(U-WIRE) COLUMBIA, Mo. – After a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority at the University of Missouri sent an e-mail demanding members to lie about their health history for the Greek Week blood drive Wednesday and Thursday, Greek Life coordinators discussed changing future drives and planned to place sanctions on involved chapters.

Greek Week spokeswoman Lauren Tischler said Greek Life coordinators and administrators will form a task force this summer to plan ways to improve blood donation education.

She said greek coordinators will place sanctions on the chapters involved that will affect the results of their participation in this year’s blood drive.

She said she thinks greek students have lost the true meaning of blood donation because they focus too much on the competition.

The e-mail, sent by sophomore Christie Key, emphasized the importance of chapter participation for the sake of winning the Greek Week competition.

The e-mail, sent by sophomore Christie Key, emphasized the importance of chapter participation for the sake of winning the Greek Week competition. “I don’t care if you got a tattoo last week — LIE,” the e-mail stated.

“I don’t care if you have a cold. Suck it up. We all do. LIE … Even if you are going to use the ‘Do Not Use My Blood’ sticker, GIVE ANYWAY.”

“I don’t care if you got a tattoo last week — LIE,” the e-mail stated. “I don’t care if you have a cold. Suck it up. We all do. LIE … Even if you are going to use the ‘Do Not Use My Blood’ sticker, GIVE ANYWAY.”

A news release issued Monday from Gamma Phi Beta’s international headquarters apologized for the e-mail, which it said Key sent without the approval of chapter leadership.

“Gamma Phi Beta does not condone misleading health officials or pressuring sisters into donating blood,” according to the news release.

Gamma Phi Beta President Shannon Wisniewski said Key had not attended chapter meetings that discussed donation safety. She said as soon as Key sent the e-mail, she sent a follow-up e-mail rectifying the first. Wisniewski said Gamma Phi Beta will make a financial contribution to the American Red Cross and conduct a meeting for its members to emphasize the importance of donation.

Tischler said sending the e-mail was an unethical practice that goes against the greek community’s values.

“It’s an e-mail listserv gone awry,” Tischler said. “It was a message that was disseminated through a group, but it was individuals’ decisions to deceive the Red Cross and not follow the rules.”

American Red Cross spokesman Jim Williams said the donated blood undergoes testing at a national lab to guarantee its safety.

“Even if someone was a little dishonest on their health history, the blood will not be affected,” Williams said. “That is our mission; to make sure there are adequate units of blood.”

He said such situations can occur at any blood drive, not just during universities’ Greek Weeks, which promote healthy competition among chapters.

“College-age students are typically in good health anyway,” Williams said. “It is kind of being blown out of proportion.”

He said the American Red Cross appreciates the donations from greek and non-greek students, as well as community members. Williams said each unit of blood can potentially save three lives. With more than 3,400 units donated, he said the blood drive was worth it.

“We are in this for a life-saving mission, not a competition,” Williams said. “If we save just one life, it is worth it, even if (donors) are dishonest.”

When she heard a sorority prompted its members to lie in their health histories, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs said she thought students were smarter than that.

“I am sure there are students who looked at that e-mail and said, ‘Wow, that’s not why we’re donating,'” Scroggs said. “I am sure they were disappointed with it.”

Before the age of 19, one in every 330 children in the United States will develop some form of cancer, according to the National Children’s Cancer Foundation.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, is dedicated to treating children with catastrophic diseases and has become one of the world’s leading childhood cancer treatment centers.

This year, for the first time ever, UM took part in St. Jude Up ’til Dawn, a student-run program hosted by colleges and universities across the country. UM students like Amy Omae, senior, and Clarissa Afable, junior, were encouraged to write letters to family and friends asking them to donate to St. Jude.

Up ’til Dawn held its finale event last week in the UC. Students were literally “up ’til dawn”; from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday night, students enjoyed music from a live band, a pool party, karaoke, free food and arcade games.

“We’re celebrating a good cause,” said Barbara Laurent, junior, as she enjoyed the pranks of mentalist Craig Karges. “The hospital does a lot for the kids – especially those that can’t afford it.”

Unlike many pediatric hospitals and research centers, St. Jude provides groundbreaking treatment for all of its patients regardless of financial ability. All costs are covered by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, as well as funds donated to the hospital. Up ’til Dawn is one of the most popular St. Jude fundraising events.

“So far approximately $10,000 has been raised,” Vance Aloupis, director of Up ’til Dawn, said. “We are very happy at how well it’s gone.”

Pictures of children who survived the battle with cancer or presently suffer from cancer were posted throughout the UC to remind everyone of the goals of the organization. As this year’s fundraising continued, no one lost sight of the cause.

While turnout for the event was not as high as expected, event organizers were satisfied with Up ’til Dawn’s accomplishments.

“This is a decent turnout for the first Up ’til Dawn celebration at the University,” Villamor Asuncion, executive board member, said. “As long as UM is here, St. Jude will be here and it will continue to grow.”

For more information regarding St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and how you can help, visit www.stjude.org or call the Volunteer Services Center at 305-284-GIVE.

Myriam Clerge can be contacted at m.clerge@umiami.edu.

“By 2060 we will all be minorities,” said Ronald Takaki, renowned scholar and pioneer of Asian American studies in the United States, during his lecture at Storer Auditorium last week. Hurricane Productions, in conjunction with Asian Pacific American Awareness Month, invited Takaki to UM to speak about the importance of embracing the many faces and cultures of Americans. In his lecture, “America in a Different Mirror: Re-Visioning our History,” Takaki gave an alternative story of American ancestry, different from the traditional teachings that American ancestry is primarily derived from European immigrants.

“I thought he was very informational,” Mark Abinsay, freshman, said. “He allowed me to realize the importance of getting an understanding of my culture.”

Hurricane Productions felt that this was an appropriate time to have Takaki as a guest speaker at UM in light of the recent affirmative action debates at the University. His lecture was a celebration of the diversity at UM.

“It was pretty damn amazing. It makes you think by giving a different twist on life.”-DONALD MATSUURA, Freshman

Takaki structured his speech as a class lecture, using a projector and interacting with the audience. He asked questions about vocabulary words and statistics regarding the diverse groups of immigrants who came to the United States, immigrants who worked hard in factories and railroads to help establish and build the country. He reinforced the importance of these often forgotten ancestors.

President Shalala made a surprise appearance in the audience, asking the final question during the question and answer session after Takaki’s lecture.

Takaki stressed the need “for a more inclusive multicultural curriculum” in universities. He gave the examples of the 1965 Watts riot at Berkeley that helped bring about a black history course at the university, as well as the persistence of students in the late 1980s to have a Multicultural Studies program.

“It was pretty damn amazing,” Donald Matsuura, freshman, said. “It makes you think by giving a different twist on life.”

For more information about Hurricane Productions events, call 305-284-4606.

Camille Cohen can be contacted at c.cohen@umiami.edu.

With over 160 undergraduate and graduate student research projects on display last week in the UC, the 2004 Citizen Board Research and Creativity Forum [Forum] was the largest forum of its kind ever held on campus.

The Forum assembled original research spanning 13 different disciplines, from psychological studies on “the pursuit of intimacy goals in couples’ daily interactions” to architectural undertakings in designing a new building for the Miami Art Museum.

Caroline Caperton, project chairperson, stressed the importance of the Forum as a means of sharing research at an individual, community and university level.

“The Forum speaks to the amount of research done at UM and the quality of students that get better and better every year,” Caperton said.

April Compare, a first year graduate student, exhibited artistic prints – accomplished through relief, silk screen and lithography methods – of tiny dead lizards placed in jars and boxes. She describes the idea of her artwork as a collection of something that has personal value that can be observed with a novice-type of scientific curiosity.

Compare also appreciates the opportunity the Forum provides not only to be a part of the graduate student community, but also to exhibit her work to others.

“Students who might not make it over to the art department are really getting a chance to see what we’re doing over there,” Compare said. “It’s great exposure.”

For many, the Forum is either a culmination of months of intensive research and experimentation or simply a preparation for further research endeavors.

For senior Lisa Ramsay, whose research encompassed the development of an ideal technique to get DNA isolation from cultured cells, it was both.

It took Ramsay at least 15 hours a week over a period of nine months to gather the data necessary for her study. After it all, Ramsay says the experience has been both a learning tool and an effort essential in reaching the full potential of research studies in the future.

“To be able to contribute to UM research studies during my undergraduate career is something I pride myself in,” Ramsay said. “And you never know in doing your research where it’s going to lead you and maybe others.”

Caperton agrees that students participating in the Forum are providing information necessary to the future of academia.

“It is absolutely crucial that these students get recognized because they are representing the future of quality in research and are a reason why UM is at the forefront of research,” Caperton said.

Paul Fajardo can be contacted at p.fajardo@umiami.edu.

For those who have started thinking about the impending 2004 Presidential election, it’s important to know where the three major candidates stand on various topics.
Here is a – very – brief overview on the candidates’ views on a few important issues:

Economy

Bush – Speeding up 2001 tax cuts to increase pace of economic recovery; Stimulate job-creating investment with dividend and capital gains tax relief; $20 billion in aid to the states.

Kerry – Roll back Bush tax cuts, invest money in education and health care; Job creation through manufacturing jobs credit, investing in new energy industries; Tax reform to encourage companies to create jobs in America and an end to tax benefits for corporations that ship jobs overseas.

Nader – Requiring equitable trade; Investing in renewable energy policy and in urgently needed local infrastructure projects; Putting human needs before corporate needs.

Health Care

Kerry – Closing loopholes and fighting waste and fraud in the system; More affordable prescription drugs and malpractice insurance; A new “quality” bonus for providers who improve care while reducing cost.

Nader – Single payer program with full coverage; Ending insurance company administration of health care; Expanded coverage.

Bush – More choices for Medicare recipients; Full coverage for disease prevention; Improved prescription drug coverage without government dictating drug choices.

Environment

Nader – Strengthen toxic standards to include the protection of children; Incorporate environmental protection in all areas of governance.

Bush – $1.2 billion hydrogen fuel initiative; “Clear Skies” initiative to cut power plant emissions; Fiscal Year ’04 request of $44.9 billion for environment and natural resources budget.

Kerry – Federal assistance to deal with traffic congestion and urban sprawl; Creation of environmental empowerment zones; 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

Iraq/ National Security

Bush – Defense budget increase of $15.3 billion; Increased military pay; Stay the course in the War on Terror; Facilitate democracy in Iraq.

Kerry – Bring in the United Nations as a full partner in Iraq’s transition to democracy; Increased military pay; Increased international involvement to strengthen Iraqi security.

Nader – Opposed war in Iraq; Replace US forces with UN Peacekeepers; Money spent on war in Iraq should be re-directed to domestic considerations such as health care and education.

All information came from the official candidate websites. For a more in-depth look at these and other issues, check out all these campaign websites:

Bush – www.georgewbush.com
Kerry – www.johnkerry.com
Nader – www.votenader.org

Compiled by Scott Wacholtz.

Anyone who attended the John Kerry rally could tell that the security surrounding the event was intense. However, Secret Service agents claimed that this was nothing compared to the security that will be in place for the Presidential debate being held on campus in the fall.

That may be hard to believe, considering the security measures that were taken for the senator’s visit Sunday.

State of the art metal detectors were installed at the two entry points near the Rock, and each person – in the long lines that formed over two hours before the event – at least had his or her bag thoroughly searched before entering the area.

In addition to the Secret Service agents permeating the premises, the Miami-Dade Police could be seen in full force, and a thorough bomb inspection by the Miami-Dade Bomb Squad was conducted shortly before Kerry’s performance.

Kerry stayed in the Rat while the inspection took place.

Squad members went through all of the offices in the UC, paying particular attention to those that overlooked the Rock. Canine units sniffed for explosives, and Secret Service agents aided in the search through piles of merchandise in the UM bookstore. After locking up the chlorine tank by the UC pool, they conducted an extensive search of the roof.

Agents could be seen from the UC balconies facing the Rock before, during and after the event.

The UC was closed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., but hours after the speech ended, an area extending from the Law School to the School of Music to the Richter Library was still cordoned off with yellow police tape.

Secret Service agents could be seen patrolling the campus until late into the afternoon, and employees of the Department of Student Activities and Leadership Programs were called – along with College Democrats members and other volunteers – to assist with crowd control.

“I think that it was a great crowd,” said Renee Callan, director of the Department of Student Activites and Leadership Programs. “More showed up than I expected.”

There were no major security issues during the event, aside from some aggressive Kerry fans and derogatory actions toward the few picketers at the rally.

One incident occurred with a spectator holding a Bush-Cheney sign outside the perimeter of the Rock before the speech took place. Another spectator grabbed the sign, and several others began making pro-Kerry remarks. The man replied with calls of “free speech,” at which point a SS agent appeared out of nowhere and told the harassers, “You have two seconds to leave this kid alone.”

Despite the minor incidents, organizers said that the day went smoothly.

“I didn’t hear about any problems happening, even with people who didn’t necessarily agree with Sen. Kerry’s viewpoints,” said Cynthia Chapel, assistant director of the Department of Student Activities and Leadership Programs.

Jillian Bandes can be contacted at j.bandes@umiami.edu.