FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 1999

Fairbanks, Alaska- If a train leaves Fairbanks at 8:37 a.m. heading south, and at the same time a group of high school students board a Princess Tours motorcoach in Anchorage heading north, at what time will the train and motorcoach meet?

It's analysis questions like this that have stumped students on scholastic achievement tests for years. But this weekend 55 high students from southcentral Alaska won't have to worry about college entrance exams, applications or essays. For three days, all these students have to do to enter the University of Alaska Fairbanks is hop on a bus.

High school juniors and seniors from schools in Anchorage and Wasilla will become virtual college freshmen at UAF during the "Virtual Reality Weekend" held Oct. 22-24. Sponsored by UAF's Office of Admissions in conjunction with the Office of Residence Life, students will live on the Fairbanks campus, tour research facilities, eat at the commons and get a feel for what college is all about.

Friday afternoon the virtual college students will move in to Moore Hall, one of several residence halls available for on-campus housing. Current UAF students Ramona Rapackzi, Katie Schaetzle, Andrea Dasovich, Dan Cooley, Chad Hutchison and Bryan Bernaldo will act as resident assistants for the weekend, allowing the high school students direct access for the inside scoop on campus activities, classes and the challenges of higher education.

The resident assistants will accompany the virtual college students Friday night to see the Nanook hockey team take on the University of Michigan Wolverines or attend Theatre UAF's production of "Alice in Wonderland."

Each UAF student is issued a Polar Express identification card, and these virtual college students will be no exception. After receiving their student i.d. Saturday morning and touring the campus with the UAF Student Ambassadors, the faux freshmen will sit down with UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind, ASUAF student government president Stacey Banks and faculty members for an informal info session and pizza party in the Wood Center Ballroom.

Students can meet with professors and chat with the chancellor to get ideas for academic programs to pursue. Saturday afternoon they will have the option of touring the Large Animal Research Station, participating in a percussion jam session with assistant music professor Scott Deal, checking out science experiments and research with assistant physics professor David Newman or playing with virtual reality programming at the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center.

The purpose of the virtual reality weekend is twofold- highlight the strong academic programs available at UAF and show high school students the social and educational advantages of attending college within their home state, according to admissions counselor Scott McCrea.

"We want to show the students the wonderful opportunities- both socially and academically- that are available to them right in their own backyard," McCrea said. "The best way for them to do that is to experience it first-hand."

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Media are welcome to meet virtual reality weekend participants during the informal info session on Saturday, Oct. 23 from12-1:30 p.m. in the Wood Center Ballroom.

JCS/10-20-99/00-022