tl20040930_001 "Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Thursday, 9/30/04 Trolley tour looks at Towson Four 5 Event encourages voter turnout 8 International feel marks art lineup Travolta, Phoenix star in Ladder 49' Departments Opinion. News 5 Police Blotter. 9 Arts 13 Now Showing. 15 Entertainment Briefs. 15 Scheer Cinema 15 Sports 20 In this corner. 20 Punt, Pass, & Pick 19 Classifieds 17 Students react to smoking policy Brian Stelter The Towerlight One month after a new University policy required smokers to stand 30 feet away from building entrances, many students have noticed an improvement, but others have noticed inconsistencies regarding rules and enforcement. Ellen Snydman, a health educator at the Dowell Health Center, said the policy seems to be well received. """"Overall people are being very nice about it,"""" she said. """"There haven't been any conflicts that I know of."""" Andrea Harf, a tobacco peer educator, said she is pleased by student reaction to the policy. """"For the most part, people are really being considerate of others,"""" the junior political science and metropolitan studies major said. Officials recently developed a map of """"designated smoking areas"""" on campus. Smokers outside Linthicum Hall are expected to smoke along the edge of The Beach, for example. They plan to distribute the map soon. Most of the smoking spots are located in the open, though, in areas with no protection from inclement weather. """"But for the most part, we've had nice weather,"""" Snydman pointed out on Monday afternoon. """"I'd be curious to see what happens tomorrow."""" Sure enough, Tuesday brought heavy rain and winds to campus, as the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne passed across the mid-Atlantic. Some students stood away from building doors, but others crowded close to entrances. """"Everyone was standing by the doors today,"""" freshman English major Taryn Walley said. While smoking a cigarette in one of the designated locations near the Glen Dining Hall Tuesday night, Walley joked that the new policy seems a """"little bit fascist."""" """"I try to respect it, but at the same time it's pretty inconvenient,"""" she said. Her friend Matthew Anderson, a sophomore English major, said he had a more fatalistic view of smoking. See SMOKE, page 7 Campus buzzes about Belding appearance Lisa Johnson/The Towerhght Dennis Haskins, principal on the popular sitcom """"Saved by the Bell,"""" sings the show's theme song with Towson students Jessica Mayfield (left) and Valerie Sale Wednesday evening. See story in Monday's issue. TU to implement 900k security grant Brian Stelter The Towerlight The Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $997,098 grant that will enable Towson University to develop a Maryland Emergency Geographic Information Network. Towson's nationally-recognized Center for Geographic Information Systems has 10 months to develop the tool, which will permit officials across the state to utilize data in the event of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or other emergency management situations. """"This is huge,"""" James Clements, TU's acting vice president for economic and community outreach, said. """"We think it's the first step of a long-term relationship with the Department of Homeland Security."""" CGIS staffers have been meeting this week to discuss the new project. Towson University will officially announce the grant in the coming days. """"This is huge. We think it's the first step of a long- term relationship with the Department of Homeland Security."""" James Clements economic & community outreach The Department of Homeland Security awarded $9 million to """"information technology demonstration projects"""" last week. The department's Office for Domestic Preparedness received 113 proposals for projects early this year. Only 12 were funded, and Towson received the largest amount of money. Matt Felton, CGIS's associate director for technical services, said the proposal was formally submitted through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. """"Maryland received the award but Towson is the technical lead for developing the project,"""" Felton said. Clements met with the director of the agency last week. """"If there's ever an incident within the state, they'll be turning to us, asking us how to map it out and how to respond,"""" he said. """"It's very big for Towson."""" See GRANT, page 7 Today High 73 Low 53 Friday High 75 Low 58 Saturday High 73 Low 49 Sunday High 66 Low 49 Monday High 69 Low 49"
