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Campus Briefs
National library week
The G.R. Little Library observed National Library
Week April 5-11. The theme for this year’s activities was
, “Take Time To Read.”
Activities began with exhibits which were shown the
entire week in the lobby of the library and in the University
' Center.
On April 7 book review sessions were held in Room 214
of the library. On April 9, a children’s hour for are kinder
garten and nursery school children was held. Mrs. Juanita
T. Bailey, a Perquimans County home economics agent,
presented “Tootsie Fruitsie” for the children. Carolyn
Penny, Pasquotank County’s 1986 teacher of the year, was
the guest speaker for the public program held that af
ternoon.
National Library Week is designed to emphasize the
significance of libraries and to promote more effective use
of the many resources provided by the library.
R©id selected for NASA program
Johnny G. Reid has been se
lected as one of 36 students from
across the U.S. and its territories
to participate in NASA’s Space
Life Sciences Training Program at
the Kennedy Space Center this
summer.
The program is scheduled for six
weeks and will start on June 21 and
ends August 1.
Regional ECSU math contest
The Department of Mathematics and Computer Sci
ence of ECSU recently held the Seventh Annual Regional
Mathematics Contest on campus.
Two hundred fifty-one students and 16 sponsors from
fourteen area schools participated in the event this year.
Each participant received a certificate for his or her ef
forts and trophies were presented to the top five winners in
each of the four categories.
Listed are the top three winners in each category:
Algebra I - First place - Jimmy Beckman (A.G. Cox
Grammar); second place - Stuart Rayburn (Perquimans
High); third place - Selena Overton (Perquimans High)
Geometry - First place - Donald A. Ball, Jr. (Manteo
High); second place - Carolyn Shanley (Manteo High);
third place - Chris Morgan (Elizabeth City Jr. High)
Algebra II - First place - Jonathan Li (J.H. Rose High);
second place - Won Kim (J.H. Rose High); third place -
Kevin M. Lewis (Perquimans High)
Comprehensive - First place - Robert Barnes (J.H.
Rose High); second place - Bella Kang (J.H. Rose High);
third place - Louis Anderson III (Currituck High)
McCants appointed
Development Program director
Dr. Gerald McCants has been appointed as the Director
of the ECSU Academic Development Program. McCants
comes to the ECSU campus from the University of Arkan
sas at Pine Bluff where he was Professor of Education and
had previously served as Vice Chancellor for Student Af
fairs.
McCants will direct the new Academic Development
Program being developed to attract and retain a larger
number of academically talented students. A cornerstone
of the new program is the Incentive Scholarship Program
in which high school students and transfer students from
the local 16 counties may be eligible for up to $3,000 in
scholarship money to attend ECSU.
McCants’s educational background includes B.S. and
M.A. degrees from Central Michigan University and a
Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He is married and
has two daughters.
National mathematics week
ECSU observed National Mathematics Week April 13-
19. During this week, mathematicians across the country
explained their work and recent accomplishments in the
field.
On April 14, ECSU hosted a lecture entitled “U.S. and
Japanese Mathematics and Science Education - A Compa
rison.”
Nakayama is a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of
Education at Hiroshima University in Hiroshima, Japan.
He is currently on assignment with the Science and Math
ematics Center at East Carolina University in Greenville,
N.C.
Academic Computer Center
serves many ECSU needs
More than 600 ECSU stu
dents passed through the Aca
demic Computing Center’s
reflective glass doors last se
mester who were doing work
for computer classes, work
for other classes using com
puter support software, or for
self-improvement purposes.
“Our main purpose is the
service of the computing
needs of ECSU,” according to
Umfort Locus, manager of
the center. “Our secondary
purpose is to service the non
computing needs of the ad
ministration. Word proc
essing programs meeting dif
ferent needs of various
campus offices have been set
up with the personnel trained
to operate them.”
Assisting Locus in supervis
ing and training are Tony
Lamb, program analyst, and
Sandra Hendrick, secretary
and computer information fa
cilitator.
According to Locus, a tele
phone survey of ECSU grad
uates showed a 75 percent
employment rate among
computer science majors.
“There are also students,
not necessarily in computer
fields, who come in to learn
dBase II and Locust 1-2-3,”
Locus said. “I know of stu
dents who have landed jobs
because this additional
knowledge made them more
desirable by employers.”
Students also benefit from
Computer Assisted Instruc
tion programs, or CAI,
according to Dr. Helen Cald
well, chairperson of the Divi
sion of General Studies.
CAI is the use of computer
programs to supplement or
assist students in their regu
lar classroom work. The pro
grams have different levels of
difficulty and are available
for most disciplines. Students
can go to the computing cen
ter by appointm^t and wort
at their own pace in complet
ing the CAI assign ;nents.
“CAI is an excellent teach
ing device becaysf^ it allows
students to work a. their own
pace,” Caldwell said. “It al
lows teachers to plan pro
grams in advance and pack
age the most supportive work
for particular students.”
Caldwell, who writes her
own computer programs,
says that there are many
commercial programs on the
market, some more expen
sive than others, but none
really cost prohibitive.
“We learned to use the pro
grams during summer train
ing sessions sponsored by the
computer center,” she said.
“We learned how to write our
own programs and to custom
ize commercial programs to
meet our needs. I hope that
such sessions can be offered
as part of a regular faculty in
stitute.”
Jean Sims, administrative
secretary to the Chancellor,
and Vivian Sawyer, secretary
to the General Studies Divi
sion, both have word proc
essors at their desks now.
They were trained through
the Academic Computing
Center.
“I used a regular type
writer from 1974 until Decem
ber 1986 when I learned to use
. word processing,” Sawyer
said. “If I had to give it up, I
would fight over it.”
Sims learned word proc
essing three years ago and
says she would “cry” if she
had to go back to her regular
typewriter.
The ability to delete, add,
insert, move paragraphs and
the additional speed have
helped both secretaries make
their office more efficient and
professional.
Five years ago
The Academic Computing
Center has come a long way
in five years.
“In 1980, we had three ter
minals, one deckwriter, a
card reader and a printer,”
Locus said. “That was our
academic computing center.
We shared Johnson Hall 205
with the Math Lab.”
According to Locus, five
new terminals were added,
then ten more terminals and
a deckwriter, making a move
to Johnson Hall 135 nec
essary. In 1983, a grant under
Title III made it possible to
purchase 20 IBM personal
computers and three printers
plus networking capabilities.
The Academic Computer
Center today has 30 micro
computers and 22 terminals
connected to the Triangle
University Computing Center
(TUCC). In 1985, the present
4,000 square foot building was
completed. About one third of
the building is used for ad
ministrative offices, the rest
for student needs. .3
The building is angled arid
designed for further expan
sion from the computer labo
ratory.
“Our students have three
options with which to work,”
Locus said. “Each micro
computer will operate alone;
each micro-computer will
network from a single
source; and the students can
also use terminals tied di
rectly to the Triangle Univer
sity Computing Center.”
The networking program,
called Novell, allows students
to communicate with a single
source, but was not a tradi
tional choice. Locus said the
decision was made to break
with tradition and choose a
program most beneficial to
ECSU studentsand the Uni
versity’s long-range plans.
“We were the first UNC
school to install Novell” Lo
cus said, “but now 10 other
UNC systems use the same
networking program. ”
Suicide climbing at alarming rate
by Deborah Carr
staff writer
Jane Doe seemed to have
the world at her feet. She was
a straight A student, beautiful
and her future seemed bright.
One day she was found dead
with a bottle of sleeping tab
lets by her head. In sixty sec
onds, another Jane Doe will
attempt suicide.
Since 1980, suicides among
15-19-years-old have tripled in
the last 25 years. Statistics
show that an American will
attempt suicide every min
ute, and that there are 400,000
attempts each year. Suicide
is the eighth leading cause of
death in America, and it is the
third leading cause of death
among young people,
sion and 12 percent suffered
psychosis. However, only
one-third of thes^,yictims had
received mental health treat
ment during the last year of
their life and only half ever
received any treatment at all.
The greatest risk of suicide
belongs to adolescents who
have experienced bitter cus
tody battles, violent homes,
or a recent death in the fam
ily-
Suicide pacts had been a
rarity until recently. Evi
dence shows that suicide at
tempts in the presence of oth-
ers rarely succeeded.
However, it now seems as if
the news of youth suicides
triggers others and it may be
dangerous to talk about them.
Some experts say the news
According to researchers
from the University of Cali
fornia San Diego, of the 233
suicide victims analyzed
from 1981-83, 89 percent were
20 or over, 53 percent of those
under 30 were diagnosed as
drug abusers. Thirty-nine
percent of the under 30 sui
cide victims suffered depres-
coverage is healthy, while
others say that television pro
grams about suicide may
lead to an increase in suicides
and suicide attempts.
Suicide victims exhibit cer
tain behavioral characteris
tics. Some of these character
istics are: a preoccupation
with death, pain or suicide;
giving away of prized posses-;
sions; loss of interest in
schoolwork and favorite ac
tivities ; erratic sleeping hab
its ; appetite loss; and use of
drugs and alcohol. Many po
tential suicide victims are ir
ritable and cry for no appar
ent reason. Many also possess
impulsive or reckless behav
ior.
Most suicide victims really
don’t want to commit suicide,
they are actually reaching
out for help. Talking to some
one can often help these peo
ple.
Dr. Olive Wilson or Mrs.
Brenda Creecy in Student
Services are available for any
ECSU student that is strug
gling through a crisis.
Barco receives
Cole scholarship
From left: Matthew
Coates, Viking Football
Team; Anthony Stewart,
Omega Psi Phi; Evell J.
Barco, honoree; Pam
Brown, Delta Sigma Theta;
Lee Overton, SGA presi
dent; Johnnie Walton, Vi
king Football Club.
WRIGHT’S GENERAL
ELECTRONIC SERVICE
We specialize in all kinds of audio-visual equipment, rebuilding and re
pairing all kinds of small electrical appliances and repairing telephones.
R.R. Wright, Sr.
Certified Audio-Visual Engineer
703 S. Road Street
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone (919) 338-6829
The Darin Lamont Cole Memorial Scholarship Award was established on January 29,
1987 by the Viking Football Club. This award was established as a tribute to the late
Darin Cole for his outstanding achievements as an athlete and as a student.
The award will be presented annually to a junior who has a grade point average of
3.0, participates in an extra-curricular activity on campus, demonstrates financial
need, and writes an essay on why he or she should receive the award.
The recipient of the first award is Evell J. Barco. Barco received a plaque and will
receive book rental fees for one year. The award amount will increase after there is at
least $5,000 in the fund. Contributions totaling $1,719.40 have been received to date with
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. contributing $200, Omega Psi Phe Fraternity, Inc.
$205, professional football player and ECSU alumni Reginal Langhome $500. The ECSU
SGA donated $500 and the school’s football team donated $314.40.
If any group or individual is interested in making a contribution to the fund, they may
do so by contacting Johnnie Walton, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Planning and Devel
opment.
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