THE INdependent student news organization at the university of cincinnati
Vol. CXXVIV Issue 7
wednesday , oct . 7, 2009 the fashion dungjen Anyone willing to donate an extra backpack? page 2
David Meister
marx’s theory
DAAP graduate designs to benefit hospital. page 4
The Bengals are the most overrated team in the league. ‘Nuff said. page 6
Cafeterias adjust to surge in students Taylor Dungjen the news record
Coulter loeb | the news record
Howard McGee, employed by UC food services for seven years, serves grilled cheese and french fries to students at the StadiumView Cafe.
This academic year, Housing and Food Services sold approximately 500 more meal plans than last year, creating the need for more dining options and space, said John Hautz, director of auxiliary services in Housing and Food Services. All first-year students living on the University of Cincinnati’s campus are required to have a meal plan; because Stratford Heights was purchased by UC and added to its housing options at the beginning Fall, the first-year students living in the complex were required to purchase meal plans. The new housing units and the large freshman class account for the additional meal plan sales.
To accommodate, StadiumView dining hall, changed from a late-night, madeto-order dining service to an all-youcare-to-eat-buffet style lunch and dinner facility. CenterCourt dining hall, which was a breakfast, lunch and dinner option for students, is now open 17 hours a day to include a late-night buffet. “Late-night is similar to the other services,” Hautz said. “Service is slightly reduced and not all the stations are open.” On-campus dining halls opened Sept. 17 – each day, StadiumView serves approximately 200 people, said supervisor Maria Robbins. “We would prefer 500-600 [people] a day,” Robbins said. StadiumView can, at maximum capacity, seat 120 people comfortably.
Of the meals served at StadiumView, approximately 90 percent of the people redeem meals from their plans to purchase food. For the first two days of service, Robbins stood outside StadiumView and invited people to come try the new lunch and dinner options. Half of the students were surprised and happy and the other half, Robbins said, preferred the late-night dining at StadiumView. “Once they tried it,” Robbins said, “there were no complaints.” The switch in dining services resulted in hiring additional employees, although a request for information on the number of new hires was not returned by press time. At Stadium View, Robbins has a staff of 10 employees. Several of her workers have come to StadiumView from MarketPointe@Siddall.
university research
Nanotechnology opens new medical doors
B
sara maratta the news record
iomedical engineering researchers from the University of Cincinnati recently developed an artificial pore capable of transmitting nanoscale materials through a membrane. This new information might lead to a method for discerning what individual bases make up traversing DNA strands. Translating the DNA will aid scientists to examine the cause of inherited diseases, such as breast cancer. Nanotechnology is a broad scientific term for studying the extremely small (10 to the negative nine meter). A soccer ball compared to Earth is approximately the same ratio. Professor Peixuan Guo, of the CEAS and director of the NIH Nanomedicine Development Center is a co-author of the research paper, “Translocation of double-stranded DNA through
membrane-adapted phi29 motor protein nanopores.” The periodical Nature Nanotechnology published the piece. The experiment consisted of incorporating the nanopore of the phi29 DNA motor into the membrane of a liposome or into flat membrane sheets and the passing of double-stranded DNA through the pore. The phi29 DNApackaging nanomotor allows the passing to occur. The motor is one of the strongest biological motors produced, according to the paper. “Nanomotors are molecular devices capable of converting energy into movement,” said Jia Geng, graduate student and research assistant in Guo’s lab. “Molecular motor proteins found in living cells can be integrated into molecular motors implanted in artificial devices.” Guo designed the project and led the team during its joint investigation and has been working on the phi29 DNA packaging motor see NANO | page 3
ekaterina katzarova | the news record
PEIXUAN GUO recently co-authored a paper about nanotechnology. UC researchers conducted experiments that might be a springboard for future breakthroughs, including medical uses.
Library cleaning regimen not up to par
weather
Langsam is highest traffic area at UC during Autumn quarter
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index
1 News 2 Opinion 4 Spotlight 5 Classifieds 6 Sports briefs
Health and Wellness Fair when
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7.
where
McMicken Commons
Take control of your health! The University of Cincinnati’s Wellness Center presents the 10th Annual Health and Wellness Fair and Student Activities Fair. Information about health and wellness is available on and off campus. Student organizations will be on hand to help answer questions. For more information, call Regan Johnson at 513-556-6124.
TatSkinz $1,000. Interested? How about a 13-inch Mac notebook? TatSkinz is holding the first-ever contest for an iPod cover design. The winning design will become an official TatSkinz product and win either a $1000 scholarship or 13-inch MacBook. For rules, regulations on entries and questions, visit tatskinz.com.
leah saunders the news record
Langsam Library at the University of Cincinnati carries out a daily cleaning regimen, but completes a thorough cleaning once every quarter, which is not in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control. During times of high-risk viral transmission, the CDC recommends that all higher education facilities increase the frequency of cleaning routines. The risk of H1N1 or seasonal influenza is higher in the fall and winter seasons than in spring and summer, according to the CDC Technical Report. Providing more wipes and sanitizer would be too costly. Currently, library maintenance staff consists of student employees, said Debbie Tenofsky, head of reference and instructional services at Langsam Library. “[It is recommended] to establish regular schedules for frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces, for example, bathrooms, doorknobs, elevator buttons and tables,” according to the CDC Technical Report for the 2009-’10 academic year for higher education institutions. “Institutions will need to tailor the guidelines to their own unique circumstances, taking into account the size, diversity and mobility of their student body, faculty and staff.” During Autumn quarter, Langsam Library is the highest traffic area on campus, said Gene Ferrara, public safety director and police chief. Students say Langsam is a
Leah saunders | the news record
students at langsam use computers and tables said to be thoroughly cleaned once a day. The library cannot afford sanitation agents and cleaning wipes to give to students.
online @ www.newsrecord.org
ONLINE POLL How are the areas around campus affected by the presence of UCPD? Do you feel safer? Tell us at www.newsrecord.org.
convenient place to study. “I only have five classes but they are all for three hours a day,” said Lia Foster, a third-year social work student. “If I miss a Tuesday, I miss nine hours of class. I’m here twice a week for about six hours, enough time to catch everything.” Langsam provides sanitary wipes but does not have signage to show it. For those who use UC’s Campus Recreation Center, disinfecting agents are available for liberal use on machines and weights. Marissa Newbauer, a first-year pre-nursing student, uses the cleaning products and hopes other students will follow suit. Her workout partner and fellow first-year pre-nursing student Emily Hunter agrees. “What would it hurt to put a roll of sanitary wipes on each computer station to encourage this practice?” Hunter said. “More people are [at the library] than the gym … This should be the cleanest place on campus. As a future nurse, I have noticed the grime and always wash my hands before leaving Langsam.” The staff cleans the library after it closes, as it would be impossible to clean intermittently during the day, Tenofsky said. The student employees are instructed to use the cleaning agent Formula 409 to wipe down each desk and computer mouse. “No one has ever expressed in the comment box the need to clean the library,” said Pam Bach, coordinator of information comments. “I am glad to know [of the complaints] and will make sure the students do a thorough job.”
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