Swine flu concerns reach Union

By Benjamin Engle

While all suspected swine flu cases in Schenectady and Albany counties, according to the Schenectady and Albany Departments of Public Heath, have far tested negative, Union College is being proactive in ensuring the health of its students, faculty, and staff.

First detected in Mexico City in early April, swine flu, otherwise known as “H1N1,” is an epidemic of a new influenza virus that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is “a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs.”

While Swine flu does not result in high death rates in pigs, the virus is currently spreading through humans across the world. According to the World Health Organization, as of May 4, 21 countries have officially reported 1085 cases of the H1N1 virus. Of the 21 countries, Mexico has 590 confirmed cases as well as 25 deaths. One death has occurred in the United States of 286 confirmed cases. Of those 286 cases, there are 73 people with the virus in New York State. According to the Associated Press, the cases in New York State have mild.

In response to the swine flu infection, the Director of Union College Health Services, Sharron McCullough, emailed a swine flu notification to the Union community on Wednesday, April 19. The email, according to McCullough, was to inform the community of how the infection outbreak worldwide is affecting Union. A similar email was sent to Union parents on May 1.

“First, it’s important not to overreact. Classes and all College business continue as normal,” McCullough wrote in the email to the campus. “We do not have any known cases of swine flu. Nevertheless, all campus community members should be taking common-sense precautions to avoid getting sick or transmitting an illness.”

According to McCullough, Health Services has been taking a proactive approach in alerting the campus relating to H1N1 and preparing for any cases on campus. Union Health Services has been in daily contact with the Schenectady Health Department and is working with the Health Department on numerous issues and are instrumental in what actions Union takes regarding the situation.

“We are asking students to call Health services (388-6120) and report any symptoms they feel are related to the flu,” McCullough said in an interview with the Concordiensis. “These are fever over 100 degrees, sore throat, runny nose and congestion, body aches, [and] any recent travel to Mexico. Occasionally vomiting and diarrhea have been reported but may not necessarily relate to the flu. It is important not to go to class if feeling ill.

However, other universities and colleges have not been spared from the infection of the H1N1 virus. UDaily, the news service of the University of Delaware, as of May 4, reports that there are 20 confirmed cases of the flu strain on its campus. Additionally, some institutions have closed for the semester, including Harvard Dental School and Texas Wesleyan University.

McCullough, however, believes that Union’s trimester schedule has lowered Union’s risk for an outbreak.

“I actually feel we are at more of an advantage since our Spring break was earlier than other colleges,” McCullough said. “We were back at school when other students were ‘vacationing.’”

While Union is at an advantage, McCullough does not believe that students, faculty, or staff should not ignore the current flu outbreak.

“I think everyone should be concerned but taking precautions such as washing your hands and using your elbow to cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing is most important,” McCullough commented. “Eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of pure water and [getting] rest are your best defenses against becoming ill.”

Additionally, Union’s Facilities Services Department has taken steps in ensure the health and safety of the campus community.

According to Rich Patierne, Manager of Building Services and Work Order Systems, Facilities is responding to the H1N1 virus in a proactive fashion.

“Our cleaning staff has been instructed to make a more concentrated effort to cleaning all bathroom fixtures, hand rails, door knobs, and common spaces,” Patierne said. “We have also started the process of installing hand sanitizers in the buildings.”

Even though Union is taking preventive actions against swine flu, McCullough reassures that the H1N1 strain of the flu is not necessarily health threatening.

“Most healthy people recover from the flu and don't have serious complications, but some people such as the older people, young children and certain people with health conditions are at a higher risk for serious flu related complications,” McCullough said. “The best defense is to vaccinate against the flu. Health Services has a flu clinic the first two Thursdays in November. We are trying to outreach to our students to protect them against contracting the flu.”

Originally published in Union's Concordy on 5/6/09

Campus vandalism on the decline

Benjamin Engle
Despite recent acts of violence at Wold House and Psi Upsilon, vandalism has been slowly declining across the Union campus.

According data provided by the Facilities Services Department, both the number of incidents and money spent to repair vandalism damages has fallen since the 2004-2005 fiscal year.

In 2004-2005, Facilities Services spent approximately $101,000 on vandalism repairs across the campus. However, vandalism expenses were down to $72,000 in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

Director of Facilities and Planning, Loren Rucinski believes that the most vandalism, which as defined in the Union College Handbook as the “intentional or reckless destruction of college or private property,” occurs in the independent residence halls, particularly the freshmen halls of Davidson, West, and Richmond, which have been subjected to students tearing posters, signs, and bulletin boards down.

However, Rucinski believes that drop in vandalism during the past four years is continuing: “In general, the vandalism has been decreasing over the past 4 years and this year so far looks like it will be below [previous years], which would be great.”

Rucinski credits the active work of the Residential Life staff for the decrease in the number of vandalism reports in the independent housing on campus.

“I think that Residence Life has been doing a good job trying to get the message across with appropriate billing,” Rucinski added.

Joe Melendez, Residence Director of Davidson and Webster Halls, believes that vandalism has a rollercoaster affect in the sense that it comes in waves. According to Melendez, in addition to bulletin boards, ceiling tiles, exit signs, walls, and hallway lights are primary targets of vandalism in residence halls.

In order to prevent these types of crimes, Melendez and the rest of the residential life staff continually work to build a positive community and inform their respective communities of the consequences associated with destruction of property.

Matt Goodrich, a Resident Advisor in Davidson Hall used a unique strategy to combat vandalism and destructive actions on his floor after a weekend that resulted in the destruction of numerous ceiling tiles as well as the bulletin board. Instead of listing the ways the college tries to prevent vandalism, Goodrich asked his residents to write on the bulletin board ways to “keep the floor clean.”

Michael Jacobson (’12), resident of Goodrich’s floor, believes that the bulletin board was effective in reducing the violent acts of vandalism on his floor, “Matt works hard to build a tight-knit community and it is a direct insult to him when people tear down his boards. It is frustrating to walk in the hallway after a Friday or Saturday night and see my home at Union destroyed, usually by people who don’t even live there.”

In addition to vandalism decreasing in the residence halls, Minerva Houses have seen significant decreases in acts of property destruction. The most recent act of destruction that has occurred, according to the Office of Minerva Programs, was the destruction of a ping-pong table in Wold House. Sometime during the middle of the night on a recent weekend, a group broke the legs of the table causing the playing surface to cave in. According to Benjamin Foster, Assistant Director of Minerva Programs, the group of individuals has not, and probably will not be caught.

However, according to Foster, vandalism in Minerva Houses is “incredibly sporadic” and is almost non-existent. When it does occur, vandalism is billed to the respective house’s operating budget.

Dean Tom McEvoy, Director of Minerva Programs, believes that for buildings that are approximately eight years old are in good shape for buildings on a typical college campus.
“I find that the nicer the building, the less students vandalize,” McEvoy explained.

However, according to Foster, the small amount of vandalism still affects residents, “Wold House residents were very upset. They felt violated and it takes away from the community.”

McEvoy also believes that vandalism is a direct insult to the custodians and trades people that have to clean up and fix the damages, but at same time students must remember that they are vandalizing their own homes, “Students need to be responsible for each other. Your home is the face you show to the world and people should behave in the way they would want others to behave in their house.”

As for the Psi Upsilon, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Timothy Dunn reports that the mural destruction is still under investigation, though in general most acts of vandalism occur during social events and are usually not done by the members of the particular house.

While eradicating vandalism from campus buildings is not an easy fix, Rucinski is encouraged by the improvement in the number of cases of vandalism, “It's an ongoing issue, probably like it is on other campuses, but so far we have been seeing a nice trend of improvement in that area.”

Originally published in Union's Concordy on February 19, 2009.