A life of a veggies: Q
Vegetarian options on- and off-campus] O
Tossing championships: -1 •i'
Ultimate Frisbee teams sponsor Tourney | I I
November 6, 2003
Volume LV, Number 10
Serving UNC Wilmington since 1948
Dog walkers could walk
home with $25 citations
Alisha Gore
Staff Writcr
Wrightsville Beach is a popu
lar place for many UNCW student
dog owners to walk their canine
companions.
However, problems have aris
en that have left many UNCW
students leaving local dog-walk
ing hot spots with citations.
According to the Wrightsville
Beach Police Department, most
citations are given to dog owners
who fail to keep their dog on a
leash or clean up after their dog.
The WBPD also says that
many cited dog owners are col
lege students.
“We have been working for
about a year to try to get our dog
ordinances better understood and
to get better compliance,” said
Jim Talbot, a member of the
Wrightsville Beach Association.
The fines start at $25 for each
offense. Warning citations are not
given by Wrightsville Beach
police officers.
David Cignotti, a former
UNCW student who is currently a
member of the Wrightsville
Beach Association, reports that
these laws are not intended to cre
ate a hardship on dog owners.
He states that these laws are in
effect in order to protect people
and the natural environment at
Wrightsville Beach.
“Wrightsville Beach is a
canine friendly town, yet with its
Heeftm SMhawk
Dog laws on Wrightsville Beach have caused students
to receive citations for walking their pets.
location and natural environment
it is crucial that we clean up after
our pets in order to keep our
waters clean for both humans and
shellfish,” Cignotti said.
Dogs that are not kept on
leashes can easily create prob
lems such as harassing and/or
attacking people, runmng out into
traffic or causing property dam
age.
Another problem created by
dogs that are not kept on leashes
is the threat that dogs pose to
birds. If not kept on leashes, dogs
can disturb nesting areas and
destroy birds and their eggs. This
is very harmful to the ecological
Visit Us
www.theseahawk.org
OP/ED
4
ly sensitive bird sanctuary at
Wrightsville Beach.
The WBA stresses the impor
tance of keeping dogs on leashes.
“We allow dogs on the beach
(on a leash) from Oct. 1st to
March 31st. It’s important that
this rule is adhered to, especially
at the North End, because that is
our bird sanctuary and is desig
nated as a nesting and foraging
area for birds during the nesting
and migratory seasons,” Talbot
said.
Improper disposal of dog
See dogs, Page 3
Inside This issue
Dorm Disease:
UNCW warns of meningitis
Kristine Klammer
Staff Writer
Could students actually die from
living in the dorms? Possibly. Many
illnesses luik the halls of dorms, but a
disease called Meningococcal
Meningitis can ultimately be deadly if
not detected early.
Most college students live in the
dorms for at least one year, if not mcae.
One of the main problems living in
such close quarters with other people
is Ulness. Most often, the common
cold, as well as other viruses, spreads
like wildfire.
The State of North Carolina pas-sed
House Bill 825 during the summer of
2003. The bill requires both public and
private institutions that offer a post
secondary degree and has a residential
campus to provide vaccination infor
mation on meningococcal disease to
each student
Meningitis is an infection of the fluid
of a person’s spinal cord and the fluid
that surrounds the teain. It is usually
caused by a viral or bacterial infection.
There are five different serotypes of
the disease, bacterial meningitis being
the rrxKt severe.
Some forms of bacterial meningitis
are contagious, especially to those
who have had close prolonged expo
sure to a patient with meningitis. It is
spread through the exchange of respi
ratory and throat secretions, such as
kissing and coughing.
Some symptoms of Meningococcal
Meningitis include high fever,
headache and a stiff neck These
symptoms can develop over a few
hours or one to two days. Other symp
toms may include nausea, vomiting,
discomfort looking at bright lights,
confiision, sleepiness and in severe
cases seizures.
Shariene Pence, as,sistant director of
the UNCW Health Center, said, “There
have not been any cases on UNCW’s
campus that I am aware of in the past
two and a half years.”
The UNCW Health Center does a
campaign in the dorms early in the
semester to inform students about
meningitis and the vaccination that
they offer. The university is not
required to offer the vaccination.
“The vaccination does have a risk of
reaction, but it’s very little,’' Pence said.
The decision to get the vaccination is
something that students need to discuss
with their parents and their physician.
The vaccine potects agaiast four of the
serotypes of rr>eningitis for three to five
years, but it does not protect against
serotype B. Because the serum is very
expensive, the vaccination at the uni
versity costs $70.
UNCW senior, Gina Ferracci said, “I
would get the vaccine if I lived in the
donns, what’s the harm, it’s for jxeven-
tion, so why not.”
Living in the dorms can be fim and
exciting, but it can also be dangerous.
Diseases can be spread quickly if stu
dents do not take the tjecessary precau
tions and stay alert to warning signs of
serious illnesses.
To find out more information on
Meningococcal MeningitLs, visit the
UNCW Health Center Web Site or, if
you are interested in receiving the vac
cine, call 962-3280.
UNCW Life
5
Classifieds
8
Sports
9
Contact Us
Editorial: 962-3229
Ads: 962-3789