the utah
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 • www.usustatesman.com • (435)-797-1742 • Free single copy
Students skip the flu shot 4By Cody Scott & Manda Perkins
from $15 to $50, and students are often unaware of what they will pay when they go into the Though college students doctor’s are among some of the most office. Davis technologically-advanced and also addressed socially-active demographics, they that concern. continue to fail in one aspect of “If your insursocial awareness: their own health. ance covers the vac Flu vaccinations are more cine as part of available than ever before, preemptive yet, according to some proservices, you fessionals, students are not won’t pay getting them. anything out A recent study by Dr. of-pocket,” he Janet Yang at the University said. of Buffalo in New York Customers showed that only 8 percent are always of college students received encouraged the inf luenza vaccine in to call their 2012. Yang also said colinsurance lege students are at a higher and make of college risk than other age groups sure that serstudents recieved because of the “high-density vices are covinfluenza vaccine living environment” of most ered before in 2012 according college campuses. they have any to a study by There are several reasons procedure, Dr. Janet Yang at students don’t get vaccinatbut most the University of ed. Some think vaccinations insurances Buffalo. are costly or their insurance will cover wont cover it. Others believe vaccines as getting the vaccine will actupart of preally increase their chance of ventative sergetting the f lu. Some stuvices. dents even believe that the If a flu vaccine, like chicken pox, student does is something you only get not have once in your life. insurance or “They are injecting the flu into active preventative you. There’s always slight possibility coverage, the Student that you might get it,” said Makynzie Health and Wellness center Turner, a junior who has only had one flu charges $19 for the injected shot. vaccine. By comparison, the There are many misconceptions about Intermountain Healthcare the flu vaccine, and Turner’s comments clinics charge $47 for the represent a popular one. Students think injection and will sometimes that getting a vaccine will actually give charge an office visit in addithem the flu. Doctors, however, disagree. tion. “It’s impossible to get the flu from the Getting f lu shots can injected vaccine. The opposite is true also prevent the spread of the from the nasal spray,” said Dr. James virus. Lisa Perkins, inf luenza Davis, executive director of the Student program coordinator of the Bear River Health and Wellness Center. “Nasal spray Health Department, said not getting the is a live virus, so it gives you a mild case flu vaccine increases your chance of not of the flu. Injection is flu virus fragments only contracting the flu but also spread— not enough to give you the flu.” ing it through social interaction. Another concern of students is the “Especially with college students, money. Flu shots can cost anywhere they’re around a lot of other people in staff writer and asst. news editor
8%
Annie Hall photo
A STUDENT GETS A FLU SHOT in the Health and Wellness Center. The Wellness Center charges $19 for a flu shot.
classrooms, so they have a lot of exposure in the school system and with their living situations,” Perkins said. Most medical experts agree that getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent yourself from getting the flu. Perkins shared her personal philosophy.
“I’ve never missed one,” Perkins said, “and I think if you talk to someone who has actually gotten inf luenza, it’s the worst seven to 10 days of their life.”
— cody.scott@usu.edu —manda.perkins@hotmail.com
Drug arrests numbers up in 2014 4By Chris Farnes staff writer
The Utah State Police Department reported that 32 students have been arrested for use of illegal substances in 2014. This marks an increase from last year’s total of 19 arrests. “There was definitely a jump from last year,” said USU Police Captain Steven Milne. “It’s hard to say if it is a trend that is reflective of a growing problem or not, though. The majority of the arrests, if not just about all of them, would have been for marijuana.” Captain Milne said there are many possibilities for the large increase in arrests for drug use at USU but was not able to pinpoint a definitive reason. “The reasons for the increase could be a number of factors,” Milne said. “In one incident we arrested six people. In another we had four, so it could be that we just arrested more people with each incident. Maybe we’ve just been in the right place at the right time to catch them.” USU’s prevention specialist Ryan Barfuss, helps students who are arrested for the illegal use of alcohol and drugs. Barfuss believes that the reason for the increase in marijuana use at USU is because it has received wider acceptance recently in other states. “I think it has increased due to more states like Colorado legalizing it over the past few years,” Barfuss said. “But I would still say that Utah State doesn’t have a drug problem, especially when you compare us to other universities and to the surrounding community.” Milne said the reason for the increase in arrests could have been due to an increase in reports the USU police received from outside sources, such as roommates and resident assistants. “We catch them through a combination
MCT campus photo
of ways with most of them coming as a result of reports we receive,” Milne said. “The majority of reports we get are from RAs. We do training sessions with them so that they can recognize marijuana and other drugs through its smell.” Milne said USU police officers are trained to recognize when students have been using illegal substances while they are on patrols. “Sometimes it just comes from our officers on walking patrols or traffic stops around campus when they encounter it,” Milne said. “Most of the officers have gone through drug recognition classes, which they have been using.”
Ashley Miller served as a resident assistance at the Living Learning Center for three years. In her experience she encountered very few incidents involving the use of illegal substances. “I didn’t see any real big problems with substance abuse during my time there,” Miller said. “I don’t think Utah State has a drug problem at all. I’d say it’s very mild compared to other universities. At least that’s how it was in our housing complex.” Miller only had a “handful of cases” that she had to deal with as an RA. She also confirmed the marijuana use is the number one illegal drug that she had to deal with.
“I wouldn’t say drug use was rare, but I wouldn’t say it was uncommon either,” Miller said. “It happened enough that when we did encounter it, we knew how to deal with it. I can’t recall coming in contact with any other drugs other than marijuana. I heard of others kids on campus getting caught with other drugs, like at parties, but never at the LLC that I know of.” The USU Police Department was unable to provide the number of arrests for different illegal substances, but they acknowledged that there is a presence of “harder”
jSee DRUGS, Page 2