Break a leg Jenny says ... Water Engine debuts on campus tonight at 7.:30 Check out Cowboy Mouth, sex drives and Wednesday p.m. in Washington 1/all. Read Scene's premew hard-Core 'Intellectuals' in today's for background before seeing the play. editorial section. NOVEMBER 17, Scene + page 10-11 Viewpoint + page 9 1999 THE The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary's VOL XXXIII NO. 54 HTTP:/ /OBSERVER.N D.EDU PUSHING CORPORATE LIMITS New software system aids in academic advising cation and lifn," llurley said. By liZ ZANONI Whnre computing gradn point News Writer averages, resnarehing aeademie his­ tory and finding appropriate coursns Notre Dame is finalizing new soft­ ean take up thn majority of mneting ware that will enable faculty and stu­ limn with students, advisors will now dents to have access to information have the freedom to advise students on degree requirements for gradua­ on eareer possibilities and graduatn tion, said Charles Hurley, the work. University's assistant registrar. The eurrent system requin~s stu­ The new software is designed to dents who want to reenive rt~ports make professors experts on the charting their progress toward ment­ requirements within their depart­ ing degree requirements to go, in ments so they can better assist stu­ person. to the registrar's offien and dents with advice. This will be espn­ request the writtnn report. Many uni­ cially useful for Notre Dame's diverse versities such as Notrn Dame are undergraduate program which often abandoning these more outdatnd and experiences quick changes and inconvenient ways of finding and dis­ expansions in required elasses, tributing information, Hurlny said. Hurley said. I Ie said that ereating the new pro­ The Web version of the degree­ gram involved the partnership audit program will enable students between Notre Dame and Software to have access to their personal aca­ Heseareh Northwest (SHN), a soft­ demic records. Students who are ware manufacturing eompany who thinking about changes in their has had a long history of working majors can compute which credits with Notre Dame software programs. will count toward completing new The partnership between SHN and requirements. Notre Dame has ereated a way to "It will be flexible enough for com­ revoal an abundance of dntailnd puting requirements as striet as in information on a single Wnh 'screen the College of Seienee and liberal without making tlw program nxcr~s­ enough for ones in the College of sively eomplicatnd. 1\rts and Letters," Hurley said. Ilurley pointed out that tlw rww Faeulty will be able to use Notre sol'twarn will still dmnand communi­ Dame's new degree-audit system to cation with advisors and faculty compute grade point averages and about degree-rnquirmnnnts. degree requirements "within split "The software is rnnant to lwlp seeonds," Hurley said. The pro­ with advising, not rnplacn it." hn gram's ability to grab information said. The deans will make final deci­ and data off the mainframe will be sion over who has ful!illed tlw proper five times faster than thn eurrent requirements for graduation. software. "No eomputt~r program will tnll a Professors can then use this infor­ dean what thn eurrieulurn is and who mation to advise students on regis­ graduates," Hurley addt~d. tering for courses. Tho "self serve" degree audit pro­ ERNESTO LACAYO!The Observer "The software will free up the advi­ gram is currently being tested by fae­ Speaker Roberto Job persuades the c;:rowd, delive~ing his seminar, "Bring_ Your sor so that they can help students out ulty members and should be avail­ Culture to the Corporation" Tuesday mght. The semmar touched on culture m the not just with course requirements. business world and was held in LaFortune's Ballroom. able for student aeeess through Irish but with information on overall edu- Link sometime next year. BOG sponsors gift Lightbulb causes fire in Lyons gated the seene and cleaned Lyons hall staff ealled Notrn giving service project By TIM LOGAN up. Dame Seeurity/l'oliee and News Editor Hall staff discovered the began evaeuating residents. blaze when tiHJy noticed Other women found out projnet. "It reaehes out to a A small fire eaused by a smoke in the hallway outside when they smelled smokn or By COURTNEY BOYLE larger rangn of' ehildren in thn light bulb prompted an evac­ the room. heard pen­ News Writer world. not just in the United uation of Lyons Hall Tuesday F i r e pin ovaeu­ States," evening. alarms did "J think it's ironic that ating. Mirarln on the 1\vnntw, also Pitsch learnnd ol' the project No one was hurt by the not go off M y through Marge Kalkstine, who twice in the past week known as Opci·ation Christmas fire. It causnd minimal dam­ right tiway, roommate startPd Oporation Christmas Child. is wtdl on its way to age, mostly to the clothes in aecording we've had two .fires and walked in !wiping undPrprivilngnd chil­ Child in Grand Hapids. Shn the closet when~. it started. to Lyons the alarm hasn't and said launched the projoct in her drPn in povnrty-strickPn coun­ The fire was reported at rector 'Thorn's triPs. high srhool. gone off" 7:35 p.m. af'lnr some towt1ls s i s t () I' smoke, WP "I start.Pd it my senior yPar VolunlPPrs an• askl'd to fill a in a first-floor room's doset Kathlnen have to gPt shot>lwx wi l h hygi P n P i tn m s, as a way to bring sorviee into caught fire from the heat of Beatty, but Mary-Claire Jarvis out."' said toys, srhool supplins and $5 my town. I just wanted to bring a light bulb directly over­ the smoke sophomore junior l.iza l'or shipping. Tlwsn boxos will thn awarnnoss lol' underprivi­ head. It spread through the was so Naticrhia. n leged childnml. This is a way tlw b n ship p P d Nov. 19 to eloset and may havn eaused heavy it was Sunday rountrios surh as Bosnia, for people nverywhnre to gnt damage in the room above. obvious there was a l'irn. morning thnre was anotlwr Albania. Kosovo, llonduras involvnd and reeognizing nneds Fire personrwl arrived at "We went into the room small fin~ caused by a light. throughout the world," said and Nicaragua. the scene within a few min­ and you could taste it," slw bulb in Lyons. Tlw room "OpPration Christmas Child l'i tsch. utns and put out the names said. alarm did not go ofT in that raisns shotdwxns full of' gifts Pitsch also got .Jacque shortly then~after. The hall Dorm ofl'icials pulled llw firn either, according to for childn~rr of' ollwr countrios l.autwnheisnr involvnd in this was evacuated until 8:25 fire alarm when smokt~ who art• rwPding morn," said p.m. while firemen investi- detectors did not sound. Kimlwrly Pitsch, hnad of' the see GIFTS/page 4 see FIRE/page 4 page 2 The Observer+ INSIDE Wednesday, November 17, 1999 INSIDE COLUMN THIS WEEK IN SOUTH BEND Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Spring break + Country dance lessons: + Theatre: Meet Me in St. + Comedy: The Amazing + Arts and crafts show: North Liberty Community Louis; Round Barn Jonathan; The Funny Cook Energy Information scams Building; 7 to 8 p.m. Theatre; Nappanee; 2 & 8 Bone Club; 8 & 10:15 p.m. Center; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. + Concert: Jim Gill; Main p.m. + Theatre: The Odd + Thanksgiving stories and It is that time of year when many students will return home to ask their parents a burning Library Auditorium; 6:30 + Museum: Nickol Fine Couple; John Glenn High crafts: Borders; 4230 question: "Can you help me out with spring break?" p.m. Arts; 100 Center; 11 a.m. school; 7:30p.m. Grape Road; 4:30 p.m. When my roommates and to 5 p.m. I asked our parents this Brian Hobbins question last year, a resounding "no" echoed across the Midwest. assistant Salvation to our escapist viewpoint editor blues came in the form of Compiled from U.Wire reports an ad, hidden discreetly in OUTSIDE THE DOME The Observer. Student Express was promoting trips to exotic locales in Mexico at cut-rate prices including free trips for "campus repre­ Students protest governor's proposal sentatives." It seemed too good to be true! And it was. GAINSVILLE, Fla. "We can't go down without a between now and Friday. First, SG The surprisingly low prices gave way to one A telephone conference with State and other student organizations will of the biggest nickel-and-dime scams I have University System Chancellor Adam fight, so to speak. This is the mass e-mail a letter to more than ever fallen into. Deposits, "meal plans" and Herbert on Monday failed to allay all point for us to show 1 ,000 students urging them to call or "perk" packages put a slow suction on student of student body president Brent ourselves." fax members of the Board of Regents bank accounts well before the ides of March Gordon's concerns with Gov. Jeb with a request to table the measure began to blow. Number crunching let us figure Bush's One Florida Initiative. until student input can be heard. out where that free trip was coming from: our "This plan that he's proposing Jocelyn Moore Moore encouraged students to for­ own wallets. should work, but it probably won't University of Florida ward the e-mail to everyone they However, as the winter snow drifts piled, the work," Gordon said.