Few use Athletic Dep't laptops

Athletes on road trips can check out one of 15 department computers. Only a few of Penn's student-athletes have taken advantage of the laptop computers the Athletic Department purchased for their use this past summer. But Assistant Athletic Director Robert Koonce said he is pleased with the program and expects more athletes to take advantage of the computers during the winter season. The department bought 15 notebook computers -- five Macintosh Powerbooks and 10 Texas Instruments IBM-compatibles -- so student-athletes could complete classwork on road trips. But according to the log sheet, only 12 out of the more than 900 student-athletes have taken advantage of the service during the first two months of the fall season. "It will increase in the winter," Koonce said. "With the wrestling and basketball, women's basketball, those winter sports traveling with Ivy League weekends, we'll see a lot of usage." The department is keeping a stricter watch on the computers since one student reported that he believed his borrowed laptop had been stolen from his apartment. "In fact, it wasn't stolen. He had left it somewhere," Koonce said, noting that the department now forbids students from taking the laptops home with them. Currently, the Athletic Department requires students to reserve a computer at least one day before a road trip and to agree to be liable for anything that happens to the computer. Despite the low use so far, Koonce said the department is considering purchasing more computers, most likely IBM-compatibles, since those have been more popular than the Macintoshes. College senior Pat Larco, a member of the men's soccer team, said he used one of the Texas Instruments laptops to write a paper that was due soon after a road trip. Larco said the computer "was very good" overall, although he had trouble using the trackpad -- the pad which controls the cursor -- while the bus was in motion. "It got easier once you got used to it," he said. Larco added that the computer's batteries did not last very long, something he said was typical of any laptop. Although he did not use the modem, Larco said he could have through a hookup in his hotel room. Women's crew co-captain Heather Whalen said the computer she borrowed "was extremely useful" for an English paper she wrote during a week in which she had several papers and presentations due. "We were in Boston all day Saturday and all day Sunday, and needless to say, I needed a computer," the College senior said. Whalen added that she was appreciative of the Athletic Department's efforts to help athletes with their classwork. "When we go on long trips, it's really hard and we're really pressed for time," she said.