In its strategy against H1N1 and seasonal flu’s, UHS has focused its efforts on preventative measures, said communications and marketing manager Karen Dunbar Scully. In addition to flyers encouraging general hygienic habits, like hand-washing and ‘coughing etiquette,’ UHS is offering seasonal flu vaccines every Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through December 17 on its third floor. “Our goal is to get as many people as possible vaccinated,” said Scully.

While students line up for seasonal flu vaccines every Thursday, there is still a considerable portion of the student population not planning on getting vaccinated.

“I’m not sure yet [whether I will get vaccinated],” said freshman Alex Connors. “I’ve always tended to be skeptical about vaccinations in general, like side effects and safety.”

According to an article in The New Yorker, “Vaccines do cause side effects, and, in rare instances, the side effects can be serious. In particular, people who are already ill with another infection should avoid vaccines. But the odds that a flu vaccine would cause more harm than the illness itself are practically zero.”

The Town of Amherst and UMass have received a limited supply of H1N1 flu vaccine. An H1N1 flu clinic for at-risk groups is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Amherst Regional Middle School, 170 Chestnut St. Vaccinations will be limited to people under 17, pregnant women and infants younger than 6 months. Registration and screening forms for participants are available on the UHS website at www.umass.edu/uhs/services/publichealth/.

Thirty-two thousand UHS doses of H1N1 vaccine have been ordered by UHS on behalf of the Five College Consortium, but the state will determine the actual amount of doses healthcare providers will receive, said UHS public health nurse Ann Becker. The vaccine will be distributed by UHS based on the size of the student/employee population on each campus.

As for seasonal flu vaccine, the UHS clinic offers both an injectable form of the vaccine as well as flu mist vaccines, which are administered through a quick burst of vaccine inhaled up each nostril. The flu mist vaccine is only given to healthy people ages 2 to 49 who are not pregnant and do not have chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease. UHS’ supply of injectable seasonal flu vaccine is limited said Scully, and will only be given to those with critical symptoms of sickness. More injectable vaccine is anticipated, but the quantity and turntable for availability is still not known.

“In general seasonal flu vaccination seems to have supply and demand issues. Right now we are able to offer flu mist in weekly walk-in [flu vaccination clinics].” said Scully. “We’re trying to match the right product to the right patient. So for someone who isn’t acceptable for the injectable vaccine we give the flu mist.”
UMass students have expressed concern about UHS’ preparedness to deal with patients having flu symptoms. Freshman Michelle Williams, who went to UHS with a 103 degree fever her second week at UMass, said she waited three hours to see a doctor.

“It was terrible. They [UHS staff] didn’t know what was wrong with me so they tested me for mono…” said Williams. “I was just like passing out in the waiting room and I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had to call them [later] and ask if I was sick. And they said no, it was just a virus I had, and they gave me this little flu kit with tea bags in it.”

Connors also went to UHS with flu-like symptoms.

“I guess they were helpful but they just kind of told me what I already know. They were like, ‘You have a viral infection,’ and gave me a pamphlet and told me to come back if I got worse.”

Sophomore Tiffany Tai, who has gone to UHS with friends for non-emergency purposes, said, “They’re effective when they know what they’re dealing with, but I have heard a lot about them not being able to diagnose your symptoms.”

Although these students indicated that UHS’ protocol in responding to health concerns could be improved, students felt the medical community’s initial reaction to H1N1 was extreme.

“Personally I don’t think swine flu’s that bad,” said freshman Camila Barrera. “I think it’s like any other flu and we shouldn’t be going crazy over it. A bunch of people die with regular [seasonal] flu.”

The perceived extremeness of the medical community could be understandable however, since H1N1 is a new strain of the flu. Although Scully does not see any reason for panic “disproportionate to the situation” at UMass, the large population of students and faculty in close contact puts everyone on campus at a higher risk for H1N1, she said.

“As opposed to the seasonal flu, which is more of a concern for older adults, H1N1 is known to affect younger people, pregnant women and children…” said Scully. “We’re interested for people not to take it [H1N1] too lightly but not to panic.”

A walk-in seasonal flu clinic will be offered by Maxim Health Systems, an outside healthcare provider, on Monday, Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Campus Center auditorium, and is open to the entire community ages nine and up who do not have a severe cold, fever, acute illness, or an allergy to eggs or the preservative Thimerosal. The cost, $30, will be billed to insurance plans under contract with Maxim Health Systems, which are listed on the UHS website.

“If you’re covered under the contracted plans and it pays for seasonal flu vaccine there may not be any out of pocket cost to you,” said Scully.

For students treated at UHS, their insurance is billed for the visit.

“Massachusetts requires full time students to state their primary health insurance plan, whether you are covered through one of your parents’ plans or coverage might come from a state sponsored plan (like the Commonwealth Choice Plan) or the school sponsored health plan (Student Health Insurance Plan),” said Scully. “Depending on each person’s plan their insurance dictates what charges are the responsibility of the patient.”

People with flu symptoms can either consult their private healthcare provider or the UHS Triage Advice Nurse at (413) 577-5229 for guidance. UHS advises students infected with H1N1 or seasonal flu to go home by private car. Those who cannot go home are to practice self-isolation, wearing a disposable mask provided in UHS’ flu self-care kits when it is necessary to leave their dormitory. A thermometer, a leaflet with general information on the flu, teabags, a packet of honey and a packet of instant chicken broth are also included in the flu kits. ‘Flu buddies, ’or healthy residents, should pick up ‘sick meals’ offered by Dining Services for residents sick with the flu.

Five of the six candidates were present to discuss topics ranging from the economy to the war in Afghanistan and the committees they would sit on if elected.

The Amherst Wire embedded the live streaming video from the Daily Collegian and hosted their own twitter feed and live chat for readers to discuss the event.

This was the first time that Amherst Wire reported live from an event on campus in this way. You can review the chat log below of all the comments and topics that were brought up during the debate.

That’s the Kemptville Koyotes, a polo team from Ontario that UMass will be hosting in a game this afternoon at Stone Pony Farm in Leverett. UMass coach Hilary Mroz-Blythe said she believes the Koyotes are a relatively new and inexperienced team and she is hoping for a victory.

“I’m sort of banking on it being an easy team,” said Mroz-Blythe before a practice match on a sunny afternoon last Sunday at her family-owned Leverett stable. Though, she added, “I never like to predict winning because so much of it’s out of my control.”

Varsity players Amy Dolan, a senior, Tanya Chesnell and Elise McHugh, both juniors, will start for UMass in today’s match. Mroz-Blythe also plans to rotate in junior varsity players Heather Sliney, a senior, and Mindy Lucas, a junior, depending on how the match goes. Normally, only the three varsity players compete, but Mroz-Blythe said, “I don’t think [the Koyotes are] all that strong, so we’re gonna let some of the other kids play as well.”

It remains to be seen if UMass has underestimated the Canadian team’s ability. The Koyotes, part of the University of Guelph – Kemptville Campus in Ontario, became Canada’s first intercollegiate polo team in September 2008, according to a press release published in the Kemptville EMC newspaper. Though the team may be relatively new, its varsity players have been practicing at the Augusta Polo Club three days a week in preparation for the season, according to coach George Bezak.

“They have been working very hard this year and I think that if they play as a team and communicate with each other, score their penalties, play good defense, they should be competitive,” wrote Bezak in an email response.

Bezak continued, “I saw UMass play last year and they had a very good team so it will be a good game. This being the team’s second scheduled game of the season, it is very difficult to predict the outcome but I think that if they are able to score their penalty shots and keep their own penalties to a minimum, we stand a good chance at getting a win.”

The UMass team was formed in 2001 and its players typically practice twice a week. McHugh, Chesnell, and Dolan, who will be starting in today’s match, have all been with the team since their freshman year. UMass coach Mroz-Blythe said that the three varsity players work well together. “They trust each other and they talk a lot,” said Mroz-Blythe. “On the other side of it, they aren’t always able to execute what they want to do, but the fact that they talk and they’re able to change up when things don’t go quite right is good.”

The coach further stated, “Their weaknesses are weaknesses that the whole team has and their strengths are strengths that the whole team has … they communicate well and they rotate well … but they don’t always know what the best offensive play is and you learn that by playing people better and faster than you.” To help the players learn, Mroz-Blythe brought in other equestrians for Sunday’s practice, including her stepfather, Dennis Fitzpatrick, her friend Sandy Smith of Warren, and also Mimi Booth of Pelham, and Maureen Maher-Patenaude of Sunderland, both of whom were on a high school team coached by Mroz-Blythe. Collette McHugh, Elise’s mother, also played during the practice.
“It’s always good to try and play people you don’t play normally so that you get to think outside the box,” said Mroz-Blythe in describing how the team can avoid relying too heavily on a single strategy.

As they cleaned the horses’ tack after Sunday’s practice, the varsity players expressed a positive attitude about the upcoming match against the Koyotes. “We feel really excited,” said McHugh, a sentiment that was echoed by Chesnell and Dolan.

“We’re really excited about it being a Halloween-themed game,” added Dolan. The girls headed to practice with orange paint stains on their hands from special Halloween-decorated jerseys that they had created earlier in the day.

So far this season, the UMass team has played three matches, winning its first one against Yale University and losing the next two to Harvard University and Cornell University. The Yale match was a home game for UMass. In describing UMass’ first victory of the season, Mroz-Blythe pointed out that the Yale team had not ridden since December and that the UMass players were able to ride horses they were used to, within the comfort zone of their own familiar arena. “It’s hard to go to someone else’s house and ride their horses and ride them well,” she said in regards to the loss against Harvard.

As for the third match against Cornell, “we weren’t surprised by the loss at all,” said coach Mroz-Blythe, adding that Cornell is “pretty much the best team in the nation.” Dolan broke a toe during the Cornell match on Oct. 17, but both she and her coach expect that she will still play in at least part of tomorrow’s game. Dolan has been wearing a special boot as her toe heals and was scheduled for a follow-up X-ray yesterday. Though, as of Thursday, Dolan said “I’m definitely going to play” in Saturday’s match.

UMass will once again have the home team advantage today as it takes on the Canadian team. The girls will ride the same horses they’ve been riding during practices. Mroz-Blythe and her stepfather own the horses.

The Koyotes will face UMass in what will be only the Koyote’s second game of the season, after its first game last night against Vassar College. In its first season, the Koyotes lost all of its competitions, including matches against both Vassar and Harvard.

“However,” wrote coach Bezak, “I felt that the team did extremely well for being a first year team and they played safe, keeping penalties to a minimum. So overall it was a big success for the team and school.”

Further reflecting on her play during Sunday’s practice and looking ahead to the upcoming match against the Koyotes, Chesnell said, “I feel confident.” Though, she added, “I’ve got to step it up for the game.” Dolan said she and the other players need to work on “playing offensively instead of just defensively” in terms of talking, passing, and aiming. The three varsity players further stated in agreement their need to focus on taking the ball where they want it to go to make for what they called “polo with a purpose.” Dolan also joked, “I hope I don’t break my toe again.”

The match today starts at 2 p.m. at Stone Pony Farm. The farm is located at 147 Long Plain Road in Leverett, just over 3.5 miles north of the UMass campus. Spectators are welcome.

“For the portrait assignment for Introduction to Digital Photojournalism, students photographed Halloween costumes. But they looked for more than just your average ghost or pirate. Each student searched for a costume that illuminates what the holiday has become on college campuses and beyond. Whether it’s the H1N1 virus, a rapper, or a character from a TV commercial, these portraits tell you about more than just the individual in the picture; they tell you about the culture of Halloween.”

The Amherst Wire is proud to support work by UMass Amherst students and showcasing them on our website. You can view the portraits below in the slideshow.

The word “Sankofa” translated from the Akan language of Ghana means ‘the past must be reclaimed so that we can progress and understand.’ The Sankofa Dance Project teaches traditional African American dance and explores its influences on modern dances.

Around forty participants ranging in age from their early teens to their seventies were involved in the project, along with eight volunteers and many dancers from the UMass dance department, including Maryann Lombardi and Peggy Schwartz of UMass, who organized the project. The program was a week long, with classes starting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and evening “edutainment” talks by the instructors.

The master artist Chuck Davis is the founder of African American Dance Ensemble and DanceAfrica. The three teaching artists were Marilyn M. Sylla, Abdel R. Salaam, Stafford Berry Jr., and Amaniyea Payne. Guest instructors taught clogging, hip hop and lindy-hop dance to participants, as well.

The final performance, “Blue Grass/Brown Earth” in the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall had three segments: traditional African Dance, African Dance during the middle passage and slavery era, and modern dance. The performance traced the intermingling of bluegrass with traditional African music and the evolution of the banjo. Participants all performed in the opening routine and the finale, mixing song, dance and spoken word in their recital. The Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band and African drummers John Coster, Issa Coulibaly, Jay Stanley, and Sekou Sylla provided live music.

Students at Sankofa all came from diverse backgrounds with different levels of dance experience and different reasons for partaking in the program.

Katrina De Wees, a Hampshire College fourth year, did Sankofa because she is studying the historical silences of the black presence in America, with an emphasis in artistic expressions such as dance, theater and other visually based forms.

“I participated last year and learned a tremendous amount about my body and my history, and want to continue to do so,” said Katrina. “I believe in the power of Sankofa and do believe it necessary to learn my history in order to move forward, and that’s why I have returned.”

Katrina has been studying West African dance since she was a child, and wants to eventually start a community art and wellness center in her hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. Katrina said she dances to learn more about herself and to work collaboratively with other humans.

“It reminds me of the beauty of humanity and gives me hope for the future.”

This was also 18-year-old Prince Richardson’s second year at Sankofa. Richardson studied culinary arts, and is mainly a self-taught dancer. Richardson wants to appear on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance, and has put together a hip-hop crew for his school talent show. As a child, Richardson would dance to be the center of attention at parties, he said. He would like to pursue dance in college, and transfer to UMass after two years at Holyoke Community College. He is the first in his family to go to college, and received a scholarship for his tuition.

Patrick De Hahn, a senior from MacDuffie School, was a first year Sankofa student. De Hahn was born profoundly deaf, but this doesn’t stop him from pursuing dance. A cohlear implant in his ear to helps De Hahn hear the beat when he dances, and he can plug his iPod directly into the implant.

Patrick began by taking hip hop dance, and eventually moved on to modern and tap dance. He said when he was 8 years old and learning hip-hop, he was the only male dancer. At MacDuffie, however, there is a strong arts program with a lot of males taking dance, said De Hahn, so that was never an issue for him.

Dehahn decided to participate in Sankofa to learn more about dance and to have a chance to perform. In the future, Dehahn hopes to be involved in the art world through a career in arts management.

Bringing together dancers from diverse walks of life, the Sankofa participants work toward a common goal for one intensive week: a performance that looks like months of hard work.

Besides the week-long intensive, UMass Outreach also hosts the Sankofa Youth Reach, which teaches dance to Springfield youth, providing tuition and housing scholarships for students to attend the intensive.

Her appearance opened with a call for applause for the republicans in the room who, despite the overwhelming liberal environment that is Amherst, came out in support. She stood up against her critics, including the author of an article in Wednesday’s Daily Collegian and an artist who defaced a campus advertisement of her performance with a Hitler mustache.

McCain, only two years removed from college herself, discussed her background with her father’s party and her movement to define a new generation of Republicans that she refers to as ‘progressive Republicans.’

The progressive label is defined by McCain’s pro-sex education, pro-life, pro-gay marriage outlook. She adheres to many standard Republican stances, supporting the War in Iraq and opposing health care reform, but is discouraged by the path of the party.

“What happened to the party that loved freedom, individuality and self-reliance,” said McCain, referring to the Republican reluctance to abandon old ideas and make way for new times.

Despite efforts to distance herself from the course her party has taken, McCain still looks toward traditional republican figureheads, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Regan, along with less traditional, Johnny Ramone, as inspirations in her movement.

The Daily Beast is home to McCain’s blog, in which she discusses current events and how they tie in to her own progressive outlook. She has squared off against far-right conservative pundits, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, and more recently Michelle Malkin, who claimed McCain’s out-spoken ways have done more to hurt the party than help it.

“I refuse to be bullied around by the parties’ gate-keepers,” said McCain about her detractors, such as Ingraham, who have stooped as far as taking shots at her weight and hair color. “We shouldn’t let pundits two to three times our age speak for us. We must speak for ourselves.”

McCain has not always been on the same page as her father, though. In 2004, when she was only 20, Meghan voted for Dem. Sen. John Kerry and it was not until she started on the presidential campaign trail with Sen. McCain that she developed her current republican attitude.

While many question whether her liberal outlook surrounding social issues disqualifies her from her proclaimed party affiliation, McCain says she is “sick of taking a litmus test” to prove she is a republican.

An attentive audience questioned McCain about her outlook on everything from cannabis reform to gay marriage to favorite bands in a Q&A session that lasted over an hour.

Speaking of the party’s future, McCain hoped for an inspiring, internet savvy Republican presidential candidate for 2012. McCain is currently working on a book about her experience on her father’s campaign trail, due out next July.

The Amherst Wire and the Mass Games RSO are collaborating to give you the inside scoop on this fall’s Humans vs. Zombies game!

Amherst Wire staff will be reporting on HvZ events and missions with video, audio, and photos alongside articles while players of HvZ will be contributing to blogs and twitter feeds from both the human and zombie sides.

Keep checking back for new content!

Check out Amherst Wire’s HvZ Page.

Edit: Content as of October 19:
The Zombie Apocalypse is Nigh…
First Mission a “Bloodbath”
In Second Mission, Humans Take Less Casualties, But Do Not Complete Objective (with video)

On September 22nd and 23rd, Dr. Judith S. Young of the UMass astronomy department held autumnal equinox demonstrations during sunrise and sunset at the UMass sunwheel to welcome the coming of fall.

Located just south of Alumni Stadium, the UMass sunwheel is always open for visits. Informational sessions are held on the days that mark important seasonal events including the vernal equinox, summer solstice, winter solstice, and, most recently, the autumnal equinox.

The autumnal equinox specifies the first day of fall. The word, “equinox” literally translates to “equal night” meaning that on this day, there is an equal amount of daylight and nighttime.

Conceived by Dr. Judith S. Young, the UMass sunwheel is a circle of stones that mark the location of important astronomical occurrences including the sunrise and sunsets for the winter and summer solstices as well the moonrise and moonset directions. Resembling Stonehenge, the sunwheel is a calendar.

The UMass sunwheel is a continuing project of Dr. Young who wishes to someday add to 16 existing stones that currently makeup the sunwheel. The sunwheel and its future development is supported and funded predominantly by private donations, but the Healey Endowment, NASA, and the National Science foundation provided initial funding for the sunwheel. For more information on the sunwheel itself and a list of event dates click here.

Hope Crolius, a 13-year resident of the Puffton Village apartments, has seen more than her fair share of student shenanigans. Students making love in her parking lot. Young jocks ripping out the rental sign from its mooring. Not to mention vomit in the bushes.

“I am so fond of students when they’re sober,” she says. “They bring a tremendous amount of energy and creativity and they’re just young and full of life and they’re just lovable — except for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.”

Hope is one of the nearly 35,000 Amherst residents who both love and loathe the student population. This weekend their feelings come to the fore as 25,000 students return to the Pioneer Valley.

While the student population contributes roughly $2 billion to the local economy, including a large portion of revenue generated from restaurants and bars, residents pay the price in vandalism, noise violation and public safety hazards.

Clearly, heavy drinking in the Amherst area results in much more than a hangover.

On a local level, the reaction of locals ranges from minor annoyance at having to sidestep shattered glass on the sidewalk on Sunday mornings to fury at having to repeatedly phone the police to protect the peaceful soundscapes that dominate the Pioneer Valley in the summer months.

However, few of the area residents feel that student drinking should come to an abrupt halt, but rather that students ought to respect the community and pursue their recreational activities in a controlled manner.

“People have been getting drunk since man first crushed grapes, so it’s not like nobody got drunk, but drinking 5 drinks in under an hour, binge drinking, drinking to get drunk removes it from the social activity” controlled consumption would otherwise offer, Crolius says.

“I wouldn’t even necessarily say don’t drink because I think that’s unrealistic,” says Peter Wood, an addiction specialist at Cooley Dickenson Hospital. “I just wish there were more support in the college environment for engaging in other more fulfilling activities with each other that don’t include drinking.”

Most residents agree that the return of students breathes life into the community and feel grateful for the creativity and vitality they bring, according to Tony Maroulis, Executive Director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I don’t think that anyone who lives here is living here because they would have it any differently, despite the occasional complaint. Our community is enhanced by the student presence,” he says. “Without it, well, without it we would be Pelham.”

Each of the five colleges in the Pioneer Valley area have different policies concerning swine flu prevention, ranging from “flu buddies” to student isolation.

Tara Mahendrarajah, a sophomore Resident Assistant in the Brooks Dorm at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently built a bulletin board about swine flu. The board includes statistics, false rumors, symptoms and contact information for the University Health Services.

“Students who have the symptoms of swine flu are encouraged to stay in their room,” said Mahendrarajah. These individuals should look for a “flu buddy” to help get them their meals and class work. Both the dining commons and faculty on campus are aware of the situation and will be accommodating if circumstances arise, she said.

Last year, Amherst College has three confirmed cases of swine flu. But the school has and will continue to remain calm and follow health procedures, said Caroline Hanna of Public Affairs.

“Last spring, I think people did what they had to do in order to stay as healthy as possible,” said Hanna. “Everyone was rallying together!”

Raising awareness is high on the priority list for Amherst College staff and students, who are now doing everything from creating posters to hosting resident counselor workshops. Hand sanitizing stations have been installed in every building on campus, according to information on the school’s Web site. Students who show symptoms of the flu may be moved to isolated residential halls.

Smith College students who show symptoms are instructed to stay in their rooms until their fever has been absent for 24 hours.

“Smith’s Pandemic Planning Committee has been meeting regularly since the Spring 2009 outbreak of H1N1 influenza,” said Kristen Cole, director of Media Relations. “The group is monitoring the federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines in preparation for a possible recurrence of H1N1 in Fall 2009.”


As a result of these meetings, Smith has implemented additional policies, said Cole. Infected students are required to wear a face mask whenever they leave their rooms. Students are also encouraged to assemble self-care kits, including a thermometer, face masks and hand sanitizer.

Infected students at Mount Holyoke College will be sent to an isolated housing area on campus, said Media Relations Associate Mary Jo Curtis. However, isolated students last year found themselves falling behind in their classes due to the lack of Internet access in the buildings. Mount Holyoke has installed wireless Internet in all of their isolation areas to prevent this from recurring.

Swine flu policies at Hampshire College vary slightly from those of its neighboring colleges, as seen in an August letter to students and parents from Director of Health Services Sara Aierstuck. Rather than isolating infected students, Hampshire officials have decided to send students home with their families if they live within 250 miles of campus. If the student lives outside the 250-mile radius, then local isolation units will be made available.

Schools in the Amherst area return this week and reaction to planning for the swine flu has been mixed from some students and parents. Still, The Washington Post reported this week that “more than half of the nation’s colleges and universities tracking swine flu are reporting infected students, with more than 1600 cases within the first weeks of classes.”

The Five Colleges are tracking these reports and other information regarding the swine flu.