By DAVID MURIMI

Staff Writer

Have you ever noticed when you have a paper due the next morning and you walk into the computer lab that every computer is taken?

Or when you're in deep thought typing away with brilliance that somebody's "Inspector Gadget" ring tone goes off interrupting any train of thought you ever had?

The computer lab is a funny planet.

Students are checking e-mails, working on ALEKS, and whispering to and giggling with their neighbors while they explore the ever-addictive world of the Internet.

A few students revealed what they spend most of their time doing in the labs.

The most used aspect for Tech students in the computer lab was print-outs.

"I check my e-mail and print out my homework and anything else I know I need to print a lot of," Jack Allen, a junior marketing major, said.

Jesse Petrus, a junior accounting major, agreed with Allen.

"I print out reports and Microsoft Excel work for my accounting classes and all the papers I have to do," Petrus said.

In addition to the many print-outs, students utilize Blackboard to check up on their assignments and grades.

"I usually check Blackboard if the teacher has it online, because you can check your grades or assignments if you missed a day or forget something in class," Emily Jimmerson, a junior accounting major, said.

Students work on more than print-outs and crowd the 24-hour computer lab in Wyly Tower.

George Gaiennie, a freshman biology major, also uses the lab for Blackboard and its other services.

"I use the library catalog online and look through the archives and type my 10-page papers," Gaiennie said.

Students can also access the library catalogue in the computer labs.

"Research, research, research, that's all I do these days, so when I'm in the lab, that's what I'm doing, plus looking through archives," Ben Hetherwick, a freshman biomedical engineering major, said.

Last but not least, the students who have online classes, such as Rodney Baker, a freshman in merchandising and consumer studies, use the lab for class.

"I use the lab to for my online class, MCS 246, when I am in there, which is really convenient and easier," Baker said.

After battling papers, print-outs and the usual Internet addictions, the computer lab seems to be a pretty productive place.

So, what's in your computer lab?