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Concerns emerge as flu season nears Health center expects more vaccines this year to battle possible problems > Jason (Dyers FOR THE GAMECOCK L Ample supplies of flu vaccine should be arriving at the Thomson Student Health Center by the end of October, and vaccinations will begin soon after, health center officials said. “We do not expect to have a shortage of the flu vaccine this season,” said Dr. Terry King, director of Clinical Services at the Thomson Student Health Center. “This year we have ordered 2,000 vaccines. That’s a slight increase from the number ordered last year.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this ^ year four suppliers are expected to ^ deliver between 71 million and 97 million doses of flu vaccine to the United States. South Carolina administers about 1 million vaccines each year. Last year’s shortage developed when the Chiron Corporation’s license to manufacture the flu vaccine was suspended by British regulators because of poor manufacturing practices and bacterial contamination. Chiron was to make 46 million to 48 million doses of the vaccine for distribution in the United States. The loss of Chiron’s share of the ^ vaccine left the U.S. with ^ approximately hair its supply, .south Carolina received around 619,018 vaccines, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. USC received only 500 of the 1,700 doses ordered. This year, Chiron has passed FDA inspections at its Liverpool, England facility. The company is shipping its lots to various distribution centers, but they cannot be distributed until the FDA approves. “As far as we know there is no issue, but the lots are still on hold,” said Dr. Shirley Jankelevich, medical P epidemiologist for DHEC. “According to Chiron, it is simply paperwork that the FDA has to complete.” PLU • 6 NURSING HEALTH KIT COMPETITION AIDS EVACUEES Hristm Highley FOR THE GAMECOCK » USC’s Student Nurses’ Association recently held ‘ a competition between the upper division, lower division and faculty of the nursing school. The competition produced supplies that went directly to the American Red Cross hurricane relief effort. Nursing students and faculty were notified in September of the competition to see who could raise the most health kits for Katrina victims. Boxes were placed in the dean’s office in the nursing building to hold the collected health kits. The kits, consisting of a hand ^ towel, washcloth, hair comb, nail P file or clippers, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and six adhesive bandages, were valued at $12. Competitors were instructed to wrap supplies in the hand towel and place them in the boxes (one each for the upper and lower divisions and the faculty) in the dean’s office. With 88 health kits collected, the faculty won the contest. The lower division came in second with 67 kits. “Gloria Fowler collected money (1ID«Z Irwin Ferdiansyah I The Associated Press A man feeds his rooster in Jakarta, Indonesia. The H5N1 strain of bird flu has swept through poultry populations in many parts of Asia since 2003, killing at least 62 people region wide and resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds. USC student’s boxing gym keeps local kids off streets, out of trouble Jess Dauis STAFF WRITER For one USC student, a masters degree program is about more than making the grade. Mitchell Smith, pursuing a Master of Social Work, opened a boxing gym in Columbia in August, with the twofold goal of getting kids off the streets and instilling in them a love of boxing. The gym, called Total Package, is located on Fairfield Road in what Smith calls a “rougher” area of Columbia, where children are more likely to be in danger of joining gangs or getting caught up in drug abuse. He works with two age groups, one 8 to 18, which, through a combination of boxing, mentoring and tutoring, are learning to have hope for bigger things in the future. “These kids need another home, positive role models or even big brothers and big sisters who can take them under their wing,” Smith said. “If (the kids) don’t have that nurturing at home, they’re going to find it -— and for some kids that’s what gangs are, that sense of being wanted. At the gym, we want you here, we need you here, but to be a part you (have) to change your ways.” Boxing was a natural idea for Smith when he was thinking of what he could do to help kids. Smith is a boxer, though he did not grow up with the sport. As a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic bobsled team, he had the chance to watch Olympic boxers train and practice, and decided to get involved with the sport. It quickly became something Smith loved. When it was time for him to work on a project for his degree, the idea of starting a boxing gym sprang to BOXMG • 6 Special to THE (fAMECOCK USC law student Bakari Sellers is seeking the Democratic nomination to be District 90 representative. INSIDE Viewpoints Steve Nuzum tackles one of the most popular dichotomies in our society; Steven Van Haren helps us fine-tune our BS-O-meters in light of recent natural disasters. 8 The Mix Not your typical boat show Multi-national ska-reggae band Regatta 69 will perform tonight at the New Brookland Tavern. 9 Sports !m t tsm Newtonian mechanics Jack-of-all-trades Syvelle Newton makes the switch to running back against Vanderbilt next Saturday. 12 Scant virus details confuses, upsets N. C. poultry workers The Rssociated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina poultry workers say they’ve been left in the dark as the world faces the looming threat of a potentially deadly bird flu hopscotching around the globe. Mariano Castro, 37, a quality control worker at a huge Case Farms poultry processing plant in Morganton, wondered 'why the company hadn’t held meetings to tell its workers about the potential risks. “It’s kind of terrifying,” said Leonel Escobar, 29, who makes $7.75 an hour to slice up to 25 chicken legs a minute. “I want to know what the company would do if the flu did come here.” . A deadly strain of avian flu has killed at least 60 people in Asia, most of them poultry workers. Authorities in Turkey and Romania confirmed their first cases of the disease over the weekend and the European countries began slaughtering thousands of domestic fowl on Sunday to stop the spread. President Bush said last week he’s growing more concerned about avian flu possibly spreading to people. He called on Congress to allow the military to enforce mass human POULTRY • 4 Jessica Egan /THE GAMECOCK A young boxer trains at Total Package, a gym on Fairfield Road owned by a USC graduate student. Law student seeking spot in state legislature Prom staff reports First-year USC law student Bakari Sellers has announced he is seeking the Democratic nomination for representative of District 90 in the 2006 election for the S.C. House of Representatives. The 21-year-old Sellers would be South Carolina’s youngest legislator and would represent Bamberg, Barnwell and Orangeburg counties. In a news release, Sellers said District 90 has to overcome economic hurdles such as higher unemployment and underperforming schools. “Economic success comes when we fund public schools equitably. It comes when we create an economic infrastructure for industry and jobs. It comes when we improve the quality of healthcare within the district.” Sellers has worked for U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn, D S.C., Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and the Rev. Charles White, the Southeastern regional director of the NAACP. He was also student government president at Morehouse College. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu RHA discusses dorm programming Gina Uasselli STAFF WRITER RHA senators, not RAs, are now responsible for bringing programs to residence halls, a decision topping the list of business at Tuesday night’s Residence Hall Association meeting. RHA President Terrill Wilkins, a third-year history student, addressed this issue in an e-mail he sent to senators before the meeting and used his executive report time to answer questions about the policy. RHA advisor Sean McGreevey also addressed the issue in his report. “We want the RAs to serve more of a mentoring role now,” and leave the programming to senators, McGreevey said. Guest speaker Adele Markowitz from Sexual Health and Violence Prevention also stressed the need for senators to bring programs to residence halls, specifically focusing on programs her department offers. “You can bring ice cream to these things and call it sex and cream,” Markowitz said. “All you have to do is call the office and make and appointment.” Markowitz also talked about U.S. RHfl • 4 i