We’ve all realized over the years that talking causes distracted driving, but research from UIUC has proven that driving actually distracts one from talking. According to the research, driving impairs your ability to comprehend and use language.

“The previous findings made no sense to those of us who have studied language,”said Gary Dell, a psycholinguist in the department of psychology at Illinois and corresponding author on the study. “You might think that talking is an easy thing to do and that comprehending language is easy. But it’s not. Speech production and speech comprehension are attention-demanding activities, and so they ought to compete with other tasks that require your attention – like driving.”

The study reflects the tradeoffs that occur when people try to communicate while performing other tasks, Dell said. “The relative balance of attention to any two tasks is going to vary,” he said. “And perhaps we don’t understand one another as well as we should because of this. With modern technology, we’re talking more and more while we are doing other things, but we may be understanding one another less and less.”

Driven to distraction: New study shows driving hinders talking – UI News Bureau

Don’t be alarmed. There is a scheduled test of the Illini-Alert system today at 10am. The full system will be activated, including text messages, and website alerts.

This is a good time to remind all of you about the importance of signing up for Illini-Alert. Please make sure that you are registered at emergency.illinois.edu, so you can receive text and email notifications in the event of major campus emergencies. It’s not a hard process, and it’s definitely worth it.

When registering for Illini-Alert, please follow all instructions including sending yourself a test text message. For questions or problems concerning the Illini-Alert service, please contact the CITES Help Desk at (217) 244-7000 or email consult@illinois.edu.

During tomorrow’s test, you will not need to do anything. However, if you do not receive the test message tomorrow morning on or about 10 a.m., please contact the CITES Help Desk.

Well, it’s official. Today is the day. An unofficial celebration of St. Patrick’s day began no doubt early this morning with the wearing of green and the drinkage of alcohol.

This day, as you know, has been riddled with controversy over the years. The university has tried every year to end the celebrations, but the students are relentless. One of the popular activities of Unofficial is to drink and go to class; even if you don’t have a class today. This year, the University will be taking guard at campus buildings to prevent “liquored learning.”

“It is surprising, to say the least, that students would actually decide to both celebrate ‘Unofficial’ and go to class. We do have kids who think they might want to do both,” said U. of I. spokeswoman Robin Kaler.

That’s where the administrators-turned-bouncers will step in. “We have people at the door who are trained at searching through backpacks,” Kaler said. “They will confiscate 50-gallon garbage cans full of this stuff.”

Some of the other preventative measures this year include the 21 age limit at campus bars and the limitation that bars cannot start serving alcohol until 11am. This is not likely to stop the spirit of the celebrating students who usually make-do at a local apartment.

Whatever your plans are this Unofficial, The Quad reminds you to keep it safe. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t drink and drum. Don’t drink and … well, just be safe.

Have a great Friday!

Check out The Quad’s complete coverage of Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day here.

The recent accident of a US Airways jet that made an emergency landing in the Hudson river has lead to numerous safety investigations. The plane supposedly lost both engines after flying through a flock of birds. Since the plane could not make it to a nearby airport, pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger landed the plane in the nearby bay. All 155 passengers and crew members made it safely out of the plane.

The threat of birds has been a serious cause of concern for planes since of the beginning of manned flight. Over the past decade, UI professor Edwin Herricks has been working on a tool to address the bird-plane collision problem.

Herricks, a professor of ecological engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), coordinates the Airport Safety Management program for the CEE-based Center of Excellence for Airport Technology. His team has deployed avian radars at major airports around the country. Now Herricks’ research program is moving into the performance assessment phase, addressing issues such as calibration, performance under different environmental conditions, and reliability. A radar at the Naval Air Station at Whidbey Island in Washington State has been operational and collecting data for more than 18 months. A radar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and a second one at Whidbey Island have been providing data since August 2007.

The ultimate goal is to provide guidance to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) so they can develop procedures that may help pilots, air traffic controllers and wildlife managers avoid a catastrophic bird strike accident. Already, bird strikes cost the aviation industry $1 billion a year, according to Bird Strike Committee USA. But there are few mandates in place to address the issue.

Here’s to another UI innovation

Bird strikes pose a real threat to air safety

It’s that time of the year again. Halloween. The day where it’s ok to come to class dressed as a pirate. This yearly festival is celebrated internationally with trick-or-treating, haunted houses, costume parties, jack-o-lanterns, scary movies, and the largest gross of candy of the year. Whether you like it or not, this holiday will take over the day. This year, Halloween falls on a Friday, which makes it very appealing to students. Many students choose to come to class in a costume, while many choose not to come to class at all.

If you haven’t gotten your costume already, there is still time. For those of you that are completely out of ideas, or refuse to spend money on your costumes, check out this article for cheap and easy costume ideas. One of the most popular this year will obviously be “The Joker” and my personal favorite “college student” which only requires a hoodie. Feel free to share your costume ideas with us by posting a reply to this article. If you are looking for a trend, here are the expected top ten costumes for 2008:

10. Angel
9. Ghost
8. Political (McCain, Obama, Palin)
7. Batman
6. Nurse
5. Fairy
4. Cat
3. Vampire
2. Pirate
1. Witch

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch, total Halloween spending for 2008 is estimated to reach $5.77 billion. And it’s not just for the tykes. An estimated 51.8 million adults plan to sport some sort of costume for the big night.

However you decide to celebrate, be safe. Halloween should be a night of fun and festivities. As Scooby Doo once said: “We don’t go anywhere with ’scary’, ’spooky’, ‘haunted’, or ‘forbidden’ in the title.” Seriously, be safe and have fun.

Happy Halloween!

Editor’s Note: Due to recent events surrounding Halloween celebrations, The Quad would like to reiterate the words of Interim Police Chief Jeff Christensen: “No matter where you are, we advise you to always be aware of your surroundings and to immediately report any suspicious activity to the police. If you are celebrating Halloween by wearing a costume, you absolutely should NOT carry any type of replica, toy or fake weapon.”

Although not much information is available online, I just rode by a large sign on Green Street announcing the offerings of “Light the Night”.

Tonight from 4:30-8:30pm at the Alma Mater you can get yourself a FREE Bike Light.

It is very important, if you are riding a bike at night, to have a light. It is dangerous for not only the rider but for passing vehicles for bikers to ride without a light at night.

So come by the Alma Mater tonight between 4:30 and 8:30 to get yourself a FREE light, and be safe.

Students have been planning for weeks, their celebration of Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day at the University of Illinois. The event, known as the “Biggest Party in the Big Ten”, is the supposed work of local bar owner Scott Cochrane. The celebration encourages 24-hours of “drinking till you’re Irish”. The day is marked by green shirts, green beer, and a loads of trash. Many students come from surrounding areas to join their friends in the celebration.

Multiple efforts have been made over the past month to prevent as many problems as possible, including a no-visitor act in the dorms and multiple emergency city orders regarding the selling of alcohol. The event has spawned a lot of debate between those who support the party and those who don’t. We’ve seen letters to parents and mass mails to students from the Chancellor regarding student activities on Unofficial. It is unclear at this time whether these new mandates will have any effect on this year’s celebration.

So whether you are going to drink today or not, have a great Friday. Be smart. Be safe.

The University of Illinois has released information on the NIU gunman.

Offender identified in NIU shootings

More infomation on Illinois.edu

The following is a copy a MASSMAIL sent this morning to all university students from Chancellor Herman.

The University has learned that U of I student has been identified as the gunman in a fatal shooting at Northern Illinois University that left seven people dead and more than a dozen more injured.

The entire University of Illinois family extends its deepest condolences to the friends and family of the victims, and to everyone on the Northern Illinois University campus affected by today’s tragedy. Counselors from the U of I are enroute to DeKalb to assist NIU’s staff. And we will continue to offer whatever assistance we can.

In the days to come it is important for all of us in the Illinois community to come together to express our feelings concerning this horrible tragedy and to share the grief that follows. We can expect to feel a wide range of emotions.

That is why I strongly encourage any U of I faculty, staff or student who feels the need to seek counseling as a result of this tragic incident to
contact the Counseling Center. Students can call either 217-333-3704 or
217-359-4141 or go to http://ccserver4.ad.uiuc.edu/; faculty and staff can
call either 217-244-5312 or 217-244-7739, or go to http://www.fsap.uiuc.edu/.

Please remember that we are a community and, as such, we must continue to
care for each other. And, in dark moments such as these, we must turn
toward each other, not away.

Richard Herman

Chancellor