Daily Egyptian

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Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014 VOLUME 98 ISSUE 85

LEDs enlighten campus Luke Nozicka Daily Egyptian

Students will soon be enlightened by the results of an about $1 million lighting project throughout the campus. Kevin Bame, vice chancellor for administration and finance, said the new LED lights being installed are part of a $30 million deferred maintenance project. The university decided on LED because they are brighter and more energy efficient, according to Bame. He said the first phase of the in-house project is changing the lights from U.S. 51 to Thompson Point, and the sec-

ond phase will be assembling the lights from Thompson Point along Lincoln Drive over to South Normal Avenue. Phil Gatton, the director of Plant and Service Operations, said previous light bulbs lasted about two to three years, while LEDs will last eight to 10 years. Bame expects to activate several of the new lights by the end of the month. The new light standards are 10 feet shorter than the current ones and have thinner heads, with multiple small lights on the inside panel. Bame said while LED lights are whiter and brighter, they are also energy efficient and can

be set to point a specific direction. “A lot of light bulbs just throw out light everywhere – all over – but these will allow you to pinpoint if you’ve got an area that’s a little darker,” he said. Bame said the new poles allow the university to run fiber optics through them, to improve wireless coverage on campus. Instead of long trenches, equipment was brought to the campus that drills a horizontal hole and installs a flexible polyethylene tube, which is used to hold the fiber optic cables. Please see LIGHTS · 02

Salukis get iced for ALS

E van F ait D aily E gyptian The SIU football team participates in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Tuesday at Saluki Stadium. The SIU softball team challenged the Saluki football team. As of August 19, the social media trend has raised 22 million dollars for the ALS Foundation and gained more than 45,210 new donors according to www.alsa.org.

Updated Dell tablets distributed to freshmen Clarissa Cowley Daily Egyptian

Michael Gossett remembers the tablet computer he got as an SIU freshman last year. “I don’t use it at all because it sucks,” the sophomore psychology major Michael Gossett said. His complaint was common among last year’s freshmen, the first SIU class to be given the Dell tablets, as part of a program known as Mobile Dawg. This year’s freshmen are getting a new version of the tablet, the Dell V 11 Pro. While Gossett used his tab-

let to play games and to write in Microsoft Word, the new tablets include additional software such as Follett Brytewave allowing students to take notes and highlight and share ideas with other students or professors. The digital textbook platform typically has higher prices for textbooks than the SIU student bookstore. Rob Craig, a manager in Information Technology, told students during training sessions in the Student Center last week that the tablets should be fun to use, but also should be treated as an organizational and academic tool.

“There’s a balance. Find that balance,” he said. Craig said the new tablets simply reflect the constantly changing nature of technology. “Technology is always moving, especially in mobile computing. We want to use the latest affordable technology that we can feasibly provide,” he said. This year, students were required to attend a workshop before they could get their tablets. Rishawnda Carson, a freshman from Joliet studying biochemistry, said she did not like the fact that some of the pro-

gram was presented in a video. “It was boring and I would’ve wanted a real person the whole presentation because it was hard to understand,” she said. Carson said the tablet’s portability is convenient, though it makes the library and computer labs seem obsolete. Still, Carson said she would use her tablet, most likely for putting together research papers. She said sophomores should have had the option of getting their own upgraded tablets. Nicole Tabor, a junior from

Libertyville studying rehabilitation services, said she appreciates the convenience of tablets, which is why she uses an Apple iPad. She also said the tablets could provide an incentive for freshmen to stay at SIU and graduate. “It could motivate students to stay because they have the tools to succeed,” Tabor said. Tablets are paid for through the technology fee on their bursar bills. According to the Bursar’s Office, the student information technology fee is $105 per semester.

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