The Scripps Voice

By Katherine Goree ‘16

Staff Writer

On Thursday, Feb. 28, breast cancer expert Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade gave a lecture called “Closing the Knowledge Disparity Gap on Breast Cancer” at Harvey Mudd College.

Olopade, who was born and raised in Nigeria, came to the U.S. for the first time to visit her brother at Stanford University. A short time later, Olopade began her residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

Upon arriving in Chicago, Olopade was shocked to find that the South Side’s quality of life was more similar to that of her Nigerian neighborhood than that of Palo Alto, Calif. She had not expected to find so many people in America living on the fringes.

Now a professor and physician at the University of Chicago, Olopade and her colleagues are effectively the only breast cancer doctors in Chicago’s South Side. Most other breast cancer specialists in Chicago are located in the city’s wealthy neighborhoods, making them generally inaccessible to residents of the South Side.

Today, there is a 62 percent disparity in breast cancer mortality rates between black and white women. According to Olopade, this disparity is due to the knowledge gap between black and white women, as well as the fact that women of diverse backgrounds are disproportionately underrepresented in research.

Women of African descent are more likely to have a genetic mutation that puts them at a higher risk of getting breast and ovarian cancers. Women with genetic mutations are 40 to 87 percent more likely to get breast cancer by the time they are 70 years old, and have a 16 to 68 percent higher risk of getting ovarian cancer by the same age. Hence, it is important to know whether women have genetic mutations. Olopade asserted that cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that is much more common among white women, has received much better research funding than diseases that are more common among black women.

Olopade emphasized the importance of paying attention to ancestry while practicing medicine and conducting research. Due to the overrepresentation of white Western women in medical studies, pharmaceuticals on the market are more effective for white women. Olopade calls this problem “pharmacoethnicity,” and emphasizes that diverse populations should be better represented in medical research.

Women from disadvantaged backgrounds do not have access to the same quality of preventative care that privileged women do. Olopade gave the example of mammogram trucks. Mammograms, though useful for detecting early stages of breast cancer, are not effective in detecting deadly breast cancer and thus do not reduce the number of cases of breast cancer in advanced stages like MRIs do. Olopade said that mammogram vans are often donated to poor communities, but they do not lower breast cancer mortality.

Olopade ended her lecture by stressing the importance of “democratizing knowledge.” She believes that educating women of diverse backgrounds about breast cancer is critical in ending the knowledge disparity about breast cancer and reducing the number of breast cancer cases for women of African descent.

By Stephanie Huang ‘16
Staff Writer

Photo by Stephanie Huang

On Sept. 15, around 20 to 30 students from the Claremont Colleges reported signs of possible food poisoning or gastrointestinal illness, with the majority of cases stemming from Claremont McKenna College (CMC).

Although there is a rumor circulating that the students’ symptoms are the result of the stomach flu, the majority of students believe that they were subject to food poisoning.  Doctors have yet to confirm what the cause of the illness was, but many students with the illness had consumed a chicken avocado sandwich at Collins for lunch the day before.

Symptoms of the illness included nausea, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and a sore throat.  “It was the worst night of my life. I was throwing up for eight hours straight; even when I took the tiniest sip of water, it would just come right back up,” said Stephen Spencer, (CMC ‘15).

Many other students showed similar symptoms, including Jason Harrington, (CMC ’16), and Richard Harris, (CMC ‘16).  Harris’ roommate, Camilo Vilaseca, (CMC ’16), contracted the illness around two to three days after Harrington. Vilaseca said, “I think it was probably food poisoning. I vomited Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but it could have been a stomach bug because I got it after [Harris].”

Many students believe that an outbreak like this will not happen again.  “I’m so confident that the Student Health Services will spend a lot of time fixing [the problem] to make sure it doesn’t happen in the future—they are very competent,” said Harris.

Poultry and beef are known to be the most common sources of food poisoning, along with leafy greens.  To lower risks of food poisoning, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends keeping meat cooked to the required temperature, and adequately washing vegetables.

Hello Scripps! I’m your sex columnist for this issue! In addition to loving sex, I am a Planned Parenthood- trained peer sex educator.

I hope you’re all as excited as I am to be in Claremont! Seeing all the new faces makes me nostalgic for my first year. Enjoy your time here while it lasts! It’s crazy to think how much I’ve grown and learned over the past three years.

Some of you might still be in monogamous high school relationships. I was too—for three whole weeks! Others might be in open or poly relationships, looking for a new relationship, or just looking to have some fun. For those of you entering the much-criticized “hookup culture” I want to impart some words of wisdom so that you can all be safe, healthy, and happy in your sexual experiences.

First of all, CONDOMS. Condoms are not an option!!! They are a requirement. I cannot tell you how many times guys have tried to sleep with me without one and it baffles me every time! I understand it’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment, but even if you take birth control, please, please, please use a condom. STDs such as HPV are ubiquitous on college campuses.

Condoms are free at HEO. It’s not awkward to walk in there and grab some. I promise. Also, don’t always rely on the guy to have one! Because they often won’t. Having your own stash of condoms keeps you in charge of your sexuality. HEO also has free dental dams and it would be irresponsible to discourage their use. But in all honesty, I don’t know anyone who uses them, despite the fact that gonorrhea, syphilis, and Chlamydia can be transmitted via oral sex.

The best thing about a new school year has to be that clean-slate feeling. You haven’t had stress-induced fights with your friends yet or blemished your academic record with late assignments. Why not start with a clean sexual slate, too? No, I don’t mean becoming a born-again virgin (though by all means go ahead if you’d like). I’m talking about STD testing. There is no excuse for being sexually active and not getting tested. A good guideline is every three partners or every six months, whichever comes first. The 5C Student Health Center does STD screens for a nominal fee and HEO does free HIV testing every Tuesday. No information will be sent to your parents without your written consent!

Remember that a standard screening does not test for everything! Typically, a standard screening covers gonorrhea, Chlamydia, syphilis, and often (but not always) HIV. Notably absent from standard screenings are herpes 1 & 2, hepatitis, HPV, scabies, and molluscum, all of which must be specifically requested. So if your partner says, “I’m clean!” ask what he/she got tested for before giving unprotected sex the green light.

Many Claremont hookups start at parties and are fueled by alcohol. Alcohol may give you the courage to approach a potential hookup, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to good sex. When the clothes come off, you may not have sexual chemistry with the same person you have drunk grinding chemistry with. Less talked about than whiskey dick, yet more likely to have lasting consequences, is the fact that once-clear sexual boundaries may seem less important—to you or your partner or both—when intoxicated.

College is the perfect place to experiment sexually. Experiment with girls, experiment with boys, experiment with toys. This is how you’ll figure out what you like and don’t like. But healthy experimentation requires boundaries. A rule of thumb: if you something makes you uncomfortable, it shouldn’t be happening. Inviting someone back to your room does not indicate consent for any sexual act, and even verbal consent can be retracted at any time. Stay true to yourself.

Along those lines, focus on your own pleasure! I did not orgasm once during a hookup my first year, one-night-stands and consistent partners included. I was too nervous to direct partners who didn’t know how to please me. Many college students learn most of what they know about sexual technique from porn. This phenomenon has led to an overemphasis on P-in-V sex, which not only leaves queers completely out of the picture, but leaves many heterosexual women unsatisfied. Now I know that a little direction can go a long way. Take their hand and show them how to touch you—they’ll appreciate it. In the end, you have to trust your gut. Looking back, the hookups I regret have one thing in common: I had reservations about what was happening but didn’t speak up. Listen to those feelings of weirdness! They mean something.

Our columnists would love to answer any questions you have! No question is too weird or embarrassing! We want to know what you want to know. Email us at scrippsvoice+sex@gmail.com or drop a note in mailbox #892.

It’s an amazing lesson when you learn that you can’t depend on other people to care about your health. You have to learn to say no to certain things and care for yourself, because really, who has to live in your body? And as an independent college student living away from home, besides Student Health Services (and we won’t go into details there), who’s going to take care of you?

I spent most of this semester, like most of my Scripps career, wanting people to help me, wanting people to care. It’s a hard feeling knowing that you have to admit to yourself when you need to stop, when you need to rest. I often think of my fellow Scripps students who say, “Great!” “Fine!”  every time someone asks, “How are you doing?” Well, I’m starting a new trend. If you asked me, “Antoinette, how are you doing?” and you got an answer like, “I’m getting better,” “I’m not great, but I’m okay,” or “I’m not quite 100%, but I’m working on it,” that’s my best attempt to be open about my health on campus. It takes a lot of bravery to admit to not being in full health on these campuses when there’s often an unknown pressure to be always on top of things or when you personally feel like everyone else is perfect. Sometimes we have family issues, mental health issues, physical and emotional health issues, and we often need someone to say, “Hey, I’m going through it, too. Don’t be afraid and don’t feel alone.” So, I am not afraid to say that I need to go to therapy. And I’m not afraid to say to the rest of my fellow Scrippsies that I’m going through it, too. I am, by no means, perfectly healthy and perfectly happy, and I want those of you who are going through your own personal struggles to realize that you are most likely not alone.

Often times we hear that we’re supposed to put ourselves first, but we sometimes get the most negative responses when we do. You may drop the ball sometimes, but you can’t always plan for when your body is overworked and stressed. You can’t plan for when your health fails you or when a family member gets sick. You can’t plan for a sexual assault, an eating disorder, an injury or depression. Do you remember President Lori’s blog post called the Art of Conversation? Well, what you can also learn is the art of refutation. You can learn how to say “I can’t do this” and you can learn how to stand up for yourself. The hardest thing to do sometimes is to not care about other people’s impressions of you when you are in the midst of dealing with personal issues. And while I’m talking about a greater sense of transparency, you definitely do not owe anyone an explanation of what is really happening with you. You do not have to go into details if you do not feel comfortable and you surely do not have to be upfront all the time. I am, however, encouraging us to realize that we are often not alone in our experiences on campus. When we are suffering silently, there is usually another person with similar experiences close to us, and we may not have any idea because we’re so used to being “Fine!” and “Great!” whenever we interact with one another on campus. It also takes a lot of courage to reach out to another Scrippsie and say, “I see that something is happening with you. You don’t have to tell me everything but if you need someone to listen to you, someone to give you a hug every once in awhile, or someone to eat meals with, I’m here.” I’ve come to learn that the smallest actions leave the biggest impressions.

Another difficult thing to learn is the ability to say no; to refuse things that may not be in your own best interest. That, in itself, is an art. I needed to be okay with saying, “I can’t think about my reputation or your impressions of me currently, because I am truly not doing well. While I may have dropped the ball, I had a valid reason: I’m sick, I didn’t plan on being sick, and I refuse to continue working until I get better.” How else can one recover? If we all continue to work our bodies into exhaustion, ultimately our emotional, physical, and mental health begins to suffer.

Here are some of the things that I’m refusing to do:
I refuse to exacerbate my illnesses for the sake of not disappointing others.

I refuse to drink sugary drinks, eat unhealthy foods, and to consume products that aren’t good for me.

I refuse to forgo receiving 6-8 hours of sleep every night.

I refuse to over work and over commit myself.

I refuse to have all of my actions dictated only by the thoughts and opinions of others.

And so I say to you Scripps: learn to care for yourself. If you can take of yourself, you can be of greater service to others. In our conversations about community, we can slowly care for each other by reaching out and by understanding that we are not suffering alone on these campuses. As the semester comes to an end, I ask that you keep your health in mind and that in this last push through finals, you remember to rest, to drink lots of water, and to do things that will keep you sane (maybe you need to paint, read a fictional novel, watch a funny television show). Enjoy your summer vacations and I’ll see most of you next semester!

Antoinette Myers
SAS President Elect 2011-2012
Scripps College
Gates Millennium Scholar
Latin American Studies Major

To Stress or Not To Stress, That is The Question.

By Bre’anca Sanders (’11)
Guest Writer

It is that time of the year once again. Do I dare speak of “he who shall not be named”? Unfortunately for all of you Harry Potter fans, I am not referring to the one and only Voldemort, but to the common damper on everything that is fun—stress.

Nowadays the use of this word evokes emotions similar to those produced by the term thesis, which embodies the true essence of stress for most seniors. No matter what your expected graduation date, it is certain that everyone on-campus deals with the faintest amount of stress. Whether your stress derives from multiple mind-bottling courses, leadership roles, intense hours of summer internship or job hunting, family issues or a combination of these matters, you should feel secure in knowing that you are not alone.  In fact, even the most easy-going individuals must conquer their encounters with stress. And of course, calm, Zen-like persons need a method in order to eradicate the primary pest of the 5C’s, but their techniques are not quite as much of a mystery as you may think.

Due to our constant busy lives in the world of the Claremont bubble, we tend to treat stress as if it is a normal factor in our everyday lives and we have no choice but to accept it and move on. Luckily, no one needs to reside with the anxieties of college willingly. There are numerous ways of cutting down on pesky headache inducers. For example, one could join an exercise class such as yoga or kickboxing, where stress burns away faster than calories. In addition, a Relaxation Room consisting of massage chairs and multi-media entertainment offered by Health Education Outreach provides a safe, tranquil space for students to find a release. For those who prefer to not stray too far from their quarters, small additions to your daily routine can provide more stability to your hectic life. Try drinking more herbal tea, studying on the lawn or in the Margaret Fowler Garden, invest in Netflix or even taking a nice nap in a browsing room for once. Partake in whatever entices your senses.

At the end of the day, we have to consider our overall well-being as a major factor for success. Without a good sense of equilibrium, celebrating your academic or professional endeavors may become straining due to lack of energy and clear mind. If all it takes is a daily dose of a tantalizing apple to keep the doctor at bay, then do not hesitate to gobble down Granny Smith’s best. With that said, keep your spirits high and your all-around health at its most fit!

The Price of Success: Your Health

By Kelly Burch ’11
Staff Writer

An alarming number of Scripps students seem to be forsaking their health to secure a good grade. At the end of last semester, a close friend and I were talking about our days when I noticed a gash on her knee. I asked how she got it and she said she had pulled an all-nighter to finish an essay, and the next morning, after no sleep, she walked to class. On the way, she fainted and cut her knee when she fell. After she woke up she went to class and continued with her days as usual. A few years ago, another friend fainted in class during an important presentation and hit her head when she fell. Of course, being a Scrippsie, she stayed for the remainder of the class and even finished her presentation before going to the health center.

I researched this topic for a class project and found that female students are more likely than male students to neglect their health to finish schoolwork. Women also tend to put more pressure on themselves and each other in an academic setting than men do, so it is easy to see why this problem would be particularly apparent at a women’s college.  Where is this pressure coming from that drives women to value academic success above health?

After taking a health psychology class (and from personal experience) I have learned how extremely important sleep and relaxation are to one’s health; they are not something to be tampered with. Sleep deprivation and stress can lead to a number of illnesses and it doesn’t take a health psychologist to understand how lack of sleep can detract from quality of life.

I don’t believe that this is normal in the “real world.” In the show “Lipstick Jungle,” one of the characters faints at work. She is seen as an overachiever and after she faints she wants to go back to work after she wakes up—just like my Scripps friends. However, her boss insists on calling 911 and after being carried out on a stretcher, the doctor makes her go home because she needs rest. I wish there had been a doctor to tell my friend to go home and rest the day that she fainted, because when I expressed my concern she merely shrugged it off. I have pulled my own fair share of all-nighters and I understand the need to be get good grades. But now my new year’s resolution is to schedule in more time to sleep and relax. Of course it is important to do well in school, and if you go to Scripps you already know this. However, I think there is something to be said for living a well-balanced life, and I for one am going to make it a top priority to get my beauty-rest.

Have you ever seen the ads saying, “Pregnant? Scared? Need Help? Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX”? Think that those ads will direct you to a medical clinic or counseling service will all your options? Think again.

These advertisements will actually direct you to places called Crisis Pregnancy Centers, also known as CPCs. These clinics frequently present themselves as comprehensive women’s health clinics, but they do not provide contraception, birth control or abortions. They are run by anti-abortion or religious organizations, and are designed to scare, mislead and manipulate women facing unintended pregnancies out of getting abortions.

These centers frequently lie to women about the health risks of abortion. They tell women that abortions cause breast cancer and will lead to suicide, claims that have been refuted by the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association, to cite a few.
That is why students in the Feminist Majority of the Claremont Colleges were on campuses last week as part of “Don’t Get Tricked, Get Treated!”— a national week of action effort to expose fake clinics. Along with feminist groups across the country, students in the Feminist Majority wanted to make sure everyone in the Claremont community was informed about the dangers of CPCs.

There are several CPCs in our immediate vicinity. The closest CPC, “Alternate Avenues,” is less than two miles away in Montclair. Nationally, these places outnumber comprehensive women’s health clinics two to one and they often locate themselves near college campuses and hospitals.

For accurate information, Planned Parenthood is always a safe bet. There is a Planned Parenthood clinic in Pomona. If you are ever unsure and want to check the validity of a center, call. Ask if they provide abortions or referrals to abortion services. A legitimate clinic should be able to answer that question. A CPC will probably ask you to come in and talk about it. That is a red flag.

Regardless of your personal views about abortion, it is essential that all people have access to accurate, unbiased and scientifically supported information about their health. Talk to your friends and spread the word. Don’t wait until it’s too late. In an age of abstinence-only “education,” we cannot afford to have more misinformation out there.

It’s flu season, so you should protect yourself from the flu by getting a flu shot. It seems simple, but a surprisingly large number of people are avoiding the vaccine. The discomfort caused by the momentary pinch of a needle is minute compared to the discomfort caused by a fever, achy muscles, sore joints, chills, headaches and a cough; a week in bed and out of class feels like a vacation only until it ends and the struggle to catch up on five days of missed material begins. But even if the flu shot really isn’t your cup of tea, here are a couple of helpful hints to strengthen your immune system and avoid being plagued by the virus:

• Wash your hands frequently. A study done at University of California, Berkeley showed that students who sat in front of their laptops for a three hour period touched their faces an average of 47 times (that’s once every four minutes). So germs have 47 opportunities to infiltrate your body while you innocently catch up on that episode of Gossip Girl you missed, check Facebook and edit a draft of your Core paper. Another experiment, conducted at the University of Colorado, found that putting hand sanitizer dispensers in dorms lowered students’ chances of getting sick by 20 percent. Students using the dispensers missed 43 percent fewer days of class compared to the students living in dorms without the dispensers.

• Sleep. It’s no secret that getting lots of sleep correlates with a healthy and happy immune system. Research conducted at Carnegie Mellon University supports this theory. Carnegie Mellon’s research found that students averaging less than seven hours of sleep per night had a risk of contracting the flu that was three times greater than those students who averaged more than seven hours each night.

• Eat right. Loading up on those fruits and vegetables may sound like just another piece of nagging advice from your mother, but a study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that “we must remain committed to consuming a variety of vegetables and fruit as part of a plant-food–based diet.”

So, if you want to stay happy and healthy this cold and flu season, remember to: get a flu shot, wash your hands often, use hand sanitizer, eat right and get plenty of sleep. Do it for yourself and for the rest of the Scripps community. I think I speak on behalf of us all when I say that nobody wants our campus invaded by bugs.

This issue focuses on Health at the Claremont Colleges, especially in the wake of Flu season. Open the link to view our spread!

Health!

Perusing the soup bar at Harvey Mudd, I noticed something unusual about the label: along with the name of the dish, it had all of the nutritional information. Remembering when Malott Commons had these labels on its food, I had a strong sense of déjà vu.

If you didn’t eat at Malott last year, you missed the stirrings caused by the addition of nutrition facts to the food labels. A debate emerged regarding the new labels. In the end, Malott reverted the labels to the way they were. Today, as before, Malott has a white binder of nutrition facts by the exit.

The other day I decided to approach this behemoth of a binder. What started as a search for a food I was about to eat turned into an expedition through protein, grams of fat and calories. At a certain point I forgot about the dish I was looking for and started looking at the nutrition facts for other foods. What I found was surprising.

I’ve heard many arguments against the labels with nutrition facts. One of the main points made last year was that the facts ruin favorite dining hall foods. But, looking at these nutrition facts, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one chocolate chip cookie has only 173 calories.

Reading these nutrition facts, I started questioning my preconceptions about what is healthy. I’ve heard horror stories about pizza, but the nutrition facts revealed that it depends on the pizza. One slice of cheese pizza has just 286 calories. Pair that with a salad and that’s an acceptable portion of food. Here I was, reading these nutrition facts, expecting to lose all interest in food. Instead, I realized that I had been unreasonably paranoid.

However, some guilty pleasure foods are exactly as horrible as I had imagined. I could have four cups of frozen yogurt and still eat fewer calories than I would if I ate the Mississippi Mud Cake, which has 896 calories.

When I closed the food guide, I was confused. Foods I thought were bad turned out to be okay. Foods I thought would be just a little bad were horrible.
I decided to ask what other Scripps students thought of these labels. Mary Griffith (’12) opposed the labels: “We are bombarded with nutrition and diet and health talk every day, with people saying we aren’t good enough and need to work out more. We shouldn’t have to be bombarded at the dining hall as well.” Rebecca Smith (’12) voiced a common perspective when she said that she doesn’t look at nutrition labels, adding that the labels are more beneficial than harmful and don’t create self-consciousness. Said Smith, “People who are going to be overly sensitive about food will be that way, whether the labels are there or not.”

Opinions on this sensitive topic—so frequently connected to discussions of disordered eating—will probably always reflect a tension between passionately-held opinions. But I, for one, would find the reappearance of nutrition information on the food labels reassuring.