Creating a Vi.Rtual Reality

Friday, February 23, 1996• Vol. XXVII No. 96 THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING NOTRE DAME AND SAINT MARY'S Creating a vi.rtual reality Montoya receives Software designed by ND honor of passing engineers will increase the Olympic torch freedom of the disabled By KRISTI KOLSKI By JOHN GALVIN Assistant News Editor News Writer Traditionally, Alex Would you like to ny across campus with a Montoya would not be Qr' ·0,(' blink of your eye? Or how about dial a considered an all- cvv phone number with a twitch of your nose? American guy. He is It may seem a little far-fetched, but the originally from AtJanfa 1996 College of Engim~ering at Notre Dame, in Colombia, and he has conjunction with the department of a physical disability.____________ ____. Computer Science and Engineering, are that forces him to use prosthetics on both arms and researching and developing a Virtual Real one leg. ity-Human Interface to allow just about any But the Notre Dame senior embodies the American one to maneuver in th·e virtual world. spirit so much that he has been selected to carry the Beyond the video games and fancy soft Olympic torch for one stretch of the cross-country tour. ware, virtual reality has the potential to free The St. Edward's Hall resident is one of 5,500 people millions of people from the limitation of handicaps. see TORCH/ page 6 Whether they suffer from a broken ankle or a severe neurological disorder, the com puter will allow anyone to live independent SMC hosts annual ly. Hecent technology has made available sensors which. when applied to the body can act us a hund or foot in the virtual world. parents weekend "The idea", explains Notre Dame professor Dr. B1~ery, " is to create a 3-D virtual By RACHEL TORRES environment that the handicapped person Accent Copy Editor can maneuver around in with similar free dom that a natural person would have walk Today marks the Saint Mary's College ing around in a n~al environment." start of another Sophomore The research team is led by Drs. Beery and Sophomore Parents Parent's Weekend Uhran, who overlook about eighteen grad The Observer/Mike Ruma Weekend at Saint uate and undergraduate students involved in The College of Engineering is in the process of developing a Mary's College. Schedule or Events computer program which will enable people with disabilities, such the virtual reality development. A Notre The weekend offi as Notre Dame graduate Dawn Parkot, to maneuver freely. Friday, February 23 Dame graduate, Dawn Parkot, is doing her Parkot acts as both a researcher and tester for the program. cially kicks off at 3-6 p.m. Registration thesis work on this project. registration which Haggar College Center She has severe cerebral palsy and is sub will take place from 8 p.m. 'Agnes of God'- Little Theatre stantially disabled. Having extremely limit 3-6 p.m. in the ed musele control and acute vision and Saturday, February 24 Haggar College 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Academic open house- speech impairments, she acts as both a Center. LeMons lobby . researehAr and a tester for the human-inter "Merry Times, I p.m. Group tour- College Football face device. Magical Memories," Hall of Fume Parkot's motivation and ability intrigued this year's theme for 4:30 p.m. Mass- Church of the Loretto 6 p.m. Social Hour-Century Center not only Notre Dame faculty but also IBM to the weekend, will 7 p.m. Dinner- Century Center provide funds for computers and software include tours, perfor 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Dance- that ~~ottld make her achievemnnts more mances, and other Century Center attainahln for others with similar obstacles. social events for the "What makes Dawn special." explained Dr. Sunday, February 25 sophomores and 8-11 a.m. Continenlal Break.fast Bt~rry, " is that she managed to get through their parents. Staoleton Loumte tlw systmn and gel an education, most peo The student per pln in her eireumstance get frustrated and formance of 'Agnes of God' is one of the main attrac tions of the weekend and will take place at 8 p.m. in see SOFTWARE/ page 4 see WEEKEND/ page 6 SMC policies acknowledge rights of smokers He/it or's Note: This is the first plans," Murphy added. in a three part series exploriny And the dining hall is not the the use of tobacco at .'iaint Tobacco & only place to take smokers' lHary 's Colt eye. Today 's arti Its Effects rights into consideration. Ac cle examines the results of a cording to the college hand surt•ey gillen to 200 SMC stu book, "Smoking is permitted in dents which questioned their Part 1 of3 individual student rooms (with smoking preferences. transom closed) if it is agreed eigarettes do you smokfl per upon by all roommates. day," the answers of smokers Smoking is also permitted in By PATTI CARSON varied from two to eighteen SJinr lvl.ory'; E.liwr the vending areas of each resi cigarettes per day. The dence hall. Smoking is prohib remaining (>2 percent stated "Bneuuse it relaxes nw when ited in all other public areas of that they either "do not the residence halls. " I'm strnssml out." smoke" or consider themselves That was the most common Only three lloors of the four only "social smokers." campus dormitories are desig answnr given by 200 Saint But the Saint Mary's Dining Mary's women in an anony nated as non-smoking lloors. Hall considers this 38 percent They are the second lloors of mous smoking qtwstionnaire in its planning. A smoking yeslt~rday when they were Regina North and Regina section currently exists to South, as well as the first noor asknd, "Why do you smoke'?" accommodate this minority. Sixty-seven percent of the of Holy Cross Hall. "Nearly every year, a student But those who do not smoke womfHl poll11d have smoked a will fill out a comment card or tobaeeo product all(! 33 per also have rights, as many take some kind of action to re made clear on the survey. One cent have never smoked a cig move the smoking section from arettt~. according to the poll. woman stated, "I find smokers the dining hall, or at least to inconsiderate and selfish, in Interestingly enough, howev move it to an enclosed area, " er, only 38 pereent of those cluding my own mother." said Residence Hall Another student wrote, "Our polled consider themselves Association (HilA) Dining Hall "smokers" and will smoke parents may not have known Chairwoman Karen Murphy. The Observer/Mike Ruma alone. "But so far no action has been A student takes advantage of the Saint Mary's policy allowing student's And when asked, "flow many taken to carry out any of their see TOBACCO/ page 4 to smoke in a designated, non-enclosed section of the dining hall. page 2 The Observer • INSIDE Friday, February 23, 1996 • INSIDE COI..UMN • WoRto AT A Guwc~: A sacrifice: Gambling goes after states' approval with big money ST. LOUIS After failing in its first attempt to legalize slot machines on Missouri riverboats, the The gambling lobby Nota gambling industry took no chances and The gambling industry boomed in the early 1990s as many states lifted bans on casinos, riverboat gambling and slot spared no expense. machines. How politics and money have paved the way: Following a pattern that has been repeat theme night ed across the country, it hired the chief strategist for the state's most visible politi When it comes time to cian, then-House Majority Leader Dick check the box under the Gephardt, paying her company $218,750 to category 'Religion,' 85 help win passage of the 1994 referendum. percent of Notre Dame Gephardt himself got a $50,000 donation students choose for his state political action committee. 'Catholic.' A good chunk An additional $10,000 hired private inves of that 85 percent prac tigators to probe the background of a con tice their faith. servative St. Louis businessman leading the Out of those who opposition, and to plant leaks tying him to describe themselves as Krista Nannery right-wing extremist David Duke. Catholic, many attend Accem Editor And more than $50,000 was routed to mass regularly. Others Freedom Inc., a black inner-city political have more time and machine in Kansas City, to register voters energy to devote to volunteer work. It's only and head off potential opposition from natural; no two people are exactly the same. churches. Even campaign insiders had mis Different people have different needs and dif Casino owner Steve Wynn raised givings. "This is dirty,'' was scrawled on an $478,000 for GOP presidential ferent ideas about what their religion means internal campaign memo outlining the pay candidate Bob Dole in 1995. to them. And different people celebrate differ ments to Freedom Inc. ent holidays-religious or otherwise-in dif After pouring $11.5 million into the effort, Agroup has plans lo spend $10 million on a statewide initiative Former stale Attorney General Ernie Preate was ferent ways. the coalition including some of the nation's lhat would legalize slot machines and video poker in Palm sentenced in December to 14 monlhs in prison For example, Wednesday was Ash Springs. The gaming industry's most prominent friends include for taking secret campaign contributions from most recognizable ·gambling interests - former state Assembly speaker Willie Brown. operators of illegal video poker machines. Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten sea Hilton, Players and Promus - had the son.

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