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Cljarlottc ^ost
LIFE
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006
Section
S. Carolina
women lag
behind in
diplomas
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, S.C.-A
greatei* percentage of women
than men are finishing high
school in South Carolina, but
more men are finishing col
lege, according to a recent
U.S. Census report.
In 2000, 76,9 percent of aU
South Carolina women 25
and older had at least a high
school diploma — slightly
more than the men. But only
19.4 percent of them had
bachelor’s degrees compared
with 21.6 percent of the men.
That’s not a significant dif
ference, said University of
South Carolina histoiy pro
fessor Marcia Synnott.
“It’s not too discouraging,”
she said.
The college numbers have
shifted since the 1940s and
‘50s, when a greater percent
age of South Carolina women
than men had at least a bach
elor’s degree'. '
Synnott said'World War 11
and the demobilization of
troops that followed left fewer
men in colleges and more
women findir^ opportunities
to go to school.
“With so many men in the
service, then women were the
key people on campus,”
Synnott said of the war years.
That changed by 1960 and
men have steadily outpaced
women since. The biggest gap
came in 1980 when 15.8 per
cent of the state’s men had at
least a bachelor’s degree,
- while only 11.4 percent oftiie
state’s women had a degree.
“It’s hard to pinpoint in
what year the changes
occurred,” Synnott said. But,
she said, the beginning of the
baby boom in the late ‘40s
took coUege-age women out of
the market for degrees and in
the market for husbands and
children.
A similar trend was seen in
women graduatdi^ from high
school, but now women have a
slight lead in that category
“The trend now nationwide
is more women than men”
comii^ out of hi^ school, said
Rebecca Masters, assistant to
the president of Winthrop
University in Rock Hill.
But friat wasn’t always the
case.
In 1940, 20.4 percent of all
women in the state 25 and
older had a high school diplo
ma compared with just 16.3
percent of the state’s men.
Women high school gradu
ates continued to outpace
men until 1970, when 38 per
cent of the state’s men 25 and
older had diplomas compared
with 37.6 percent of women.
That trend continued until
2000.
“The concern in South
Carolina is the dropout rate
across the board,” Masters
said.
South Carolina is dosing its
hi^ school graduation gap
with the nation as a whole—
76,3 percent of South
Carolinians 25 and older have
diplomas versus 80.4 percent
of the nation.
Race continues to be a factor
in how educated South
Carolinians are.
In 2000, 80.9 percent of all
whites 25 and older had at
least a high school diploma,
while only 64.9 percent of
blacks had diplomas. At the
same time, 24.2 percent of the
state’s whites had at least a
bachelor’s degree while just
less than 10 percent of blacks
had a college degree.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/WADE NASH
No time for love
Running a business often forces relationships to back
By Cherts F. Hodges
cherisEi)dges®thecluirloneposuom
After working 75 hours
a week, the last thing
Darren \fincent has time
for is looking for love.
The 33-year-old busi
ness owner isn’t against
finding the one, but hke
many others under the
age of 40, he just doesn’t
have time
“A personal hfe
becomes really hard. It’s
hard to find someone
who understands. I think
I need to find someone
who runs as much as I
do,” Vincent said.
He said that since he
opened his bookstore in
NoDa, he’s met some
good women and lost
some because they say he
works too much.
“People don’t like that,”
he said. “I’m trying to
find a middle point. I
thoixght the older woman
thing would work, but it’s
the same old thing if
you’re not there for them.
I lost a relationship
because of this store.” ■ '
USAToday columnist
Rhonda Abrams wrote in
a recent article that bal
ancing entrepreneurship
and a personal fife is
nearly impossible.
“Everyone talks about
wanting balance
between work and home.
Yet few achieve it, and
it’s 'virtually impossible
when you run your own
business. This is ironic
because many people
start a business because
they want greater flexi
bility” she wrote. ' ' ’ ''
It’s also hard, according
to promoter and bar
tender Michael Kitchen,
to some women too much
flexibility is atum-ofi'.
“Whai you’re an entre-
pre-Negro hke myself,
you put more time into
your stuff. Most people
doing their own thing
have to put in more
time,” he said.
And that puts a strain
on meeting the opposite
sex.
“From my standpoint.
Please'We NO TIME/2B
Myrtle Beach wants limits on surfing, dogs
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MYRTLE BEACH-Dogs and
surfers would be banned from dty
beaches for the peak tourist months
if the City Council approves a
change in regulations.
The proposed changes are being
discussed by the Beach Ad'visory
Committee, which wants to make
city and covuity beach regulations
the same.
Lifeguards monitor the beaches
fiom April 15 to Sept. 30, which
would be the dates dogs would be
banned and surfing would be limited
to five zones.
The Sxiifrider Foundation, a non
profit organization dedicated to the
protection and preservation of
beaches, is polling members to see
what they think of the changes.
Wesley LocMair, a Murrells Inlet
attorney and a surfer, said he wor
ried the shorter open surf dates
would have the most impact on
young surfers who might not have
transportation to the city’s surf
zones.
“Smfing keeps kids out of trouble,”
Locklair said. “It’s hard for a kid to
get around with a board ... 'unless
they can catch a ride.”
Balloon may hold key to sinusitis relief
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON-It’s like
an angioplasty to clear out
dogged sinuses.
A new procedure lets doc
tors snake a balloon up the
noses of chronic sinusitis
sufferers, stretching their
sinus passages to help them
breathe easier 'with less
pain than the standard
sinus surgery that 350,000
Americans undergo each
year.
No one yet knows if sinu-
plasty works as well as a
surgical fix. Only about 100
AIDS Walk kickoff
. doctors aroimd the cormtry
are trained to offer it, and
research is just beginning
to track its effectiveness
and determine who is a
good candidate. But if sinu-
plasty proves itself, it
promises a long-awaited
middle ground between
medications and surgery for
thousands of patients seek
ing relief finm the misery of
repeated sinus infections.
“Clearly sinuplasty will
not replace stirgery for
every patient,” cautions Dr.
hfichael Friedman, an oto
laryngologist and chief of
head and neck surgery at
Chicago’s Rush University
Medical Center, who heads
the first study that will
compare the treatments.
“But I think there’s a huge
number of people who could
benefit from this,” he adds.
“It’s really the most exciting
thing that’s happened in
our specialty in probably 15
years.”
Sinusitis is an inflamma-
tion or infection of the
straw-sized passages that
drain each of the sin'uses
that surround the nose and
eyes. It can cause sweUing
and facial pain, debilitating
headaches, and a some
times pus-hke nasal conges
tion.
Acute sinusitis, tri^ered
by colds or aUeigies, usually
clears up within a month.
But more than 30 million
Americans suffer from
chronic sinusitis, meaning
symptoms last longer than
two months or regularly
recur. Patients repeatedly
try antibiotics, deconges-
Please see BALLOON/3B
The Regional
AIDS Interfaith
Network, also
known as RAIN,
hosted a kick off
party at The
Charleston
House on
Sunday to get
more African
Americans
involved in the
group’s annual
AIDS Walk. This
year’s event will
be May 6th.
The lfi%w flisowt*
ChIIER 0(1 Si'IKMT'/ SbMB
What to
know about
diabetes
18.2 million Americans have
diabetes! And tragically more
than one-fourth of them (5.2 mil
lion) don’t even know that they
have it! Afiican-Americans suffer
finm diabetes at a much higher
rate and are much more likely
than non-minorities to suffer
from its serious and life-threat
ening complications.
Lb .understand diabetes, you
must imderstand how insulin
works. Insulin is a hormone pro
duced in an organ called the pan
creas, which is located just
behind the stomach. Insulin is
needed for the body to properly
use carbohydr'ates (sudi as glu
cose or sugar) fixrm the diet.
When insulin is either lacking or
not fimctioning properly as is the
case with diabetes, glucose
builds up in the blood and
increases your blood sugar.
There are two main types of
diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.
There appears to be a genetic
predisposition (meaning it may
run in your family) for both
types. Type 1 diabetes accounts
for only 5 to 10 perxent of aU.
cases in the United States. Mth
this kind of diabetes, pancreas
cells become destroyed by a vfrus
or an autoimmune reaction. As a
result, they cannot make insulin
and tha^ore can’t control blcKx!
srgar effectively .Type'.pdiabetes
usually affects children and
young adults and requires
insulin therapy
Most cases of diabetes (90 to 95
percent) are classified as LVpe 2
diabetes. Type 2 usually begins
with insulin resistance, or the
inabflity of the body to properly
use the insulin that it has.
Obesity is the most common
cause for insiilin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes can often be
treated -with diet,
exercise/weight loss, and oral
medication. Over time, the pan
creas may also fail to produce
insulin in Type 2 diabetes. While
it used to be most common in
older adults, it is becoming an
increasing problem in adoles
cents and even children.
Just like hypertension, dia
betes can be a. ‘sllart’ disease
resulting in serious and life-
threatening complications. Lhe
high glucose levels (blood sugar)
can damage blood vessels
throughout the body This can
result in damage to the eyes, kid
neys, and nerves. In addition,
blood vessel damage increases
the risk of heart attack, stroke,
and peripheral vascular disease
(poor circulation). Diabetes is a
leading cause of blindness,
amputations, and kidney failure
in Afiican-Americans.
The good news is that you can
take steps today to prevent dia
betes or to control it.
We will discuss how to detect
and treat diabetes in a later col
umn. Remember, knowledge is
power, but it is what you do with
it that makes all the difference!
Contribution bv Granada Srephens-
NeilMD.
For more infonnation about the
Maya Angelou Research Center on
Minority Health, visit our website at
http://www.nfubmc.edu/minority-
heallh or call 336.713.7578for health
infonnation.