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Blue Banner Features Rebelles reveal, rebel and redefine sexy ■ see page 6 Sports Men’s soccer team opens season with victory against Wofford ■ see page 2 Uume 38 Issue 1 The University of North Carolina at Asheville September 11, 2003 ntemet virus attacks campus network Mid-East violence further escalates Adam Pollock News Reporter UNCA computer and e-mail us- i suffered communication delays lerthe past few weeks as the Sobig us and Blaster worm swept lOUgh the campus community, lierfering with the university net- irk. Our system manager noticed that re-mail queues were filling up, ihe shut down e-mail,” said Kern rker, director of university com- ..iing. ihe Blaster worm, and its numer- s variants, infected the comput- 1 of college campuses, including NCA, as well as corporations and iividual users around the world, lie worm exploited a security akness in non-updated 32-bit isions of the Microsoft Windows crating system, impeding net- vk communication and interfer- jwith normal system operations, he Sobig virus, a program de- jned to over-utilize computer tworks and disrupt the normal perarion of network-based appli- lions, also caused serious prob es around the globe. This virus rated the most trouble for mem- s of the UNCA community. 'We’ve been hit with both at the ■lie time,” said Parker. “The world a infected out there and UNCA •ipients were in their address oks.” The Sobig virus spreads by coi ling the e-mail addresses con- 'ned in an infected user’s address "ik and re-sending itself to those 'ire.sses. Despite having identified the itce of the campus network prob- is, the computer center found “t older methods of dealing with nputer attacks could not com- ctely remove viruses from e-mail aages before they could inter- c with campus services, accord- QNCA Suzanne Aubel News Reporter tjovernors Hall, the newest resi- ®ce hall on the campus of UNCA, hially opened to students Aug. “We are very excited that we *ned and we are happy to endure V headaches that that may have '®ed on the front end,” said 'flanie Rhodarmer, associate di- 'tor of housing and residence life, ’ewere just thrilled to be able to -n and have that building ready students were here.” ^hns for the three-phase Cover 's Hall began in 1999, according 'Stephen Baxley, director of fa- ‘">es planning and management, committee of students and fac- '''helped contractors finalize the ’cr plans that would replace three "Wings the Governors Village "tiitory area. group designed the new resi- jice hall to look like it belongs in c^eville, and some of the inspira- ■' for its design came from build 1 X . -n JAY ADKINS/S I’AFl' PHOTOGRAPHER Michael Honeycutt, academic computing coordinator, works on clearing up UNCA network resources as an Internet virus causes a backlog of 35,000 e-mails. ing to Parker. “We were simply unable to deliver e-mail,” said Parker. Members of the UNCA commu nity suffered e-mail delivery delays lasting up to three days as computer services staff used the software tools at their disposal to check and clean over 35,000 individual e-mail mes sages. Although the virus did not create debilitating disruptions for some departments, it inconvenienced users throughout the university. “It was just a time consuming thing,” said Michael Small, UNCA business officer and bookstore man- ager. The Sobig virus inconvenienced Small and his staff by filling their inboxes with phony e-mail mes- . sages. Some expressed frustration be cause the Sobig and Blaster infec tions coincided with the beginning of a new semester and therefore interfered with comrriunication between instructors and students. “I just couldn’t get on my e-mail to get to some of the teacher e-mails that were sent out, which was a pain because it was the beginning of school,” said Kati Bray, a senior biology major. Others simply found their usual e-mail correspondence blocked. “A couple of my friends that I often send e-mails didn’t get my e- mails,” said Laurin Cardwell, a jun ior biology major. Computer center personnel man aged to clean and deliver all of the suspected e-mail messages despite preliminary warnings to the con trary sent to campus e-mail users. “We delivered everything,” said Parker. “We didn’t lose any mail at all.” Most people remained calm and understanding during the campus’ recent network difficulties, accord ing to Parker. He attributed this reaction to a well-informed cam pus community. “Certainly, people called our at tention to it, but we’ve received great support,” said Parker. Many students, including Bray, understand the reasoning behind the decision to temporarily shut down the e-mail system. “It’s a pain that it took so long, but if it keeps us all from getting viruses on our computers, I think that’s a good thing,” said Bray. “Adversity makes you strong,” said Parker. Parker and his staff learned about better ways to suppress the spread of viruses on UNCA servers and how to better allocate software tools and resources to protect campus network users. The infections cost the university personnel time and disrupted nor mal operations of the university’s networking and e-mail systems, according to Parker. “We worked through the week end, several of us did, either moni toring the situation or implement ing new solutions,” Parker said. Aja Wright, a senior mathematics major, avoided checking her e-mail altogether because of reports issued concerning the virus. Wright also expressed concern over the inher ent safety of public computer ter minals. “All campuses are dirty places,” saidWright. “When you stick your disk into one of those ‘A’ drives, you don’t know what you’re going to get.” Some fear that the university may face greater network-defense related obstacles in the future as the campus’s dependence on comput ers and Internet technology grows. However, Parker believes the UNCA community will fare well against hackers and their creations in the coming months and years. “We’re going to continue to get assaults like this and the best you can hope for is to minimize the impact and to keep services going,” said Parker. “We’re about as well positioned as anybody.” Users should take some protective measures of their own, like pur chasing anti-virus software and downloading current operating sys- ■ tern updates, according to Parker. ings in the downtown area, accord ing to Baxley. “It’s got a lot of neat design fea tures in it, such as a lot of wood in the building, which we don’t com monly have in a lot of our other residence halls,” said Rhodarmer. “It’s an attractive, very modern looking building and I think it’ll be appealing to students.” The new building has bed space for approximately 185 students, and amenities such as laundry rooms, carpeted bedrooms, computer labs and lounge areas. These features, along with the demolition of the old dormitory buildings, called for a large budget, according to Baxley. “It stayed within its budget,” said Baxley. “The building cost in the neighborhood of $11.5 million dollars, which includes a lot of things (such as) water, heat and air conditioning.” Air conditioning is one factor that makes the new hall, which is now the most expensive residence hall at UNCA, more appealing to some students looking for a single room. Ryan Norman, a junior art/Span- ish major, chose a single in the new building over a room in Governors Village because for that feature. “I was ready for a room by myself and I really didn’t want to go into the old Governors Village,” said Norman. “The past two years I lived in Mills and it was great, but I just felt like the facilities were getting worn down and everything was breaking.” Its convenient location on cam pus became another selling point for the building. May Wahdan, a senior drama major, moved back on campus after two years of living off campus to live in the new dorm. “I liked the location because (it’s near the) central campus, not on one extreme. South Ridge is really far and Founders is isolated by its own road,” said Wahdan. “I liked that it was really close to the gym, really close to the cafeteria and re ally close to educational buildings.” While the excitement over the convenience of the new hall is evi dent, the first thing that most people talk about is the overall appearance of the building. “I really love the appearance and MICHAEL KING/ST AFF PHO'FOGRAPHER Governors Hall opened its doors to students Aug. 16. the aesthetic aspect of it because it looks so great,” said Norman. “I like being on the breezeway, too.” The outdoor hallway forms a prominently featured breezeway that faces a courtyard area. The courtyard serves the function of making the building blend in with its natural surroundings. Hilary McVicker News Reporter - “I really like the breezeway,” said Wahdan. “You can sit out there and study or watch people play intramural games on the field. I like the fact that there’s a lot of nature around. It doesn’t look like this big obscene building in the middle of See GOVERNOR Page 8 Violence on both sides of the Is- raeli-Palestinian conflict this sum mer has highlighted conflicting opinions about the United States’ involvement in the Middle East. “Nobody’s been particularly happy with U.S. involvement, but everybody seems to think the U.S. has to be involved, because it’s the only power in the world that’s ca pable of bringing leverage to bear on both sides,” said Linda Cornett, director of international studies at UNCA. Opinions on the issue vary on UNCA’s campus. “The main issue I see is that Israel has a right to exist as a state, and that’s where it ends for me, regard less ofwhafs going on,” said Arielle Cohen, a junior interdisciplinary major focusing on religion and the global world. Many feel the issues are not clear. “I’ve heard the perspective of some Europeans, and they feel like it’s kind of a toss-up,” said Jason Stallings, a junior music major. “The people have been fighting over those areas for so long, and there are so many ties for both religions to this area.” Many feel that the acts of terror ism that marked the conflict’s his tory make the issue a global one, especially in the post-Sept. 11 po litical climate. There exists a current tension in which the U.S. has a direct interest, according to Caryn Gibson, a jun ior creative writing major. “It’s pretty important, because I think we should have a hand in solving human rights issues and things involving terrorism,” said Gibson. Media outlets worldwide have fo cused heavily on the suicide bomb ings and other terrorist tactics that militant Palestinian organizations, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, em ploy. ’ Most recently, a wave of violence began Aug. 19 when a Palestinian suicide bomber on a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people, including six chil dren, according to The Associated Press. Israel’s retaliation, however, af fects Palestinian civilians as well as militants. The Israeli government’s response to the Aug. 19 incident included several missile air strikes into crowded streets in the Gaza Strip. The missiles were aimed for Hamas leaders but wounded several Pales tinian civilians and killed at least one, according to The Associated Press. “A lot of people defend Israel, but I don’t defend either side,” said Gibson. “Israel could be called a terrorist state, because they’re work ing through fear. Ifyou’re suspected See VIOLENCE Page 8 t ' ,'■11 I , 4 'T I Serving UNCA Since 1982 WWW. unca. edu/banner i-
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