Exeter AIDS Response has a new focus

When I first became a member of Exeter AIDS Response, part of Exeter Student Services Organization (ESSO), we concentrated mainly on raising awareness in the Exeter community. This year, co-heads John "Trey" Lord '02, Kathy O'Connor '02 and I decided it was time to shift the group's focus to actively supporting an AIDS outreach organization. Trey, whose family lives in Uganda, was acquainted with the founder and director of an orphanage in Masaka, Uganda; we agreed that an orphanage was an appropriate choice for our support.

AIDchild, the orphanage we chose to assist, offers care to HIV-positive children and children who have been orphaned by the AIDS virus. AIDchild also runs a clinic for nonorphaned AIDS patients and teaches prevention in schools and villages throughout the region. When we found out that the community needed clothing of all sizes, we knew how we could help. The Academy students, who go through so many clothes each year, could provide for the adult sizes, but we were not sure where we could go for help in providing children's clothing. Our faculty adviser, Reverend Thompson, informed us that there were over 50 faculty children on campus, and that we should direct our attention to the faculty and staff. The response has been incredible. It will take 30 to 40 boxes to ship all of the clothes we have gathered, and the clothes keep piling up.

Exeter AIDS Response currently has about 30 members; before graduating, Trey, Kathy and I hope to build an organization that can maintain its relationship with AIDchild and offer real support to other AIDS programs in the future. If you are interested in learning more about AIDchild, please visit www.AIDchild.org.

-Ashley Burns '02

Lion Links Update

Lion Links, the Academy's web-based interface to its central administrative database, was introduced to campus this fall when faculty members turned in their grades online, effectively streamlining much of the end-of-term process. Now, students can use Lion Links to add or drop courses without the inconvenience of filling out paper forms, turning them in during office hours or waiting to find out if a course is full. In April, they will select courses for next year online as well. Since Lion Links is accessible remotely, students off campus can also take advantage of the new system.

In Lion Links, a student's academic informationÑtranscript, grades, course schedule and selected courses for the coming termÑis laid out in an easy-to-review format. During the add-drop period, students can see whether a course is still open or closed and make instant changes to their selections on line. With such ready access to information and the ability to effect immediate change, says Dean of Academic Affairs Denis Brochu, "students are able to reach more informed decisions about their academic lives and to take greater ownership of such processes as signing up for courses for the coming year."

Along with the means to make informed and timely decisions comes the administration's expectation that students will do just that. But Lion Links is designed to enhance the Academy's adviser system, not replace it. Mid-term grades become visible online only after they are distributed to advisers; end-of-term grades are visible after report cards are sent home. Faculty members can see, but not change, advisees' data, and thus stay informed about even the most uncommunicative of students.

You can learn more about Lion Links through the Academy website, http://www.exeter.edu, by choosing Information Tech from the Site Quickfind menu, then selecting Lion Links. Or go directly to http://it.exeter.edu/LionLinks/lionlinks.html