The Current - Fall Issue

FALL 2020

UNDERRESEARCHED & UNDERREPRESENTED Women’s Healthcare

A IS FOR ADDERALL Adderall’s popularity among college students THECURRENTMSU.COM 1

221 W. Saginaw St., Lansing, MI 48933 Phone: 517.203.0123 Fax: 517.203.3334 Publisher Tiffany Dowling Account Managers Megan Fleming Liz Reno-Hayes Jennifer Hodges Melissa DeMott Editors Kate Birdsall Mary Gajda Graphic Designer Aspen Smit Writers Emma Kolakowski, Shelby Smith, Nicole Glynn, Tristan Tanner, Sara Gilson, Sierra Jezuit, Jaclyn Krizanic, Rachel Gignac, Sarah Haggart, Kathryn De Vries Editors Leah Wright, Emily Hobrla, Abigail Scott, Katherine Marchlewski, Elizabeth Carter, Sydney Wilson, John Castro, Joey Warren, Aaron Applebey, Sophie Schmidt Social Media Sara Gilson, Sarah Haggart, Nicole Glynn, Elizabeth Carter, Rachel Gignac Layout Team Leah Wright, Emily Hobrla, Sydney Wilson Jaclyn Krizanic, Kathryn De Vries Marketing Team Emma Kolakowski, Aaron Applebey, Abigail Scott, Sierra Jezuit, Joey Warren Distribution Katherine Marchlewski, John Castro, Tristan Tanner, Sophie Schmidt, Shelby Smith

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

By Joey Warren

Dear reader, Thank you for roaming through the pages of this issue of The Current. Perhaps you will adore it as much as we do. We hope that your time spent reading will be something that you ponder long after you’ve finished our magazine.

For this issue of The Current we wanted to share with our readers some of the matters that mean the most to us.

Thank you for indulging our desire for advocacy in this issue of The Current. We hope that by reading, you might feel moved to improve the world around you. Whether it be small and meaningful or large and earth-shaking, we are proud to be on this journey with you.With new knowledge of some of the important affairs of the world, we invite you to look towards the future with optimism. During times of colorlessness, we want our magazine to lift your thoughts towards brighter speculations.

Yours optimistically, Joey Warren

Joey Warren is a senior in professional and public writing. When not studying you can find her watching Netflix in her pajamas, advocating for women and LGBTQ youth or taking pictures of the squirrels on campus. You can follow her on Instagram @jortay_ole.

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Give us a call at 517.203.0123 or email at kelly@m3group.biz The Current is published seasonally by M3 Group, Lansing, MI. All rights reserved. Š 2020 M3 Group No part of this magazine may be reproduced whole or in part without the expressed consent of the publisher.

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CON TEN TS

Food During the Lockdown Ensuring children had food during the pandemic

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Victoria’s Secret’s Non-Inclusive Fantasy The perspective from a Victoria’s Secret transgender employee

10

A is for Adderall Adderall’s popularity among college students

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20

Who Exactly is Watching You? The privacy violations of location tracking and surveillance

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Underresearched and Underrepresented Women’s healthcare

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34

38

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Spartan Shame Some spartans struggle to find pride in the green and white in the midst of seemingly unending scandals

Gender After Gen Eds A look into gender disparity in higher education

Bridging the Representational Gap Between Physical and Mental Disability within Academia Students with learning disabilities

Up in Vapor Why younger generations are continuing to vape despite the high level of risk associated with e-cigarette products

The Reality of Multiple Sclerosis Living with Multiple Sclerosis

THECURRENTMSU.COM 03

FOOD DURING THE LOCKDOWN

By Tristan Tanner

The COVID-19 pandemic caused much change in the daily lives of everyone in the world. In Michigan, the school year was cut short by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in March to keep people in their homes to slow the spread of the virus. Before this, however, schools in the Greater Lansing Area, like the others in the state, were ordered to close their doors for a few weeks while the situation surrounding the virus was assessed. While this was frustrating for everyone involved, for some students more was disrupted than their school year. Students who rely on schools for their meals were suddenly without a main source of food during the week. When the announcement was made that the schools would be closing indefinitely, the faculty and school district of East Lansing put together a plan to make sure that the students who relied on the schools for their food were not left hungry. Though this plan eventually changed with the official state response, the East Lansing School District and its faculty always made sure the students who would be most affected by no longer having school would have the food that they needed.

When the mayor of East Lansing, Ruth Beier, declared a state of emergency on March 13th, all public buildings were shut down so that the residents could practice social distancing. By March 16th, the East Lansing Public Schools (ELPS) had a plan, reported on

by Alice Dreger on the ELPS official website, in place to help deliver food to children. It was specified in a press release that these deliveries were not only for students enrolled in schools, but for anyone below the age of 18 who was going to be impacted by the coming weeks and needed help getting food. Locations and times that food would be dropped off were given for several different locations around the city. The plan stated that the parents or guardians of anyone 18 years old or younger would be able to pick up the

food at the specified time and locations. Two days’ worth of meals would be provided on Mondays and Wednesdays and three days’ worth on Fridays. To help pass out the meals, many teachers from the ELPS volunteered to spend their mornings making sure that the children of East Lansing had food during the months that the schools would be closed. This food was donated by community members and those volunteering to work with the program along with Chartwells Food Service.

Nearly 2,400 meals were handed out by volunteers on the first day of the program.

This system was successful in making sure that the children of East Lansing who needed the help had access to the food, however there was another hurdle that the volunteers and administrators could not see coming. On March 23rd, Governor Whitmer announced a shelter-in-place order for Michigan.

According to this executive order the governor banned what was called “in-person work that is not necessary to sustain and protect life.”

This order meant that the original plan, which had only been in place for a week, would no longer be effective as the new order put stricter rules in place regarding when people could leave their house and how many at a time could be in specific places. The morning after the executive order was put into place, the ELPS had to adjust their schedules and figure out a new system to make sure that the meals were passed out to the families still in need. The solution, which was quickly announced on the school district Facebook page, was that the number of deliveries would be reduced to decrease extended contact and ensure the safety of the volunteers.

Now, instead of a system where people would hand out the meals, it would shift to a drive-thru like system where the person receiving the meals would bring a laundry basket or box and have the food placed

inside as they drove through the line. While this may not have been as fulfilling for some who wanted to keep helping the kids in several parts of the city, the drive-thru system still made sure that the food was given out to those who need it.

In an uncertain time it would have been easy to leave some of the most vulnerable behind. The teachers and administrators of East Lansing Public Schools ensured that the children of East Lansing had food during the pandemic. They kept up with the changes as the changes came, made sure to adjust the way food was distributed and refused to give up when the situations made it more difficult to keep making sure the kids in need had food on their tables.

Tristan Tanner is a senior majoring in professional and public writing. He came back to school after getting a BA in English with a film studies minor because he liked undergrad so much the first time around.

When he is not doing school work he can be found reading comic books, playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends or watching and talking about movies. If you have a random question about Spider-Man, there is a good chance that he knows the answer.

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06 FALL 2020

VICTORIA’S SECRET’S NON-INCLUSIVE FANTASY

By Nicole Glynn

It’s no secret that the modeling and fashion industries have experienced loads of controversy in the past. Gucci’s blackface loafers and turtleneck, Revolve’s fat-shaming sweater and Burberry’s hoodie with a noose around the neck are just a few of the industry’s worst controversies from recent years. Overall, a lack of racial diversity and a large portion of the modeling industry considering a size 6 to be too large are just some of the many issues that plague the fashion industry—and at the center of it all lies Victoria’s Secret. The most well-known lingerie company in the world discriminates against body types, sexualities, races and gender identities, creating an unrealistic, non-inclusive fantasy that they market to their viewers. Until August 2019, the company was largely viewed by the public as openly transphobic due to a number of controversies televised around the globe.

Back in 2018, the Chief Marketing Director of Victoria’s Secret, Ed Razek, made a transphobic comment in an interview with Vogue that made headlines. Razek said, “Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s

a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors that are carping at us. And they carp at us because we’re the leader.…We attempted to do a television special for plussizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t.”

Razek insisted the company had seen many transgender and plus-size models during the casting process, however, they did not make the cut as many other “traditional” models did not make the cut either. He made a point that, years ago, the brand’s parent company, LBrands, attempted to have a plus-size lingerie show with Lane Bryant, another one of their former companies.

However, he claimed that the show was not profitable or successful and that no one wants to see a plus-size fashion show.

After all of this chaos, Razek made a public apology via the Victoria’s Secret Twitter account. Unfortunately, his words stuck with the company’s image and continued to build upon the brand’s existing stockpile of controversy, causing a severe decrease in

sales and an all-time low in viewership for the 2018 fashion show.

While many people associate the lingerie company with being largely transphobic, people don’t normally acknowledge the fact that there are several transgender women who work for the company at the retail level, despite discrimination. At Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Michigan, the Victoria’s Secret storefront is one of the largest, most successful locations for the franchise in the Midwest.

While this location welcomes large profits, it also welcomes one of these forgotten transgender employees.

Vanessa Roberts was assigned male at birth, but she always knew she was female at heart. “I’ve always known that I felt female ever since preschool. My whole life I had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to do anything masculine whatsoever,” said Roberts. “I started growing my hair out when I was in late elementary school. And by the time I was 14, I came out and started living as a woman full-time.”

Roberts was disowned by the majority of her family and experienced severe bullying THECURRENTMSU.COM 07

and discrimination at school. In high school, her classmates would follow her home from school and, at one point, even tried to run her over with a car in the school’s parking lot. As a result, Roberts dropped out of high school and entered the workforce at a young age.

Once in the professional world, Roberts still experienced discrimination on a daily basis, being denied job opportunities and medical care due to her gender identity. However, she eventually was hired at Sephora to work parttime as a sales associate and makeup artist.

She worked there for a few years until her supervisor received a management position at Victoria’s Secret and recruited Roberts to begin working at the lingerie company with 08 FALL 2020

her. In November 2015, Roberts had her first full-time job at Victoria’s Secret.

she was surrounded by this femininity and a sea of stereotypically pretty things.

Razek’s previous statements implied that plus-size and transgender women do not want to purchase their products, however, it is quite the opposite. When asked why she was drawn to Victoria’s Secret in the first place, Roberts explained that many transgender women still in the early stages of living full-time are drawn to extremely feminine things. With that being said, Victoria’s Secret is one of the most exaggeratedly feminine companies on the market, glorifying feminine aspects and sex appeal with copious amounts of silk, lace and spandex. Roberts absolutely loved working in a store environment where

“Being a trans woman, I think it’s easy to latch on to anything that’s feminine because when you’re pre-transition you’re not allowed to express your femininity or be attracted to having or doing feminine things,” Roberts said. “I think that once you get any freedom whatsoever to do that, a lot of trans women latch on to super feminine things like that, and Victoria’s Secret’s image is very glamorous, bombshell, like sexy, sexy, sexy. I think I was just really excited to work at a store that had that really glamorous image, and you know, I felt great wearing the product, so I was excited to work there.”

While the lingerie company has had 295 models from over 53 different countries over the years, according to the HuffPost, the brand attempts to represent a wide range of nationalities and ethnicities. However, this so-called racial diversity fails to prove itself on the runway. All of the models are traditionally beautiful, generally having lighter skin and thinner facial features. The lingerie brand has also lacked diversity in almost all other areas for decades. Until recently, plus-size and transgender models were left out of the mix altogether, whereas other companies like Rihanna’s lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty, had already included transgender women from the start. According to “Women’s Wear Daily,” Victoria’s Secret welcomed their first transgender angel, Valentina Sampaio, a 22-year-old Brazilian model in 2019.

Following the controversy sparked by Razek, the addition of this new model attempted to demonstrate that the brand as a whole is not transphobic, even if Razek himself was.

According to The New York Times, Razek actually chose to resign due to the public criticism shortly after Sampaio was welcomed aboard. Sampaio made history as the first transgender model at the notorious Victoria’s Secret and was largely accepted by the company’s audience.

After Razek’s statement came out, many of Roberts’ coworkers refrained from bringing up the issue at work. “Sometimes when trans-related issues come up I notice a lot of the general population that it doesn’t apply to or a lot of cisgender people just don’t understand and can’t put themselves in a transperson’s shoes enough to understand why something is wrong. So they don’t really know where to start as far as having an opinion,” said Roberts. However, one of Roberts’ managers did make a point of making sure she was okay during those troubling times. Aside from the lack of comfort

from her coworkers, she was not bothered by the incident all that much. She was not going to let the words of one man affect her.

“I wasn’t surprised because Victoria’s Secret kind of flaunts this very dated idea of what beauty is. It’s very supermodel-centric, it’s very tall, super thin, blonde, brunette models.

That kind of girl is their idea of diversity. It’s very heteronormative. They don’t really have anyone that’s that different looking,” Roberts said. “I think [Razek] was wrong saying that it wasn’t a fantasy—it just wasn’t part of their dated fantasy.”

Roberts claims that aside from the televised controversies, Victoria’s Secret is actually a very trans-friendly company to work for.

After being denied it for years, she was finally provided health care working full-time at Victoria’s Secret. In addition to finally being granted health care, her provided plan also covers transgender procedures as well— something that is not common for many health care providers. There are some procedures Roberts wishes to get done in the future, and she is happy to know that her health care will now allow her to receive them with more ease than before.

“Victoria’s Secret is actually a really progressive company in the sense that it’s a company that offers trans-inclusive health insurance. For me, I’m on hormones. I’ve been working toward other surgical things that I want to do, and my insurance through work pays for it all including my hormones and my therapy visits because you used to have to get letters of recommendation from therapists to qualify for surgery. But it will even pay for transgender-related procedures. They just cover a lot of it,” Roberts explained.

the company had some kind of scandal with an employee at another store in another state, where a white employee was saying racist things to a black customer. After that, the whole company made us all watch this video on inclusion, and I remember them specifically talking about race, gender, ethnicity, religion and gender identity, and they actually made a point to mention that. So the company itself is actually pretty decent in that way.”

Overall, Roberts enjoys working for the company and supports the company as a whole in being progressive. While the external appearance of Victoria’s Secret might appear to be discriminatory from the media, the truth is that they are internally inclusive.

After years of discrimination, Roberts has learned a thing or two about combating discrimination. Here is her advice for other transgender individuals: “Well, I think that in general being trans, being a minority, it’s really easy to feel alone in the world, like nobody understands you. So I think it’s really important to stay strong and know who you are. You have a right to stand up for how you want to be treated. You have a right to be treated like a person. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I have a right to be treated like a person because sometimes I just don’t get treated like a person.”

Nicole Glynn is a junior double majoring in professional writing and advertising management. She currently writes for VIM Magazine as a contributor to the women’s fashion team and is also the External Marketing Director for the Beta Theta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta. She can be found asking every single one of her friends which picture to post to Instagram, what caption to use, and most importantly, going against every opinion her friends gave her in the process.

In regards to the company’s progression, Roberts also said, “A couple of years ago, THECURRENTMSU.COM 09

A IS FOR ADDERALL

By Jaclyn Krizanic

There is one common ground that all college students can agree on: stress. Long nights can turn into grueling all-nighters as students struggle to meet mounting deadlines. Yet, where do some students turn in order to keep up in class and continue this vigorous cycle of work? Adderall.

study and research the usage of Adderall throughout history and into today’s usage rates—specifically looking in on a college campus. This has been occurring for the past two decades according to the NCHR. Students being prescribed or not turn to the study drug.

Students with Adderall prescriptions may as well have a target on their back; students bombard, beg and peer-pressure to sell them their prescriptions. “Hey if you have any of your prescription left over, do you think you could just give me some extras?” is a common question for those seeking easy access for “Addy.”

Adderall seems to be sweeping around college campuses. This has become a silent but well-known fact amongst students.

A study done by PSYCOM shows how “Across the U.S., nearly one in six college students now say they’ve used stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin, or Dexedrine–drugs normally prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)–without a prescription, according to a recent, national survey by Ohio State University. Seventy-nine percent used them to study, according to The College Prescription Drug Study of 19,539 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from 26 institutions across the United States” (PSYCOM). This is only half the struggle with the use of unprescribed Adderall amongst students on campus.

Adderall is typically prescribed to those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). According to the National Center for Health Research (NCHR), “ADHD is a brain disorder that makes it difficult to concentrate and increases impulsive behavior. Prescription stimulants help to reduce these symptoms.

However, many people use these drugs for non-medical purposes and without a prescription.” This is no surprise to those who 10 FALL 2020

There has been a rise in hospital visits due to the unknown effects of taking this drug unprescribed. Another study, according to John Hopkins University, shows hospital visits have risen over 156 percent that was taken between the years of 2006 to 2011. Many college students think taking their friend’s prescription will cause no harm to themselves.

Also during this study it was discovered that the actual prescriptions have dropped and the casual usage of Adderall has increased over 67 percent.

In an interview conducted by PSYCOM with Dr. Lian-Yu Chen, Chen says, “The health risks include cardiovascular problems, addiction, and psychiatric comorbidities.” For students taking Adderall illegally unaware of potential side effects, doing personal research could help those who may not know why they are experiencing abnormal symptoms.

In passing, students will talk about their finals week dependence on Adderall. It’s casual.

As a student myself, I wonder why no one is truly talking about this. I was able to interview a handful of students who attend MSU about their own experiences with using and selling

THECURRENTMSU.COM 11

Adderall? Do any of your friends try to take advantage of it?”

“Yes, absolutely. But, it’s part of my routine where I take my meds so not being on it seems very weird or taking them feels weird and I think I feel different. Honestly I feel like shit sometimes when I sell my prescription because I know what I am doing is wrong and my parents would be disappointed but sometimes I need money”.

“How much money do you sell each pill for?”

“Usually, 5 dollars if I know them and they are my friend. But…I have raised the price to double or triple that amount before.”

the drug. All the students wish to remain anonymous and pseudonyms will be used in their place.

drink caffeine if I know I’m going to take Adderall otherwise it makes me even more shaky.”

The most illuminating conversation I had was with Josh, a MSU junior majoring in Biology, who uses Adderall without a prescription.

In order to have the ability to focus on schoolwork, but also trying to juggle their appetite seems to be a switch of priority. Not being able to eat because if they do, nausea sets in and can take a toll on their entire day.

All in order to study for an exam the night before, do an assignment due at midnight and try to maintain their sleep schedule. It makes me wonder if all of this is worth it for the outcomes that can arise.

“I’ve only been doing it since college… so three years. I only do it during finals week and days that I have exams within 12 hours of each other.

Whether that’s exams on the same day or one exam at night and one early in the morning”.

I followed up, asking if they have a routine to prepare. They describe, “to prepare for it, I just make sure I eat a good amount beforehand because it makes me lose my appetite, so I don’t eat much while on it and just make sure I drink lots of water while on it to keep myself hydrated. Also, I try not to 12 FALL 2020

While there are plenty of buyers on MSU’s campus, students prescribed the medication have been profitable in selling it. One junior fitting this description was Allison, who was able to answer another one of my questions.

“What’s it like having a prescription for

A New York Times writer, Casey Schwartz, shares her own story of using Adderall in college and how it impacted her and those around her in the article Generation Adderall.

Schwartz writes, “Adderall wiped away the question of willpower. Now I could study all night, then run 10 miles, then breeze through that week’s New Yorker, all without pausing to consider whether I might prefer to chat with classmates or go to the movies.

It was fantastic. I lost weight. That was nice, too. Though I did snap at friends, abruptly accessing huge depths of fury I wouldn’t have thought I possessed.” Schwartz understands what students face and why they turn to Adderall. Why wouldn’t she want to get everything she needed done in a fraction of the time all while enjoying it and not worrying if other aspects of her life had to suffer? It’s understandable.

However, there was a time during her senior year in college where she was taken to the hospital: “I had slept more than a handful of hours, and I was taking more and more pills to compensate. Suddenly, when I looked up from the page, the bright room

seemed to dilate around me, as if I weren’t really there but rather stuck in some strange mirage. I seized with panic — what was happening? I tried to breathe, to snap myself back into reality, but I couldn’t. Shakily, I stood and made my way toward the phones.

I dialed my friend Dave in his dorm room.

‘I’m having some kind of problem in the Sci Li,’ I told him. My own voice sounded as if it belonged to someone else. An hour later, I was in an ambulance, being taken through the snowstorm to the nearest hospital.”

After her traumatic experience there was a moment where Schwartz decided to try and stop taking adderall. Her struggle of being on and off the pill lasted for a year until she finally was able to detach herself. She had no idea that this recovery period would last as long as it did. But once she managed to regain control of her addiction, she decided to do further looking into what Adderall is.

Schwartz studied the side effects, chemical makeup, and the neuroscience of why it can be hard to break the habit.

Tedious research mixed with first-hand experience aids the exploration of any kind of medication. Schwartz’s research that came from how neuroscience breaks down the science behind what Adderall is and how it works in the brain made it easier to understand why this habit is difficult to break.

Especially when chemicals such as dopamine and norepinephrine are released while taking these amphetamines. In other ways, these same chemicals are released during sex and while eating ones favorite dessert for other examples. This then begins to generate a chemical release that rushes throughout the brain which helps with motivation and focus.

The recipient of the drug makes them want to continue those ‘feel good’ symptoms around.

Although when trying to detach from this arousal the dopamine receptors vanish. This

makes it harder each time someone tries to stop. However, this explains the horrid feelings of withdrawal after discontinuing the use of Adderall – or anything with dopamine.

This often leads to questions if the brain ever returns to normal – as in releases these chemicals naturally on its own – after quitting.

Although school can be challenging to manage at all times, even with keeping to an in-depth schedule, Adderall seems to still show up in more than this generalization of a study enhancer. Adderall has a handful of side effects that usually most people endure while taking this medication regardless if they are prescribed or not. One symptom in particular seems to draw people’s attention: the suppression of one’s appetite. Some who take this prescription do not only want it to help them concentrate and get hours-on-hours of work done in half the time or less, but they take this stimulant to lose weight. Kelly, a student at MSU, speaks about not only her addiction she has now obtained through her unprescribed usage of Adderall, but how she has become more enticed to take this medication daily due to her weight loss she has noticed.

her GPA seems to have grown into something negative.

“I’ve been taking an unprescribed Adderall for over a few months now because I noticed my other friends and even my boyfriend all take it. But now after using it for some time, I feel nauseous. It depends at times, but usually it can happen even on the onset of seeing food in front of me after I take it. Even if I go over a day without it the symptoms don’t fade.

I feel as if my appetite will never be the same as it used to be, but that’s okay. I am actually not seeing a problem here. I have found something that has not only helped increase my academic performance but also causes me to just not eat and the result is weight-loss without the extra trying aspect to it. Sure, I still workout but I only do it because I know I’m not eating as much so I know weight will come off faster.”

“I can’t not take Adderall…especially when I wake up. If I don’t my whole day feels out of the norm. I can see that maybe it’s not the best idea but what’s wrong with it? I’m not the only one here who takes Adderall unprescribed. I feel as if this drug has become so normalized that why should anyone be worried to take it?

Everyone’s doing it. It’s not a big deal”, she exclaims to me after I ask her “why do you take Adderall?”.

She continues to dive into her struggle with the usage of her Adderall and how her addiction caused significant weight-loss results. What may have started off as a way to increase THECURRENTMSU.COM 13

with all different technologies that can grab our attention away from learning. Classes shifting to online platforms in the spring of 2020 certainly didn’t help. This adds to the competition to where a student needs to pay attention. Looking at the PowerPoint in-class lectures that are projected all over the class or on your laptop that has the ability to open up multiple tabs at once can make it tempting to multitask. To say that students are capable of paying full attention during any kind of lecture over an hour would be hard to believe. This creates a certain need for medications to help with concentration.

Students remain unbothered by the illegality of such a decision. This has been happening for quite some time now.

Though, she is not alone. Numerous students, male and female, have reached for this drug in order to lose weight. But those who are prescribed to this are feeling the impact of sudden weight-loss through a significant loss of appetite.

The Addiction Center’s website would be a first step to visit if you, a friend or family member seems to be struggling with any type of addiction. However, the use of Adderall mixed with other substances, such as alcohol, can lead to a risk of a fatal overdose. Something that should be known amongst college students especially at a Big Ten University where going out to the bars and partying seems to hold a certain societal value at MSU. Understandably, not everyone who takes Adderall will conclude into an addiction to it.

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But it is something that should be monitored seriously and carefully. Usually those who become addicted to Adderall according to The Addiction Center tend to care and put their taking of Adderall before all else and feel they cannot function without it. This includes ignoring important obligations to family and friends. Relationships can suffer and so can physical health. For those using a prescription don’t be alarmed, addiction and worse effects cannot develop if taking the dose recommended by your doctor. However, the focus on Adderall addiction mainly stems from those who take it illegally and misuse the dose amount. Everyone is different. Therefore, not everyone will react to the same amount taken as others.

It is important and useful to understand some of the background before diving into any waters. It can be difficult to focus nowadays

Having access to a stimulant that can help steer focus makes sense for college students to use even if it comes with a price beyond financial—death. Yet, what is the cost?

Students who have this ability to take Adderall and aid their attention, is it fair for those who don’t use Adderall? Could these enhancement drugs, that are used illegally, be creating a curve in grading? If universities understand the mental strain that is now hitting each new wave of students throughout generations due to the increase in use, shouldn’t there be a greater discussion over mental health and if students should be able to incorporate mental health days into submission of assignments or to miss classes without penalty. At the end of it all, was the “A” worth it?

Jaclyn Krizanic is a junior studying professional writing and minoring in graphic design. Jaclyn plans to apply her knowledge and skill sets she has gained from her major into her current, future and professional work. Jaclyn loves to write poetry and inspires to publish a book of poems and short stories upon her graduation.

THE FAST, EASY, AND SAFE WAY TO PAY: CONTACTLESS CARDS

By Deidre Davis, MSUFCU Chief Marketing Officer

When the COVID-19 health crisis forced people to change how they think about their payments, using contactless credit and debit cards with tap to pay technology exploded in popularity. But social distancing aside, do these advances in technology actually make life any faster, easier, or safer?

What is tap to pay?

Tap to pay uses near field communication (NFC) technology. Each card has a contactless NFC chip and radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna.

To complete a transaction, your contactless credit or debit card uses one of its radio frequencies to create a one-time code. There’s no need to swipe, sign, or dip your card.

Tap to pay is also faster than the EMV chips commonly found in debit and credit cards.

Typically, a contactless payment takes one to five seconds to complete, compared with up to 45 seconds for cards with chips. Contactless technology is definitely a fast way to pay!

How does tap to pay work?

It’s easy: Look. Check your debit or credit card for the contactless indicator and the merchant’s checkout terminal for the contactless symbol.

Tap. When prompted, hold your card near the card reader.

Go. Once you get payment confirmation, you’re good to go!

Is tap to pay secure?

The one-time code created for each tap to pay transaction is sent with account information that does not expose actual account details.

By sending a unique code for each purchase, consumers won’t have to worry about their account information being misused or stolen.

These types of payments can also make it harder for thieves to steal information. Mobile payments and contactless cards don’t transmit the account holder’s name, card number, or three-digit security code, making tap to pay a safer payment option.

Do merchants accept tap to pay?

Using debit and credit cards that have the contactless payment technology is becoming widely accepted. According to an August 2019 Forbes article, more than 60% of Visa payments are made using contactless cards and 75% of the top 100 merchants accept contactless payments.

Where can I get a contactless card so that I can use tap to pay?

Certain card issuers currently offer contactless cards. MSUFCU began issuing its Visa Debit and Credit Cards with contactless technology earlier this year. The Credit Union is issuing contactless cards to members when their cards are renewed, as well as to all new cardholders.

Using contactless cards for tap to pay is a great way to limit the surfaces you touch, which can help reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19. With more and more merchants using this technology every day, today is a perfect day to try tap to pay.

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16 FALL 2020

BRIDGING THE REPRESENTATIONAL GAP BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISABILITY IN ACADEMIA

By Sarah Haggart

Disability, in its many forms, is known to most, seen by less and accommodated for to an even lesser degree. However, disability in forms that are not immediately, or at all, visible to society’s eye have been, and continue to be, disregarded in public spaces, throughout online platforms and in conversations.

As established author Nikki Rowe once said, “there’s a remarkable amount of strength residing in those who move forward without being able to physically move. Ones that carry the weight of illness or a disability, they battle wars most know nothing about. They are the true warriors of the world, the ones who have every reason to quit but never do.”

According to the official United States Census website, in a 2014 survey using a broad measure of disability, 27.2% or 85.3 million people were living with a disability in the U.S. alone.

Thankfully, with the power of the internet and the massive growth of technology in recent years, society has become more educated and supportive than ever about not only the various types of disabilities present but the revolutionary milestones made to help the world become a more accessible place for everyone. The booming prevalence of social media has done an astounding job of

aiding visibility to disabled individuals as a marginalized group, while also giving plentiful career opportunities in a way that promotes individuality and independence. Today, it’s not uncommon to be scrolling through social media and come across motivational speakers who use their platform to speak on what it’s like to live with disabilities or how they work to overcome adversity.

Not only has the boom of social media made it possible for those living with physical impairments to be seen and heard on a global platform, but it also gives them opportunity to do so in a lucrative and ameliorating way. One such individual who has accomplished her goals of spreading positivity and awareness is the young and successful Molly Burke.

Burke is a motivational speaker, activist and YouTube influencer with a following of 1.96 million strong. Born and raised in the greater Toronto area, at four years old Burke was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare condition that causes severe blindness for about 1 in 4,000 people. According to her website,”After enduring years of severe bullying and resulting issues of depression and anxiety, Burke worked to see herself in a different light, while aiming to keep her head high and her heart strong.” She began her

career as a motivational speaker in her late teens and has since gained popularity all over Canada and the U.S., earning herself the opportunity to share the stage with celebrities such as Magic Johnson and Demi Lovato.

Alongside her continued public speaking opportunities, she posts weekly videos to her YouTube channel that document her journey.

These videos entertain and educate others all over the world, and with the help of her team and trusty guide dog Gallop, she continues to be an exemplary figure in the world of social media influencers while focusing on overcoming adversity and promoting inclusivity and accessibility.

With strong and inspiring individuals such as Burke coming forward to promote accessibility and acceptance in society’s most populous spaces, one can see the major steps that society has taken to normalize and include individuals that face adversity in the most difficult ways. The efforts made by inspiring go-getters like Burke make the bounds of what we can accomplish for marginalized groups seem endless.

It isn’t unheard of anymore to see videos of motivational speakers of all backgrounds speaking on what it is to be disabled and overcoming adversity popping up on THECURRENTMSU.COM 17

Facebook and Instagram, only for us to get a ten minute brighten to our average workdays.

But it is far too unheard of for one to ask the question; what about those with disabilities one cannot see on the stage of a ten-minute TedTalk clip?

Alarmingly, society has yet to give the same opportunities to those with overlooked and stigmatized disabilities simply because they affect an individual’s life less visibly.

According to John Hopkins Medicine’s website, those with diagnosed mental and emotional disorders make up approximately 26% of adults in the United States. Further, while various conditions such as depression can develop in individuals of any age, it is most common for people to develop it in their early to mid-twenties, which for most is a complex and trying time known as the college years.

Dr. Lorelei Blackburn of Michigan State University’s writing, rhetoric and American cultures department has done work researching cultures of accessibility while instructing and mentoring far and wide, including Africa, the Middle East and the Caucuses, while forming her trauma-informed teaching style. She has completed several works such as “Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: Toward a culture of transformative access” for the Bergamo Conference on Curriculum Theory and Classroom Practice in 2019 and “Service Learning and Distance: Sustainability in Traditional and Organic Service-Learning Relationships” with Ellen Cushman in the book Service-Learning in Literacy Education: Possibilities for Teacher Educators.

Blackburn’s extensive philosophy dissertation on trauma-informed pedagogy highlights the gaps that students with mental disabilities

face every day in the college classroom.

She lays out the basis for her research with her background, which then led her to conceptualize the thesis and her reasons for supporting the movement of a more accessible place for students. She wrote, “as both an academic and a Chicagoan with roots that go deep down into the violent, blood-soaked soil of Chicago’s South Side for four generations, I suddenly recognized that this: the very real problem of violence and trauma and the necessity of figuring out how to make learning accessible to traumaaffected students was a challenge located, quite literally, in my own backyard.”

Blackburn later references Alison Kafer’s research on disability in academia to express the great need for a change in constructing how the higher-level learning space looks and feels, recognizing that “audiences can be composed of traumatized people who bring with them their own histories of trauma, and that spaces and communities can be affected by histories of trauma (3). [Kafer] argues that access is ‘not only how a space is designed, but also what happens within it,’ and claims that even if a lecture is in a physically accessible space, the content of the lecture could potentially make the space ‘no longer habitable—or habitable only under certain conditions’ (Kafer 2-3).” This idea stems, in part, from the need for educational content used in readings and lectures to be designed around the presence of mental and emotional triggers that come along with PTSD or other trauma-related disability.

Exposing a student with triggers related to forced sexual trauma to a movie scene or literary texts depicting rape without providing a warning or allowing full discretion can tap into the already present severe emotional and psychological damage that a student has experienced. This completely takes

18 FALL 2020

away the safe learning environment and the valuable learning experience of that material.

However, providing an understanding of the existence of sexual assault and rape to all students at large is quite valuable.

To many, it is still expansively evident that those with triggers are not accounted for within the academic space, which makes little sense considering the staggering statistics around the traumas students are already subjected to when they walk onto campus for the first time. This further signifies that traumainformed resources and teaching for students across the country are not only needed but essential to have a universally successful and safe learning environment.

Blackburn rightfully notes that “college students are at a higher risk of experiencing potentially traumatizing events including sexual assault and other forms of physical violence, life-threatening illnesses, community violence, unexpected loss of loved ones; natural disasters, and accidents (GalatzerLevy, et al. 543). The research conducted by Galatzer-Levy, et al. suggests that 50.6% of students are exposed to a potentially traumatizing event in their first year alone (559).

Research shows that a “‘compassionate or trauma-sensitive learning environment’ can benefit trauma-affected students as well as students who ‘may be impacted by the sharing of experiences or behavioral

responses of their trauma affected peers’” (Smithgall 5). In other words, trauma-informed classrooms have been determined to be universally beneficial.

Sarah Haggart, known professionally on social media and within the world of blogging as “Kingdoms and Iced Coffee,” is finishing up her senior year in MSU’s professional writing program, focusing on writing, editing and content management.

Aside from building her empire, you can find her geeking out over the latest period drama on Netflix, riding horses and embarrassing the hell out of her beloved friends.

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20 FALL 2020

WHO EXACTLY IS WATCHING YOU?

By Rachel Gignac

Are you Being Tracked?

For most of us, it’s not a secret that our personal data is constantly being collected by apps and websites. Beyond wondering if our data is collected, the question of how it’s used has a much more impactful answer—but it is probably not what you want to hear.

In simple terms, websites and apps can sell the data they collect to organizations to make a profit. In turn, these organizations are capable of using this data to target the advertisements that you are exposed to, so that ads are more personal and you are more likely to make purchases. Also, they can use the data for increased surveillance and heightened policing on specific groups of people. These are unfair consequences of simply owning a phone or using the internet, and in order to prevent location tracking and surveillance, it is necessary to understand the big picture.

How is Data Obtained?

Before diving into the effects of location tracking, it is important to understand the ways in which companies get a hold of data.

One way is through social media apps.

Specifically, Snapchat gives its users the

option to turn their location in Snapmaps on or off, making it seem as if there is a choice of whether or not to be seen. However, even with the Snapmap location turned off, Snapchat can get a rough location through the combination of a phone’s WiFi chip and GPS that’s clinging to its nearest cellular tower. Other social media apps function the same way, and they are not always clear about it in their terms and conditions.

Not only can social media platforms such as Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook see users’ constant whereabouts, they also have access to all of the information that was provided upon signing up. This information can include individuals’ name, age, gender, email, phone number and place of residence. Even if users don’t willingly provide this type of information, companies can still make educated guesses about their lifestyles. For example, when a person’s phone is off for an extended amount of time every night, companies can assume they are asleep, and as a result, know where they live. From this, a person’s income level can be determined. Because companies are aware of this personal information, they can pair it with an individual’s interests based on the apps on their phone. Many people

would agree that pairing location tracking with information like this is an extreme privacy violation.

Next, it’s essential to understand what transpires from the possession of this data.

Christina Boyles, assistant professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures at Michigan State University, focuses her research on the relationship between surveillance and climate change. She explains, “We also know that many companies — Google, Facebook, data brokers, credit reporting agencies, and many others — sell users’ personal data for their own profit.” There are multiple ways that these stakeholders find value in our data.

Targeted Advertising One approach to profiting from user data is through targeted advertising. By knowing the lifestyle that you lead, companies can better narrow the types of ads that you are most likely to take action upon. The Boston Globe (2018) explains, “Unlike traditional print or television ads, location-based marketing has the benefit of knowing where THECURRENTMSU.COM 21

we are, who we’re with and whether their ads are working.” The world of advertising is different now than it was fifteen years ago.

With most people using streaming services, fewer people see live television commercials.

Because cell phones are carried everywhere and are in constant use, marketers have adjusted to basing their advertisements off of where we live, where we go and what we do.

For example, think about someone who routinely goes to the gym in the morning, then takes the train to work, and then comes home to cook dinner. Because this individual goes to the gym and has an interest in their health, they are targeted with advertisements like Whole Foods and fitness stores. Then as they walk to the train for work, nearby coffee shops and convenience stores recognize their phone and send them coupons. Companies are aware of their place of work because their phone’s WiFi chip and GPS show them there Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. This allows restaurants and fast food companies nearby to send discounts for them to take up during their lunch breaks. Finally, this individual has an interest in cooking dinner after work, making weekend trips to the grocery store a requirement. Grocery stores have the knowledge of trends in its community, noting the amount of traffic limited or not limited to bus routes. This allows the grocery stores to raise or lower prices based on their community’s level of traffic, having more information to control the price at which this person will buy their food. This use of personal information creates better profits for many types of companies who buy it.

Discriminating People with a Low Socioeconomic Status Certain groups have greater subjectivity to surveillance. These groups are already devalued in society, and with more surveillance, they are even further 22 FALL 2020

marginalized. They consist of people with a low socioeconomic status, women, black and indigenous people, people of color and gender non-conforming individuals.

Greater surveillance of individuals with a low socioeconomic status is unfair because it results in a heightened level of scrutiny.

Andy Boyles-Peterson, digital scholarship librarian at Michigan State University, gives this example: “A person lives in a community with low socioeconomic status and works the night shift. They use a social media platform that collects their location information. Said social media platform sells their profile and many others from their community to a data mining company who resells that information…”

He then illustrates what can happen when the data mining company sells this information to a home security company.

“Through a sharing agreement with the city, the home security company passes along the profiles they purchased to the local police force. The police force runs all profiles they receive through an algorithm, which recommends heightened policing of individuals active between late-night hours in specific parts of the city. As the person lives in a community with lower socioeconomic status and works nights, they become subject to increased scrutiny and surveillance.” This shows one way that devalued communities are further marginalized.

Another group that is more likely to be affected by surveillance is women. Women are more prone to face domestic violence than men via location tracking and surveillance. Black and indigenous people of color, when compared to white people, are more likely to undergo violent policing

because of location tracking technologies.

Violence is also something to keep in mind as a result of surveillance, and when compared to gender-conforming individuals, gender non-conforming individuals are more likely to be harmed.

Moving Forward In order to prevent the negative outcomes of location tracking and surveillance, there are several laws and acts we can pay attention to.

The European Union has adopted General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). These privacy and security laws were drafted and passed by the European Union, but apply to any organization that collects data from European Union citizens. The fines that the GDPR charges violators are very high: according to GDPR.eu, “The maximum penalty is €20 million or 4 percent of global revenue, whichever is higher.” Also, California has passed the California Consumer Privacy Act in January of 2020. This includes the Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires websites to include transparent information on the site about the personal data that it collects.

Although these laws are a step in the right direction and are taking the problem into account, it is not enough. There is much more development that needs to take place to stop this abuse of data collection. As Boyles states, “As members of the public, we need to hold companies, institutions, and governing bodies accountable for their misuses of our data, and encourage them to implement new models that put privacy first.”

Bear in Mind These Concerns Location tracking and surveillance is a serious, prominent issue, especially because it continues to take place every second of every day. Boyles-Peterson drives home the point that data collection causes more

harm than good: “Ultimately, this data can paint quite a picture of an individual, and in the wrong hands, it can do a good bit of damage, particularly to already marginalized communities.” When it comes to personal data being bought, sold and used for marketing, it’s important to understand how it’s obtained, who

it affects and what is being done about it. These actions can help support and protect ourselves and marginalized communities from tracking and surveillance violations.

Rachel Gignac is a junior professional writing major with a focus in editing and publishing and a minor in graphic design.

Her enthusiasm for editing can be recognized in her work as a content editor for the official Michigan State yearbook, the Red Cedar Log. Outside of work and school, she fulfills her love for art and photography through traveling and crossing as many countries off her list as she can.

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There’s an assumption that pain is the price you pay for womanhood.

24 FALL 2020

UNDERRESEARCHED & UNDERREPRESENTED: WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE

By Emma Kolakowski

Even in the most prosperous nations in the world, women suffer, and even die, from complications of reproductive health procedures and conditions. Medicine has advanced leaps and bounds even in the past few decades, yet treatments and research for conditions that affect exclusively women lag behind. Take endometriosis, for example: it’s a painful condition affecting an estimated 10% of all women, and yet it can’t even be diagnosed without an invasive procedure. In an advanced technological world, why are so many women-only conditions so unknown — and so untreatable?

While “women’s healthcare” can describe how other fields, like cardiovascular medicine, intersect uniquely with female anatomies, this article focuses on the reproductive aspects of women’s health. For example, heart attacks present differently in women than they do in men, but since heart attacks affect any gender, there’s far more research on the subject than there is on conditions that affect exclusively women.

Contraceptives There’s one area of women’s health that appears to have advanced by leaps and bounds. Modern forms of woman-based birth control are a relatively new invention, and there’s a range of options for women who want to prevent pregnancy through something other than a condom. In fact, some birth control is now used for more than just preventing pregnancy. Since certain contraceptives work by altering hormone production, birth control is now used to treat certain health concerns. As far as neglected women’s health concerns go, birth control almost doesn’t seem like it fits the bill. It’s well-known and commonly used, sure, but some forms of birth control come with complications.

Take the IUD: it’s long-lasting and lowmaintenance — in theory, a great contraceptive option. But there’s one common complaint about the T-shaped device, which is inserted into the uterus. The insertion, which is performed by a doctor, can be incredibly painful. The cervix has to be sterilized and stabilized (the cervix and uterus must be aligned for proper insertion). This part of the THECURRENTMSU.COM 25

potential side effects. “The pill,” arguably the best-known method of birth control, has been around since 1960. Despite being on the market for 60 years, it still has many of the same side effects as when it first hit the market. Common side effects of taking an oral contraceptive range from nausea, migraines, mood swings, reduced libido and weight gain. Though these more common side effects are certainly uncomfortable, some of the rarer ones pose real health concerns. In rare cases, the pill can cause blood clots and certain cardiovascular conditions. It can even affect the vision of those who wear contact lenses by thickening membranes in the eye. While these side effects are thankfully less common, it’s still shocking how many women who take birth control experience the more “mild” side effects to a disruptive extent.

process isn’t exactly enjoyable, but it’s not the most painful part. After the cervix is measured, the IUD is inserted, which is when most patients experience pain. It’s more than a bit of discomfort, like the pinch of a shot — the pain is so severe that it’s not uncommon for the patient to faint.

The solution? Dr. Jenna Birch, a gynecologist interviewed by Huffpost, suggested taking Ibuprofen before coming in. Some doctors will use a local anesthesia, but a study by obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) Dr. Anne Davis, published in Contraception in 2013, found that numbing medications such as lidocaine didn’t relieve pain any more than the placebo.

Unfortunately for IUD users, the problems don’t end there. Women with IUDs may experience the typical symptoms of 26 FALL 2020

premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Also reported as a side effect? Ovarian cysts. The maker of Kyleena, a common IUD, reports that a whopping 22% of its users experience these cysts, which are essentially sacs that form on the surface of the ovary. Kyleena isn’t the only one — other common IUDs, Liletta, Mirena and Skyla, have the same side effect. All except Mirena also warn that there may be an increase for ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy, where the egg implants outside the womb, doesn’t represent just a failure of the IUD, according to Medical News Today. It’s a medical emergency and can be life threatening. Thankfully, these painful and potentially dangerous side effects won’t happen to every IUD user, but every user will have to go through a painful insertion.

The relatively new IUD isn’t the only form of birth control that comes with concerning

So what about birth control for men? The IUD and oral contraceptives are only two of the many birth control options available for women. Why, now that birth control has been around for sixty years, do we not have as many options for men? Condoms are wellknown as a temporary form of contraceptive, but why aren’t there longer-lasting contraceptives for men? Research into a new form of male contraception garnered global attention in 2016 when the study was ended early due to side effects among the male participants. More than a few newspapers were quick to point out the irony — women’s birth control is obviously rife with negative side effects, and yet is used by millions every day. Obviously, side effects in the male birth control trial are a reason for concern, but it’s telling that it was enough to halt the research on men, while women are expected to take the side effects of birth control in stride.

Side effects of these contraceptives don’t affect every single user. There are some lucky patients who experience none at all. But the

side effects that can be severe are far too common, like the 22% of women that Kyleena admits experience ovarian cysts. Condoms aren’t foolproof, and many women need birth control for reasons beyond preventing pregnancy. The hormone-disrupting ability of these contraceptives means that they’re used to treat everything from acne to endometriosis. For some reason, it’s not considered a problem that medications used by millions come with disruptive side effects and require painful procedures. Given how long these methods of birth control have been around, it’s shocking that there hasn’t been extensive research and improvement on the pain and inconvenience that come with them.

It’s assumed that women who want to use contraceptives will just grin and bear it.

Women-Exclusive Ongoing Conditions A number of the health conditions that affect exclusively women are lifelong. These ongoing conditions are prime examples of where women’s healthcare suffers from lack of conversation. For example, an approximated 10% of all women suffer from endometriosis, but despite the commonality of the painful condition, it’s incredibly difficult to even get a diagnosis.

Endometriosis occurs when tissue that lines the interior of the uterus, called endometrium, grows outside of the uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic. Women with endometriosis experience pain in the pelvic region and back not caused by their menstrual cycle.

The condition can also result in infertility.

Endometriosis can currently only be diagnosed through an invasive surgery, and the University of Michigan Health Team reports that it can take a decade or more to receive a diagnosis. The treatment for endometriosis is as inadequate as the methods for diagnosis. The supposedly ideal treatment is another invasive surgery, where

the extraneous tissue is cut away from the other organs that it has grown on. Given how long it takes to receive a diagnosis, it’s likely that endometriosis is even more common than thought. But even if it does affect only one out of every ten women, that makes it common enough that screening for the disease should be far easier.

It’s not all bad news: there’s ongoing research into a less invasive way to diagnose endometriosis by testing menstrual blood cells, according to Healthline, a medical news website. In 2018, the FDA approved an oral treatment for endometriosis. These advancements are certainly a step in the right direction, but more research is needed.

The oral medication works by triggering an early menopause, which comes with health complications of its own.

Dr. Sawsan Al-Sanie is part of a group of physicians that published a study in 2019 calling attention to the lack of research and treatment options for endometriosis. AlSanie,when interviewed by the U of M Health Team, said that the problem with existing treatments for endometriosis is that they don’t always work. Citing medical funding allocations published by the National Institute of Health, Al-Sanie and other researchers described the condition as “underfunded and under researched” in the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Another major stumbling block in the fight for better endometriosis care is social stigma.

It’s assumed that women have to have pain associated with their menstruation, and that they need to just suffer through it the way women have for years, maybe with the help of an Ibuprofen. Women are routinely and systematically discounted when they tell

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medical professionals that they are in pain.

It seems there’s a societal assumption that women should just stop whining and suffer through it, just like they do when menstruating.

That’s part of why it takes so many endometriosis sufferers so long to receive a diagnosis.

Endometriosis patients, like all women, have been taught that abdominal pain is normal, and it’s hard to judge how much menstruation is “supposed” to hurt.

Endometriosis is just one of many painful women’s health conditions that suffers from lack of research and understanding. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome(PCOS), Turner Syndrome, and others often get swept under the rug since they are capable of affecting “only” half the population. Women’s incurable health conditions suffer from lack of research funding. Even the better researched and very common conditions like endometriosis go 28 FALL 2020

underdiagnosed due to doctoral tendency to dismiss a woman’s reports of pain. Thankfully, a few studies into endometriosis treatment are now ongoing, as more and more women work to bring attention to it and other femalespecific conditions, but there’s still a long way to go.

Childbirth Childbirth may well be the most advanced subset of women’s medicine. We’ve known about it for far longer than we’ve known about most other women’s health issues, after all. There are countless books on the subject, specialized medical professionals, prenatal classes and tutorials on how to breathe through contractions. However, it’s important to remember that there are barriers to accessing specialized childbirth preparations.

Not every mom has the time to go to classes, or the money to spend on books. Especially

in developing countries, these resources aren’t as common as they should be. And even in developed nations like the US, there are still systematic inequalities affecting birth.

In the US, a country with some of the most advanced medical facilities in the world, the maternal mortality rate is alarming. According to new data published by the CDC in January 2020, America’s maternal mortality rate is 17.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. That’s a large statistic, considering the maternal mortality rates for other wealthy, developed countries. For comparison, Germany’s last surveyed maternal mortality rate, in 2017, was seven deaths per 100,000 births. Despite being considered a major world power, the US ranks 55th worldwide in maternal mortality.

The CDC’s 2020 maternal mortality study also provided the most recent data on the

concerning trend of racially-based inequities in childbirth complications. Women of color, and specifically African American women, are much more likely to suffer complications or die during childbirth than white mothers.

The study published in 2020 showed that African American women are more than two and a half times as likely to die than white women, with a maternal mortality rate of 37.1 compared to 14.7.

thought that menstruation is just something you live with. These standards, passed down from generations of women, make us our own worst enemy when it comes to acknowledging pain. Just because our grandmothers suffered doesn’t mean we should. As the progress of our world races forward, there should be corresponding advancements in the ways that health conditions unique to women are diagnosed, treated and eventually cured.

Childbirth itself isn’t the only part of having a child that’s been unnecessarily complicated by lack of research. There’s a newly formed consensus that the increased estrogen levels experienced during childbirth can cause gallbladder issues, but there’s a dearth of women who report being ignored when they complain of abdominal pains post-birth. An anonymous Atlantic Monthly reader submitted her experience with the issue, saying that she didn’t even receive the necessary abdominal ultrasound until her third time visiting the hospital in the week after her birth. Once again, a woman in abdominal pain was dismissed as melodramatic, despite the urgency of her medical situation.

It’s not just menstruation — it’s the pain of lifelong illnesses, childbirths and contraceptives’ side effects. These subsets of healthcare, exclusive to women often fly under the radar when it’s time to allocate research funding. But when women raise complaints about the pain these things cause, they’re considered melodramatic. Scientific advancement research isn’t the only thing that’s negatively affected by the lack of interest in women’s health. Public knowledge about the details of women-exclusive health problems is limited, and this often results in women unnecessarily suffering when they don’t realize that they have a serious health problem. When women do seek medical help, they risk being dismissed as overly worried or psychosomatic, and important health concerns can pass under the radar. With more interest and funding in women’s health research — and increased public awareness about the many real reasons for women’s pain — maybe the inequities in women’s health care can be healed.

Given how many women have gallbladder issues post-pregnancy, why don’t any of the examining doctors think to check for them?

The same reason that the maternal mortality rate is so high: lack of research and lack of discussion and education based around what little research there is. Until there is a widespread conversation on improvements in childbirth and postpartum care, unnecessary deaths will continue. And as research hopefully advances in the coming years, the racial differences in maternal mortality can be better understood and one day eliminated.

Conclusion There’s an assumption that pain is the price you pay for womanhood, stemming from the

Emma Kolakowski is a sophomore double-major in theater and professional and public writing, whose love for literature is only eclipsed by her love of ramen.

Emma’s writing and editing interests include literature, art and most of all politics, which is why she compulsively sits and refreshes the CNN live updates page during class. She loves playing any atypical sport, including fencing and rugby. Visit @emma_koala_ on Instagram for more.

A NOTE ON GENDER No conversation about the effect of gender on health care would be complete without mentioning the experiences of those who are transgender or otherwise gender non-conforming(GNC). Health care is, in general, more difficult for those with nontraditional gender expressions, but the field of women’s health care is especially difficult due to its focus on gender.

Transitional surgeries can be prohibitively expensive, so a trans man may still have to seek health care for a reproductive system that does not match his gender.

That’s already a potentially uncomfortable or upsetting process, and when medical experts are insensitive, it’s even more difficult. In an NPR poll, 22% of transgender individuals surveyed said that they had avoided seeking medical care for fear of discrimination.

Planned Parenthood is designed to provide gender-affirming health care, but the organization’s efforts are often hindered in conservative states. Some states, like North Dakota, don’t have a Planned Parenthood office, and others have only one in the state, meaning that a several-hour-long road trip would be necessary to get an appointment with a professional who has been trained to understand the unique concerns and needs of trans and GNC patients. As research in women’s health advances, it’s got to consider the needs of gender nonconformant people.

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30 FALL 2020

UP IN VAPOR

By Kathryn De Vries

Vaping: the vice of the modern world’s youth.

Back when our parents were young it was cigarettes, but in today’s technologically advanced age, vaping e-cigarettes has quickly become the new fad—and also the new public health concern.

Initially marketed to people trying to quit smoking “real” cigarettes, e-cigarettes have garnered the attention of young people through the notion that they are a less harmful alternative than smoking other forms of tobacco. E-cigarettes have had increased sales throughout the last few years, especially amongst high school and college-aged students. Following this gradual increase in young e-cigarette users, there has been a recent emergence of hospitalizations of young e-cigarette users due to serious illnesses caused by vaping. According to reports from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of these hospitalizations were related to an outbreak of a lung disease called EVALI that is associated with the use of e-cigarette products. Many of the young adults hospitalized by EVALI took to social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to share their stories publicly in hopes of warning other young adults of the dangerous side effects vaping can cause.

Recent reports from the CDC have shown that hospitalizations from vaping-related products

are now on the decline, but there continues to be a decent amount of cases still occurring each month.

Since these vaping devices have only been on the market for a short period in comparison to cigarettes, people are also unable to know the long term impact these products will eventually have on users. Despite the high level of risk presented by the use of e-cigarettes, people in younger generations are continuing to buy and consume these dangerous products which poses another topic for discussion: could there be some other unprecedented appeal to vaping for high school and college-aged people?

It can be hard to imagine kids as young as freshmen in high school vaping, but that’s exactly when a large majority of e-cigarette users start. “People vape everywhere at school,” says Kathryn Pendleton, a high school freshman from the Chicago suburbs.

“I see people vape in the hallways, in the bathrooms, even in class when the teacher turns away.” When asked why she thinks her peers continue to vape even at their young age, Pendleton responded, “I think people started to do it because they saw people older than them doing it and thought it looked cool, but now I think that they have

gotten addicted. It seems like people will do anything just to rip the Juul.”

Pendleton’s theory relates to a recent study from Harvard Medical School that shows just how popular vaping has become in recent years. Results from the study showed that 37 percent of high school seniors reported that they were vaping in 2018 alone, a 28 percent increase from the previous year. The study revealed that middle school students are also adding to vaping’s recent rise in popularity as 3.6 million middle school and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2018.

If students as young as middle schoolers are now joining in on the vaping trend, it is only reasonable to assume that there is some other aspect to these devices that is notable enough to make them appealing, even to children. In an article from “The National,” professor Olivier Oullier breaks down the neuroscience behind the appeal of vaping, stating what makes e-cigarette companies such as Juul so popular, particularly amongst teenagers. It is “a dangerous combination of psychology, physiology and marketing.” Oullier explains that e-cigarette companies can persuade teenagers to buy their products by capitalizing on the public belief that vaping is safer than smoking cigarettes. By positioning THECURRENTMSU.COM 31

somebody let me hit their Juul when I was drunk my freshman year, and I really haven’t stopped since. For me, it’s not just a fun thing to do with my friends at parties anymore; I am definitely addicted.”

their vaping devices as a way to give up smoking, e-cigarettes such as the Juul have begun to appear harmless to young adults because the company’s messaging has led them to believe their vapes are not dangerous like smoking is.

Oullier goes on to note another feature of vaping devices that could be the reason why young adults are continuing to use them: the innovative technology included in the design of many types of e-cigarettes. In today’s technologically advanced age, one can easily see why a vaping device that looks like a USB flash drive is enticing to teens.

This aspect, applicable to the majority of vaping devices currently on the market, also helps younger users to be able to vape more discreetly, only adding to the appeal of these products to younger generations.

For college-aged students, similar to high school students, it seems the appeal to vaping is also largely due to the influence of peers who have made each other permanently hooked on using e-cigarettes. Jake Foy, a junior business student at Michigan State University, feels strongly that he is now reliant on e-cigarette devices, even after trying them just one time. “I started vaping because 32 FALL 2020

Foy also touched on the financial burden his addiction to vaping has caused for him.

“When I was using the Juul, I went through at least two packs of pods per week. Just one pack of Juul pods costs me around $16, and over time, buying multiple packs of pods per week really starts to take a toll on the bank account. I’ve switched to buying disposable vapes now since it’s cheaper, and the flavors are better.”

Earlier this year, efforts were made around the country to try and reduce the amount of vaping done by young people. Michigan, amongst several other states, placed harsher restrictions on the flavors that e-cigarette companies such as Juul can sell to consumers in these states. For Juul specifically, the flavors of pods offered after the restrictions were placed were limited to only menthol and Virginia tobacco.

Foy, like many other young adults who vape, began to switch from the Juul, the most popular type of e-cigarette amongst teens, to new e-cigarette brands such as Mr. Vapor or the Puff Bar. These brands of e-cigarettes offer disposable vaping devices to consumers in a wide variety of flavor options. Since these vaping devices are disposable, cheaper than other e-cigarette alternatives and offer a much larger selection of flavors than ever before, these disposable e-cigarettes seem to present the largest amount of appeal to vaping for young adults.

“It’s just what people do these days,” says Dan Heilmann, a recent graduate from MSU. “Go walk into any of the bars on campus and

you’ll instantly be surrounded by clouds of smoke. Kids won’t stop doing it unless they personally have a reason to.”

After reflecting on this information, Heilmann may be correct with his reasoning as to why the youth are continuing to partake in this dangerous habit. Even in the wake of a serious lung disease created because of vaping e-cigarette products and the result of hundreds being hospitalized, young adults are still choosing to vape. The decision these people are making to still partake in vaping after physically seeing the effects it can have on a person can no longer be treated as a defiance of authority by young people or as simply a bad habit. This decision is something more than that. It shows the blatant disregard that the youth have not only for others’ health but even for their own.

As I speak about these young adults, I am fully aware that I am considered a part of this demographic. Being part of a generation that can be classified by disregarding the health of their bodies is something I am not okay with, and frankly, none of us should be.

The time is now for our generation to make positive changes to improve our society and the future of our world for the better.

None of that can be done if we do not care about our bodies. You shouldn’t vape just because it “looks cool.” You shouldn’t vape just because “everyone else is doing it.” You shouldn’t vape just because “it tastes good.”

You shouldn’t vape because it is proven to be damaging to your health. Why would you want to partake in something that could ultimately lead to your demise?

Kathryn De Vries (@kathryndevries) is an advertising creative junior focusing on a concentration in copywriting. Her passion for storytelling is evident amongst her various projects as a writer, editor, brand strategist and designer. When she’s not busy working, you can find her exploring her love for craft beer at any of the local breweries around the Lansing area.

THECURRENTMSU.COM 33

SPARTAN SHAME

By Shelby Smith

When searching for Michigan State University in the news, results will filter into two main categories: sports and scandal. Michigan State is becoming increasingly synonymous with the latter with an audience that stretches far beyond the confines of the mitten state.

MSU made national headlines beginning in 2016 when student survivors confronted their abuser in a retribution decades in the making.

The perpetrator in this trial is a former MSU physician and USA Gymnastics national team doctor and has been accused by over 200 women, from MSU and beyond, of sexual abuse. The perpetrator’s name, following in the footsteps of the MSU Museum exhibit Finding Our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak, will not be included in this article so to prioritize survivors, for whom the name may resurrect trauma.

The perpetrator’s abuse went on at MSU and elsewhere for decades, and many reports were made by survivors in that time, all of which were ultimately ignored and covered up by MSU administrators. The most notable of which is former MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. With the public discovery of the perpetrator’s crimes came evidence of Simon’s repeated covering up of those crimes, and yet she remained in office. Denying to 34 FALL 2020

resign despite outcries from students and faculty, Simon remained in office until forced out by a resolution from the state House of Representatives which called on the MSU Board of Trustees to fire her. Even in her “resignation” letter Simon refused to hold herself accountable, preferring to describe her blame as being “politicized.” This was not the beginning of MSU’s accountability problem and, unfortunately, nowhere near the end.

MSU can certainly claim they’ve taken steps to protect students, such as introducing mandatory Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Prevention Workshop (SARV), but these changes are seen by many as inadequate. There is something to be said of the in-person SARV courses which strive to educate students about sexual violence in a comprehensive way, but still the culture on campus remains unchanged.

Casey Miles, professor and advisor to the professional and public writing program at MSU bears witness to how these occurrences weigh on students and her peers through her interactions with them.

Miles expanded, “The school does not do enough to educate young people about consent and sexual assault. They implemented these sexual violence courses, but most of them you can just click through them online.

They paid a lot of money for these programs, but they aren’t actually educational.”

About this scandal’s impact on students, she said, “Things like that pop up and you see how unsafe the learning space is. Thinking about being a young, undergraduate woman on this campus; they’re unsafe. If I ask a young student how they stay safe and their answer is that it’s on them: don’t walk alone at night, carry your keys as a weapon, protect yourself. But that’s not where responsibility lies, responsibility lies in teaching people not to sexually assault; not how to protect yourself from assault.”

When the aforementioned scandal went public, it shone a light on the depth of misconduct at MSU and the administration’s reckless endangerment of the student body by way of turning a blind eye to their own failures. MSU’s sexual assault problem is so thoroughly malignant, it could easily fill the pages of this entire issue but, regretably, there is more to be discussed.

With no real institutional change to speak of, nearly the only acknowledgement

THECURRENTMSU.COM 35

students receive from administration when things go awry is the compulsory email from the president that spouts lines about a commitment to the community but never talks of real change.

Following the move to online classes and reports of xenophobia and racism seeping into online class meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. sent out an email to the students and faculty.

Speaking on these issues, President Stanley wrote, “Not only should such behavior targeting individuals and groups by identity be strongly condemned, but it should also be reported to our Office of Institutional Equity.

Our message has and continues to be that hate has no place at MSU.”

In the fall of 2019, hate most certainly did have a place at MSU, despite the cries of the administration’s campaign to the contrary, with a string of unpunished hate crimes committed against marginalized groups on campus. This surge of public displays of racism began when, in late October, a toilet paper noose was taped to the door of two black students living in Bryan Hall. Considering only four black people lived on that floor and theirs was the only door targeted, the victim of this crime, Iyana Cobbs, saw the incident for what it was: a hate crime.

Cobbs took to social media to say, “This was CLEARLY strategically planned because it’s knots in tissue. Do you know how upset and sick you have to be to make not one, but TWO loops out of tissue?! I just don’t understand it.”

The perpetrators of this act were found and claimed it was nothing more than a Halloween prank. One is left to ask: how could a crafted noose pasted on the door of some of the only black students in a hall not be construed as a violent act of racism? The answer is that it should be impossible to deny the racial implications of this so-called prank, but university administration knows nothing but the easy way out when it comes to issues like this. To dub this as a prank keeps the institution from doing the work of evaluating the safety of students of color, which the administration’s actions seem to neglect.

Not even a week later, a professor in the College of Communications Arts & Sciences, Saleem Alhabash, sent out a survey to students which was riddled with racist and otherwise offensive comments. The survey took comments directly from a multitude of social media platforms and asked students to rate their reactions to them. The professor included a disclaimer which warned some comments would be offensive, but students thought this warning was not enough. It is already far too much that students of these communities must deal with living on a campus already infested with prejudice and hate, but to receive a collection of such things from a professor through official university channels? At the very least, those in charge should’ve recognized how bad of an idea this survey was for a university already caught in a PR nightmare, but again, the university failed to protect its students.

Not long after, MSU’s Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center was vandalized and their sukkah—a temporary structure built for the celebration of a Jewish festival—destroyed. Official accounts for Hillel expressed gratitude for law enforcement and community support following the incident, but unfortunately these vandals are representative

36 FALL 2020

extremely unlikely to receive due attention within the span of a student’s time on campus.

Shulman said, “I personally filed a report with the OIE on a class that trafficked in blatant anti-Semitism and made myself and several Jewish students in the class uncomfortable.

This report was filed in January, and I have not heard back. After speaking with one of the VP’s of student affairs, I was told this is not normal and I should have heard back by now. This only adds to a concerning pattern of student concerns being swept under the rug.”

Speaking of her own experience with the OIE Miles says, “I have filed reports of my own with the OIE because students have talked to me about things, but from there I don’t know what happens.”

of a larger issue with anti-Semitism on campus.

Alan Shulman is a junior in James Madison College and the president of MSU’s group called SpartyPac. Shulman described them as a pro-Israel group which engages with other student organizations on campus, as well as the Michigan Congressional Delegation, to combat anti-Semitism on campus.

Shulman said, “I believe there is an ignorance issue [on campus], not necessarily a hate issue, though that certainly exists as well.

More needs to be done by the school to ensure students are expanding their horizons and not trafficking in, whether intentionally or not, hateful speech and actions.”

Unfortunately, more was not done, and MSU made national news headlines again

in early 2020 when a Black History Month display at the Wharton Center appeared to feature the lynching of black historical figures.

The webpages on which official incident statements about this issue were published, are now no longer accessible online and when the links are clicked, it says “page not found,” which is questionable in and of itself.

The statements claimed those in charge had no idea the display would be seen in such a light. These incidents only further proved to students that their safety and wellbeing is far from a priority for administration.

That an institution with such a glaring lack of integrity cannot cope with the sheer number of reports further speaks to the fact that this problem is not being handled. Students and faculty are left to wonder whether it’s okay to have any spirit for the Spartans when there is so much to be ashamed of. With any hope, that shame will weigh heavy enough on administration that change will one day come.

Shelby Smith is a junior double majoring in English and professional writing with a concentration in creative writing. After graduating, she hopes to pursue a career in the world of television writing. When not writing, Shelby can be found absorbed in a fantasy novel and a very large cup of coffee.

To return to President Stanley’s declaration above that incidents should be reported to the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), the problem is that this office is so backlogged and overloaded from the complete flood of inequity on campus that such reports are

THECURRENTMSU.COM 37

“My computer science

classes were so male dominated, and my journalism ones were so female dominated - but in both cases, almost all my professors were men.�

Rachel Beard

38 FALL 2020

GENDER AFTER GEN EDS

By Sierra Jezuit

Gender stereotypes have dominated societal mindsets for ages. Despite the mass effort to overcome gender disparity and inequality in various communities, there are still perceptions in place that prohibit positive growth.“Women belong in the kitchen” and “a crying man is a weak one” were a few of the original gendered stereotypes, spawning from dangerously sexist mindsets and prohibiting such growth. Although gender stereotypes today may not be as blunt as they were in the past, they still carry their own toxic weight, and have since seeped into different areas of society, particularly into the classroom.

Designated as the main location where students learn practical life skills and knowledge, the classroom is a vital environment for all. What students study, and the conditions in which they do so, are crucial to productive and successful educational systems. When there are large gender disparities in such an environment, it can lead to negative experiences for students and faculty alike. Students who experience this later on in their educational career, such as students within higher

education, tend to be impacted in ways that then affect their career paths.

For many years women weren’t encouraged to pursue higher education. They were ‘meant’ to fill other roles, so they spent their time outside of the classroom, instead of studying and expanding their knowledge. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in the female population attending both colleges and universities. It’s even been mentioned that women are now surpassing men in both enrollment and graduation rates. This seems to be a step in the right direction to overcoming gender-inequality in our educational system, as women are now being encouraged to pursue their passions beyond high school.

However, there are still vast differences in the fields in which they study, meaning that gender disparity is still a prevalent issue in the classroom.

Michigan State University (MSU), one of the top universities in the state of Michigan, is not exempt from this inequality. According to Gender Comparison reports from MSU’s Office of the Registrar, as of the 2020 spring semester, roughly 52 percent of the THECURRENTMSU.COM 39

When asked about her experience with gender in her field of study, Beard voiced that she noticed gender disparity not only across the student population, but on the faculty side as well.

“When I took my [engineering] capstone class at MSU, I was one of less than 10 women in a class of over 100 people. My computer science classes were so male dominated, and my journalism ones were so female dominated - but in both cases, almost all my professors were men,” stated Beard.

When asked about her thoughts on the origin of this phenomenon, Beard navigated to discussing the media. Beard can only count on one hand the amount of times she has seen a television show or movie that featured a woman carrying out computer coding. The men in these fictional worlds were always expected to take on the brunt of the mathematical or engineering work.

undergraduate student population at the university is female. This population is divided up into various fields of study, with a higher concentration of female students in some areas than others. The College of Engineering, for example, only has a female population of 22 percent, making it the college with the smallest population of women. The Eli Broad College of Business and College of Music are the colleges with the next smallest female population behind the College of Engineering. On the opposite end of this scale, the College of Veterinary Medicine 40 FALL 2020

has a female population of 87 percent, which contains the largest population of women in a singular college at MSU. Rachel Beard, a recent MSU alumnus, was a part of the small female population within the College of Engineering. Beard studied both computer science, a predominantly male field of study, as well as journalism, a predominantly female field of study.

Originally only a journalism major, Beard was drawn to the engineering field by her curiosity of both computers and programming.

“When young girls show an interest in math or science, we often push them to become nurses before we push them to become engineers.

Young boys, on the other hand, are pushed into things like electrical engineering and computer engineering much more easily,” voiced Beard. “Trying to move past those stereotypes isn’t easy, either. Computer science is the most male-dominated of the engineering fields, and being the only woman in the room isn’t easy. The offhand sexist comments and the attention messes with you after a while.”

Overall, Beard expressed she found the concept of gender disparity within the classroom to be intriguing.

“I’ve always found it interesting how we as a society seem to value male dominated fields over female dominated ones. As if majoring in

computer science or mechanical engineering is more noble and productive somehow than majoring in journalism or English.”

camera [there] because that is just a viewpoint that we/they could never understand so I think it [has] an impact.”

impacts individuals. All three students have come to the conclusion that such impacts are thoroughly negative.

In contrast to the College of Engineering, other departments at MSU such as the College of Nursing, College of Education and College of Arts and Letters have generally low male populations. The College of Arts and Letters at MSU features a male population of only 34 percent, making it one of the smaller male populations within a college at the university. While many feel the arts are an ‘unstable’ job market, various fields of study that focus on art have also been societally stereotyped as ‘feminine,’ which could be a large factor in why the male population for the college is so low.

Another male in the College of Arts and letters, Jarett Greenstein, also had a lot to say on the topic. Greenstein is currently pursuing a degree in both English and professional and public writing at MSU, with hopes to work in the publishing industry as a developmental editor. Although he hasn’t had any direct experience with gender stereotypes in the classroom, he still has deep thoughts on the idea of gender and ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ fields of study.

Through the eyes of women studying engineering and men studying the arts, gender disparity is still a prevalent issue in higher education. Although there have been steps to try and correct this issue, there is still more work to be done. The question is, will a society rooted in sexist beliefs be able to move forward? Will our youth ever have an opportunity to experience an educational system that embraces gender equality, instead of prohibiting it?

Parker Eisen is currently a part of the College of Arts and Letters, pursuing his passion for both English and Film Studies at MSU. Upon graduation, he plans to pursue a career as either a writer or director in the film industry.

Throughout his experience at MSU, and particularly in his field of study, he’s noticed some disparity in both instruction and content.

“Especially in my English classes, thinking back to [a course] which had 30 students, there must have only been five or six men in the class,” stated Eisen.

He then continued by explaining that film was a male-dominated industry. This then leads to a more complex issue for the industry.

“If you only have men making films or writing books you only get half the story of the world, as with race, class, etc. in my opinion,” Eisen explained. ”Barry Jenkins (Director of Moonlight) was talking about Claire Denis and how she shot her female characters, and he said that only a woman would put the camera there... no man would ever put the

“What femininity or masculinity means changes over time, so to describe a field of study that way is not very exact,” explained Greenstein. “Not only that, but the complexity of the field, just as with the complexity of people, means that it isn’t going to be 100 percent feminine or 100 percent masculine.”

Sierra Jezuit is a senior studying professional writing and English. She currently works for the Michigan State University New Student Orientation program, and hopes to work in the editing field after graduation. In her free time she can be found listening to all kinds of music, browsing Netflix and writing poetry.

His thoughts on the stem of gender stereotypes also relate back to the media.

Eisen believes the media has the ability to frame how we view certain concepts or ideas. These portrayals have the power to either spark conversation or prohibit it.

“In a society in which the media is one of the prime socializing forces, second only to primary caregivers, I think that media shapes how people react to masculinity [or] femininity,” continued Greenstein. “[Unfortunately] to apply an idea to someone without [knowing] how they are as a person is to deny their agency as another human.”

Greenstein strongly believes the idea of forcing someone into a stereotype without knowing who they are as a person is unjust.

He, much like Beard and Eisen, is a prime example that students have thought long about this subject, and the way in which it THECURRENTMSU.COM 41

42 FALL 2020

THE REALITY OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

By Sara Gilson

When someone is diagnosed with a disease, it is natural to think of the worst outcome — death. However, the reality of a disease is not so black and white, life or death. It’s ups and downs, triumphs and failures. The reality of living with an autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis, or MS, is that there are no set rules and is different for everyone that’s diagnosed.

What is MS? According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS is defined as, “An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.”

Because MS impedes the nerve signals to all parts of the body, symptoms vary from person to person. The severity of MS varies from person to person as well, ranging from mild symptoms such as temporary loss of sight or loss of the use of limbs, to more severe symptoms such as the complete or permanent loss of speech and the ability to walk.

The Reality of MS The reality of MS is different from person to person and treatment for MS is always changing. It is far from a linear process. For this article, The Current sat down with two

people who have had MS for over a decade of their lives.

Denise Gilson, 50, lives in Michigan with her husband Tim and their two children Tyler and Sara. Gilson was diagnosed with MS when she was 35 years old. Since then, she has used two different treatments to manage her MS, weekly injections for eight years and a pill once a day for seven years. At the time of the interview, Gilson was planning to start infusions for treatment, however due to COVID-19, the infusions have been postponed until further notice.

Greg LaManna, 37, lives in Ohio with his wife Shauna and their two sons, Gavin and Garrett. LaManna was diagnosed at 18 and has been living with and managing MS for longer than he has lived without it. Since his diagnosis, he has gone through two courses of treatment, starting off with daily injections and now on a daily pill.

Causes of MS There is no one clear cause of MS, but it is believed to be caused by a myriad of environmental and genetic factors. The signs and symptoms of MS vary widely and can present themselves as something as mild as

fatigue or as severe as loss of sight or feeling in one’s limbs. According to the Mayo Clinic, some people with severe cases of MS, “lose the ability to walk independently or at all, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms.”

In the United States, nearly one million people are living with MS (according to a study founded by the National MS Society). Most people living with MS are between the ages of 20 and 50—although it can and does occur in young children and older adults.

MS is three times more common in women than in men suggesting that hormones play a strong role in determining susceptibility to the disease. In general, anyone you know could be living with MS unbeknownst to you, if they don’t have severe symptoms.

Diagnosis A timely and accurate diagnosis of MS is critical in managing the disease. For many diseases, there are a plethora of tests that healthcare professionals can administer to diagnose a patient, such as CT scans, MRIs and PET scans — all of which can aid in diagnosing diseases. However, for multiple sclerosis this is not the case. Unfortunately, there are no laboratory tests that can THECURRENTMSU.COM 43

Just as there is no clear cause for MS, there is no cure for MS. However, there is treatment available that is meant to manage and mitigate the symptoms. The treatments for MS have been evolving as clinical trials are performed.

ultimately determine if someone has MS, and because the symptoms vary so widely between people it is hard to diagnose MS. Doctors use several strategies to determine if someone meets the diagnostic criteria.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society there are three key things that a physician must do in order to diagnose MS. They must, “find evidence of damage in at least two separate areas of the central nervous system, or CNS, find evidence that the damage occurred at different points in time and rule out all other possible diagnoses.�

LaManna first began experiencing MS symptoms when he was 18, right after his high school graduation. It started with loss of control over his arm. When he tried to move it one foot or so to the left or right, his arm would move three feet. When LaManna 44 FALL 2020

was celebrating his graduation, while visiting his uncle in New York, he began to feel increasing pain in his arm that he describes as feeling like a pinched nerve. He lost control of his left arm and then, eventually, the entire left side of his body. It took nine days in the hospital for doctors to officially diagnose LaManna with MS and start the treatment process.

Gilson began to experience MS symptoms when she was 35. She began to lose sight in her left eye, and when it kept getting worse day by day, she went to see her eye doctor.

Her eye doctor examined her and asked a series of questions which led him to believe she had MS. Gilson stresses that this was a stroke of luck. In 2005, it was rare for MS to be recognized immediately. Her eye doctor referred her to a neurologist who then officially diagnosed her and began planning a treatment course.

Treating MS Just as there is no clear cause for MS, there is no cure for MS. However, there is treatment available that is meant to manage and mitigate the symptoms. The treatments for MS have been evolving as more is discovered about the disease, and as clinical trials are performed.

There are three typical treatment courses that one with MS would take with the help of a doctor: injectable medications, oral medications or infusions. There are eight injectable medications some of the most commonly used ones are including Avonex, Betaseron and Glatopa. There are six oral medications including Tecfidera, Gilenya, Mayzent and more. Finally, there are four types of infusions: Lemtrada, Novantrone, Ocrevus and Tysabri.

Unfortunately, in some cases of MS none of these treatments are effective in treating it. While immense progress has been made in regards to MS treatments, there are some forms of the disease that are still untreatable. In those cases, people might not seek any further treatment, or they might turn to more holistic approaches to help manage their symptoms.

While the listed treatments are some of the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approved drugs used to treat MS, there are other drugs and treatment processes in testing stages; as MS itself evolves so do the treatments. These other treatments include disease modifying therapies, the goal of which is to delay the progression of MS and limit new disease activity.

When Gilson was diagnosed, the only available treatments were injections. After she went through several rounds of steroids to get the initial exacerbation of MS under control, her doctor came up with a long-term treatment plan. Gilson had to self-administer weekly injections of Avonex to treat her MS. She said that after every injection, she would experience flu-like symptoms of exhaustion and lack of appetite for a day or so.

After eight years of weekly injections, Gilson was able to switch to taking a daily pill, Tecfidera. “Once I got on the pill I swore I would never go back to injections,” said Gilson. She said the pill would make her flush red after taking it on occasion, but the symptoms were nowhere near as bad as those from the injections. Gilson said she was looking forward to beginning transfusions to manage her MS, because she will no longer have to worry about taking a daily medication and filling a prescription.

LaManna also started treating his MS with injections, however his were daily injections

of copaxone he had to self-administer as well. There were some drawbacks to the daily injections. “If you nicked a vein or an artery and [copaxone] got into your bloodstream too fast it basically felt like someone poured gasoline on your body and lit you on fire,” LaManna said. “You couldn’t breathe. Your whole chest would tighten… It only happened to me less than ten times.” LaManna said the feeling would pass on its own after about 10 minutes, but the first time it happened to him he didn’t know what it was and he went to the emergency room. After around 12 years of injections, LaManna switched to taking a daily pill to manage his symptoms.

Another part of treating MS is managing exacerbations or flare-ups. Exacerbations of MS are caused by inflammation in the central nervous system which damages the myelin that coats the nerve fibers. When this happens, it damages the transmission of nerve impulses which in turn causes the symptoms of MS to flare-up. Most exacerbations can and will gradually resolve themselves, but severe exacerbations require treatment. An exacerbation is considered severe when the symptoms include extreme weakness, loss of balance or loss of vision as well if the symptoms interfere with a person’s general safety and ability to function. When severe relapses happen, one’s healthcare provider will likely recommend treating it with a high dose of oral corticosteroids.

LaManna considers himself fortunate because he has not had an exacerbation since his initial diagnosis. Gilson has had three exacerbations since her initial diagnosis.

She had to go to the hospital for each one and received steroids each time to get the exacerbation under control.

All of these methods of treatments are just the basic means of living with MS. Injectable

or oral medications and infusions simply delay the progression of the disease and mitigate symptoms and the steroids help combat relapses. However, depending on the severity of one’s MS, they might have to take additional medication to help with other symptoms. These symptoms can include emotional changes, pain, fatigue, bladder issues, tremors, depression, dizziness and more. There are a variety of medications that can be used to treat those symptoms.

It depends on the patient and what their doctor recommends.

Costs of MS Having an autoimmune disease, such as MS, not only affects one’s body, it also affects one’s mental health, family and their finances.

Gilson said that beyond the initial impact MS had on her eyesight, she struggles with symptoms of what she calls cognitive fog where she becomes forgetful when tired.

“Think of a day when you are just absolutely exhausted, multiply it by five and think of going through that every day,” Gilson said.

“That’s your everyday life.” She also loses her train of thought, has occasional balance problems and has issues with her eyesight when she’s stressed. Gilson said that the worst part of MS was, “when my kids were younger. It could not have happened at a worse time, the kids wanted to do so many things and I was so tired…mentally that’s probably the worst part.”

For LaManna, one of the biggest changes in his life was becoming right-handed due to MS. He never regained full feeling back in his left hand and so he had to learn how to write and throw with his right hand.

LaManna also mentioned that no matter how severe one’s MS is, it is life altering. “The way that it changes your life,” LaManna said.

“Physically it sort of changed me…The other thing is mentally. I have a wife and kids and THECURRENTMSU.COM 45

my life expectancy is between five and eight years less than folks without it. I can’t get life insurance easily. It takes things from you.”

The actual cost of MS is another burden those with the disease have to bear. “Treatment is affordable if you have insurance,” Gilson said. “If you don’t have insurance it’s just absorbent. It’s absolutely ridiculous how much it costs. My Tecfidera was up to $78,000 a year. If you don’t have insurance it’s unattainable.”

Resources for those with MS There are many resources available to help those with MS with financial burdens.

The Edward M. Dowd Personal Advocate Program aims to provide a support system to help those with MS that might not have a reliable support system in place. Another resource is MSconnection.org which, according to the National MS Society is, “a social networking website and community for people living with MS, their loved ones and experts to connect in a safe and secure environment.” For financial needs, there are 46 FALL 2020

a lot of programs that aim to help those with MS afford payment for their treatments. The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation has dozens of grants that those with MS can apply for.

Living with MS Beyond the treatment, the cost and and the initial shock, there are positives to MS. “I think it provides focus,” LaManna said. “For me, I got it at a very young age…I used it as a motivation and reason to succeed.”

When asked about advice for those who have been recently diagnosed with MS, Gilson said, “Reach out, reach out. Hopefully your spouse is supportive, if you have one, my husband will really know when I’m having a bad day and what’s going on. Talk to your spouse about it. Talk to your kids. Talk to your family. And use your resources. Just dive into it and find out the best modality of treatment for you. There’s so many places that will help you.”

LaManna wants those with MS to know, “it gets better. It’s a lot to process but again, there are so many medications now and

so many ways for you to be able to live a relatively normal life and there’s so much support. You’re not alone. It’s not a death sentence, it’s not going to end your life.

You could go on to live a very happy life but you’ve gotta do things differently. It will change your life, it won’t end your life or ruin it. Find a way to still do things you love, enjoy and bring you peace.”

The treatments for MS are always evolving and improving with time. Like Gilson and LaManna, one can live a long, happy and fulfilling life with MS. It’s a matter of adapting one’s perspective, finding a support system that works for you and taking the good days with the bad.

Sara Gilson is a senior studying professional writing with a focus on editing. After graduation she hopes to work for a publishing house. When she’s not in class Sara can be found at work, copyediting for The State News. In her limited free time Sara enjoys reading young adult books, spending time with her cat and watching the latest movies. You can follow her on Twitter @saragilson13.

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