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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1997)
By Brad Davis Assignment Reporter If you want to publish your own Web page at UNL, and you’re a stu dent - you might consider transfer ring. Unless you subscribe to an Internet service provider, such as Aliant Communications’ Navix ser vice, you have no opportunity to publish a personal page - the University of Nebraska-Lincoln offers no space for students’ person al Web pages on its Internet comput er servers. All other schools in the Big 12 allow their students to have personal Web pages. The only UNL students allowed to have Web pages are those who are sponsored by a faculty member. In other words, students are allowed to have Web pages that directly relate to a certain class or department, such as computer science or engi neering. Donna Liss, director of informa tion systems for Information Services, said the university had discussed personal Web pages for students two years ago. She said when UNL closed its modem pool last year, some of the discussion about personal Web pages stopped because students were using Internet service providers to carry their pages. “Two years ago we were ready to provide (space on university servers for student Web pages),” Liss said. “But we’ve been told there’s not a burning need.” She said when the Internet was first introduced at UNL, many peo ple were interested in Web pages, but mostly for instructional purpos es. When the university allotted space for classes, Liss said, “a lot of the need seemed to die down.” UNL has 63 classes with Web sites and no classes held solely online. Bruce Sandhorst, instructional technology coordinator for Informational Technology Support, said faculty members can request space on university Web servers and allow their students to have Web, pages. Paul Schreier, chairman of the Technology Fee Advisory Board for the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, said stu dents whose majors require access to the World Wide Web have every thing they need. He said computer science majors and some engineering majors were allowed to have personal Web pages. Schreier said other students were not “missing out” because the uni a:a ~—__ vvioiij uxu iiui uiivi opavv iui jpvi sonal pages. “Although (the knowledge of Web page production) is a valuable skill to have, unless your class is demanding it, and depending on your major, it’s hard to say you’re missing out.” He said students who were not taking a class that allowed them to have a Web page could still have a page through an Internet service provider. Three ISP’s have contracts with UNL that have special student rates: Aliant Communications’ Navix, Internet Nebraska and Binary Net. However, Binary Net is canceling its contract with UNL in January. Aliant’s Navix doesn’t offer space on its Internet servers for per sonal Web pages at the UNL student rate. Internet Nebraska offers 10 http:f (wwwunljedutDaUyNeb http:// www.unl.edu/DailyNeb http:/1 www.unl.edu/DailyNeb http:// www.uni.edu/DailyNeb http:/Iwww.unljedut DailyNeb is jk % ■ ’ ' ■ . . • ' • • ■< • : megabytes of space for Web pages with any of the plans UNL students subscribe to. The plans range from $6.50 per month to $19 per month. Schreier said it made economic sense for UNL to require its students to use an ISP to carry their Web pages because the university could not compete with the service provider’s technology. He said it would also be unfair for student fees to go toward main taining the Web pages when some students may use more resources, or space on the server, than others. Liss said students also would not have to worry about content require ments if they carried their Web pages through an ISP. She said there were legal ques tions about whether the university would be liable for things students posted to their Web pages. “It’s easier for students to go the route of an ISP - they don’t have to be held to the same requirements as they would at the university,” Liss said. A representative from Internet Nebraska said the service had no content restrictions. Mark Dubin, biology professor and recently retired associate vice chancellor and chief information officer at the University of Colorado in Boulder, said his university spon sored student Web pages, and also had few restrictions as to what stu dents could post to their pages. He said the directory of student Web pages at CU had a disclaimer that stated the university was not responsible for the content. Dubin said the “emerging law” regarding content on Web pages par alleled that of a bookstore. Legally speaking, a bookstore cannot be held responsible for the content in its books. He said as long as CU did not claim to monitor the Web pages, it was not responsible for the content of its students’ pages. If a page violated a law by show ing child pornography or copyright ed material, and it was brought to the university’s attention, Dubin said, the university would still not be held legally responsible even if it took action to remove the informa tioit. r • Dubin said that some people could disagree with his legal inter pretation although he said it is curr rentfy *hebe$t information available because few legal decisions had been made. He said he thought most schools in the American Association of University Research Institutions, of which UNL is a member, allowed students to have personal Web pages on university servers. “It’s a recruitment tool,” Dubin said. “Students are looking at nnllrtrtl n rt M n nlr < n /> n k mii 4 uvuvviu uiiu udiviug uuvut xiiivi iiv %■ access and e-mail. They’re going to favor those that are liberal and com prehensive in what they provide.” Schreier said ASUN was talking with Information Services about designating a specific server for stu dent government. He said if the ASUN server were to become a reality, it could possibly offer space to students for their per sonal Web pages. Sandhorst said as technology evolves, students coming to UNL will expect the university to keep up with what they’ve experienced in high school. “Students will demand more and more,” Sandhorst said. “They’ll expect certain things to be there, and if it’s not - hopefully they’ll be demanding it.” Fighting bicycle theft is uphill battle on campus 1 By Josh Funk Assignment Reporter As he tried to remember where he parked his bike, freshman Jamie Meyer wandered up and down the rack three times before he finally realized his bike just wasn’t there. One month after the bike disap peared from the rack behind Meyer’s fraternity, it is still missing. Bicycle theft is a big problem for University of Nebraska-Lincoln stu dents, but there are ways to prevent it. “Not a week goes by without a bike theft reported on campus,” UNL police Sgt. Mylo Bushing said. “Sometimes there are as many as five or six a week.” iris'difficult for police to detect bicycle theft because there are so 1 many bicycles on campus, Bushing said. “It is impossible to tell whose is whose.” Unfortunately for bicycle owners thieves are very good at what they do, Bushing said. “They’re quick enough to steal a bike in plain sight and go undetect ed,” he said. When a bicycle is stolen it is important to report the theft to the University Police immediately, he said. University police recover many stolen bikes, but they can only hold them for 90 days before they are auc tioned off, Bushing said. Also Landscape Services brings unlocked or improperly locked bicy cles it finds on campus to the police, Bushing said. “We may already have the bike before you realize it is gone, so it is important to call us,” Bushing said. Prior registration and proof of ownership will help in claiming a bike, Bushing said. The University police offer regis tration stickers to students which help the police trace the bicycle and return it to the rightful owner, Bushing said. Fortunately there are a few sim ple things bicycle owners can do to prevent theft, Bushing said. “Students in the residence halls ;... should check their bikes as often as possible to make sure it is there and intact,” Bushing said. Investing in a good lock now can pay off later, Bushing said. Both police and local bicycle stores agree that a ‘U’-shaped or a | Cobra link lock is the best defense against theft. Use a good lock, lock up all the parts and be careful where you park ', it, Dave Averill, Bike Pedalers employee and senior environmental studies major, said. However, even a good lock can’t stop a determined thief. “My bike was locked up with one of those steel cable locks when it was stolen,” Meyer said. dome iocks aiso oner a replace ment guarantee for up to $1,000 if a bike is stolen while secured with their lock, Averill said. Theft may also be covered under homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. “My bike was insured, but after the deductible I’ll only get half the cost of the bike back,” Meyer said. Parking somewhere a lot of peo ple walk may increase the chances that the bike will be there later. “When I ride to campus I always i try to park in a high-traffic area,” | Averill said. However that may not be enough, Bushing said. “Many thefts occur in plain sight during the day when people are just too busy to notice.” - - ...