MHMC- Commercial Template Doc Size 11.25 ” X 14 ”
Image Area 10.375 x 11.75 CYAN
MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
3
Website discusses dangers of prescription pills PILLS FROM PAGE 1 Last semester, students in the class were first required to submit different topic suggestions. The class also discussed other possible topics related to Miami like biking, culture diversity and the future of the city ’s environment. Budenz ’s idea was eventually agreed upon. “We were drawn to it because it had the most social value, ” said senior Iku Kawachi, the team leader for the designers and coders. The class split up into groups of HTML5 coders, web designers and videographers to create the website. The videographers went to local Narcotics Anonymous meetings to meet sources. The students focused their project on the younger population of prescription drug abusers: The stories on the site feature subjects whose ages range from 13 to 25, including a 20-year-old transgender male who started abusing prescription drugs around the age of 14 after they were first prescribed to him for headaches. Another subject, a 25-year-old prescription drug abuser, would see up to 10 doctors in South Florida every
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit the website at prescribingaddiction. com.
The number of deaths keeps escalating and it is a problem that knows no bounds. Iku Kawachi, Senior, team leader for the designers and coders of “Prescribing Addiction”
day to get his fix. In 2009, prescription drug abuse was responsible for 2,488 deaths in the state of Florida alone, according to the students ’ site. However, not all prescription-drug-related deaths are included in that statistic. Activist Renee Doyle, an activist is featured on the site, lost her son when a car hit him while he was on prescription drugs. Since his death was a product of a motor vehicle accident, it is not included though prescription drugs played a role in his death. “The number of deaths keeps escalating and it is a problem that knows no bounds, ” Kawachi said. Many consider prescription drug abuse to be an issue in Florida, where there are prescription drug clinics or “pill mills, ” which one of the site ’s video subjects, Evan, refers to as “legalized drug
dealers. ” “There are a lot of people who even come from out of state to go to these pill mills, ” said Nicole Collazo, a recent graduate who was involved in the project. “They buy the pills for cheaper and sell it or use it for themselves. ” These clinics didn ’t have much regulation until tougher laws were enacted last September. The law now mandates the creation of tougher penalties for doctors who over-prescribe drugs and that doctors use tamper-proof prescription pads. “They would give out pills to anyone who seems semi-legitimate, ” Kawachi said. Regardless, many young adults today abuse prescription drugs. According to the site, 10.4 percent of Florida high school students admitted absuing prescription pills — such as Adderall, Ritalin and OxyContin — at least once. “There are even people in middle school who are getting involved with it, ” Collazo said. “It is interesting because I thought it was an older age range, but there are people starting off young and I didn ’t expect that. ” The website also provides resources on getting help for addicts. It offers ideas on how to talk to a friend who is battling prescription pill addiction, as well as how to talk to kids about this issue. There are also hotlines and local narcotics anonymous programs listed.
Prescription pill abuse among youth Although laws now mandate tougher regulations for doctors, young adults continue to abuse medication, like Adderall.
TEENS NATIONWIDE
use prescription pills to get high for the first time every day
10.4
percent Florida high school students reported having non-medically abused prescription pills in 2008 The two top drugs causing deaths in 2009 are oxycodone and methadone.
Oxycodone
Methadone
Accounts for about
Accounts for about
1,200
700
of deaths in 2009 in Florida
of deaths in 2009 in Florida
SOURCE: PRESCRIBINGADDICTION.COM
GRAPHIC BY AMILYNN SOTO
COMMUNITY SERVICE
New Butler Center staff aims for larger presence on campus Social media, logo increase awareness BY ARIANA LUBELLI CONTRIBUTING NEWS WRITER
The new staff at the Butler Center of Volunteer Service and Leadership Development plans to re-energize the center this semester with a new logo and a stronger online presence. Butler Center Director Andrew Wiemer and Assistant Director Sarah Ho, who took over last fall, have embraced the Internet to inform students of volun-
teer and leadership opportunities. “We do not have official publications for the center, so having social networking sites and the newsletter is necessary to help us promote awareness and keep the community updated, ” Wiemer said. Lila Albizu, a senior and student assistant at the Butler Center, has been working on relaunching “The Butler Connection ” with fresh features, graphics and organization. The newsletter will be available exclusively on the Internet. “For an entire year the newsletter died down, ” Albizu said. “My job is to make its comeback a success. ”
The Butler Center is also using a new logo featuring the university ’s mascot, the ibis, a marsh bird that stays to warn other wildlife when a hurricane approaches. “Including the ibis in the new logo was extremely important because it is a true reflection of a citizen leading the community in times of need, ” Albizu said. The center also plans to focus on Facebook, Twitter and blogs. The staff aims to continue the growth of the Butler Center by promoting awareness and involvement. “With the newsletter, new logo and March 1 - March 4, 2012
various social networking sites, the Butler Center is working to become a major component to the UM campus, ” said Randall Seenandan, another student assistant. The center, established in 1989 and named for former Vice President of Student Affairs William Butler, is now home to about 40 student service organizations, including Relay For Life, Orientation Outreach, Marine Mammal Stranding Team and Project Sunshine. For more information on the Butler Connection and Center, please visit facebook.com/leadandserve or follow them on twitter @ButlerSLC_UM. THE MIAMI HURRICANE
NEWS
3