Page 2 Students search Web for funding Companies look to Internet for scholarship applicants THE BATTALION News in Brief Collin County Jail inmate escapes College Statioi| resident found i EVANSTON, III. (AP) — Tavia Evans barely knew what the Internet : _ was, let alone how to use it, until her ju- v nior year of high school. < But the honor student decided to try her luck online any way as'she searched for college cash, plugging in phrases such as "African-American scholar ships" to see what would pop up. A year later, Evans had surfed her way to $22,000 worth of scholarships. Evans, now a junior at Northwest- ' ern University, is one of millions of stu dents who have turned to the Internet as an easy way to find financial help for college. As high school graduates get hit with the reality of paying for college over the next few months, the compa nies that run free scholarship databas es are bracing for a frenzy of activity. "It's just amazing and at times gut- wrenching how desperate kids and parents are for funds," said Larry Ger ber, president of Scholarships.com LLC, a company that offers a free data base of more than 600,000 scholarships. Sites such as Gerber's are fast re placing traditional bulletin boards or visits to a high school counselor. Students simply type in information about them selves, their families, their hobbies and their grades, and wait for a list of schol arships that match their profiles. Evans used FastWeb, one of the old est and largest of the scholarship data bases. The site matched the St. Louis na tive with national William Randolph Hearst and Coca-Cola scholarships. "Would I have found these other wise? 1 don't think so," Evans said. Most of the large, well-established databases are free. Revenues come either from adver tisements on the sites or marketing links that allow students to "opt in" and re ceive information on everything from college loan rates to online textbook companies. Some small scholarship providers are overwhelmed by the attention and even complain about the cost of sending out so much information, Gerber said. Senate Continued from Page 1 Some professors said they thought safer alter natives to Bonfire could replace the 90-year- old tradition. David Woodcock, a professor of archi tecture, said that Bonfire could be replaced by an other, less-dangerous tradition because "the tra dition doesn't rest in a stack of wood—it rests in people's hearts and minds," Woodcock said. "I think the spirit should burn—Bonfire should not." Other faculty members, including David Bar- row, an associate professor of mathematics, said Bonfire could be kept as a tradition if reformed. "It's their [the students'] game, but there are adult officials who make sure that they adhere to strict rules, and there are sanctions and penalties," Bar- row said, using football as an analogy. "Possibly we need an oversight board. We need something to give them an incentive to pay attention to cor rections that need to be made," Barrow said. Although A&M President Ray M. Bowen did not attend the forum, the Faculty Senate will give its opinions regarding the continuation of Bonfire to Bowen in time for his final decision on the future of Bonfire, which will be announced this summer. DALLAS (AP) — The Collin County Jail has had its first es capee since its opening in 1994. Deputies were searching Sun day for a 47-year-old inmate who escaped by crawling through a laundry vent and scaling a roof. James Charles Blair, who worked in the laundry room of the jail, was discovered missing Sun day morning, Sheriff’s Department Maj. Randy Clark, the detention ad ministrator, said in Monday's edi tions of The Dallas Morning News. Collin County Sheriff’s Office In vestigator Michael Davis told The Morning News that Blair is a non violent offender serving time for a probation violation, two burglary charges and a theft charge. Blair has a criminal history in Dallas County, including guilty pleas for possession of a con trolled substance, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest, records show. The sheriff's office was searching for Blair with dogs and helicopters. Carolyn Diane Casey,a2il old College Station residetiil found dead in her apartmer| ly Sunday morning when fire ers were called to the douse a blaze at Douxl apartments. College Station Police! ment Chief Ed Feldman sai:| cause of death is currently! termined; the case has: ruled as a homicide pending outcome of the autopsy rd The body was discovered! the fire was contained. County’s medical examine! fice is scheduled to releasl suits of the autopsy today. “There are several suspects at this time,'! man said. College Station Policel partment spokesperson! na Scott said arson is e mg investigated. Casey attended A&M C« dated High School andAldeq United Methodist Church. art ''jam it/iPfiinn Apt. #38 by kylfi QUEEN BEA BY NOTORIOUS L.I.B. Have you ever noticed that v°u can tell how long a girl has been single? two weeks two months two years / won t settle I_ooks