Maroon

              THE MAROON Loyola University New Orleans VOL. 79, NO. 07 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2001 MAROON.LOYNO.EDU Biologists weigh in on anthrax By Ellen Pivach News Editor Despite the recent anthrax scare in Florida, faculty and students at Loyola say they are not very concerned about the disease potentially affecting them. Maureen Shuh, assistant professor of biological sciences, said she is more concerned about getting in a car accident than about contracting anthrax. "I think this country is on top of events like that," Shuh said. "There are a lot of other problems." Shuh has had experience working with the deadly disease at Fort Detrick army base in Maryland. "1 worked at a facility that produced anthrax for the United States. The United States made weapons years ago; they don't anymore supposedly," she said. According to Shuh, ij is very difficult to manufacture anthrax in the form that is deadly to humans. "You'd have to package it into some kind of warhead and send it out there," she said. "It's hard to do it." According to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, the two deadliest forms of anthrax for humans are inhalation anthrax and intestinal anthrax. Inhalation anthrax is the form used in biomedical warfare because it is invisible and odorless, and people are unaware that they are breathing it in. It is an infectious disease that is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is most commonly found in cattle and domestic farm animals. Shuh said that antibiotics can be used to treat the disease if it is detected early enough. "It's not that easy to get infected by anthrax, and it responds very well to antibiotics," she said. According to an Associated Press article, symptoms of anthrax are similar to those of the common cold or flu — one's body aches and develops a cough. The disease usually kills within three days after the initial symptoms are detected. The Center for Disease Control Web site says that "direct person-to-person spread of anthrax is extremely unlikely, if it occurs at all." Shuh agreed that the anthrax threat is not one to be concerned about. "The government is watching for stuff like that. I'm confident that we'll at least be able to take care of problems like that," she said. Other biology professors said they are not worried about biomedical warfare in the United States. "Anthrax has been around for a long time and has mostly affected cows and domesticated Activists want peace By Curie Veronica Jones Staff writer A group from Loyola heads to Washington, D. C. to leap into controversy Thirteen people from Loyola went to Washington, D.C. to represent Louisiana during a weekend of protests, carrying signs that read "Stop the USA, Stop the Monster" and "Louisiana says no to war." Students who participated in the protests showed live video coverage of the event at a meeting on campus last Friday. Thirty-two people attended the meeting. "The people who went to the demonstration were courageous. It's easier to fall into the masses, into an inflamed mass of emotional people," said John Clark, professor at City College and faculty adviser to the Loyola Greens club. According to The Washington Post, more than 7,000 people from around the world attended the protests. Some held signs that read "Amerika get a clue, people around the world hate you!" "Our government is run by terrorists. I consider that profoundly evil." Clark said. Some students who went to the protest said they were uneasy about how it would turn out. "I thought it would be pretty violent," said Kelly Stiles, A'oo. Students said, however, that the protests were mostly peaceful, though security was tight. Tanks and armed guards carrying tear gas blocked exits during the protests, preventing any of the protestors from leaving the area. The students at the meeting said people were forced to make their own bathrooms along the sides of the streets as they were locked in for hours. The video showed protestors with gas masks breaking through the police amid cries of "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "F  — Taliban, F right here!" from people in the crowd. PROTESTOR FOR PEACE E.P. Menon, a man who walked from New Delhi to Hiroshima during a three-year time period promoting peace, was at the protest meeting Oct. 5. "The people that attended the protests in D.C. were all the same |young| age. That is a PHOTO BY WILL R. DONALDSON Protesters walk through the streets of Washington, D.C. with signs encouraging peace. A group of faculty and students from Loyola joined them Sept. 29 and 30 to protest U.S. military action. PHOTO BY WILL R DONALDSON Armed guards watch over a protestor at a rally in Washington, D.C. Guards carried tear gas and blocked exits to prevent protestors from leaving. Opinions vary about U.S. attacks By Ellen Pivach News Editor "I don't think we have much choice. You can't' just sit back and have thousands ot people be slaughtered." - EDWARD RENWICK, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE On the United States' attacks on Afghanistan. In the wake of continuing attacks on Afghanistan by the United States, the country remains relatively calm. At Loyola, opinions vary as to whether the United States is doing the right thing. "You have to get back at the people who did it," said Edward Renwick, associate professor of political science. The U.S. military began dropping bombs near Kandahar, the ruling militia headquarters of the Taliban, on Sunday, Oct. 7. Since the U.S. attacks began, both faculty and students have reacted to America's retaliation for the Sept. II attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. According to Renwick, the United States can do only so much in response to the terrorist attacks. "1 don't think we have much choice. You can't just sit back and have thousands of people be slaughtered," Renwick said. Some students disagreed and said they do not feel the response of the United States is necessarily appropriate. "I'm against it. I don't agree with innocent people dying, but I do think the terrorists need to be punished," said Paul Roney, general studies sophomore. U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that the attacks on Afghanistan are not aimed at civilians. In keeping with this goal, U.S. military dropped more than 35.000 food packets on Monday for civilians in the bombed areas. Each packet had writing on it saying. "This food is a gift from the United States of America." Some students said they think it is important that the United States drop food boxes for civilians of Afghanistan. "Yes, I do |agree with the food packets|, but I think it is a conflicting idea," said Shari Wilson, English writing junior. "It's not moral to feed the people we are bombing." According to a statement issued by the United States Conference of Catholic- Bishops, the Church renews its "call that our military response must be guided by the traditional moral limits on the use of force. See PROTEST, Page 3 See ANTHRAX, Page 3 See RETALIATION, Page 4 FSDIOFDIO OPINION (cmtoffifc Americans shouldn't be paranoidpg.9 YEARS pg. e NEXT WEEK: PRINCETON REVIEW RANKS LOYOLA 13TH AMONG SCHOOLS WITH HARD LIQUOR