[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]
PIGS IN A BLANKET: Calming the Fear of Swine Flu
SO … SWINE FLU. YEAH. IT LIKE, IT COMES from pigs, right? Like, when you eat bacon that’s not cooked? You know, when pigs roll around in the mud and stuff they get really dirty because, you know, mud is dirty with like parasites and stuff, and when you don’t cook a pig and you eat its skin as bacon it can get you all infected and stuff. Swine flu is like getting an STD except instead of having sex with like a dirty … you know … you’re eating dirty pig meat. Yeah. Exactly. Only time will tell whether the international response to the swine flu pandemic is too little, too much or just right. I think it’s safe to say that the flu has brought the issue of worldwide health emergencies back to the forefront of our collective consciousness, both on a local and international level, but has its wall-to-wall media coverage once again proven the capacity for the over-connected digital age to instill fear rather than provide information? The numbers of the outbreak don’t tell the whole story. Hundreds of people have died in Mexico – a tragedy – and hundreds more have been infected around the world. Thousands have been screened for the illness, while millions and
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JOE HORTON billions have been put on high alert, watching and wondering if constant press conferences by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and global leaders trumpeting their readiness to combat a wider outbreak signal something more sinister yet to come. In an attempt to gauge the public response to the swine flu, I conducted a limited experiment. I called six pharmacies in our nation’s capital, chosen for its ostensible leadership position, to see if they currently had any Relenza in stock – a prescription flu medicine that, along with Tamiflu, stands as the best defense readily accessible against the swinery – and found that only two had any available. Two had never heard of Relenza, and the two others had run out despite, at that moment, no cases of swine flu reported within 200 miles of Washington. I then expanded the scope of the inquiry with the help of a D.C.-area university medical center that suggested a major medical supply company that would likely be able to sell me N95 respirator masks. The N95 designation is provided by the government, signaling the mask’s ability to filter out about 95 percent of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns and larger – meeting, in theory, the CDC requirements for tuberculosis and anthrax spores. N95 masks have been a hot commodity for concerned citizens stocking up for a potential widening of the illness’s path, though the CDC says they offer at best limited effectiveness to stop the spread of the disease. This major, interstate medical company was out of the masks. CVS and Walgreens drugstores were sold out.
G I N A Q U AT T R O C H I
International NO Dieting Day May 6 the Student Development Health Education at UCLA presents International NO Dieting Day, a fair promoting healthy eating habits and ways to stay fit and active without a restrictive diet. The fair also challenges stereotypes of beauty. International NO Dieting Day was established in 1992 by a British activist and a group called the Diet Breakers. Their goal was to challenge cultural values that contribute to chronic dieting, food and weight preoccupation, disordered eating and size discrimination. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Bruin Plaza.
million; University of North Carolina at Asheville got $1.5; the University of Iowa received $7 million; the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Maryland University College got $6 million each; the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was given $5.5 million; and Penn StateHarrisburg received $3 million. Most of the money must be used for student scholarships, which is awesome, and the remainder can be used towards research, equipment, strategic goals and operating support. Thank you anonymous-highereducation-supporter!
“Shifting Baselines in the Tijuana Tide,” a five-minute video produced by USC alum Randy Olson premiered on YouTube on Earth Day. Olson, now a marine biologist, attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, earned his MFA in 1997 and has since been producing films on the marine environment. The five-minute short was produced by Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Project, which is based in Hollywood, and reveals how the Tijuana River carries loads of pollution across the border. Sixty percent of Tijuana’s raw sewage flows directly into the river, which then causes beaches north of the border, such as Imperial Beach, to shut down most of the year because of poor water quality. The video is part of Olson’s ongoing collaboration with the Ocean Media Project to unite conservationists with filmmakers in order to communicate environmental issues to a wider audience.
Mystery Donors Give over $45 Million to Universities Nine universities have received surprise gifts in the form of over $45 million. Purdue got $8
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Total São Paulo: A Guide to the Unexpected Book Signing Party
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May 9 @ Carmichael Gallery Meet author Phuong-Cac Nguyen with complimentary caipirinhas provided by Leblon Cachaça, the art of talented Brazilian artist Thais Beltrame, live silk screening, capoeira demonstrations and live music by DJ Marlon Fuentes and Andrea Ferraz. 3 p.m.-7 p.m.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
TANNING! Misconception #7
“Showering after tanning will remove your tan.” FACT: UVA and UVB stimulate melanin to be produced in the skin. Once natural melanin is produced, it takes 24-48 hours to develop your sun tan. Showering immediately after tanning will not affect your tan. After the melanin travels to the surface of the skin, it is lost in natural skin shedding, which is why a tan fades with time. Using a lotion can help keep skin healthy, moisturized, and extend the time needed between tanning sessions.
U-TAN
One Free Week (expires 5/31/09)
Must Present Student ID
213.747.8182
3163 South Hoover Street (located in the University Village) www.utanla.com
Earth Day Video by USC Alum to Premiere on YouTube
BoredLA Art Show Vol. 3 Saturday, May 9 come by the Ragazzi Room near USC for the third installment of BoredLA’s “Your Art Show.”As usual, there will be displays of student-submitted art, a full music lineup, Chalk Revolution will supply chalk for graffiti on the sidewalk, Ratscratch photobooth and of course, wine and tapas deals at the lovely Bacaro L.A. next door. Don’t miss the hippest student art show around, for free!
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I called some of the hospitals in my inner circle hometown of Denver who, despite having masks, would not sell them to the public. A colleague of mine, tasked with the inglorious assignment to travel to Mexico City to report on the swine flu, ordered masks at an online company only to receive notice that her order would have to be delayed because of a stocking problem. She then found another supply at a different Web site, only to see it vanish when the screen refreshed. She finally called the second Web site and spoke with a human being who, after hearing of her plight, brought one box of masks out of storage and agreed to sell them. My point is this: For all our supposed readiness for a serious pandemic outbreak, some very basic chinks in our national medical armor are already apparent. It would be my hope that, facing a new and potentially deadly disease, the public could go about their lives at a relatively normal pace to avoid panic, that medicine and preventative tools would be available through normal channels – local drug stores, online shopping – to prevent a bottlenecked slavishness to a centralized government effort. We must collectively remain calm and use this situation to prepare for challenges yet to come. Keep this small note in mind, scrunched into the end of an Associated Press article from last week: “Pulmonary specialist Dr. Leonard Horovitz … pointed out that while there has been just one death attributed to swine flu in the U.S., 55 children died last week from conventional flu, according to CDC records.” And one very bright note: Guess who had plenty of N95 masks? My local Home Depot. God forbid the apocalypse comes – viral or otherwise – but make your way to the Home Depot. That place is stocked.
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Nina Merrill, a senior at Colgate Univ. in NY started this blog with the hopes of encouraging the development of organic food programs on college campuses around the U.S. She highly encourages student participation, so log on or call (516) 532-2309 if you’re interested in writing an entry.
ANTONIO’S MOTHER’S DAY AND “DIA DE LAS MADRES” CELEBRATION! There will be two Mother’s Day celebrations here at Antonio’s! There is the one on the 10th of May, which is celebrated in Mexico. We celebrate that day here with a special menu, cards and goodies, as well as a musical trio performing. Then there is the one on Sunday celebrated here in the U.S. We will have the special menu, cards, and goodies, as well as the trio to serenade the moms. We at Antonio’s always treat the moms special, so make your reservations and whichever day you decide, the 10th or the second Sunday of May as celebrated here in the states, we will make sure mom is given the extra special treatment.
Call (323) 658-9060
for reservations and “Recuerde a Mama”!
7470 Melrose Ave.
Tues-Fri: 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat: noon-11 p.m.,
Sun: noon-10 p.m., closed Mondays