Just when the heavy campaigning had died down after the first 2004 Presidential Debate, signs and banners appeared all over campus promoting the Student Government [SG] Senate candidates.

Approximately 30 candidates submitted applications to be put on the ballot for 13 empty positions ranging from freshman to commuter senators.

“We have a very productive legislature that has passed more than 20 bills already this year, and we’re looking forward to the new, enthusiastic additions the election will bring to the senate,” Vance Aloupis, SG President, said.

The Senate works as the legislative body of the government by discussing and passing bills proposed by the other branches of SG. Academic Affairs, Budgetary Review, Public Relations and University Affairs make up the different committees of Senate, through which each senator attempts to best represent his or her constituents.

This governing body not only provides a method for voicing student opinion on campus, but also gives participants an opportunity to experience an invaluable leadership experience – not to mention the fact that it’s an honor to be elected by one’s peers to represent them for the year to come.

“My experience is my strongest asset,” Billy Bludgus, senior senator-elect, said. “Over the past three years, I have been able to learn from other student leaders and from my own experiences with student leadership, and because of this experience I believe I have become a strong and efficient member of Student Government and UM on the whole.”

“I am focused on maximizing the quality of our education and representing my class by being accessible through open forums such as the website I created to go along with my campaign,” Rosie Miller, freshman senator-elect, said.

Campaign methods included banners all over the campus, signs, flyers, T-shirts and buttons. Gabriel Trujillo, Eaton senator-elect, went so far as to use Facebook, an online networking community, to win his position as a write-in candidate.

The candidates worked hard to promote themselves as the best people for the positions, but what were voters looking for?

“I’m basing my vote on how the person expressed their position to me,” Taneille Clouden, freshman, said. “I want someone who is willing to communicate with those who are electing them so I know I can count on them when issues come up.”

Stacey Arnold can be contacted at

s.arnold@umiami.edu.

TODAY
In closing Coming Out Week 2004, SpectrUM will be hosting a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. on the Rock to remember those who have been lost to hate crimes.

The Marine Graduate Student Organization of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science campus of UM is hosting its annual Student Auction at 6:30 p.m. at 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway (next to the Seaquarium). Admission is $5. For more information please call 305-361-4145.

Today is the last day to place a bid for Phi Alpha Delta’s silent auction for a Princeton Review class in the breezeway from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is worth $1400 and bidding starts at $500.

Fall Career Day: Careers in Marketing is today from 12:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in the School of Business Storer Auditorium. All students are invited, regardless of their current major. For more information, contact Dr. Lewis of the School of Business at 305-284-4052.

SATURDAY
Tri Delta is sponsoring its second annual Tees Fore Tots Golf Tournament to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa. For more information contact Alexandra Zayas at 305-903-2539.

UM Caribbean student organizations are hosting Caribfest, a festival of Caribbean Culture, showcasing Caribbean cuisine, dress and originality. It runs through Oct. 21 on the UC Patio and the Rock. For additional information call 305-284-3548.

The UM School of Law is holding an open house from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the law school. To register, or for more information, visit www.law.miami.edu/admissions/rsvp.

SpectrUM hosts Coming Out Week 2004
Coming Out Week 2004 started off with a bang on the UC Patio on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day. At the opening ceremonies, the Pride Award was presented to Julia Conway, Karen Turner (resident masters in Stanford residential) and their son, Luke, as well as a musical performance by UM alumna Jenn Hull. On Tuesday night, guest speaker Marky G. from Party 93.1’s “Issues over the Rainbow” talk show was at the Rat.
Gay 101, a session addressing questions regarding coming out, gave students the opportunity to express their concerns Wednesday evening in UC 233. On Thursday, SpectrUM held an open house in its office throughout the day, encouraging gay or gay-friendly faculty and staff to meet and network To close the week, SpectrUM will host an anti-hate crime candlelight vigil at the Rock at 8 p.m. tonight to pay respects to those lost to hate crimes.

Sexuality classes attract academically curious at U. Penn

(U-WIRE) PHILADELPHIA – For students looking to choose their spring classes, there is a veritable playground of subject material-from sciences to mathematics to literature. But for University of Pennsylvania alumna Vanessa Bayer, there was one subject she had yet to study at Penn-sex. So last spring, Bayer enrolled in “Contemporary Issues in Human Sexuality.”
According to the course’s instructors, being able to understand different sexual attitudes and messages is serious business, and in today’s sex-saturated world, the need for such education is rapidly growing.
“We’re living in a culture where you’re completely bombarded with sexual information, but that doesn’t mean you recognize where it’s coming from and can process it in some way,” nursing professor Kathy Brown said. Brown teaches the class with Susan Villari, director of the Office of Health Education [OHE] and Stephen McCann, OHE’s office and wellness coordinator.
The popular course was revamped and expanded from its nursing roots with the help of OHE three years ago and features unorthodox guest speakers, such as a sex therapist, a woman employed as an escort and a member of the local fetish community.
The class also incorporates a number of current pop culture icons, like “Sex and the City” and “The Simpsons.”
Before the course was updated, it existed primarily to teach nursing graduate students how to handle sexual issues with patients. But branching out to cultural issues of sexuality seemed timely and logical. And according to McCann, the team effort of teaching is one of the class’ biggest benefits.
“We come from very different backgrounds, so between (all) of us, we have everything covered,” McCann says. “We can challenge the students’ views and show them that there’s not one right answer.”
By discussing difficult issues in class, the instructors hope to generate students’ opinions on topics they might not otherwise have considered–including medical testing on fetuses.
“It forces students to deal with issues they might not have developed an opinion on yet,” Villari says.

The University of Miami and Napster have joined together to bring free music to the undergraduate student body. Individual accounts can be activated by going to www.miami.edu/napster and following the simple instructions. Napster has over 700,000 songs waiting to be downloaded, so make sure to sign up.

Last Monday, Don Donelson of the UM College Republicans and Vikram Jagadish of the UM Young Democrats squared off on several political issues in the lobby of Eaton Residential College. Eaton put together the event to continue the political interest created by the recent Presidential Debate on campus. Approximately 40 students turned out to watch.

“After the debate, events like this are important to keep the spirit alive,” Jagadish said. Donelson concurred.

“I was afraid the apathy would set in after the cameras went away, but not so,” Donelson said.

Donelson and Jagadish sparred over issues such as the war in Iraq, rising tuition costs and the war on drugs, among others. The debate got intense, with the speakers unable to contain themselves at times. At the end of the debate, students posed their own questions.

Matt Cajewski, a junior who organized and moderated the debate, was impressed with students and speakers alike.

“Some students seemed very knowledgeable, and the candidates were great too,” Cajewski said. “Those who say kids our age are stupid are wrong. In this election, more than ever, young people are taking interest.”

Much like the Kerry-Bush debates, spectators had mixed opinions on who won the Eaton debate.

While Matt Gruber, senior, liked both speakers, he got an especially good impression of Donelson.

“It was good to see the Republican party [Donelson] stand up for itself here more than in the debates,” Gruber said. “I was impressed that [Donelson] is better than the Republican nominee now.”

Aditya Meheta, sophomore, said that the speakers “covered a decent range of issues,” but he wasn’t sure how much of a difference it made.

“The people who showed up were already politically involved,” Meheta said. “In college it’s important to get involved-events like this can bring students together.”

Jay Rooney can be contacted at j.rooney@umiami.edu.

The dawning of a nationwide panic concerning a shortage of influenza vaccinations has touched down upon UM, as students are now being told that there are not enough shots to go around.

Dr. Howard Anapol, director of the Health Center, said that last year there were enough vaccinations to meet demand, and approximately 1,800 flu shots were given at UM. This year, however, with the vaccine shortage, UM’s strategy is to adhere to the Center for Disease Control [CDC] recommendations to redirect vaccinations to high priority candidates.

“Everyone who is at high risk will get one but it’s quite likely that any leftover vaccinations will be redirected to other UM facilities to reach others who meet high-risk requirements, such as the elderly,” Anapol said. “The average student will likely not be able to get one. In the event that there’s some left over they may be able to get it.”

The extreme shortages are due in part to a poorly planned national vaccination system and in part because of manufacturing problems at Chiron Corp., a major vaccine distributor based in California. These problems will prevent some 47 million doses of vaccine from reaching the U.S. in time for flu season. Another factor cited in the crisis is that the U.S. is dependent solely on two major vaccine manufacturers, Chiron Corp. and Aventis Pasteur, a company based in France.

Due to the short supply of vaccine nationwide, the annual FLU SHOT program for influenza immunization at the UM School of Medicine’s Benefits Fair cannot occur this year.

“The provider that supplies the Benefits Fair with the flu vaccine has not received any vaccine this year,” said Christina Elgarresta, a human resources spokesperson at the School of Medicine. “The Center for Disease Control and Prevention subsequently called on healthy people to forgo flu shots this fall so that the existing supply of vaccine can go to people most at risk for complications.”

The problem with Chiron Corp. began about two months ago, when it was discovered that a small amount of the vaccine at a Liverpool factory had been contaminated. Until two weeks ago, U.S. public health officials were concrete in their assurance that the rest of the vaccines were usable and that shortages wouldn’t occur.

However, this past Tuesday, health officials in Britain suspended Chiron Corp.’s license for a period of three months – in other words, no more vaccination medicine will be sent to the U.S. in time for flu season. Furthermore, investigators will not release the million or so doses previously sent from Chiron until more information is uncovered relating to the contamination.

Posted on the UM Health Center’s website is a notice informing students that the CDC is “currently limiting immunization to the priority groups listed [infants, the elderly, chronically ill, pregnant women, and healthcare workers] and will be postponing our off- site outreach programs. Once we have had an opportunity to offer immunization to our high risk students, we may be able to offer any remaining vaccine to others requesting immunization.”

Some are worried that the vaccine shortage translates to more UM students at risk for influenza this winter. Anapol doesn’t feel that this should be a problem.

“I don’t think there will be any dramatic differences,” Anapol said. “We may see a slight increase in respiratory infections but it’s nothing for people to worry about, especially young, healthy people. However, it depends on the severity of this year’s flu season.”

Teressa Dalpe can be contacted at

t.dalpe@umiami.edu.