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Volume 97 | Issue 39
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ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Nation faces drug shortages BY MEGAN R ADKE Staff Writer
SPORTS: Pitching duel ends with Mean Green victory Page 5
PHOTO BY BRIAN MASCHINO/INTERN
Joel Arredondo, a history senior and senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, speaks during the Student Government Association meeting Wednesday night.
Homecoming reform may come to a student vote BY ISAAC WRIGHT Senior Staff Writer
SPORTS: Track team travels to Austin Page 6
VIEWS: Being a sports fan doesn’t mean you can be rude Page 7
ONLINE: Author of “Life after Birth” talks about being a teen mom
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After a year and a half of heated debate, the Student Government Association is bringing the issue of homecoming reform back to student voters pending approval by the SGA president. The SGA student senate voted on a referendum Wednesday that gives students the chance to vote on how the homecoming court will appear in coming years. One option allows homecoming court hopefuls to run as individuals, competing for the position of homecoming nobles. The second option allows couples of any gender or orientation to run. Both options would allow candidates to specify if they wish to hold gender-neutral titles, such as Homecoming Nobles or Winners, or traditional titles such as Homecoming King and Queen. “The first option that we were going to vote on in the
senate, I had some reservations about because it took a lot of the student vote out of the matter,” said Patrick Hopkins, a senator for the College of Arts and Sciences. “This is a little bit of genius. This is the perfect amount of compromise without breeching traditions that homecoming is supposed to stand for.” The referendum now goes to SGA President Kevin Sanders for approval. Once approved, students will be given the chance to vote on which option they would like in a special election the week of April 18. Calls for reform of the current homecoming election system were first raised in September 2009 when campus and regional activist groups argued gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students were marginalized and not afforded the opportunity to participate. Julie Leary, the vice president
of Glad: UNT’s Queer Alliance, said that both choices students will vote on alleviates the GLBT community’s concerns and is a large step for equality both at UNT and in Texas. “We live in this little bubble of Denton where being gay is kind of accepted, but we still live in Texas,” Leary said. “If we can change just one small thing to make people understand that being gay is okay, then we can change the world.” The main contention some students and SGA members raised with the referendum was that it did not include the option to keep the current homecoming system — an option UNT students approved in an October 2009 referendum. SGA presidential candidate Blake Windham was among those arguing for an option to keep the current system.
Nationwide, doctors and pharmacies are facing a medication shortage. More than 50 medicines, including some used to treat cancer, are in short supply. A lthough shortages have been a problem for years, in recent months, they’ve gotten worse because of recalls, manufacturing difficulties and an increased demand for certain drugs. Roger Johnston, a pharmacist at the Walgreens on Teasley Lane, said his store has experienced a shortage in simple over-the-counter drugs like Benadr yl and Tylenol. “For a w h i le, it w a s rec a l led, t hen it made its way back, but then it sudden ly d isappea red a g a i n,” Joh n ston s a id . “People continue to need it but we don’t have it.” Johnston said he is unsure whether or not this problem is due to manufacturers or something being experienced within all Walgreens stores, but that it has been an inconvenience to many people for a while. A s a n a lter nat ive to prescription drugs, Johnston said that readily available generics ca n be used if they’ve been rated and meet federal standards. Brand manufacturer recipes must be used and the medication must act as quickly as the name brand, he said. Paul Thibodeaux, a pharmacist at Yarbrough’s Pro Pharmacy, said his store hasn’t experienced much of a shortfall unless a recall is
in place, as was the recent case with acetaminophen. Thibodeaux said the most com mon shor tage is i n certain cancer medications, often only found in specialized oncology pharmacies, Thibodeaux said. Alternatives Megan Ouldhouse, a pharmacist at Texas Oncology Ph a r m a c y S e r v ic e s i n Dallas, said the shortages have doctors turning to alternative treatments to help patients. “Ever y yea r we see a shortage in certain medications — some are backordered, some are just in high demand,” Ouldhouse said. “Right now, it is worse.” Ronald Keith, a former Nort h Texas resident, is currently being treated for bladder cancer. Although Keith has yet to experience a shortfall in his prescriptions, his treatment is much different than many other traditiona l cancer treatments. “My doctor has scheduled me for a new procedure this month that has been done in Europe but not in the States,” Keith said. The treatment will use colored lights in a scope that will make cancer cells easier to identify. “Doctors do what they h ave to do,” s a id Ji m Schwartz, an area manager for Oncology Pharmacies. “Some t reat ment s may have different side effects, or may not be as effective as a doctor’s first choice for treatment, but no one is going untreated.”
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Study: Pollen count website predictions pose problems Researchers found inaccurate forecast models BY H ARSHITHA R AMESH Intern
A recent study suggests that pollen predictions given by websites are often unreliable. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s Nat iona l A l ler g y Bu re au col lected pol len sa mples from across the country and compared them to pollen forecasts provided on websites used by those who suffer from hay fever. Dr. Dan Dalan, an allergist and asthma educator, co-authored the study, and said researchers found that the incorrect predictions were linked to the methods used by the websites to forecast pollen levels. He said the websites often use models based on weather readings, not physical pollen counts, which are more accurate. “How ma ny t i mes w i l l [website pollen counts] be right or wrong?” Dalan said. “It just depends on whether it’s PHOTO BY SARA JONES/SENIOR STAFFER spring, summer or fall, or if it’s Many flowers, like this white and purple one outside the Physics Building, line raining.” Those suffering from hay the campus and excrete pollen. fever should be aware of how these pollen counts are given on TV or weather station, look at from the NAB, which were the websites, Dalan said. it the same way as you would a taken over a period of five to “If you look at information on weather forecast,” he said. six months by volunteers, Dalan pollen counts on the Internet or Forecasts and real counts said, can provide insight for
future studies and help protect pollen allergy patients. “I have nothing against prediction. I think it should be used,” he said, adding that although an NAB report is a real count of the pollen in the air, it’s less useful as a predic-
cations are doing the job, then allergy desensitization should be considered.” Some UNT students said they are not too concerned about how pollen counts are taken but are content with a warning of how pollen activity might be.
“If you look at information on pollen counts on the Internet or TV or weather station, look at it the same way you would a weather forecast.”
—Dr. Dan Dalan, Allergist and asthma educator
tive tool. John Fling, an allergy and immunology specialist at the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, said he agrees that pollen counts should be viewed with caution. “Over t ime, it is fa irly predictable what is in the air throughout the season,” Fling said. “Patients coming in with acute symptoms are a much better barometer as to high pollen days.” Fling also advises patients not to let allergies control their everyday living. “There are excellent medicat ions ava i lable to help prevent allergy symptoms and numerous medications to treat symptoms,” he said. “If medi-
“I don’t really mind. I want to have some kind of prediction rather than have them at the end of day,” said speech language patholog y junior Angela Geracci, who has pollen allergies. “I don’t mind having a prediction as long as we have it.” The National Allergy Bureau uses volunteers trained and certified in pollen count equipment and knowledge to carry out their study. Dalan said the NAB volunteers have to take a prescribed curriculum and have to get re-certified every five years. For more information about the Bureau or to location pollen stations, visit www.aaai.org/ nab.