1995_02 The Daily Collegian February 1995

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2—The Daily Collegian     Monday, February 27,1995
X
Editorial Opinion
_
Life in the
Information Age, not
alkthat advanced
Technology. In the rapidly approaching Information Age,
technological advances are shaping the way we talk, think and
interact with other people. The changes taking place have been
promoted as being beneficial to all, but are they really as wonder¬
ful and helpful as people think?   r-—
Think for a1 moment about all that has been said concerning the
Internet, e-mail and multimedia lately. We have been bombarded
with story after story, article after article and news report after
news report on how rapidly these are becoming a part of our lives.
These technological advances are becoming a greater part of some
lives than others. \
How many of us now have e-mail accounts here on campus.'
The number of students getting e-mail accounts lately has in¬
creased so much thaf the Mondrian server can no longer handle
the load, and we will soon be charged to access our accounts.
How many students now have computers at home or use a
computer at least once a semester? Most students are required to
turn in papers done u$ing wordprocessor programs. I had one
professor who required the class fo turn in a p/rnted copy AND a
floppy disk with my paper saved on it!
Basically, we can't get away from computers. Many people are
embracing the growing changes thinking they will improve our
world while others are warning of the dangers we now face.
For instance, within the last year there have been more and
more instances of hackers (people who break into computer
systems for fun or thief) breaking into systems and causing havoc.
Also, we have seen the beginnings of Cybercrime which
includes such acts of stalking, thief and destruction of property.
However, the growth of the Internet within the last few years
has brought about a tremendous benefit.
Communication between people across the world can happen
in a matter of seconds using e-mail and conference channels. You
can obtain vast amounts of information on nearly any subject
faster than you can search ALIS at the library. You can write your
congressperson or even the president of the United States and
know they got the message without it being lost in the mail. And
it doesn't stop there.
Teachers at all levels of education, are trying to get students
access to computers in an^attempt to encourage students to learn
by using interactive software and games to grab their attention.
Why not use a game to teach kids who grow up playing video
games? Sure, it's a great idea, but what happens to kids learning
to read and, more importantly, to write?
One of the^major concerns in education is the possibility that
illiteracy may increase with the use of more graphic teaching tools.
Also, there is the concern that not all kids are receiving the same
education in computers.
White, middle-class kids have better and more frequent access
to computers than do lower-class, inner-city kids. For many kids,
the only access they have to a computer is at school, but many
schools have older equipment and limited access for students.
Since the 1980^the number of computers per student has-
gone from 125 students per^student to 12 students per student.
Imagine trying to share a computer with 12 other people!
On the other hand, middle-class students usually will have a
computer at home and can then spend more time using and
becoming familiar with one. "    • — x
' These latter students have a better chance later in life when
they apply for jobs because they a greater skill in using computers.
With computer becoming'a greater necessity, this cojuld drasti¬
cally increase the inequality between groups of people.
Perhaps we need to slftw down the rate at which advances are
taking place. '
Perhaps we need td be more careful with how far we allow
new technologies to integrate with society and carefully model the
growth to the benefit of all.
/'Then again, maybe we should just let technology rush for¬
ward and see how long we can keep up.
Interaction between ethnic
groups needs improvement
Dear Editor,
When I came to Cali¬
fornia State University,
Fresno straight out of high
school, I was very unrealistic
about how college life was
going to be. I thought that
college was going to be dif¬
ferent than high school.
I was under the as¬
sumption that the older
people got, the wiser they
became about different is¬
sues. Soon after coming to
CSU, Fresno I realized that
wasn't the case.
I realized that the older
people got, the more they be¬
came set in their ways and
the more they closed their
minds to new things and,
most important, to different
ethnic groups.
As I walk around cam¬
pus, I don't see different eth¬
nic groups talking and get¬
ting to know each other. In¬
stead, I see people sticking to
their own race, so to speak.
People, for some rea¬
son, don't feel comfortable
Your Name Here
.     .    .
mo
Letters to the Editor
c/oTKe Daily Csllegian
Keats Campus Building
Mail Stop 42
Fresno, CA 93740-0042
E-maU;, SLWC2@mondrian.csufresno.edu
-3,
interacting with other eth¬
nic groups. I find that most
often people look away
when another person from
a different ethnic group
walks by, as if to act like
they don't see them so that
they would not be com¬
pelled to smile or to speak.
I find this to be espe¬
cially true when it comes to
black and white interaction.
I find there 'o be little or no
interaction between these
two ethnic groups.
I think that we must
ask ourselves why this is \
true. I personally don't know
the answer to this question,
but I believe that the answer
is in all of us. We must exam¬
ine within ourselves why we
do the tilings we do.   ,
I hope that in the future
we as a society and as a cam¬
pus can put our differences
aside and leam about each
other. At times, 1 think that
this can only be a dream of
mine and will probably never
become a reality.
Stephanie McWilliams
The Daily Collegian
California State University, Fresno
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