The Ithacan, 2002-09-05
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THURSDAY ITHACA, N.Y. SEPTEMBER 5, .2002 28 PAGES, FREE VOLUME 70, NUMBER 2 The Newspaper for the Ithaca College Com,:nunity WWW. ITHACA.EDU/ITHACAN Survey shows Textbook troubles use of drugs Campus community finds fault with ordering procedures above norm BY KELLI B. GRANT BY ANNE K. WALTERS AND AMANDA MILLWARD Staff Writer News Editor and Contributing Writer Alcohol and marijuana use at Ithaca Col When junior Jessica Pagan went into the lege remains well above the national averages; Ithaca College Bookstore Aug. 26, she hoped however, most students believe alcohol and to buy her textbooks for the semester, includ drug use is more prevalent than in actuality. ing the two required for her clinical Alcohol use at the college was 11 percent psychology class. higher than the national level and marijua To her surprise, the shelf was empty. na use was 12 percent higher than the na Pagan is just one of many students across tional level, according to the results of the campus who has had difficulty purchasing text Core Alcohol and Drug Survey given to stu books this year - something that has frustrated dents last February. both faculty members and students. Two surveys, conducted by the Health Pro Louise Donohue, assistant professor of motion and Substance Abuse Prevention modern languages and literature, said she or Program, were given to students. to measure dered 25 textbooks for each of the two sections alcohol and other drug use among students as of her advanced French class. Despite having well as their perceptions of alcohol and drugs. a total of 34 students enroll, four were unable Despite the implementation of th~ college's to get the books, she said. stricter alcohol policy last year, the alcohol use "The problem is, [the bookstore] just doesn't among students did not drop significantly since have enough of my books," she s_aid. the survey was administered in 1999. In the Donohue and other faculty members said previous Core survey, the college's alcohol use they heard that the bookstore was cutting fac was 15.8 percent above the national average, ulty members' book orders by 30 percent. and marijuana use was 16.7 percent above. Michael Bovi, director of college stores, said "I think we're going in the right direction," some faculty textbook orders are cut, but with said Michael Leary, assistant director of ju good reason and not by random percentages. dicial affairs. "I think there's already been Of the total number of books ordered each some positive things, but I think it's going to semester, somewhere between 24 to 28 percent be three, four, five years down the road be of the are returned midsemester to the pub fore we start to see more positive changes." lishers, he said. Priscil1a Quirk, coordinator of health pro-• According to figures from the bookstore, 13 motion and substance abuse prevention percent of students buy their books from oth program, said she has chosen to use the re er sources, including the Internet, local com sults to focus on correcting false perceptions petitors and other students. about alcohol use. An additional 8 percent of students share the "One of the things I'm surprised about is books, use library resources or make photo that the misperceptions are so skewed," she copies, while 5 percent make it through their said. "It amazes me when I talk to students that courses without buying the books at all. drink infrequently, and they think they're the Junior Jessica Ripka has been buying only ones on campus, who have. When in ac books online since last year. tuality it is a more silent majority." "I actually compared prices ... at the book Sophomore Heather Smith said she thinks SARAH SCHULTE/THE ITHACAN store and from various online stores, and Ama the results are too low. FRESHMEN HARKAMALJIT BAL and Kumar Yogeeswaran shop for text zon.com came up to being at least 50 percent "I think people were honest about it," books in the Ithaca College Bookstore before classes started last week. See STUDENTS, Page 4 Smith said. "From living on this campus I'm See STATISTICS, Page 4 West Nile fails to divert local shoppers BY KATIE MASLANKA ty during 2002. However, David Newman, Contributing Writer Ithaca College director of health services, said students should not be very concerned The recent discovery of a dead crow in- ~ about the threat of contracting what he con fected with West Nile virus in the Ithaca siders a "very uncommon infection." New Farmer's Market is a small concern, ac man said the West Nile virus predominant cording to numerous market patrons and ven ly affects the elderly and those with debili dors as well as college officials. tating dise·ases. Crowds still If any students still have concerns about See OFFICIALS, filled the Farmer's the virus, the Hammond Health Center is Page2 Market on Third open 24 hours a day and will address student Street this past questions, he said. weekend, .with many people unaffected by The West Nile virus, which was first doc news of the diseased bird found nearby. umented in the Western Hemisphere in New Both Meg Booze and Ericka Otterson, · York in 1999, is a mosquito-borne viral in residence directors at Ithaca College, said fection, according to the New York state De the incident would not keep them away partment of Health Web site, .from the market. http://www.health.state.ny.us. It appeared to be a sentiment echoed Less than 1 percent of mosquitoes are car among many market-goers. Tammy Hinman riers of the disease, and less than 1 percent of of Tierra Farm Organic .Produce said her humans bitten by an infected mosquito will stand was packed with customers all day. contract severe symptoms. "I had my best day ever here. Apparently In rare cases, the virus can lead to swelling it didn't affect my business," she said Sat of the brain, or encephalitis, which can be urday. fatal. However, milder symptoms of the virus The contaminated bird, discovered Aug. may resemble the flu and do not require DAVID ROSS/THE ITHACAN 28, was the third found in Tompkins Coun- See. COLLEGE, Page 4 ITHACANS GET A TASTE of fresh produce at the Farmer's Market last weekend. INSIDE ACCENT ••• 15 CLASSIFIED ·••• 21 COMICS ••• 22 OPINION ••• 12 SPORTS ••• 28 2 THE ITHACAN NEWS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2002 National and International News 29 of encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that is the most PENTAGON PREPARATIONS severe of the virus's possible symptoms. Two of the oth er recipients appear to have encephalitis, and the fourth has a fever, CDC officials said. James Hughes, director of CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, told reporters in a teleconference Sun day afternoon that the organ donor received numerous blood transfusions before she died. He said the CDC hopes to determine from the tests at Fort Collins whether she con tracted West Nile virus from those transfusions. Attacks commemorated at Pentagon About 80 relatives of victims and 80 more local resi dents - some holding hands, others with their arms around each other - made the three-mile journey from the I wo Jima Memorial to the Pentagon and back again Sunday under a heavy sky and constant rain. The "We Remember Walk" was one of the first of many events that will.commemorate the terrorist attacks. The pur pose was simple: to bring together relatives of victims from the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania and help-them find healing through sharing their common grief. Another walk will be held Sept. 29 in Manhattan, near Ground Zero. Bush unveils national security strategy MICHAEL LUTZKY/fHE WASHINGTON POST When George W. Bush arrived at the White House in CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FINISH preparing the grounds for a dedication ceremony. of the rebuilt January 2001, his foreign policy goals appeared modest. Pentagon wall, scheduled for Sept. 11. Bleachers and chairs to accommodate more than 6,000 people will The main international plank of Bush's presidential cam be set up for the ceremony, which will also be broadcast nationwide. paign was a promise to restrain U.S. military intervention in conflicts overseas, not expand it. But 19 months and one terrorist attack later, Bush's re Mexican president mourns legal delays "In these difficult times," Fox said, "Latin America sponse to the challenge of al-Qaida has expanded into an seems to have been abandoned to its fate." ambitious. and controversial vision for a more assertive for Latin Americans fear that they have all but dropped eign policy on a global scale. · off the maps in Washington, D.C. The reformist gov Officials examine spread ofWest Nile Called the "Bush Doctrine," the new policy - to be out ernment of Mexican President Vicente Fox had especially lined formally in a report to Congress this fall - declares high hopes dashed; when he took office, Bush had made Health officials said earlier this week that they believe the United States ready to launch preemptive attacks on Mexico a priority. · the nation's blood supply is safe from the West Nile virus hostile countries that deploy nuclear, biological or chem Days before the terror attacks, Fox visited Bush and even though they are aggressively investigating what might ical weapons, with Iraq being the most likely target. made great strides toward an accord that would make Mex be the first known transmission of the disease through taint Equally important, Bush aides say his "National Security ican immigration to the United States safer and more or- ed blood or tissues.