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Show Take Note: 4 Wednesday, March. 29,2006 Jared Diamond lecture on the success of Western Europe: Thursday, 4:30 p.m. Kent Concert Hall and Friday 8 a.m., TSC Ballroom 797-1769 features@statesman.usu.edu Don't let your nostalgia slow you down It looks like the Merrill Library, after more than 70 years of service, is finally being torn down. It also looks like Cache Valley's television programming could use a serious shot in the arm, because it's impossible to walk past the Merrill Library without bumping into a crowd of people who've gathered to watch the demolition. And while I've gotten over Zach Pendleton my initial disappointment in the slow, structured flattening of the library as opposed to, say, another method involving dynamite Not Quite or fireworks or something, I'd Nietchze still choose a day with Judge Joe Brown and Jerry Springer over an afternoon of library watching. Let me be the first to admit that the library is good for some serious gawking. I love to stare slack-jawed at heavy machinery as much as tne next guy, but who in their right mind uses a demolition as an excuse to have a picnic? Case in point: When going south on 1-15, we all slow down to somewhere in between 4 and 7 miles per hour to survey an accident. We do not stop our cars and get out for a better view. It's macabre. It's dangerous. The library is no different. The Merrill may not have been built on an ancient burial ground, but I've got to admit that asbestos frightens me just as much as angry spirits. The campus obsession with the demolition makes the wonder if there wasn't something special about the library. Being an English major, I have an affinity for books-their look, their smell and the warm yellow of old pages all appeal to me. But when I think of the Merrill Library, I think of four flights of stairs. And while the almost Olympic sense of accomplishment one felt at the top of those stairs was magnificent, it was always overshadowed by the fear that I'd inhaled enough dust to give me the black lung. In the end it was the Sci-Tech, and not the Merrill Library, where we all met our significant others. Leave it to those new fluorescent lights to bring out the best in someone's complexion. And I've got to admit that, nostalgic as the Merrill Library was, I like the Merrill-Cazier. It's clean, well-lit, and has the best computer lab on campus. The BARN system scares me a little, but that is mostly due to a reoccurring nightmare in which it comes to my bed to retrieve "A blessin BY HOLLY ADAMS Senior Writer At a school where getting a bound copy of ajournal from the library requires requesting it from a computer and a sixstory crane to bring it out of an automated storage system, technology is making a significant impact on the way Utah State University students research and study. Many professors agree technology has changed things for students over the years - whether that is a good or a bad thing is debatable. Greg Jones is an associate professor and the associate department head of the computer science department. Jones said the difference between how students do their work now and when he was a student is enormous because and there are so many different sources available now. "In the old days, we depended on well-known journals," Jones said. He said on the Internet, people can just post things and it is uncontrolled and unsupported information. Jones said it's obvious that it is easier to find things rapidly on the Internet. He said it is a lot faster than when he went to school, since he would have to wait for Interlibrary Loan if the library didn't have it. Jones said in the computer science department technology has obviously played a huge role. Students can create more challenging software a thousand times faster, he said. The tools that they have •TECHNOLOGY see page 5 ,VVS,vv* *¥,#*,•) • MERRILL see page 6 USU distinguished professor Professor Helen Berry was awarded with the Women and Gender Research Institute Distinguished Professor Award B Y JACOB FULLMER Staff Writer Scott Erickson/sfnerlck@ccusu.edu HELEN BERRY, DISTINGUISHED professor by the Women and Gender Research Institute was part of the committee who created the award she is now receiving. Rising to the ranks of only four other Utah State University professors, E. Helen (Eddy) Berry was honored Tuesday as a Distinguished Professor of USU. The award is given by the Women & Gender Research Institute which was originally created by Berry and her coworkers in 1984. Berry said the group began meeting in her living room to discuss ways they could find support for their work on campus. Even today, her role on campus continues to grow. She has become known as a national expert on issues surrounding the use of human subjects in research. She has moved from a regular member to a chair of multiple committees. Between committee meetings, trips to Washington D.C., and her normal load on campus, friends say she does more than her share of work. This weekend, she said she'll be giving a lecture in Los Angeles about her studies on minority migration. But she said lectures away from home don't affect her nearly as much as her acceptance speech did on Tuesday, she said. "I've been shaking all day to give this talk," Berry said. "It's always hardest to give a talk to people you like and respect. Always." With a shyness that has survived her heavy involvement, Berry says she never set out to be a role model. Rather, she considers many of her own coworkers just as worthy to receive WGRI's award. The award, though not exclusive to women, has only been awarded tofiveprofessors - all women - since 1993. Terry Peak, director of USU's social work program, originally nominated Berry for the award. She said Berry is one of the reasons she finds happiness here and applauds her friend's teaching and mentoring abilities. Berry's husband, Stan Laughlin, describes his wife of 19 years as "pretty intense about what she does." Her interest in improving the social and cultural realms around her spill into much of what she does. "We laugh a lot in our house," Laughlin said. -jfullmer@cc.usu.edu TheWGRI Distinguished Professor Award The purpose of the Women and Gender Research Institute Distinguished Professor Award is to recognize the outstanding leadership of women professors in their scholarly or creative work or to recognize the leadership of men or women professors who conduct research on gender issues. The award is given once every three years. Professors serve as role models for aH faculties. .-4v.; |