Thursday, AAay 1, 2003
Vol. 28, Issue 27
Elon University
Elon, N.C.
If it matters to you, it matters to The Pendulum.
Earthfest invades
Lake Mary Nell
Students raise environmental concern
Kathleen Frev
Features Editor
Have you ever eaten organ
ic popcorn? Or tie-dyed a
shirt?
Participants in the sixth-annual
Earthfest, sponsored by Elon
Sierra Club and Students for
Peace and Justice, did both and
much more during the afternoon
event Sunday.
Nearly 50 students, faculty,
staff and community members
gathered at Lake Mary Nell to
enjoy the festivities, which includ
ed live jazz music by The Kevin
Pace Band, information tables,
free food and activity booths.
The purpose of the event was
to raise public awareness of local
and national environmental issues
and have fun at the same time.
“I went last year and had a lot
of fun so I decided to go again,”
sophomore Jess Gross said.
At one table, senior Dana
Gowland fielded questions about
Elon’s recycling program. She
also shared information about her
experience at Earthaven, a sus
tainable eco-village community
located near Asheville. Nearby,
freshman Raquel Corona, a vol
unteer from Students for Peace
and Justice, demonstrated to
passers-by how toxic landfills can
contaminate drinking water.
Other tables offered free sam
ples of organic apples, shack bars,
milk and popcorn. Earthfest vol
unteers grilled vegetarian ham
burgers and hotdogs.
Next to the stage. Biology
Club members sold plants in spe
cial hand-painted pots. Senior
Jenn Coleman, the club’s presi
dent, explained that the group had
returned to Earthfest after a two-
year hiatus to raise money for an
annual scholarship fund.
“We’re trying to get people to
buy some for Mother’s Day,” club
member Kelly Foster said.
Elon Outdoors also set up a
table offering information about
outdoor excursions and gave
away free Frisbees.
The Blueprint Art club spon
dee Earthfest p. 8
'.■i I. * ^
Tim Rosner / Photo Editor
Volunteers from the Elon Sierra Club and Students for Peace and
Justice hosted the annual Earthfest Sunday afternoon. Dana
Go\Mand hands Lauren Admire information at Earthfest.
Concern raised over Blackboard security
Matt Belanger
Reporter
Some students have recently
expressed concerned over the
security of Elon’s Blackboard
Web site. Blackboard stores stu
dent grades, quizzes and assign-
nients. making it a pritne target
for hackers to attack.
However, Chris Fulkerson,
director of campus technology,
explained that hacking into the
university’s server is more diffi
cult than many may think.
“We really try to maintain our
servers as securely as we can,”
Fulkerson said.
In order for someone to view
another student’s Blackboard site,
the person would have to use a
program called a sniffer. A sniffer
is designed to monitor password
activity on a server and pull out
any passwords it can decode. A
hacker could theoretically use that
password to log into another stu
dent’s site and gain access to their
personal information.
But there’s a catch-for a hack
er to be successful in extracting a
password, the student the hacker
is targeting must be online and
logged on to the Blackboard site
at the exact moment the sniffer
program is running.
Also, the hacker must have
extensive technical knowledge
regarding the operation of com
puters and servers to be able to
avoid the security measures that
are in place.
The university takes a number
of preventative measures to pre
vent hackers from breaking into
Blackboard server. Elon sub
scribes to a service that provides
continuous updates of possible
security concerns.
"When new Microsoft hackers
See Blackboard p. 7
Health center
diagnoses
10,000 cases
each year
Cites no exposure to BARS
Adam Smith
Reporter
Severe acute respiratory syn
drome (SARS) has caused world
wide panic in recent weeks.
Though the threat of this disease
at Elon is minute, the R.N.
Ellington Health Center had near
ly 10,000 visits from students this
year with other issues and con
cerns.
“All universities are talking
about [SARS],” said Kitty
Parrish, the director of health
services. No one traveling abroad
has been exposed to the disease,
Parris said. “We don’t have any
epidemics.”
So what is plaguing Elon? Of
course, there are the usual cases
of cold and flu. “We see anything
you would in a normal doctor’s
office,”Parrish said. Other viruses
seen at the center include mono
and strep throat.
“There are more allergies this
semester because there has been
more rain,” she explained. Parrish
also said there have been more
injuries reported because people
are taking advantage of the nice
spring weather.
Many students have com
plained of the center’s tendency to
treat everyone equally, dishing
out the same dosage of lyienol to
those with mono and those with a
cold. This, Parrish said, just isn’t
true. “If people say they are mis
diagnosed,” she said, “I can usu
ally sit them down and show them
See Health p. 7
INSIDE
Loomis’ class sponsors Latino forum
page 12
‘Identity’ is No.1 at the box office
page 18
Basketball players react to new coach
page 23