Being away from Norwich for the past three years, you come back and notice a ton of changes. The main change that I had noticed was parking for commuter students. My past experience with parking at Norwich was horrendous; there was never anywhere for us to park. This made for us to become creative with where we had to park, which resulted in many tickets and many letters to the editor complaining about the situation. Well, not this one. I am amazed with the new parking lots for commuter students. It is a million times easier to park your car and not worry about coming back and finding that little white piece of paper waiting for you on your windshield.

Granted some lawn had to suffer with the addition of new spots, but I think that Norwich has enough grass and woods to compensate for what we had to get rid of. Of course there will be times that the commuter students will have to be creative with their spots, but for the most part, it is much easier and less stressful finding a spot and making it to class on time. Many of you may feel differently than I do, but trust me when I say that parking was basically non-existent a few years back. Many thanks to those of you who finally listened and understood that real parking didn't exist for commuter students and making new spots. Now, when is the lot across the street from the science complex going to get a face-lift?

Sincerely,
K.Busby

Children should be guaranteed safe places to trick-or-treat this week. Parents who live in small towns such as Northfield, where so many residents know the others, may still harbor concerns about the safety of the candy and treats their children are given as they roam the town's neighborhoods. This concern is shared in all communities.

But students at Norwich are working to make this Halloween's little ghosts and princesses safer. Because of efforts by the Resident Life Department and its donation, student residents in Dodge and Patterson halls will be handing out candy to local children this Friday, Oct. 31, in an effort to assure a safe environment for the children.

We applaud those NU students who are so willingly opening their halls and rooms to such a worthy cause: the safety of our community's children. This is the type of service to others that this university was founded upon.

I want to express my appreciation to all the students, faculty and staff who worked diligently in preparing for the Trustees' meeting and for the wonderful way in which everyone hosted our Trustees and special guests on campus. This is the first meeting that General Gordon Sullivan, United States Army (Ret.), led as Chairman. I will be publishing my letter to the University Community about the accomplishments and decisions made during the meeting in a few days.

There are some issues that I want to bring forward through the Guidon. The Board approved the recommendation to establish a Bachelor of Science in Information Assurance major. This is in recognition of the national attention which Norwich has been receiving over the last two years. Significant scholarship funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency have vaulted us into national recognition. Our University now holds one-fourth of all the national scholarships in Information Assurance from the NSA, and eight National Science Foundation scholarships. All of our courses have been re-certified, and we retained our status as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance. Our curricula are approved at both the undergraduate and the graduate level for our Masters of Science in Information Assurance. This puts us at the same academic standing as some very large and well regarded institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Syracuse, Drexel, Purdue, James Madison and George Mason. The establishment of a Bachelor of Science in Information Assurance will help us maintain and grow our capabilities as an academic institution because it is desperately needed for the nation's defense.

The Board was also delighted to learn that Norwich has now been placed in the U.S. News & World Report Tier II rankings for Masters Institutions in the North Region of the United States, has had its bond ratings increased to Baa1 by Moodys, and that our Nursing Department has received a recommendation for complete and full re-accreditation. These successes are a tribute to the hard work of the administration and the faculty, and the high performance of our students. The Board wished for me to convey their heart-felt thanks, admiration and congratulations to everyone for the start of a great year and for these significant accomplishments.