Volume 93
the Prairie
Issue XVII
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Gender, racial issues at forefront of talk Visiting scholar speaks to students about industry issues KRYSTINA MARTINEZ Staff Writer
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he second event of Communication Week on Feb. 15 featured a lecture by visiting scholar Dr. Jean Kilbourne. Dr. Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her work on alcohol and tobacco advertising. Dr. Kilbourne has also closely studied the image of women in advertising. She has been featured on television shows such as The Today Show and Oprah. The Branding Iron Theatre was packed with students, faculty and local residents who came
to see Dr. Kilbourne speak. The lecture lasted about 45 minutes and featured a presentation of different advertisements. Although the lecture was short, it made an impact on the audience. Dr. Kilbourne opened the lecture with a few surprising facts. According to her research, the average person sees about 3,000 advertisements a day and spends two years of their life watching TV commercials. Babies at the age of six months can already begin to recognize brand images. As a result of the advertising industry’s message, “we live in a toxic cultural environment,” Kilbourne said.
Her presentation featured ads that had blatant photo-shopping, including a promotional poster for Pretty Woman and a recent Ralph Lauren ad, which actually got the model fired because “she was too fat.” Models are all too aware of the photo-shopping phenomenon. Cindy Crawford once commented that “[She] wished [she] looked like Cindy Crawford.” FRANKIE SANCHEZ While a woman’s world is Students crowd into the Branding Iron Theater to hear Dr. Jean Kilbourne speak. obsessed with thinness, Dr. Kilbourne pointed out that in a man’s world, masculinity is Jean Kilbourne Continued on p. 3 emphasized at an early age and “bigger is better.”
SIFE aids Food Bank Students help semester long MARIA MOLINA Editor
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very semester, SIFE joins with the High Plains Food Bank, in an effort to help families in need. This project benefits families of low economical resources by providing food in the 29 counties of the Texas Panhandle. Marco Jimenez, SIFE marketing leader for the Food Bank Project, said that the organization is helping the food drive in three different ways. The first one is through the collection of non-perishable food. The High Plains Food Bank distributes an average of 375, 000 – 400,000 pounds of food per month. SIFE contributes every semester by collecting food in the WTAMU community. “The best way to help is through the collection of food,” he said. “Our goal
this semester is 5,000 pounds.” SIFE’s Chief Operating Officer, Karina Linardy said that the deadline to turn in cans is in April. “We are already 2,000 pounds,” she said.
The SIFE team partners with High Plains Food Bank.
Courtesy of SIFE
SIFE continued on p. 2
Galveston hospital dismisses illegal immigrant before treatment LISA HELLIER Staff Writer
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uestionable hospital rules sparked a nationwide ethical debate after illegal immigrant Maria Sanchez was released from University of Texas Medical Branch’s John Sealy Hospital before having her scheduled surgery. Sanchez, 24, had been in the hospital for six days and was going to have surgery in order to remove a banana size tumor that was growing along her spine. The painful tumor caused her to lose the use of her right hand and was hindering movement to her arms and legs. On Jan. 12, 2011 she was told by a doctor to leave immediately because she was an illegal immigrant. According to Sanchez, the doctor said she should have surgery in Mexico. Medical records describe her health condition as being a non-
malignant but potentially lifethreatening tumor and state that she was released because she was “an undocumented pt [patient] with no insurance.” “There was nothing ethical about what the doctor or hospital did,” Crystal Pena, public relations/advertising major, said. There is no rule requiring hospitals to accept or reject illegal immigrants, but once they have accepted a patient they are responsible for treating the person until stable. Though, the definition of a stable patient does not seem to be clearly defined by hospitals. “Hospitals need to get a little stricter [about patient stability rules] and a lot less biased,” Juan Gallardo, Hispanic Student Association president and secondary education major, said. Some students are outraged at what the hospital did and share their own strong opinions on the matter.
Immigration continued on p. 2