THE TUFTS DAILY
2
THE TUFTS DAILY GIOVANNI J.B. RUSSONELLO Editor-in-Chief
EDITORIAL Naomi Bryant Managing Editors David Heck Alexandra Bogus Executive News Editor Nina Ford News Editors Tessa Gellerson Ben Gittleson Christy McCuaig Matt Repka Ellen Kan Assistant News Editors Harrison Jacobs Katherine Sawyer Saumya Vaishampayan
Robin Carol Executive Features Editor Marissa Carberry Features Editors Meredith Hassett Alison Lisnow Emily Maretsky Kerianne Okie Romy Oltuski Christina Pappas Charlotte Steinway Julia Zinberg Sarah Korones Assistant Features Editors Carter Rogers
Jessica Bal Executive Arts Editor Emma Bushnell Arts Editors Mitchell Geller Adam Kulewicz Catherine Scott Josh Zeidel Charissa Ng Assistant Arts Editors Benjamin Phelps
Michelle Hochberg Executive Op-Ed Editor Vittoria Elliott Editorialists Nina Grossman Opinion Editors Andrew Rohrberger Molly Rubin Erin Marshall Editorial Cartoonists Alex Miller
Ethan Landy Executive Sports Editor Sapna Bansil Sports Editors Evan Cooper Philip Dear Jeremy Greenhouse Alex Prewitt Michael Spera Alex Lach Assistant Sports Editors Daniel Rathman
Annie Wermiel Executive Photo Editor James Choca Photo Editors Aalok Kanani Danai Macridi Andrew Morgenthaler Josh Berlinger Assistant Photo Editors Kristen Collins Alex Dennett Emily Eisenberg Rebekah Sokol Tien Tien
Arlin Ladue Executive New Media Editor Jessica Bidgood New Media Editors Kyle Chayka
PRODUCTION Karen Blevins
Production Director Steven Smith Executive Layout Editor
Dana Berube Layout Editors Caryn Horowitz Andrew Petrone Amani Smathers Menglu Wang Adam Gardner Assistant Layout Editors Brian Lim
Grace Lamb-Atkinson Executive Copy Editor Rachel Oldfield Copy Editors Ben Smith Elisha Sum Ricky Zimmerman Sam Connell Assistant Copy Editors Sara Eisemann Katherine Evering-Rowe Ammar Khaku Niki Krieg Luke Morris Lucy Nunn Regina Smedinghoff
Ben Schwalb Executive Online Editor
BUSINESS Kahran Singh
Executive Business Director
Benjamin Hubbell-Engler Brenna Duncan Dwijo Goswami Ally Gimbel
Advertising Director Online Advertising Manager Billing Manager Outreach Director
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com
Friday, November 13, 2009
Fundraiser offers chance for student-faculty dialogue GALA continued from page 1
get to know their students, as well.” Lecturer Peter Der Manuelian in the classics department said that he participated because he appreciated the rare chance to meet students. “It’s a great opportunity to bring students and teachers together. I like to get to know my students better,” he said. “I currently teach a class of 125 people, so the opportunities are few and far between, and this is for a good cause.” University Chaplain David O’Leary expressed enthusiasm that such an event was able to take place in Goddard Chapel. “It shows that Goddard Chapel can be a meeting place as it was meant to be,” O’Leary said. “Tufts Timmy Foundation’s work in South America is important and great, but this also shows that students want to interact with their professors informally, so hopefully this leads to something greater.” Hescott, of the computer science department, said he came on board with the fundraiser upon finding out about the Tufts Timmy Foundation’s work from one of his students. “I wrote a recommendation for one of my students to travel to Guatemala,” he said. “I asked her about it and what they’re doing and it seemed pretty important.” In the event’s opening speech, Vogel expressed her appreciation for the support of all the students and faculty present. “You are helping us help our friends in Guatemala and getting to know each other, which I think is the most important of all,”
REBEKAH SOKOL/TUFTS DAILY
A gala in Goddard Chapel last night, part of fundraising efforts by the Tufts Timmy Foundation, offered opportunities for student-faculty conversation. she said. Junior Amanda Schulte appreciated the chance to mingle with faculty in an informal setting. “I think it’s really good to have such open access to the professors and have an open dialogue about what’s really important in students’ lives,” she said. Stewart was pleased that the event
raised awareness for the foundation. “The event was very successful. I think that the professors really enjoyed being with the students in an informal setting just as much as students enjoyed it,” she said. “There was a lot of dialogue about the Timmy Foundation and what we do, so that was really important and good.”
Poll shows that some remain wary of H1N1 vaccine VACCINE continued from page 1
planned to skip vaccination. Dr. Edward Walsh, an infectious disease specialist in Rochester, N.Y., attributed college students’ noted indifference to what he sees as the demographic’s typical focus on weekend plans and upcoming exams. “College kids in general live in the present, and many do not think ahead very much,” he said. “They also live in a very closed society that is dominated by campus and dorm life. Often students are oblivious to events that do not directly involve the campus.”
“The spread of infection may seem trivial and unimportant as long as no one is seriously ill, until it spreads to a particularly vulnerable person who becomes very ill. Students should realize that it is their obligation to minimize spread of infection by following recommendations made by public health agencies.” Dr. Edward Walsh infectious disease specialist
Christine Jang Online Editor
Michael Vastola Executive Technical Manager Muhammad Qadri Technical Manager
NEWS | FEATURES
Walsh also attributed the apparent lack of interest in vaccination to the blasé attitudes typically displayed on college campuses. “Especially for the male students, they are in that ‘invincible’ stage of life where nothing can hurt them,” he said. “Even when influenza hits a campus, as it did at many schools this fall, the students often have a mild illness, as do most of their friends, and then they are convinced it is overblown.” Walsh added, “This all changes, however, when a student dies.” Sophomore Michael Stanzler may be one of these “invincible” males. Stanzler was unconcerned about the threat of swine flu last spring, and he remains carefree about the possibility of contracting the illness despite its
overwhelming presence at Tufts. The sophomore plans to get the vaccine once it becomes available on campus, but he says this is because of his mother’s prodding, and he personally has ultimate faith in his body’s natural defenses. “I like to think my body’s a temple, [but] I would probably get it even though I know my immune system is strong enough that this petty swine flu wouldn’t bother me,” he said. Ignoring the seriousness of H1N1 can have a particularly adverse impact on others, according to Walsh. “Unfortunately, it is a troublesome way of thinking,” Walsh said. “The spread of infection may seem trivial and unimportant as long as no one is seriously ill, until it spreads to a particularly vulnerable person who becomes very ill. Students should realize that it is their obligation to minimize spread of infection by following recommendations made by public health agencies.” Despite the results of the ABC survey, Margaret Higham, the director of Tufts Health Service, still has faith that students will line up for the H1N1 vaccine. “I would be surprised if at Tufts 70 percent of students decided not to get immunized,” she said. “We had an overwhelming turnout for the seasonal flu vaccine this year — and that’s just the seasonal flu vaccine, it’s not the H1N1 vaccine.” According to Higham, students that have seen the impact of swine flu are more likely to take advantage of the vaccine. Since the flu has been rampant at Tufts, Higham believes students would opt for the vaccine in order to prevent a sickly week of isolation. “I think in communities where they’re seeing a lot of flu, certainly in communities where there have been deaths, there tends to be a lot higher interest in vaccination,” she said. “We are seeing a very large amount of H1N1 flu amongst students right now. I think everyone knows someone who’s been quarantined. Students are aware of what’s happening, and I think it might motivate them to want to be immunized.” Junior Hannah Leshin is one Tufts student who will be lining up for the vaccine once it becomes available. “I am planning on getting the swine
flu vaccine,” she said. “[H1N1] is something that concerns a college student because we’re with each other all the time and live in communal spaces.” Although Leshin has managed to avoid contracting the virus so far, her roommate has not been so lucky. Living with someone suffering from the illness has made Leshin markedly aware of the flu’s presence on campus and even more determined to avoid it. “It really freaked me out seeing how miserable she was,” she said. “I was convinced that I would get it. It just made me really aware of cleanliness and things like that, so I wanted to get the vaccine more than ever.” Another reason for reluctance to receive the H1N1 vaccine has less to do with apathy and more to do with concern over the vaccine’s safety. Officials in New York City have reported that between five and 50 percent of children in elementary school have not obtained permission from their parents to receive the vaccine, a situation that may result from distrust of a brand new vaccine. Both Higham and Walsh, however, agree that the swine flu vaccine is well-tested, safe and an excellent option for anyone wishing to prevent illness. “The vaccine is extremely safe and, especially with the live vaccine, it is painless,” Walsh said. Higham pointed to the vaccine’s similarity to the seasonal flu shot as an indicator of its safety. “A lot of people are under the impression that it’s a ‘new vaccine,’ which it’s not,” she said. “It’s made the same way that the regular seasonal flu vaccine is made — it has just one tiny piece of protein that’s slightly different on it. It’s just a minor change like that. Next year the H1N1 vaccine will be the seasonal flu vaccine.” A recent e-mail sent by the university explained that it is still unknown when vaccine supplies will arrive at Tufts and in what quantity. Higham said she would recommend the H1N1 vaccine to any college student who can obtain it. “Anyone who feels comfortable getting the winter flu shot should certainly feel comfortable getting an H1N1 shot,” she said. “I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to get it.”