OCR Text |
Show FRIDAY, MARCH 15, THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Costs Discourage BYU From Using Smart Card JENNIFER BALMFORTH TIBET continued from page PROVO Although several colacross the country are using leges new technology for student ID cards, Brigham Young University is not yet convinced of that technology's benefits. A Smart Card, used by the U, uses a microchip to store a cardholder's fingerprints, signature patterns and other personal physical identifiers. However, Craig Schow, manager of BYU's Signature Card Office, said even though switching to the Smart Card has been discussed, ii may not be cost effective for the university. More than 40 colleges across the country have a Smart Card system. The student ID card can be manufactured for about 16 cents, compared to $2 to $3 it costs to manufacture a Smart Card, said Lt. Arnold Lemmon, BYU Police officer. "When you multiply $2 or $3 by 40,000 cards, that is a chunk of change," Lemmon said. "So the university right now doesn't feel like they want to go to that expense." managUniversity of Utah er Kori Dehann said when her department switched to a Smart Card in August 2000, it found benefits as well as problems with the new technology. U-Ca- rd 1 vey the experiences of exile, such as himself. Tibetans in With a current population of roughly 6 million, 1.2 million Tibetans have died "unnatural deaths directly resulting from Chinese policies," in the 40 years of Chinese control, Tethong said. U.S. relations with China are the best way to improve China's policies towards Tibet, he continued. "Ideas and beliefs about freedom have manifested in constructive ways from time to time in the United States," Tethong said. With China's entry into the World Trade Organization last year, however, Tethong expressed doubt about an end to Chinese control of Tibet. "A great deal of U.S. information n about Tibet is and greed-driveand there seems to be greedy members on both sides," he "There are some real benefits in using chip technology," Dehann said. "We have had some success, but the industry is still very new, which has The Daily Universe Briqham Young University caused some problems." Although using a Smart Card could diminish Signature Card fraud, Lemmon said the problem of card theft on campus is so small that switching would not be valuable now. "Card theft is extremely rare, and in relative terms it is just not a big I i information about the student, Lemmon said. If needed, a higher level of security could be added to the ID cards for an additional cost, Schow said. But Schow said since the risk of Signature Card fraud is so low, it is not in students' best interest to increase the security levels. Even though a Smart Card may not be in BYU's immediate future, the university is in the process of removing the Social Security number from ID cards and replacing it with a randomly generated number, in order to trade-drive- n, said. China's entry into the WTO led President Bush to grant the nation permanent trade status, a move that has worsened relations between China and Tibet. "A lot of discussion among different groups in the last few years has been that human rights should be separate from trade status... this has killed the focus on human rights in Tibet. It's just not gaining the level of provide students with more security, Schow said. "We have run a pilot group through with the new card, and we will move forward just as soon as we can successfully do it," Schow said. U WIRE V.,- ... . - . i y v. " ,ri :,!t v,. . problem," Lemmon said. The ID cards only contain basic . I I A." ' C Tenzin N. Tethong (left) discusses some cf the issues surrounding Tibet with Bob Palais and Richard Robertson (right) after Thursday's speech. attention it had a few years ago," Tethong said. With approximately 150,000 Tibetans in exile, it is the native Tibetans who "arc bearing the brunt of survival," according to Tethong. Though groups such as Students for a Free Tibet have been actively involved in ending Chinese control in Tibet, "there has been no real positive improvement at all with Chinese relations and a change in the status of Tibet," Tethong said. Tethong, who has lived in both the United States and India, travelled to Tibet as part of a delegation in 1980. At the time he was in the country, nearly all of the Tibetan monasteries and temples were completely destroyed by the Chinese government, information Tethong gathered as part of the delegation. Much of the Tibetan population lives on the country's large plateau, which currently is home to as many as 7 million Chinese. "If the expansion in Chinese population in Tibet continues, there will be no real future for Tibetans, and it's conceivable that the culture and people of Tibet may die out if this continues," Tethong said. Among his efforts, Tethong has worked on two major motion pictures that have focused on Tibet. Serving as a consultant and adviser on "Seven Years in Tibet," Tethong helped to make the Tibetan dialogue in that film more realistic. His son was also cast as the young Dalai Lama in "Kundun." - abensonchronicle.utah.edu : . BYU Students Hope to Fly High With Mini Airplanes JONATHAN TOLMAN The Daily Universe Brigham Young University PROVO They're less than 6 inches long, they weigh about as much as a canary and they can take pic- tures of you from hundreds of feet in the air. Young Brigham University mechanical engineering students are developing Micro Air Vehicles. Micro Air Vehicles, or "MAVs," are aircraft equipped with tiny cameras. Universities from across the globe will come to BYU for an international MAV competition April 11 to 13. "This year, we're going to win," said Kevin Paulson with a smile. "And this is the plane we're going to use." Paulson has a aircraft made of foam, tape, balsa wood, a propeller, a battery-powere- d motor and a guidance system. Paulson, a graduate student from Chico, Calif., studying mechanical engineering, has been with the MAV project since BYU became involved with it three years ago. Competition is divided into two different phases. First, the teams are scored on the duration of a flipht. In the second phase, the teams d must pilot their vehicles of a mile to a target and photograph it from above. "Not only do we want to make something really small that flies, we radio-controll- ed ch 2.5-in- ch radio-controll- ed one-thir- INCREASE continued from page 1 slide into mediocrity," said Regent George Mantes. Tuition must be raised, he said. "Let's start charging what the product is really worth." Mantes said that when compared to other states, Utah's tuition rates are "extremely low." U student body President Ben Lowe said comparing Utah to other states is "apples to oranges." This state has a ratio and the large a also state significantly provides smaller percentage of financial aid for child-to-fami- ly want it to carry surveillance equipment," Paulson said. The scores given to each plane are heavily weighted by the size of the plane. "The first year, BYU's plane was about three feet. Last year, it was 12 inches. Kevin just flew one that's five," said Jerry Bowman, associate professor of mechanical engineering and coach of the MAV project. "The progress they've made is really impressive." Kendall Foukes, a graduate student from Coalinga, Calif., studying mechanical engineering, is glad to be involved with this challenging yet recreational project. "It's nice when you have a hobby, and other people show an interest in it," If Foukes said. The military encourages universities to develop this technology for reconnaissance purposes. "They want a soldier to be able to pull a box out of his backpack during a battle, launch a plane out of it, and see what's over the next hill. A little video spy plane," Paulson said. The planes also have the potential to be fitted with microphones and landed on roofs or even inside buildings, Bowman said. Bowman predicts these vehicles could easily be reduced one or two inches within the next year. These insect-lik- e spy devices would give new meaning to a room being "bugged." U WIRE its students, Lowe said. "You can't just oversimplify the situation by comparing Utah to other states," Lowe said. Charles JohnRegent son also expressed concern over the change in tuition rates. Johnson said the Regents must rethink their role and decide whether or not the current system for tuition increases needs to be changed in the future. However, any change will not come soon enough to affect this year. On April 2, Regents will meet with institution presidents to finalize next year's second-tie- r tuition increases. If . if- an jparkinsonchronicle.utah.edu 3 2002 TIAA I i CREF I; J |