Cooler Days Ahead for Dorms

Eastern Illinois University The Keep February 2002 2-22-2002 Daily Eastern News: February 22, 2002 Eastern Illinois University Follow this and additional works at: http://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_2002_feb Recommended Citation Eastern Illinois University, "Daily Eastern News: February 22, 2002" (2002). February. 11. http://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_2002_feb/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the 2002 at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in February by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Friday, February 22, 2002 Vol. 86 No. 108 ews thedailyeasternnews.com "Tell the truth and don't be afraid." Speech 1310 Cooler days ahead for dorms restructured Project will improve air conditioning CAA approves change to systems in several introductory course residence halls By Scott Miller Administration reporter By Melissa Nielsen Campus reporter Eastern will see if a more hands-on approach improves the introductory speech course all students In the heat of the upcoming spring are required to take to graduate. and summer months, students will enjoy T he speech communications department will test more reliable air conditioning while the how teaching the course in a new format, composed university saves money. of two small group settings and one large lecture, The university is installing new air affects the student learning experience. conditioning chillers in several residence Incoming Eastern students will be part of the halls and repiping the old chiller in the departmental study testing which delivery formats are Martin Luther Kingjr. University Union most effective in teaching speech communications. In to create more efficient and reliable air Colin McAuliffe/Ass ociate photo editor the past the course was taught in a smaller lecture for conditioning in the buildings. mat without separate small-group sessions. Orange fencing still surrounds several Come springtime, Carman will be one of a few resident halls that will have better air conditioning as a result of the addition of new pipes and chiller replacements. T he experimental format change to SPC 1310, construction sites near the north tower of Introduction to Speech Communications, was Carman Hall and the east side of The energy conservation contract is Reed said he hopes the air condition approved Thursday at the Council on Academic Thomas and Andrew Halls where work expected to save the university $10.8 mil ing will be "up and running" in the Affairs' meeting. ers dug almost 13 feet into the ground to lion over a ten year period or Honeywell updated buildings by early May. In addition, the large lecture portion of the course install the new air conditioning chillers, will pay the difference. Although the chillers are installed, work will be taught by tenured faculty instead of non Gary Reed, utilities manger, said. Reed said the new chillers are more ers need to finish installing pipes and tenured faculty, Mark Borzi, speech communications The same work is being done at energy efficient because they run on elec hooking electronics to the chiller and the chair, told the council Thursday. Stevenson Hall; however, workers did not tricity as opposed to the old chillers that fencing will stay up until the ground Despite skepticism, the CAA approved the exper have to rip apart the ground to install a ran on steam and burned natural gas. starts to grow grass. imental format change by a vote of 7- 1 with two new chiller. Instead, Reed said they used The chillers were "past their life cycle As another part of the air condition abstentions. an existing underground ramp to access and needed to be replaced," Carol Strode, ing project, the Union area was excavated Some CAA members felt that those changes the mechanical room and install the new interim director of the Physical Plant, over winter break to join the building's air would allow students to skip class. Under the change, chiller. said Thursday. "They just were not as conditioner to the existing chilled water lecture materials will be available online and the The new chillers and rerouted water efficient as they could be." loop on the north side of campus. course's attendance policy will be less strict. pipes are part of Eastern's energy conser Reed said the new chillers were The connection is another effort to Currently, the course states that three unexcused vation project, which the university con installed because the original 35-year-old make cooling in the Union more efficient absences result in a one-letter drop of the student's tracted Honeywell, Co. to complete. The machines were unreliable and prone to and reliable. With the new pipes con grade. Under the new format, students will receive a chillers are part of the conservation pro break downs. nected, the university will no longer have five-to-10-point reduction for missing class. ject as well as other changes that were In addition, he said the new chillers to run the air conditioning in all the T he lecture material will be available online to done over winter break on campus such will use less energy and, therefore, limit buildings at once. The chilled water loop help students with excused absences catch up on as the installation of low flow toilets, utility costs. will be able to cool one building at a time, course work, Borzi said. showers and faucets and energy efficient "Energy costs are being managed well so no single chiller will have to bare the Gail Mason, speech communications professor, lighting. and this will be more reliable," he said. burden of cooling several other buildings. told the CAA the more lenient attendance policy doesn't concern her. "I really don't care," she said. "I wasn't as concerned about them attending the lecture, but it is very impor tant for them to be in class during other students' pre Pay phones make way for change sentations." "Attendance is funny to me," Borzi added, " - it's the only time I've seen somebody pay for something By Melissa Nielsen Hudson said. they don't want." Campus reporter Residence hall directors, many of With the change, the lecture portion of the course whom have their offices near the pay would host as many as 200 students, Borzi said. That D windling usage has led to the dis phones said they have observed the information sparked debate among council members appearance of many of the campus' pay phones getting little use. who were concerned that the course size was too phones, which were removed after being "Maybe once a week I would see one large. deemed unprofitable. or two people using them, if that," "Personally, one of the benefits of coming to Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co., Rebecca White, resident director of Eastern is avoiding large lecture formats," justin which provided the university with the Lawson H all, said Wednesday. Brinkmeyer, CAA student member, said. pay phones, has slowly phased out more Bill Coderset, resident director of CAA member Tim Shonk, associate English pro than 20 pay phones in residence halls Thomas H all, also said he hasn't seen the Mike Scales/Staff photographer fessor, voted against the request, explaining he and the Martin Luther King Jr. pay phones in the Thomas lobby used believes in "small classes with more of an intimate set University Union, Clay Hopkins, direc Sarah Kraft, a freshman communication very often. disorders and sciences major, uses a ting between teachers and students." tor of telecommunications, said "I think it varied, but most students pay phone in the basement of lawson Borzi argued that although the lecture would be T hursday. Hall Thursday afternoon. could easily use the phone in their room larger, there would be a "20 percent reduction of stu T he elimination of pay phones has for long distance or the campus phones dents in each class section." prompted the housing department to H opkins said if the pay phones for free local calls," he said. Borzi said the smaller group session would allow allow students to make long distance remained in the residence halls, the One pay phone was left in the each of each student more speaking time, and more time to calls with calling cards on the house phone company was going to bill the the main lobbies of Carman H all, ask questions about the lecture materials. phones located throughout campus, housing department $50 for each phone. T homas Hail, Stevenson H all and Before the change, a SPC 1310 class could not Mark H udson, director of University H owever, the fee was not cost efficient Taylor Hall. White said the phone com have more than 22 students. Now, the group sessions Housing and Dining, said Thursday. for the university since the phones did pany left one pay phone in the Lawson will contain 18, Mason said. T he removal of the phones began not generate enough revenue. Hall basement, but removed two phones However, the debate did not stop CAA from over winter break after it became clear Increased phone card and cell phone in the main lobby. approving the request. The changes in the class will that multiple phones in each dorm were usage by students caused demand for take effect next fall. unnecessary, he said. pay phones to decrease dramatically, See PHONES Page 6a FRIDAY February 22, 2002 ON THE OF THE WEEKEND • USlC n otion They perform dances to songs by contemporary artists ranging from AI ien Ant Farm to Kenny Loggins. It's worth more than a look. The EIU Dancers Story on Page 5 GAZA STRIPPERS SCRAP MISS BLACK EIU THE INDUSTRY Back in black..

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