CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, January 13, 1995
3A
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
Cassie Kirschbaum, Denver, Colo., freshman, and Michele Sherman, Arlington Heights, Ill., freshman, rummage through a stack of posters yesterday in the Kansas Union Gallery.
Sale features posters for all tastes
By Ian Ritter
Kansan staff writer
Posters of characters from the movie "Pulp Fiction" and prints of paintings by Salvador Dali will be gracing many students' walls this semester.
Melissa Fulcher, a traveling saleswoman for Trent Graphics who was selling posters yesterday in the Kansas Union Gallery said the "Pulp Fiction" posters and prints of famous paintings, especially Dali's, were the hottest-selling posters on campus.
"Pulp Fiction' has been selling like crazy," Fulcher said. "It's usually the movie of the year that always sells."
Steve Rogers, Summit, N.J., freshman, bought a poster from "Pulp Fiction" that pictured actress Uma Thurman.
"There are a lot of good posters here," he said. Jonathan Brewer, Allentown, Pa., sophomore, purchased two art prints. He said that he was impressed by the selection and prices at the sale.
"I have prints all over my walls," Brewer said. "At the museums and in the art stores, they're much more expensive."
Fulcher said that at different schools, certain types of posters typically sold better than others.
"It's pretty amazing how much cheesy artwork you sell," she said.
Fulcher said the top-selling music posters were Bob Marley, Nine Inch Nails and the Beastie Boys.
Susan Hoffman, program adviser for the Kansas Union, said post sales had been sponsored by Student Union Activities on campus for at least 20 years.
Last semester, 9,185 students went to the
Union Gallery poster sale, she said. People entering the gallery are counted by part-time SUA employees who serve as gallery guards.
Tim Joyce, an SUA member, said about 400 people came to the gallery on Wednesday.
Lisa Winett, SUA fine arts coordinator, compared the poster sale to a traveling gallery.
"It's a great opportunity for students to learn about art." she said.
This is the third time SUA has sponsored Trent Graphics for the poster sale.
"We just thought that their company looked pretty good," Winnett said. "They're really friendly to work with."
Tom Sirelly, owner of Trent Graphics, said that the company worked with 400 schools around the nation.
SUA will be sponsoring the sale until next Friday.
Cold and flu season starts on computers
Mysterious viruses give users headaches
By Robert Allen
Kansan staff writer
Today is Friday the 13th. Is your computer protected from the Jerusalem virus?
A host of computer viruses lie dormant in the recesses of your computer, waiting for this especially unlucky day to come alive and ruin your day. The Jerusalem virus is among the oldest.
"It's one of the real early ones," said Mickey Waxman, statistical consultant for the computer center and KU expert on computer viruses. "It was originally isolated in Israel in 1987."
Computer viruses are small programs with a set of instructions for the computer. Most don't do any damage, Waxman said, but creators of viruses sometimes made programming mistakes, which occasionally damage the infected computer. The first strain of the Jerusalem virus is an example.
"The original one had a bug that would keep re-infecting your file, so the file would grow very large and take up space on the disk," Waxman said. "That was one of the earliest mistakes made."
The Jerusalem virus might have been created in Italy, Waxman said. The virus automatically activates every Friday the 13th and deletes programs that are run that day. It is possible to avoid any nasty effects of this virus by not turning on your computer today, but other, sneaker viruses may still activate tomorrow if the computer remains off today, Waxman said.
Jeff Adams, Kansas City, Mo., senior, said his computer had been infected four times with a virus called Stoned.
There are close to 6,000 different computer viruses in existence today, Waxman said. Some are relatively harmless, such as the Yankee Doodle virus, which makes your computer play the song.
"It randomly comes up and displays the message 'Your PC is stoned,'" he said.
The most well-known computer virus in the world is the infamous
The virus then destroys data on a diskette. Adams said.
Computer contraception
Here are some helpful hints for safeguarding your computer from infectious computer viruses.
Install an antivirus program and check your hard disk regularly.
Scan all files on disks brought from other computers for viruses.
Assume all files you download are infected and scan them for viruses immediately.
Make backup copies of all programs. In case they do get infected, you will have a clean copy handy.
Source: KU Computer Center Micah Laeker/KANSAN
Michelangelo virus, which caused a nationwide panic in 1902 when it was discovered. It activates every March 6 — Michelangelo's birthday — and will remove nearly all data on the infected computer's hard disk, Waxman said.
"It got spread around a lot the year it was introduced," he said. "That's what taught a lot of businesses that they should have anti-virus software running."
To get rid of viruses without triggering them, computer owners can use vaccines, or anti-virus software. These programs can detect and remove most viruses, Waxman said.
The Computer Center distributes a free anti-virus program for PCs called F-Prot, which Waxman was one of the best anti-virus packages in the world. Anyone can obtain the free program from the computer center.
"You can have it monitor any program you run and watch for infected programs," Waxman said. "You can have it inspect floppy disks automatically, and you can use it to scan a disk for a virus. Once a virus is found, it knows how to remove the virus and put things back the way they were."
For Macintosh computers, the computer center offers free copies of the anti-virus program called Disinfectant.
Friday the 13th not frightful for all
Dreaded day for some is no big deal for others
By Brian Vandervliet Kansan staff writer
Watch your back, look both ways and save that bungee-jumping excursion for another day because today is Friday the 13th.
While KU students probably won't be wearing protective helmets or knee pads, some do recognize the significance of the unluckiest of daws.
"I was going to drive home on Friday, but I've decided to put it off until Saturday," said Stefanie Simons, Biloxi, Miss., graduate student. "I'm going to be a little more careful."
But that doesn't mean Simons plans to
waste the day.
"Hy-Vee is having a 13-cent sale that I am going to." she said.
Friday the 13th has evolved into the holiday of disaster for several reasons. Friday is considered unlucky by some superstitious people because Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday. Thirteen also is considered an unlucky number because the 12 disciples and Christ ate at the Last Supper before Christ's crucifixion.
The origins of Friday the 13th also can be traced to the popular belief during the eighteenth century that hangmen were paid thirteen half-pence.
"It's because of the nature of our fears and phobias that logic doesn't dissuade us from what we believe," said Pamela Botts, associate director at KU Counseling and Psychological Services. "The belief in superstition is emotionally based. For most of us, Friday the 13th is fun, but for some it's probably a very scary thing." she said.
"It is a wild number, a jack of spades in numerology," Mirecki said. "It's a number that can't be divided without a number remaining."
Paul Mirecki, associate professor of religious studies, said the number 13 had always been considered unstable.
For Bill Smith, Lawrence graduate student, Friday the 13th has not been unlucky at all.
"I was born on Friday the 13th," he said. "I've won some bets at the tracks and once won $35 in nickels at a slot machine."
Yihong Yao, Shanghai, China, graduate student, said that most people in his homeland did not believe in the Friday the 13th superstition. However, he said that the influence of Western culture had made him wary of the day.
"I'm a bit afraid, but it's not too big of a deal," Yao said.
Another error causes financial aid problems
Students picking up their financial aid Tuesday at the Kansas Union were the victims of yet another computer error.
On the same day that a computer crash delayed fee payment and enrollment for two hours, many students received an erroneous message on the financial statements distributed Tuesday. The statements incorrectly informed them they had lost their loans because they had not taken enough hours during the fall semester.
Diane Del Buono, director of the Student
HARBOURLIGHTS
Financial Aid office, said the incorrect messages did not delay students from getting their loan checks.
"We had some concerned students," she said. "But the message didn't in any way prevent people from receiving their financial aid."
Del Buono said that she was unsure of what caused the problem or even of how many students were affected, but she said the programmers of the computer system had been notified of the glitch.
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