PIPER9/09 Issue 2 Q&A WITH ANITA BARKIN 4 R ESEARCHERS FIND SOCIAL SECURITY Campus Gem Being Polished for Opening NUMBERS CAN BE PREDICTED ORK RAPS P ON ENTERS FOR EDICATION 5 D RAMA SEASON OPENS IN OCTOBER W W U SCS C D 8 I S TEP INTERNS WORK IN TANZANIA G-20 Summit A “Teachable Moment” For Campus ■ Heidi Opdyke The G-20 brings together important industrial and emerging-market countries from all regions of the world. The leaders of the nations and organizations that comprise the “Group of 20” will meet PHOTO BY KEN ANDREYO Sept. 24-25 in Pittsburgh. T HE BUILDINGS WERE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE INTERIOR SPACES AND OFFICES WITH AS MUCH NATURAL LIGHT AS POSSIBLE. As part of the activities leading up to the summit, the university will ■ Byron Spice host “Carnegie Mellon’s G-20 Forum A keynote address by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will highlight the Sept. 22 dedication of the Gates Center for — an expert preview of the Pittsburgh Computer Science and the Hillman Center for Future Generation Technologies. Summit” at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. Gates, who last spoke on the Pittsburgh campus 18 months ago, will be joined by Pittsburgh philanthropists 14, in McConomy Auditorium, to offer Henry and Elsie Hillman for the ribbon-cutting ceremony before an expected crowd of 1,200 students, faculty, staff, the campus community an overview on donors and other guests in Wiegand Gymnasium. A $20 million gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a economics, policy, development and some $10 million gift from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation were instrumental in making the buildings a reality. C ONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE C ONTINUED ON PAGE THREE Welcome Back! O RIENTATION COUNSELORS DANIEL BURDZY (CFA ’13), REBECCA USSAI (CFA ’11), MATT WILSON (HSS ’12), ERIC ROUDABUSH (CIT ’11) AND TIFFANY C HANG (MCS ’11) HELPED WELCOME THE CLASS OF 2013 DURING ORIENTATION. T HIS YEAR’ S THEME WAS “UNLEASHED” AS NEW STUDENTS WERE ENCOURAGED TO TRY NEW THINGS AND DISCOVER THEIR POTENTIAL AT CARNEGIE MELLON. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE NEW FACES ON CAMPUS SEE PAGE , 6. PHOTO BY JOSHUA DEBNER (CIT’11) O NE The H1N1 Flu: A Q&A With SHS Director Anita Barkin ■ Bruce Gerson The fl u season has started early this year thanks to the novel H1N1 infl uenza, also symptoms are a cough, head- known as the swine fl u. Students became ill with suspected cases of the H1N1 during ache, sore throat, runny nose, orientation week and the fi rst week of classes and Student Health Services, Housing, body aches and fatigue. With Call the H1N1 Dining and Student Affairs are working diligently to care for ill students and nurture the H1N1 virus we’re seeing them back to good health. a little more nausea, vomiting Anita Barkin, a certifi ed registered nurse practitioner who holds a doctorate in and diarrhea. hotline at public health, is leading the effort to keep the campus community a safe and healthy environment for all students, faculty and staff. Barkin is also playing a key role na- What should you do H1N1 tionally as chair of the Coalition of Emerging Public Health Threats and Emergency if you come down with Response Planning for the American College Health Association. a fever and fl u-like 412-268-4161 symptoms? The Piper caught up with Barkin in late August to talk about the H1N1. If you start to feel ill with An H1N1 information hotline has been established at Carnegie Mellon at these symptoms you should 412-268-4161 (H1N1) where parents, students, faculty and staff can call with with questions start monitoring your temper- questions or concerns. ature. If you develop a fever or concerns. How are we caring for ill students? If we have high numbers of ill of 100 degrees F or greater, Are we sending them home? students, faculty and staff, high absentee- you should isolate yourself. If students meet the clinical defi nition for ism and our ability to deliver services Limit face-to-face contact having the H1N1 fl u, the fi rst thing we’re were affected, we might look at whether with people by staying home doing is asking them if they live within it would be prudent to suspend activities from work, staying out of classes, and 150 miles of Pittsburgh and can go home for some period of time until we can de- staying out of public venues and social You mentioned an H1N1 vaccine may and be cared for by a parent, or if they crease the number of new cases. Unless activities until you are fever-free for 24 be available in November. Will it be can be cared for by a family member the illness would change in severity, I hours without the use of fever-reducing distributed to the campus community? or friend of the family who lives in the think it would be unlikely that this would medication. We are hopeful that we will be a vaccine area and can be taken there in a private happen. That’s why we’re providing distribution site for our population. If that vehicle. If the answer is no, then we’re education about hygiene and isolation Should you take any medicines if happens we will roll it out to the high-risk using a number of strategies for isola- practices when a person is ill. you have a fever and other fl u-like groups. The CDC defi nes the high-risk tion, including isolation housing and iso- symptoms? groups as being pregnant women; house- lation in their place of residence. If the How likely is it that the H1N1 fl u will Absolutely. You can take the same medi- hold contacts and caregivers for children student is moved to isolation housing, become a much stronger disease cations that you would take to treat cold under 6 months of age; children and young we are providing nursing care until they this fall? symptoms, such as acetaminophen (Ty- adults between the ages of 6 months and 24 can be released after being fever-free for The fact that we had cases this summer lenol), cough syrup, throat lozenges, and years; healthcare providers and emergency 24 hours. Most students are resuming and more cases now doesn’t bode well over-the-counter cold medication. I would personnel; and folks 25 to 64 who have an normal activities in fi ve days. for the fall in terms of expectations of caution people to make sure they are NOT underlying medical condition. a more severe fl u season. Will we have taking acetaminophen AND also taking If we do not get enough vaccine to more people ill with the fl u, in light of cold medications that have acetaminophen cover all of those high-risk groups, then the fact we don’t have a vaccine yet? in them because of the potential toxicity we’ll move to vaccinating a subset of I would say that’s likely. Will it be a of the drug when taken in high doses. those groups. The subset would include PIPER disease of greater severity than it is now? Take your temperature BEFORE you pregnant women; household contacts and 9/09 Issue That’s up for speculation. Virologists at take fever-reducing medication and take caregivers for children under 6 months of P UBLISHER the CDC and WHO are following this your temperature again four hours after age; healthcare providers and emergency Teresa Thomas very carefully to see if the virus changes you take acetaminophen or Ibuprofen. personnel who have direct patient care E DITOR in any way that would suggest that it is Once you stop the medicine and your responsibilities; and children and young Bruce Gerson becoming a virus capable of creating fever is gone for 24 hours then you can adults between the ages of 6 months and M ANAGING EDITOR resume normal activities. Heidi Opdyke more severe illness. 24 years who have an underlying medical condition. That may change, but that’s the W RITERS If H1N1 is similar to the seasonal fl u, Bruce Gerson Byron Spice When will we most likely see it at its current thinking of the CDC. Abby Houck Chriss Swaney strongest? why should we be concerned? You’re probably going to need two Heidi Opdyke Kara Zamanski The CDC and WHO anticipate that it will What makes H1N1 different from the sea- Shilo Raube Andrea L. Zrimsek shots to complete the H1N1 vaccination. Eric Sloss get worse as fall continues. Viruses tend sonal fl u is that we don’t have a vaccine The second H1N1 shot would be given for the H1N1 yet. People in our communi- D ESIGNER to spread when temperatures cool and four weeks after the initial dose is received. Melissa Stoebe people are indoors more often. That’s a ties who are more vulnerable, people with Communications Design Group typical pattern for seasonal infl uenza, and asthma, diabetes or whose immune sys- Would the distribution be similar P HOTOGRAPHY tems are suppressed, are at high risk for to the seasonal fl u clinics offered? Ken Andreyo that would be the same pattern we would Communications Design Group expect with H1N1. complications. In light of the fact that we If so, will there be a fee involved? Joshua Debner don’t have a vaccine to protect those high- Yes. The vaccine will be free of charge. To contact The Piper staff, call 412-268- So we might see people getting the risk populations, we are relying on social There may be an administrative fee, but we 2900 or email [email protected].