The spam filter [suggestion] came up last year. It was a request from the Technology Fee Committee, but the technology funds ran out. Additional funds from this year went toward the spam filter.

Once we can get on top of the spam, we can address some of our internal e-mail issues.

Testing on the spam filter last week went very well.

There's lots of information to get out to students. E-mail [messages act as] a key role for that.

I always believe that people can learn a broader skill set. You need good technology and solving a big problem. I always think that, at it's core, it's solving a problem; you're not building technology for the sake of technology.

I do research for every single book, regardless. For 'Double Dutch,' I learned to jump and learned the scoring system. For 'November Blues,' I interviewed pregnant teens. I like to get up close and personal with the kids involved in the situations I write about.