Volume 29, Issue 8
October 9, 2003
www.elon.edu/pendulum
!f it matters to you. it matters to The Pendulum.
School receives $1 million gift
Electrical problem
forces evacuation
Steve Earley
Photo Courtesy of University Relations
Douglas Noiles and his wife Edna Truitt Noiles, a 1944 Eton alumna, donated $1 million to
Religious and Spiritual Life - the largest gift ever given to the department. The gift will finance five
new programs, including a study abroad course and speaker series. For story, see page 6.
News Editor
Staley residence hall was evac
uated early last Thursday morning
after a faulty socket caused sever
al appliances to overheat and emit
smoke.
Responding to a 12:07 a.m.
911 call, firefighters arrived at the
scene at 12:11 a.m., just as cam
pus police began evacuating the
35-year-old residence hall’s 200
students.
Megan Bonstein, Staley third
floor resident advisor, said symp
toms of what turned out to be a
loose wire started Wednesday
afternoon when her roommate’s
hairdryer suddenly cut out. “I did
n’t think anything of it,” Bonstein
said.
But at 11:45 that evening,
Bonstein and her hallmates started
noticing more severe problems. “I
was in my suitemate’s room and
all of a sudden, smoke started
coming out of her desk lamp,” she
said. “It looked like it was coming
right out of the light bulb.”
Residents also reported smoke
coming from a computer and
sparks coming from a television
set, Bonstein said.
Using thermal imaging, fire
fighters identified a third-floor
wall socket as the source of the
problems. Utilities manager Paul
Holt said the faulty socket caused
a common wire - which provides
power to three rooms - to come
loose, in turn applying more than
the normal 120 volts to connected
appliances.
Holt explained that most appli
ances have heat fuses which shut-
off a device before temperatures
reach dangerous levels - but not
before causing a little bit of smoke
and a pungent electrical smell.
Although there was no fire and
the fire alarm did not sound, the
smell of smoke and sight of stu
dents evacuating the building was
enough to alarm some residents.
“A couple of people were really*
See STALEY p. 7
150th State Fair begins Oct. 17
JayDorne
Reporter
Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the
North Carolina State Fair is making strides
to attract more fairgoers to the event this
year.
The fair is being held at the State
Fairgrounds in Raleigh Oct. 17 through 26
and will include variety of attractions,
including competitive exhibits, livestock,
entertainment, food and rides. State fair
officials said they are confident that there
will be something to excite every member
of the family.
There will be several new additions to
the fair aimed at a larger audience seeking
greater thrills and entertainment, said
Heather Overton, State Fair public informa
tion officer. Among these additions are sev
eral new rides imported from Strates
Shows, a midway provider and one of the
few companies that still transports equip
ment by train.
“Bringing their supplies by train allows
them to bring more cumbersome and elabo
rate equipment that normally could not be
transported to the fairgrounds,” explained
Overton. Among the Strates Shows rides
See STATE FAIR p. 9
Identity theft concerns prompt
change in student ID numbers
Matt Belanger
Asst. News Editor
In response to the rising occurrences of
identify theft in the United States, Elon has
recently completed a transition from using
Social Security numbers to access student
records to using student ID numbers, also
known as Datatel numbers.
“Tliis is to protect our students, faculty
and staff,” said Chi;is Fulkerson, director of
Campus and Instructional Technologies.
“It’s a problem because you want some
thing that identifies a person that is unique
and there really is no other single, national
identifier.”
The Datatel system is comprised of a
series of integrated records. Every student,
faculty member and organization that inter
acts with the university is given.a unique
Datatel profile which, until recently, con
tains and could be accessed by a Social
Security number. Fulkerson explained that
Elon has phased out using Social Security
See DATATEL p. 9
y| • Bargain hunting: Students shop single-price 'P"! review: “Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs”
Tr * dollar stores as alternative to larger retailers. JL ^ • provides off-beat look at American pop culture.