomores, juniors and seniors -- has a number of students who are over 21. These students are allowed to have alcohol in their possession but must sign an agreement that they will not provide it to any underage students or leave it in common areas, Myrick said. If a person is over 21 and drunk in public, the university reserves the right to call university police and cite offenders. Myrick estimates less than 10 students were cited for underage drinking last year. Changing attitudes Yatsko said that for a number of students, attitudes towards alcohol may change as they move from freshman to senior year. It gets a little better when they find their focus. So many students come to college not sure what they want to do, what they're doing here, Yatsko said. Once they figure out what their career is going to be, what their goals are, what they're aiming for... I think that's when they maybe start to see that this could have negative effects in their future and they need to get a little serious. Developmentally, seniors may be able to make more mature decisions about alcohol, Yatsko said. I would say that the senior is more likely to be more mature about it, to see it as, 'Yes, I have a drink when I get together with my friends, but it's not the be-all, end-all of my social life,' Yatsko said. When you have a purpose, a goal that you're working for, that becomes your focus as opposed to your social life being your whole focus. For Wilkinson, her attitude towards alcohol has changed since her freshman year. I know I drank a lot when I was a freshman, she said. Now I don't go out as much. In her senior year, she drinks alcohol in a social setting, usually only on the weekends. Wilkinson said she wants to concentrate on her grades so she can go to graduate school for occupational therapy. I don't drink as much because I have to go to class in the morning, she said. Prince also said the excitement has worn off for him. My perception when I was a freshman was every night was the same -- is there something going on? Is there something to do? His interest in frequent social outings started to wane as he got older. You kind of understand that it's not necessary, just because you're a college student, to have to go out every night. Your focus changes on certain things, he said. You don't want to be in college 10 years. Seeing the negative consequences of irresponsible behavior under the influence also can change students' outlook on alcohol as they progress from freshman to senior year, Myrick said. Not for everyone And for some freshmen, drinking may not even be a part of their college experience at all. The whole freshman mentality about going out and going crazy -- that doesn't apply to everybody, Prince said. That goes for Robert Wright, an 18-year-old freshman at Columbus State University. Wright, who is pledging the fraternity Sigma Nu, he said he has made the decision not to drink. I was in a car wreck in eighth grade, and I severed my liver, he said. I don't want to risk damaging it again. I just don't see how (drinking) is worth it. Wright was riding in a church van with 12 other people when the vehicle hit black ice and flipped. The seat belt severed his pancreas, liver and part of his stomach. Wright said the fraternity accepted his decision to stay sober, without any questions. I can have fun drinking Cokes, he said. At the Auburn University tailgate, Laura Thomas, a 17-year-old high school senior who will be attending Auburn University next fall, joined family and friends for food and fun -- sans alcohol. I expect college to be a lot of drinking and a lot of partying, said the student of Calvary Christian Academy in Ormond Beach, Fla. But I can choose what I participate in. Thomas said she does not drink now and does not plan to in college. My biggest concern is being pressured to drink alcohol, but I think I can stand up to that, Thomas said. Copyright © 2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.