Eastern Washington University EWU Digital Commons Eastern Washington University Digital History Student Newspapers Collections 2-8-2001 Easterner, Volume 53, No. 15 February 8, 2001 Eastern Washington University. Associated Students Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.ewu.edu/student_newspapers Recommended Citation Eastern Washington University. Associated Students, "Easterner, Volume 53, No. 15 February 8, 2001" (2001). Student Newspapers. 1350. https://dc.ewu.edu/student_newspapers/1350 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Eastern Washington University Digital History Collections at EWU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Newspapers by an authorized administrator of EWU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE www.easterneronline.com ASTERNE EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY VOL 52, ISSUE 15 THURSDAY, February 8, 2001 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 1 THURSDAY 2 FRIDAY 3 sATURDAY February 19, 1926 ANT TO MAKE HE CarterG. RIGHT MOVE 1960 Woodson 1870 installed "Negro SOME ONE SPE IAL? A group of black college students The 15th History Week," ions and plans see : ge 10 Amendment was which later in Greensboro, N.C. began a sit­ passed, granting became Black blacks the right History Month. in at a segregated Woolworth's lu to vote. 4 6 7 11 12 1909 The National Bad Valentine's Day Association for t experi ences on Advancement f Colored People page (NAACP)was 12 formed by a group of concerned black and white citizens in New York City. 18 19 24 North st network Eastern Comput · Science professor Steve Simmons' devel pment brought Spokane EED CHEAP DEAS businesses i to the 21st Century. N FOR THE Bl DATE? We suggest so e on S e: page 2 page 25 26 27 28 1870 alentine's The first black senator, Airam R. New Fr -temity Revels took oath in e about? office Eastern's Gre system has a new member See: page 3 See:Page 10 February 8, 2001- Fighting against food deprivation research insntur1on w01king on thlS prob­ EWU Professor and with a few other labs in the lem. United States and a couple vari­ Because cassava types do not interbreed biotechnology expert ous places around the rest of Lightfoot and his students produce differ'. experiments with increasing the world, is necessary because ent strains in the lab. the cassava plant does have "We have a lot of skill at tissue culture edibility of staple food some problems d1at need to be here, and we ca n actually take the cells of solved. cwo different kinds of cassava, strip ti1e hard One of these problems, LucyDukes wall cell off," he said, ·'and fuse them to­ said Lightfoot, is that the tu­ gether." bers contain lethal amounts of This will ultimately make ,1 hybrid plant Right here at Eastern Washington Univer­ cyanide. with the genes of both plams. sity. researchers are working to solve world The poor of the tropical re­ "It's the same thing as sexual reproduc­ hunger. gions boil it in order to make tion, but we have to do it manually. We se­ Eastern's Dr. Don Lightfoot. a biotech­ it edible, but sometimes do not lect the ones that have properties that are nology expert with more than 30 years expe­ boil it thoroughly enough. • useful," he said. rience in the field, is working with students at Lightfoot recalled an incident Lightfoot has been dedicated to this the Cniversity's biotechnology lab Lo improve in which a family of five died project for about four years now and in­ a plant ca Ued cassava. in Ghana from eating improp­ tends to remain with it for years to come. Cassava is a starchy tuber native to north­ erly cooked cassava. However many years these experimenta tions ern Brazil and eaten by the poor in tropical One of the Eastern research will take, Lightfoot is ready and highly mo­ parts of the world, Lightfoot said. goals, Lightfoot revealed, is ro tivated. "IL looks like a kind of a funny, woody remove the fatal cyanide and People are starving, he said, '• living on sweet potato," he said. save lives. borrowed land in paper shacks, I mean, ti1at ·' The poorest people who have no land Cassava is also a common vi­ borrow the fringes of the roads and things, ral infection, which prevents is not an exaggeration. A lot of people live plam rhat, propagate it, and they ear the tu­ proper plant growth and tuber like that, and if their cassava is producing bers," he said. "And so when they have nmh- production. The tropical damp only 20 or 30% as much of the food tha t 10g ebe LO eat, then 1he last thing they would air promotes the bacterial they absolutely depend on, it's worth doing be able to afford ro have would be some cas- growth, but hard at work on something about." sava" that problem is a lab in St. While the project aims to help the starv­ Half a billion people who have linle else Louis. A EWU's Dr. Don Lightfoot is working with ing, Lightfoot says Lhat Lhe ethics of doing depend on cassava for food, he said. "Viruses cause about 80% students to improve the Cassava plant so is still a major concern Lo researd1ers. Because it is grown only in the o·opics, and loss of cassava, .. Lightfoot Because improved cassava will help the not 1n the United States where much of the stated. idly decomposes once the tuber's surface is poor have enough to eat, d1ey will have more world's agricultural research is done, not much Besides removing d1e cyanide in the plant, scratched. children, who wiU then eat more cassava. work has gone into improving the plant, Eastern 's researchers are working on improv­ "That means this is a crop that cannot be Lightfoot realizes that the situation might Lightfoot said. ing the tuber's resistance to bactena. transported very well." not necessarily be improved. The research done at Eastern's lab. along Lightfoot has observed that the plant rap- Our very own University lab is the only EWU Professor brings business to Spokane Simmon,;' creation, the pokane Terabyre was off d1e ground. know how to develop technology and business Triangle, would encompass an area stretching Simmons has three values he feels ti1at a busi­ interaction," Sirrunons said. from the Riverpoint Higher Education Park, to ness would get from moving into the Terabyre Simmons also wanted to create an atmo­ Browne's Addition to ti1e Spokane Arena Dis­ Triangle. Connectivity would hook everybody sphere where "young, long-haired programmer Steve Simmons was '"11kmg ti1rough the San tncL Buildings within this area would be wnhin the Lriangle up to high-speed optical fi­ types dm usually work in ti1ese high-tech places Francisco Airport on a layover in 199➔ when he equipped w1ti1 high-speed fiber opuc cables, at­ ber. Landlords within the Triangle would lease can really have fun in tl1eir environment." sat down next to a newspaper ti1.~t would d1a11ge tracting software deYelopers, Internet providers plug and go buildings wired and ready for busi­ In order to do this d1e Triangle offers cerram the way S[Xlbne businesses would function for­ and other high tech companies. ness. quality of life 'extras' d1at help attract employees ever Like a miniature Silicon VaUey, the Triangle 111e Triangle would also provide a sense of to a business and keep ti1em happy al work Like Thero.', tn its pages was an arude about how would create a place that "high tech companies bustness community in d1e downtown core in a fabulous decor in a historic building, access to Sanjose saved its downtown by attracting soft­ could flourish and help each other kind of get a what Simmons calls Synergy. good espresso shops, and an: gallenes to brow,e \YJI-e companies and techniaans boost from their environment," Simmons said. More people coming downtown would gen­ tn during lunch hour ~1mmons, a professor of computer science Simmons pitched his idea to Terry Novak, erate more income outside of the Triangle as One business d1a t ope rares wuhin the To­ at Eastern \\\'ashington University, and a previ­ now a professor of urban planning at Eastern. weU. Software groups need computer technicians, angle •;vas created by a former computer science ous 20-year busmess owner in downtown Spo­ Al that time Novak was very influential in Spo­ designers and lawyers and markeLtng gurus, so it student at Eastern, Daro Walker ILF (lntelli­ kane recognized how applicable the San Jose kane politics and was very weU conneaed co many made sense. The Triangle offers an interaction gem Life Fom1s) Media Proclucuons, a busine,,,, 1ransfonnation was to Spokane oti1er people. with other businesses like tax lawyers, patent that operates 10s1de the Steam Plant qu1re ll1 Spokane needed to attract new kinds of "Right away he [Novak! started to make calls lawyers, sources of venture capital, writers and dowmown Spokane, emhodtes evel)'lhing die bustnes,,, or elst: 11 was going to JUSl empty out, .. on his cell phone " Simmons said. "Within 24 digital music contraaors to name a few Sunmons said hours he made about 30 to 40 calls." The idea !t would be a community of"colleagues ti1at See Terabyte, pg. 3 visit us at www.easterneronfine.com February 8, 2001 3 Eastern recognizes first black fraternity Brandon C. King bring more people to the Greek corrmmrtity." &fnt!r Tommy Voie, a Phi Delta Theta member, gave the new fraternity his vote of support as well. ·' It doesn't bod1er me at all. The more This month, something new is corrung to fraterrtities we have, tl1e stronger EWU's Greeks EWU.