News Editor- Jana McBride |
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| Volume 26, Issue #4 |
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October 20, 1999
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News Editor- Jana McBride |
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| Volume 26, Issue #4 |
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October 20, 1999
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| DRUG DOG VISITS THE DORMS ... Article by Jill Gray, reporter |
| Dorm residents at NIACC may have
thought that someone in the dorms had a pet dog when they saw one in the
halls, until they realized that the dog belonged to the Mason City Police
Department.
According to Jerry Dunbar, director of NIACC Housing, the main cause for bringing the Mason City Police Department’s drug dog into the NIACC dorms on Friday, September 10 was to “correct disturbances.” Dunbar said there were legitamite complaints made by dorm residents concerning possible drug use in the dorms. “We have zero tolerance. When we find it, we will ask them to leave the facilities,” Dunbar said. The drug dog searched one floor and was able to uncover two incidents of drug use, according to Dunbar. The dog was brought to the Mason City Police Department “one or two years ago and is trained to smell marijuana,” Dunbar said. According to Dunbar, this dog was used at NIACC once last year and is expected to return to NIACC again if more complaints are filed. There is some debate over whether such searches are considered an invasion of privacy or simply a way to get the message across, the opinion of the students living in the dorms is divided. “It is a good idea and I’m glad they’re doing it,” Justin Posey, a NIACC dorm resident, said about the searches. Others feel their should be more trust. “I don’t like it particularly.....I think they should trust us enough,” dorm resident Erik Nelson said. As the debate over drug searches continues, NIACC’s drug prevention policy will remain in effect. If further complaints are filed, NIACC dorm residents should expect to see the Mason City Police Department and its trained K-9 walking the halls once again, according to Dunbar. |
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| HEROES NEEDED... Article by Jana McBride, news/feature editor |
| “Heroes like you give blood,” reads
the posters put out by the American Red Cross in an effort to increase
donations of blood.
On Thursday, Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. -2 p.m. in the upper level of the Activity Center, NIACC students, faculty and staff will have a chance to do just that. Last year a total of 130 people gave blood from the blood drives held in the fall and spring. However, the Red Cross accepted blood from 110 people. “They were real pleased with the turnout, especially last fall,” Dave Tyner, Student Senate adviser whose group organizes the event each semester. The requirements are simple. What do blood-givers need to bring? “Just yourself,” Tyner said. Before giving blood, donors are first given forms to fill out regarding their medical histories. After filling out forms, there is no obligation and people can walk away at any time. The process of giving blood is simple and takes about a half hour. Last year donors were required to make appointments, but Tyner said there will be more of an open door policy this year to encompass schedules and last-minute decisions. Regarding the possible pain of giving blood, NIACC sophomore Kevin Trettin said, “I felt good about it, so pain wasn’t relevant. “ Sophomore Jami Meints admitted she was scared the first time she gave blood. “I was scared that it was going to be painful, but it wasn’t at all. I felt pressure, but I didn’t feel pain,” Meints said. NIACC staff member Judy DeRock said she recommends giving blood because it’s easy and painless. “It’s just one little way of helping people,” DeRock said. |
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| EDUCATION MOVES ON-LINE... Article by Crystal Dugan, reporter |
| One way that NIACC strives to provide
distance education is to offer classes over the Internet.
“It’s a good way to reach students that can’t take traditional classes,” Bruce McKee, director of Technology Services, said. NIACC began to offer Internet classes about three years ago and a couple have been added each year. There are currently eight classes offered on-line as well as non-credit adult continuing education classes, McKee said. According to McKee, “The benefit of Internet classes is that students can work them into their own personal schedule. They can do course work when convenient for them.” Each class is set up slightly different, but almost all communication is done through email and tests are taken on-line, McKee said. “The benefits to the student is in the flexibility. There is flexibility in registration, time, and place. A student that enjoys a technological approach to learning may enjoy the course more than a lecture orientated course,” Fred McCurnin, Economics instructor, said. McCurnin offers Microeconomics and Macroeconomics over the Internet. As in many on-line courses, the enrollment is open entry and open exit, which means that a student can start on any date, even be it the middle of the semester, and finish on no predefined time limit, as long as the student has continual and satisfactory progress, McCurnin said. Anyone interested in viewing the various classes offered on-line can find a listing at the NIACC website under Educational Programs. Select the Distance Education link and then Internet Classes. |
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| LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY EXPANDS... by Jenn Schlicher, reporter |
| The NIACC library offers new, updated
technology for use by students and North Iowa area residents.
Along with numerous volumes of books, filmstrips, newspapers and periodicals, the NIACC library also has CD-Roms, internet access and many online databases. “We have five computers available with internet access. We also added two new CD-Rom reference workstations this year, and we upgraded our third one,” Karen Dole, the head librarian at NIACC, said. One example of a database now available for use is the Electric Library, which is according to Dole is “very user-friendly.” “It’s a good program that gives you access to all different materials all at once, such as magazines and books, and it’s one of the only places you can find with TV and radio transcripts,” Dole said. Another database available is College Source Online, a collection of over 9,000 college catalogs from all over the United States that can be browsed through quickly or searched in great depth. “If you’re looking for a particular kind of college, a certain size, or program, you can search across all of the colleges to get that certain criteria,” Dole said. “However, you can only use three of the computers in the (NIACC) library to see the catalogs, but you can still search (the internet site) from anywhere else.” The NIACC Library offers a policy allowing students and other library frequenters to access most of these programs not only from the NIACC library, but also from any other computer by remote access, which is available upon request at the library. “I want students to have better access to what we have. If they want to search for something at midnight, they can do so. They can also search from any of the (computer) labs on the NIACC campus,” Dole said. |
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| DOWN ON THE FARM... by Crystal Dugan, reporter |
 Parents, teachers, students and other interested individuals were invited to attend the Agricultural Technology Department open house on Thursday, September 23. Events of the day included tours of field activities, demonstrations and a livestock auction. “The number one objective of the open house is exposure. To make people aware of the substantial farm resources at NIACC,” Larry Eichmeier, chairman of the Agriculture Department, said. The Ag Department also uses the open house as a “Thank-you” to the many partners in business and industry. About $20,000 is donated per year to the department by manufacturers, suppliers and seed companies. The open house is a time to show our appreciation for this, Eichmeier said. During the open house, students also have a chance to showcase the many activities of the Ag Department. This includes field demonstrations of new technology and products used on NIACC’s 300 acres as well as animal activities, Eichmeier said. At the event, the college sold nine calves. There are about 70 students in the Ag program at NIACC, Eichmeier said. According to Carrie Kaiser, freshman in the program, “I chose NIACC because of its involvement with all areas of livestock and crop production and also because it is a community college that has dorms.” Another freshman student in the program, Justin Davis, said, “Choosing NIACC has allowed me to study in the ag business field while staying close to home. It is also cheap and I like the teacher to student ratio.” This is the third year that the Ag Department has held an open house. “We are pleased with the results.,” Eichmeier said. |
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