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Show - a) 1 ) v J .ht: 840 SOUTH 1 BOO EAST SLC UTAH COME BY! WE'RE IN THE BASEMENT OF SHAW (SHAW L3) Welcome to jf)w3rt$, known to f.fuggles aslUcsfniinstcf. We're excited you're here. Wtetovs. ij 'Hi SMYTHE EDDY t W U M! t&S i i Ml fc(6)uWiv BECCA RETTENSERGER ALEX EVANS EBERT MORALES ANDREW ALDRIDGE LEAH MILLER ANNE WILKINS MEAGAN RUMPH CARLY POTH MEGAN MOLUMBY DENISE HIMES RACHEL ROBERTSON V DYLAN FERGUSON TIM SU SEAN KENNEDY .'"J'MfHl SARAH KHAN V U1? l, . 1? cnnUM-TAYLOR STEVENS EMMA DELOUGHERY ANNE WILKINS 1 1 uu Ui MATT BAKER WANTED1 Petunia, Dudley, and Vernon Qursley mil The unignorable sexual violence conversation What is it and why does it want to kill me? GMOs TAYLOR STEVENS CONTRIBUTING WRITER CONTRIBUTING WRITER EMMA DELOUGHERY What are they? modified Genetically organisms (GMOs) are just that: organisms that have had their genome modified in some way. A gene could have been inserted, deleted or modified to affect the amount or type of protein produced by the- - cell. This, in turn, can affect the behavior of the organism by making it bigger, resistant to herbicides, produce a particular compound or any number of things. What will it do to me? In most cases, nothing. The modified genome usually just makes the GMO do something For example, profitable. herbicide-resista- nt crops enable farmers to use a variety of herbicides to kill weeds but not their plants which increases harvests. However, in some cases the GMO has been modified in such a way as to produce something it would not ordinarily. In the case of golden rice, that something is e, the precursor to vitamin A. The goal behind the creation of golden rice is the elimination of vitamin A deficiency, which can cause blindness and dwarfism. beta-caroten- Arent these things me? kill to supposed GMOs are controversial for a variety of reasons, including potential loss of biodiversity, spread of the GMO into surrounding areas and the practices of GMO companies. The effect of GMOs on health, however, appears to be according to, among others, the World the Health Organization, American Medical Association and a variety of studies in journals. That is, the GMO tomato designed O to ripen faster and the tomato are both going to give you the same nutritional benefits. Of course, eating golden rice will give you a big which dose of non-GM- O rice will not, so the business non-existe- peer-review- nt, ed non-GM- beta-carote- ne, nutritional properties of GMOs can be altered, but tinkering with the genome does not automatically turn the organism into a toxin. Important to consider here is the naturalistic fallacy, natural does not equal is not good. A non-GM- O healthier simply by virtue of Remember, being natural. and arsenic are natural cyanide too. Whats your bias? Im all for GMOs that create insulin, clotting factors, vitamins, and sure, can ripen faster, grow bigger and cost me less money. Im not worried in the least about my health, but I do have some concerns about patented crops and the behavior of GMO companies like Monsanto. All in all though, I think GMOs are the right step towards addressing issues in health and nutrition. 'A ; n 1 ? V f A ; t V) f I'VE GOT SOLIETITIHG TO SAY! Write a Setter to ths editor. forumedttor&weswmtercollegs edu L- - sku The issue of sexual assault on college campuses has been one of the most widely discussed topics of higher education in the media this year. Sessions at Westminsters first year student orientation reflected the recent push by the Obama Administration to reform and refine the conversation about sexual assault, with the ultimate goal of making college campuses a safer environment. Statistics show that one in five women will be a victim of rape while in college, and according to counselor Michelle Call, Westminsters numbers are just aligned with national statistics for other college campuses and universities. These numbers are especially shocking when considering that most instances of rape go unreported and that the number of sexual assaults is higher than that of rape. Alcohol, the number one date rape drug, was a factor in over half of the reported campus rapes. Theres a new push to be dealing with this on a different level on college campuses, Call said. Im going to be interested to see how that plays out. Because we are talking about it more than we were before. has indeed been Westminster attempting to add to the conversation about sexual violence. First year student orientation included a mandatory Title seminar and online course. The topic was also raised in skits and information sessions throughout the week, as well. The college is also hosting a statewide symposium on Sept. 19 and 20. The event, Not Alone: Confronting Sexual Violence on College Campuses, will partner with the Rape Recovery Center and will focus on ways to eliminate sexual violence from the college environment, including bystander prevention training. Its an important thing to talk about, especially at first year student orientation. According to Call, The first six weeks of school kind of creates an environment which is higher risk for college First Year students. This is largely due to increased use of and experimentation with alcohol. People are leaving home for the first time, have more freedom, and are experimenting more with what theyre doing in terms of drinking, partying, and making connections, Call said. People are also feeling more vulnerable in terms DC of needing to connect. Theres a perception that in order to feel connected, you need to be drinking." Knowing that first year students are particularly more vulnerable in the first few weeks, it is important to take stock of any behaviors. high-ris- k If we know that alcohol is a factor, then I would understand that going into a party--n- o matter who you are, Call said. Should you ever feel unsafe, You can call campus patrol and get an escort any time, day or night, and thats a really good service to use, said student advocate Andrea Hoffman. Talking about this issue is a start. in increase the However, despite believe not its conversation, many enough. I think that the conversation were having is very important, but I think we need to add to it, Call said. We need to educate the entire community about why this is happening about gender roles and rape culture. Thats really the best approach to risk reduction. Christian Fritze, an intern with the counseling center, agrees. A lot of the advocates believe that education has to start young, Fritze said. Westminster administration is hoping to meet this need for community education during the September symposium. Hoffman says the conversation is changing slowly. The focus is trying to shift away from victim blaming, Hoffman said. Things like, Make sure you always cover your drink, make sure someones always with you, make sure youre never alone. Things like that, when you state them blatantly, create an environment where we blame the person who was victimized. You can do everything in your power to protect yourself, but sometimes perpetrators are perpetrators, Fritze said. It has indeed been shown that the majority of campus rapes and sexual assaults are committed by a small group of repeat . offenders. Call said that its important to remember that: People can heal from this. Youre not alone and its not your fault. Its something you can move through, and were here to help you move through it. Both the nation and Westminster College are attempting to refine the way they enforce and discuss sexual assault, but only time will tell if their efforts will be reflected through an increase in campus safety. |