www.theloquitur.com
2 | NEWS
EDITORIAL
Step up and vote It has been said that this upcoming election is one of the most important elections in United States history. Our country is in desperate need of a strong leader who can shape up all of the chaos and turmoil occurring in the United States today and around the world. Not only is this election an important one but also the elected president could potentially make history. Among the candidates at the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate there is one woman, Sen. Hillary Clinton, one African American, Sen. Barack Obama, and one Hispanic, Governor Bill Richardson debating to become the next president of the United States. Former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney is running for the Republican Party and would be the first Mormon president. As college students, we lead busy lives; some busier than others. Some of you may think that your vote doesn’t count, so why should you waste your time researching candidates and watching debates on TV? It’s a lot easier now to find out about the candidates and their viewpoints with the Internet. New statements arise each week from the hopeful presidential candidates and it’s extremely important to stay up-to-date with them. There has been some flipflopping of interests and statements made already and we’re only in the early stages. If you keep up with all of the issues, it will be a lot easier for you to decide on a candidate when it comes time for the primaries. People understand that FOX and CNN news programs are biased towards a particular political party, so it’s not surprising that students turn on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report with Steven Colbert. It is important that students watch news programs that cater to a political party that might not be their own so that they are getting the whole picture because the media can be one sided. In a meeting with Howard Dean, he couldn’t have praised our generation enough. He said that we have accomplished more in our time then his generation has. In reality, statistics show that younger voters aren’t voting. Fact is, every vote counts and if you remember the previous election in which Florida had to recount their votes to come up with a winner because the votes were so close we found out that every individual vote does count. As college students, we should be the people voting. The next president will be responsible for getting our country out of the worst debt it has ever been in. If the wrong candidate is elected into office, we could be paying the consequences later on. As for the war in Iraq, it’s our generation who is mostly over in Iraq fighting a war that Howard Dean said was unnecessary and that is making our world a more dangerous place. The number of casualties is increasing every month so why should we keep shipping our loved ones over to the Middle East to fight in a war that is unnecessary and making our world a more dangerous place? We need a president that will put America back in the right direction. It’s easy to complain about the problems in the United States today and blame politicians for the situation we find ourselves in but if you don’t vote, then you don’t have the right to complain.
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007
Researchers join in quest to stop spread of HIV BRITTANY LAVIN FEATURES EDITOR BLL722@CABRINI.EDU
Researchers in the Philadelphia area are joining in the quest to stop to the spread of HIV. Currently, they are working to develop new vaccines that will prevent individuals from becoming infected. Researchers also hope to develop a vaccine that will be effective in treating those who are already HIV-positive. There are two types of HIV vaccines. Therapeutic HIV vaccines are treatment vaccines and help treat people who are HIVpositive. Preventative HIV vaccines are designed to prevent people from becoming infected. According to Hildegund C.J. Ertl, an immunologist at The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, vaccines are developed through a series of trials. The vaccines are tested first in animals to ensure that they create a safe immune response. So far, Ertl’s research has produced strong results. “Our vectors induce strong T-
cell responses in mice and monkeys even if the animals have pre-existing antibodies to human serotype adenoviruses,” Ertl said. Once the vaccine proves to be immunogenic in animals, they test it for contaminants before beginning trials on human subjects. First, they conduct a dose escalation trial to determine a safe and effective dose. Then they conduct a second trial in which they combine two different vaccines sequentially. These experimental vaccines do not contain the real virus. However, some trials have been known to produce antibodies in a persons body that help fight against HIV. Though these antibodies could cause a person to test positive for HIV, it does not mean they actually have it. Ertl and her team are currently preparing to test a new vaccine. Though she expects the research to have positive results, not all trials make it. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Merck & Co. Inc. recently pulled the plug on a trial that was
three years in the making because “it didn’t seem to be working.” This trial was designed to see if the vaccine would prevent HIV infection and also see if it would reduce the effects in those who were already infected. It failed, but according to Ian Frank, the director of the HIV Vaccine Trials at the University of Pennsylvania, that particular trial may still be useful. “The information is going to help us develop vaccine in the future,” Frank told the Inquirer. “We’re really at the very earliest stages in this process.” According to the same article, $759 million is being spent each year on vaccine trials. Thus far, there has been significant advancement in the development of these vaccines but challenges still remain. The greatest of these is how to develop a vaccine for a virus that mutates rapidly and is different in each person. “That’s the main challenge,” Ertl said. “It’s the reason we can’t readily make vaccines that protect.”
2007-2008 Loquitur Staff/Editorial Staff Editor in Chief Deputy Editor Managing Editor News Editor News Editor A & E Editor A & E Editor Features Editor Perspectives Editor Sports Editor Copy Editor Copy Editor Events Editor Adviser
Kaitlin Barr Liz Lavin Nicole Osuch Jamie Hufnagle Ashley Cook Grayce Turnbach Katie Clark Brittany Lavin Jillian Smith Jessica Hagerty Megan Pellegrino Vickie Papageorge Diana Vilares Dr. Jerome Zurek
Staff Writers Jonathan Barnett Laura Lombardi Michael Bieker Brittany McLeod Christopher Blake Christina Michaluk Christopher Campellone Sarah Pastor Alicia Cook Nicholas Pitts Nicole Duggan Samantha Randol Danielle Feole Christy Ross Liz Garrett Meghan Smith Christine Graf Jessica Storm Jessie Holeva Mallory Terrence Danielle Kaine Lauren Townsend Robert Kallwass Diana Trasatti Shannon Keough Jake Verterano Ryan Kirby Britany Wright
Our Mission Statement The Loquitur is Cabrini’s College weekly, student-run, campus newspaper. It is widely respected as the voice of students, staff, faculty, alumni and many others outside the Cabrini community. The Loquitur has earned its position by advocating for self expression through freedom of speech, and by serving as an outlet for readers to affect change on campus and off. Founded in 1959, the Loquitur has thrived and greatly expanded its readership. The paper now has over 2,000 online readers and 1,500 print readers on a weekly basis. Our mission is to provide readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions freely, in an environment where their voices are effectively heard and respected. The Loquitur: You Speak. We Listen Loquitur is a laboratory newspaper written, edited and produced by the students of COM 353, 352, 250 and 251. Subscription price is $25 per year and is included in the benefits secured by tuition and fees. Additional copies are $1 each. Loquitur welcomes letters to the editors. Letters to the editor are to be less than 500 words. These are usually in response to a current issue on campus or community area. Guest columns are longer pieces between 600 and 800 words and also are usually in response to a current issue on Cabrini College campus or community. Letters to the editor and guest columns are printed as space permits. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content. Name, phone number and address should be included for verification purposes. Personal attacks and anonymous submissions will not be printed. Letters to the editor and guest columns can be
50/35
47/37
49/35
56/41
ANTHONY VELLUTATO/GRAPHIC DESIGNER