Brown and White Vol. 120 no. 6

              Vol. 120 No. 6
Friday, February 11, 2011
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
Men’s basketball to face Army
Page 12
ONLINE
Follow us on Twitter
twitter.com/lubrownwhite
What DADT means
for ROTC
Page 5
LIFESTYLE
By CHRISTINE MARTIN
The flu is raging throughout the Lehigh Valley and has made its way onto campus even before the start of the flu season.
“The only thing we know right now is that the Lehigh Valley is currently leading the state in the number of flu cases, but we don’t know why that is,” said Dr. Susan Kitei, director of the Health and Wellness Center.
“By the end of flu season, the numbers may even out. We are seeing cases earlier this year. With the exception of last year, when we saw pandemic flu in the fall, we generally start to see flu about 10 days to two weeks into the spring semester,” she said.
“This year, we saw a few cases prior to the win­ter break and then again right away when classes started.”
Lehigh participates in the state flu surveillance program that is mandated by the Department of Health, she said. There have been confirmed cases of both strains of influenza A, including the H1N1 strain that was involved with the pandemic last year.
Some students chose to get vaccinated this year. Stephen Scoza, ’11, was among them. Other stu­dents, including Chris Zappile, ’14, and Meagan Mc­Donald, ’11, did not get the vaccination.
McDonald said she did not feel like paying for it.
“I got the flu shot because my parents wanted me to,” Scoza said. “I also knew about the increase in cases because word of mouth and people being class. I think the increase is from people drinking a lot or are stressed from school or able to get enough sleep.”
Zappile knew about the increase in cases be­cause she said she “saw people outside and smoking, getting cold and getting sick.”
Around this time, people are usually sick, so this increase is unnoticeable, McDonald said.
Kitei said the best way to prevent the flu is to get the vaccination. The Health and Wellness Center had a large turnout this year with around 600 com­munity members choosing to get vaccinated.
“Since you are much less likely to get the flu if you’ve been vaccinated, those who do not get the flu shot are at a relatively higher risk of getting sick,” she said.
“Those who chose not to get vaccinated can try to protect themselves by washing their hands fre­quently, getting adequate sleep, eating healthily and
Flu season takes toll on Lehigh’s campus
By MICHELLE RUMSEY
Although stress is found among students of all ages at Lehigh and other universities, a recent survey by the Higher Education Research Institute indicates that stress among first-year students at four-year universities like Lehigh is at an all-time high.
The survey recognizes that many factors con­tribute to stress among first-years, including financ­es, students’ mental and emotional health and the perception of the job market.
Linda Bell, director of Financial Aid at Lehigh, said the need for aid has stayed consistent during the economic downturn of the past few years. Un­fortunately, she said, it seems that fewer students are receiving aid.
The university has a certain amount of aid money it can distribute each year. According to Bell, the No. 1 one reason students do not receive the full amount they are entitled to is that they fail to complete and hand in the necessary paperwork on time.
Students who are given financial aid are some­times put on a plan that requires a work study job, in addition to the pressures of regular schoolwork. Having a job can act as a stressor for some students because it takes time away from studying and the social aspects of college life.
Elina Spektor, a pre-doctoral intern with Coun­seling and Psychological Services, attributed much of the stress felt by first-years to the difficulty ad­justing to some of the social and environmental aspects of college life.
“Some students are stressed because of the lack of rigidity in scheduling that they may have had in high school,” Spektor said. “Students have more responsibilities in college, and being away from a support group like family can be difficult. Some students feel like they just don’t fit in,”
As social circles start forming, it is difficult for
See STRESS Page 3
Stress of first-year college students at record high
New GPS tracking on buses benefits students
By TAYLOR BRANDES
Tired of waiting outside for the bus in inclement weather? Hate that feeling of just missing the bus? Well, a new bus-tracking program could help.
Last week, Lehigh announced a deal with StarPath Technologies, LLC, for a system that will allow students to track the locations of university buses on their phones or computers.
Vehicles are equipped with Star­Path GPS fleet management. Students are able to access www.lubuses.com to see the location of all buses in real time.
All bus routes — athletics, Moun­taintop, Saucon Village and even the Take A Ride Around Campus Safely program — will be included in the system. The website currently tracks 13 buses. Filters on the website allow students to designate a specific route or vehicle they want to track.
Christopher Christian, director of Transportation Services, said any stu­dent with a smartphone or computer will be able to access the bus informa­tion. Because the service is web-based, students with smartphones will not need to download an application, and therefore the service is free.
The new GPS-based systems will enable students to wait in a safe or sheltered place until they know the bus is coming. This can be beneficial dur­ing inclement weather, or to students who are off campus late at night, Chris­tian said.
Christian said he had been looking into these kinds of systems for about 10 years. Over the past year and a half, he tested 10 different systems and priced four. Christian settled on StarPath be­cause of its universality and ease of use.
Despite “other stuff out there that can do a little more,” Christian said
See BUS Page 4
See FLU Page 4
Musical melody
B&W photo by ERICA GOLD
The Lehigh Melismatics performed Saturday at the Lehigh A Cappella Concert in Lamberton Hall. Their next performance is at the ICCA Quarterfinals at Rutgers University tomorrow, where they placed second last year.