ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst
CATALYST
SRQ CRITICAL MASS
OCTOBER 5, 2016 VOLUME XXXIV ISSUE V
pg.
4
BIDEN IN SARASOTA pg.
5
BLM PROTEST pg.
9
A student newspaper of New College of Florida
Water quality in Sarasota: High lead levels pose risk BY JASMINE RESPESS Water quality is an international issue, but as of late, water safety problems have become more prevalent in the United States. In Flint, Michigan, the water is so high in lead that it is not considered safe to drink. Here in Sarasota, similar issues have arisen, so community members and New College students are becoming more concerned with the state of their water. Third-year student Jade Sheinwald got her Sarasota off-campus water tested by the Culligan company. “The test was done in front of me and was very transparent,” Sheinwald said. Cooper, arsenic and lead were also found in the water. Although, most water has some of these chemicals, the actual amount allowed by law varies state to state. “They found a ton of chlorine,” Sheinwald said. “Twice the amount of a swimming pool. [...] Water purifiers like PUR and Brita do not filter out all chemicals, just chlorine. The toxins are still present.” “Sarasota is actually in violation with lead, which is bad for children,” Sheinwald said. Flint has been in the news for
Jasmine Respess/Catalyst
Chlorine levels in Dort water were found to be relatively low, but this does not exclude the possibility of other contaminants being present.
this problem and high lead levels can lead to anemia, kidney disfunction and abdominal pain. Children can experience stunted development physically and behaviorally, as well as potential loss of motor skills. Those with compromised immune systems, such as people who have undergone organ transplants or those who have a chronic illness may also be more sensitive to water contaminants. “Even if the levels are not in violation,” Sheinwald added. “[We’re]
still drinking bad [chemicals].” New College’s efforts to handle the water issue is being spearheaded by the Council for Green Affairs. “We hope to get a filter in Hamilton Canter (Ham),” thesis student Orion Morton said. “We would like to talk to Metz about this and about providing more sustainable water bottles.” There is already a filter in the Four Winds cafe that uses reverse osmosis to purify the water. “[Students] can drink that water
and it is fine,” Morton said. Many times pipes that carry water can be responsible for leaking chemicals. This is especially true of structures that have been around for decades. “The infrastructure [of New College] is old,” Morton said. Morton explained that Sarasota, and a lot of the surrounding region has been affected by phosphate mining. “Something like a 300 gallon reverse osmosis tank could accommodate [New College,]” Culligan Water Service Supervisor Tim Lang said. “This would get you water bottle quality water.” Lang explained that the tank would actually be creating water. “Filters, [such as Brita] are overrated,” Land said. He explained that the store bought filters mostly filter out chlorine, but not other contaminants. After testing the water in Dort residential hall, Lang reported that the water supplied to Dort dorms was not high in chlorine, but could be high in other elements. It would take further, more advanced testing to determine which kinds. In September, a sinkhole developed in Central Florida at a Mosaic New Wales
continued on p. 11
NCPD equipped with opioid antagonist Naloxone BY AUDREY WARNE The New College Police Department (NCPD) has been equipped with Evzio, a single-use naloxone auto-injector that can reverse an overdose almost immediately, since December 2015. The rise in drug-related deaths in the United States has become a public health crisis as deadly and widespread as the H.I.V. epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. An estimated 125 people a day die from a drug overdose in the United States, 78 of those from heroin or prescription pills, according to numbers published in the New York Times. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that can reverse the symptoms of an opioid overdose within minutes. It works by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, reversing the depression of the central nervous and respiratory
WHAT’S INSIDE
systems caused by opiates. Harm reduction, a public health policy that deals with reducing the harms caused by drug use, encourages accessibility to opioid antagonists such as Naloxone. Cost and funding: “Every officer carries two of these [Evizo auto-injectors],” Chief Michael Kessie said, head of the New College and University of South Florida (USF) Campus Police Department. “It’s $495 a pair, it comes with a trainer – which is a fake one to train with – and then two of these for $495. So it’s almost $250 a dose.” The NCPD received its Naloxone for free through a grant from the Kaléo Pharmaceutical Company - the same grant that provided Sarasota County Police Department with their Naloxone supply last December. “There are no other departments
3 FEEDBACK SESSION
that carry this in the area except for us and Sarasota [County Police Department]. We were one of the first colleges in the state to carry it. We were ahead of a lot of other places in the state.” Kaléo Pharmaceuticals devised its “Kaléo Grants Program” to provide their product, “the Evzio (naloxone HCl injection) Auto-injector, at no cost to certain qualifying non-profit organizations and other groups demonstrating need,” according to the Kaléo Pharmaceutical Company website. “The Product Donation Grants Program is intended for first responder organizations for use in the field or for qualifying non-profits, harm reduction groups and health departments who intend to distribute product to patients
continued on p. 11
6 GREEN BEAN CAFE
Audrey Warne/Catalyst
Each NCPD officer carries two Evzio Auto-injectors.
12
JILL STEIN IN SARASOTA