| Summary: | page 4 Concordia's image important at all costs Exposing alcohol consumption does not respect student rights BY VANESSA WILHELMI Just when I thought it was over, it re-emerged. Everyone is well aware of the "scandalous" episodes of "binge drinking" at Concordia not too long ago. The news coverage, campus e-mails, Concordian articles and the involvement of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) marked a genuine concern and perhaps obsession with this "prob-lem." I have no point of contention against the fact that binge drinking is danger-ous. I do however have concerns in regard to the reactions and comments of the administration, students and the community. It's no secret that Concordia has a reputation to uphold with students both current and potential, families, alumni, faculty, staff and the communi-ty; but just how far and how destructive can maintaining this image be? Was Concordia's bubble of isolated ignorance on the verge of popping? Probably not. It's no surprise that col-lege students drink. What is surprising is the degree of denial which claims that it "doesn't happen at Concordia." Any negative view of the college needs to be eradicated. Although I've been at Concordia for three years now, I've only recently been exposed to the power of the Concordia image in the community. The other day I was at the salon (central command station for gossip and information ex-change, I suppose). Here, I overheard an older lady complaining to her hairdress-er about how terrible it was that "those Concordia kids" were taken to the hospi-tal for drinking too much. She justified it by saying, "there's no way they would do that on their own, there must have been some MSU students there." Immediately following the inci-dents with students being admitted to the hospital, there was a plethora of responses and coverage by the admin-istration, local media and the student body. The Fargo Forum wouldn't let it die, the administration sent out numer-ous e-mails with concerns and statistics and students wrote articles and par-ticipated in SADD. I'd like to say again that I understand the concern for the safety of students and the decisions that they make but in the end, everyone is going to do as they please regardless of the college they attend. Exploiting the trials and tribulations of those students affected for the purpose of preserving their precious Concordia image is just plain wrong. What is surprising is the degree of denial which claims that it "doesn't happen at Concordia." Any negative view of the college needs to be eradicated. Honestly, I was outraged when I read the article written in early October entitled, "Concordia Students Hospital-ized." This article not only included the names of the students involved but it also divulged other personal specific information about their experiences, against their will. I feel as if this author was making examples out of them and singling them out. I guarantee these are not the only students to which this has happened. In no way does this form of "exposing" student consumption of alcohol respect the rights or wishes of these students. I would go further to argue that publiciz-ing their identities for the purpose of at-taching real consequences to real people hurts the student body as a whole. I firmly believe that students will be less likely to seek help when witnessing the objectification experienced by their peers. So, who does this image satisfy? My opinion is that it satisfies Concor-dia's need to perpetuate their innocence and shift the blame by any means neces-sary. It's a destructive solution. Dialogue on bird flu necessary Ignorance could lead to misplaced resources BY JESSE HACKEY In the past few weeks discussion of the possibility of an avian flu pandemic has become increasingly grave. The discovery that the flu pan-demic of 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide, was avian has given recent talks the tone of inevitable disaster. In response to this heightened awareness, both the President and the Senate have put forth multibillion dollar plans for how to deal with a possible outbreak. This is not a time when we as Americans can sit back and watch; the increased globaliza-tion of the world assures the quick spread of any large virus. If human-to-human spreading starts it will be at the doorsteps of every major nation within days. The plans created by the Senate and the President are a start, but without a national dialogue it will be far too easy for the public to lose sight of the impending danger. Most scientists believe that an avian flu pandemic is inevitable. The problem is that there is no way to know when exactly it will start becoming a serious threat to humans; years could pass before a large outbreak. Because of this uncertainty about when the outbreak will occur, the major question that is in danger of being overlooked is what should be done in the interim to fight the virus. The United States must work to get more vaccines and create a plan for distribution, but what can-not be forgotten is what can be done at the source of the prob-lem. Instead of strictly focusing on national issues such as what to do about airports, the gov-ernment must begin working with the countries hardest hit by the current form of the avian flu. Asian countries, and soon African ones, are having an in-creasingly difficult time dealing with the effects of the virus. It will help nobody to leave these countries in the dust and to turn our backs on them would be a missed opportunity to learn more about the virus. For these reasons it is very important for the citizens of the United States to put pressure on both the national govern-ment and on other citizens. The worst thing that could happen is for people to lose sight of the fact that work can be done right now to help fight the avian flu. If the debacle of Hurricane Katrina taught us anything, it is that we cannot allow preparations for a future This is not a time when we as Americans can sit back and watch; the increased globalization of the world assures the quick spread of any large virus. disaster to get caught up in red tape. Stockpiles of vaccines will eventually help, but what is needed almost as much is for there to be a worldwide effort to learn as much as we can about this virus. Thomas Paine once said of another crisis that, "these are^ the times that try men's souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country." The context is dif-ferent but the sentiment works just as well. Do not shrink from what is required. Write to your representatives and talk to your friends and family. Most people probably think that their contribution will mean nothing, but without a national dialogue we run the risk of misplacing our resources.
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