TheLittleHawk Iowa City High School - Iowa City, Iowa - Volume 71, Issue 3 - December 20, 2013 - www.thelittlehawk.com
A diabetic’s best friend Isaac Clough has been diabetic since December of 2008. He recently became the owner of a service dog that helps him monitor his blood sugar. The dog, Duke, stays with him throughout the school day and at his home. By Rachel Fischer and Madeleine Spivey rachelrischer@thelittlehawk.com madeleinespivey@thelittlehawk.com
Isaac Clough is one of 25.8 million people in the United States that have diabetes. However, his way of dealing with his disease is unique. Clough is the first student at City High ever to have a service dog that helps him regulate his blood sugar levels. “My blood sugar has been much better ever since I got Duke- much more even,” Isaac ‘14 said. There are three ways that diabetes occurs. Isaac has Type 1, which develops during childhood or early adolescence as a result of the pancreas not functioning properly. This means that the body can no longer process glucose, or the sugar in foods, correctly. In a normal person the pancreas will keep the levels of glucose in the blood normal using insulin, a hormone it secretes. When a person has Type 1 diabetes, insulin is not made. “Isaac has always impressed me with how independent he is with taking care of his diabetes,” Principal John Bacon said. The normal blood sugar level is about 100 mg/dl. Isaac’s blood sugar is normally around 80-150, with insulin. His service dog will help him remain on track by alerting him whenever his glucose goes up or down unexpectedly. Duke can also be trained to get Isaac his blood sugar checker. “The highest I’ve ever been is 600 and I just felt really sick to my stomach,” Isaac ‘14 said. A common misconception about Diabetic Alert Dogs is that they’re an alternative to testing blood sugar, but this is not what they’re used for. Primarily, they warn their owner when their blood sugar is either dropping or rising. “Some things in this world are crazy and some are beautiful and amazing,” Mr. Bacon said. “This is one of the beautiful and amazing things.” As Isaac is Diabetic, one can imagine the complications he might experience in college. His parents worry how will he take care of himself if he’s unresponsive when his blood sugar becomes too low or too high. “I’m concerned that he’ll get in a situation where he can’t help himself...if he’s low he can’t function and if he’s too high, he can go into a coma,” Sara Clough, Isaac’s mom, said. The Cloughs first found out about these service dogs when they were doing research on how to handle Isaac’s diabetes while he was away at college. They then filled out an application online. When accepted, Isaac had to do a saliva sample. The trainer, Lily Grace, then trained Duke with Isaac’s samples. The Cloughs put down a deposit. A year later they finally got Duke. Grace also came for a day to help teach Isaac the commands and how to get used to having a service dog. “I learned his commands but I still have to get used to having a dog jump on me at night being a *Continued on A3
“Isaac has always impressed me with how independent he is with taking care of his diabetes” -John Bacon
By Jacob Potash
jacobpotash@thelittlehawk.com
Cute and cool, or odd and surprising? The library’s inclusion of a “tree” – made out of books, and decorated with lights and a star – among their winter decorations has drawn the praise of many students but raised a few eyebrows, too. Discussion in classrooms and in private has centered on the most appropriate way – if there is one – to put up holiday decorations in a public school. “I like to get students to think about the role of government in their lives,” social studies teacher Carrie Watson, who used the tree to talk to her students about the First Amendment. “I think the book tree part is okay but by putting a star on top, I believe it becomes a symbol for a Christian holiday or tradition,” Watson explained. “It’s probably legal, but in the grey area of the law. If it was coupled with celebrations of other religious holidays, there would be no issue to discuss.” Watson talked about her concerns with the library staff, who she said were understanding. Librarian Jeff Morris wrote in an email that the intention behind the decoration was to “get people thinking.” “‘How about a tree made out of books which is very zenny because the books started out as trees and then became books only to end up as a tree?’” he recalls thinking. He defended the star as a “beacon inviting people to stop and look at it and to think,” Morris explained. “You see our book sculpture
represents nothing and everything.” Many students, like Emma Greenberg ‘14, have swallowed their skepticism and welcomed it as a festive addition to a popular hangout space. “I honestly think it’s really cute. It’s a really cool idea,” Greenberg said. “So I don’t really care if it changes, but I just thought it was strange that it was allowed at school.” In the divisive 1989 case Allegheny vs. ACLU, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the question of public holiday displays through nine separate opinions. The complex decision declared a county courthouse crèche unconstitutional but defended a separate display that included a menorah and a Christmas tree on the grounds that a reasonable observer would understand the coupled symbols to be a message of religious tolerance and diversity. Indeed, some City students thought the library’s real problem was too few religious symbols. “There should be a menorah for Hanukkah and a kinara for Kwanzaa, as well as a Christmas-esque tree,” said Joel Reynolds ‘14. One widely accepted legal standard for schools is that religious symbols “may be displayed only on a temporary basis as part of the academic program.” However, a report by Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation that champions the First Amendment, suggests that a majority of current Supreme Court justices no longer even regard Christmas trees as religious. Does the “book tree” reflect religious intolerance at City? “I don’t think that anyone’s blatantly endorsing one religion over another at City,” said Greenberg.
The library’s “book tree” has led to discussion about religious displays. KIERRA ZAPF/THE LITTLE HAWK