the news in brief

(U-WIRE) COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A cell phone application set to debut this fall could help keep… (U-WIRE) COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A cell phone application set to debut this fall could help keep criminals off the campus while taking digital social lives well beyond the limits of the average Facebook account.

MyeVyu, which was developed by University of Maryland computer science professor Ashok Agrawala and his team of graduate students, can pinpoint a user’s position on the campus within about 10 feet by using data from the 3,300 Wi-Fi stations scattered across the campus. With the push of a button, users can send that information – by way of live video, audio and text – to University police in seconds.

In an interview, Christian Almazan, one of a team of graduate students working on the project, demonstrated a working version of MyeVyu. When he pushed a button on his phone, his face appeared on a laptop screen along with the date, time and his exact location – room 4149 in the A.V. Williams Building.

Another attraction is that users can send information about their exact location to friends quickly and easily. They can also receive up-to-the-minute information from the University about everything from the real-time location of shuttle buses to the location of vending machines in the immediate area to where they parked their cars, Agrawala explained.

The system can track users’ positions and schedules then calculate the best meeting place and time for them, Almazan said. The system can also create “virtual scavenger hunts,” in which users mark positions on the campus that others attempt to find.

Right now, MyeVyu only works with the Nokia N810, but developers expect to have working versions for many other phones – starting with the iPhone – by this fall. It’s too early to tell if students will be able to get the application for free. – Jad Sleiman, The Diamondback (U. Maryland)

(U-WIRE) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Chants of “Strike the hike!” and “Student debt has got to go!” resounded in front of Grawemeyer Hall at the University of Louisville last Wednesday as more than 400 students participated in the Kentucky Higher Education Student Walkout and Rally, organized by the Progressive Action Coalition.

The rally was held in protest of Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposed 12 percent cut to higher education funding, which may result in a higher tuition increase for University of Louisville students than initially expected.

The program began just after 1:11 p.m., the scheduled time of the walkout.

An open microphone was set up in front of the Thinker statue for both students and some scheduled speakers. As the afternoon progressed, students discussed the heavy burden that would be placed on them by a large tuition increase.

Sophomore political science and history major Nick Clark said, “I can’t very easily pull an extra $500 or $1,000 out of thin air. Every year we see increases in tuition, but I have no idea where that money goes.”

The event saw a mixture of popular and unpopular opinion.

Speaker Attica Scott, of Kentucky Jobs for Justice, discussed how the tuition increases affect students long after they graduate.

“Paying for college should not be like taking out a second mortgage when you don’t even own a home,” Scott said to the crowd. – Dennis O’Neil, The Louisville Cardinal (U. Louisville)

(U-WIRE) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Friday morning, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said Monday that the Illinois senator may not be able to win the Democratic nomination for president.

Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Monday morning, along with Gov. Ed Rendell, Casey said citizens shouldn’t “read too much” into national polls.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, Obama leads Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., 52 to 42 percent nationally. In a March 18 Quinnipiac University Poll, Clinton led Obama 53 to 41.

Casey made his endorsement because of Obama’s potential to lead the country in a new direction and take care of the nation’s problems, said Matt Lehrich, spokesman with the Pennsylvania Obama campaign.

Rendell endorsed Clinton in late January. Although she leads in Pennsylvania primary polls, Rendell thinks this lead will shrink in the coming weeks, Rendell’s press secretary Chuck Ardo said.

Clinton knows she won’t be able to maintain her current lead until the primaries and has been preparing accordingly, said Emily Cain, spokeswoman for the Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania.

Rendell also said he believes a solution needs to be found so that both Florida and Michigan’s votes can count in the Democratic primary. These states could be victories for Clinton, allowing her to take the popular vote lead, Ardo said. – Brandon Taylor, Daily Collegian (Penn State)