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NEWS

The Norwich Guidon
Jan. 29, 2004

Bitter cold weather poses problems on campus

By Chase Jenne
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

There is no question as to what the talk is around campus: the cold weather. With the temperatures dropping dangerously close to State records, it might make students worried about walking to class.

Vermont's annual average for the month of January is right around 16 degrees. With the weather headed in this direction for this month, it is expected to be way below average.

Norwich students could have it easy compared to some other schools in Vermont. Although they still have to walk through the cold to get to classes on time, the walk is rarely going to be more than a five-minute walk.

"It is freezing walking to class during the day here, but I can't complain about the distance I walk from class to class," said Derek Cadieux, 19, a sophomore criminal justice major from St. Albans, Vt. "I have friends that attend the University of Vermont and Champlain College, (both in Burlington, Vt.), and I can't imagine walking sometimes a 15 to 20-minute walk from class to class."

But for Jillian Patoine, 21, a junior speech pathologist major from Springfield, Vt. currently attending the University of Vermont, the situation is much different. "Going to class for me requires driving into town then finding a parking space, which is usually nowhere in the vicinity of my classes," Patoine said. "Then the walking is about 20 minuets to my class."

Students in Burlington find that it is 15 degrees below zero, and the winds are at about 20 miles per hour, so it will feel like 42 degrees below zero. At this temperature, it only requires 10 minutes' exposure to become a victim of frostbite.

Some of the school leaders have had to make changes due to the extreme cold weather. Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force ROTC chain of commands decide whether it is safe for the cadets to have physical training outside. Guidelines mandate that it must be at least 20 degrees above zero for student to participate in PT outside and at least 40 degrees above zero for them to run outside.

Vehicles don't fare as well, making walking a requirement in some cases.

"I own a 1989 Jeep Cherokee, and it's not in the best shape, so I have been down twice this week just to start it and let it run for awhile," Cadieux said. "But in this weather, the shape of your rig doesn't matter at all. If your car is brand new, it is going to have a hard time starting in this climate."

Program helps students fund creative service projects

By Shandra Plourde
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Students strapped for cash and full of initiative towards helping their communities will find a little extra help in a program offered by Campus Compact, a nonpartisan group that helps students take their ideas for service projects and make them a reality.

The "Raise Your Voice" campaign is a way to fund projects that may otherwise remain only a dream to students wishing to make a difference. A student applies for a mini-grant and, if approved, they will receive a grant ranging from $200 to $600.

Vermont Campus Compact is offering 10 of these mini-grants to students who wish to obtain financial assistance in their endeavors.

Raise Your Voice is "a national campaign to encourage students to become active citizens and to help increase and highlight student voice and involvement," said Kate Van Cantfort of Vermont Campus Compact. "[We help] college students to be active around issues that are important to them. We work on any issue, whatever students think are important. Issues specific to campus or national, international, or state level."

"If they are interested in the mini-grants or working with the raise your voice campaign, they don't have to be, necessarily, a typical activist or leader on campus," said Michelle Berber, Campus Compact's contact at Norwich University. "If they just have ideas and they want to bring other students in on it, they are eligible for these mini-grants.

"They don't have to be for typical causes. It can be anything that influences your campus, [your community], or the environment, or even the state," Berber said.

Vermont Campus Compact states that the intended outcomes of the Raise Your Voice campaign are to: amplify student voice and empowerment; increase dialogue about issues important to students; support student-led activism, volunteer programs and leadership initiatives; and create networking between campuses.

Students struggle with effects of sleep deprivation

By Matthew Poitras
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Kathleen Donovan, a 20-year-old communications major from Canterbury, NH, begins her day by showering and finishing up homework she didn't do the night before.

She attends classes from 8 a.m. straight through until noon. When she isn't busy in the afternoon with her Corps duties, she is riding horses for Cavalry or doing her job as a commissioned artist. By the time she finishes most of her homework and goes to bed, it is 2 a.m. Donovan then wakes up at five the next morning and starts the process all over again.

Donovan is sleep deprived, just like 70 percent of all college students, according to www.sleep-deprivation.com.

According to Carol Bandy, an associate professor of psychology at Norwich University, the average person age 18 to 25 needs eight hours of sleep each night.

"If an individual is to lie down in the middle of the afternoon in a darkened room and close their eyes, and can do that without falling asleep, then that person is not sleep deprived," Bandy said, adding that "would probably exclude almost everybody on campus."

Josh Strom, 19, a freshman communications major from Meriden, N.H., also gets between four and five hours of sleep a night. This lack of sleep causes him to fall asleep during classes.

"I usually get 10 to 15 minutes per class," Strom said. "I have two classes per morning, so I get two naps.

"Even upperclassmen fall asleep during class. I don't feel like I'm all alone," Strom said.

While Donovan said she falls asleep in classes, as well, Jim Stewart, a 22-year-old senior psychology major from London- Derry, NH has yet to give in to sleeping in class, though he only gets four to six hours of sleep each night.

"Occasionally there's a class where I nod a little, but I've never fallen asleep," Stewart said. "I just fight to stay awake."

Bandy said that sleep deprivation is "really the kiss of death for students."

Recent studies have revealed a link between sleep deprivation and poor grades, according to the American Psychological Association web site (www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.html).

Students who said they were getting grades of C and lower in school slept an average of 25 minutes less each night compared to students who reported they were getting As and Bs.

Besides the effect on grades, there are a variety of other factors negatively affected by not getting enough sleep, Bandy said. People become "more irritable," they start having "problems with concentration," and sleep deprivation can even have "a negative effect on the immune system," Bandy said.

"We see a lot of people getting sick about the same time we see a lot of people getting tired," Bandy said. "It's not an accident the two things go hand in hand."

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, Northfield, VT 056632. www.norwich.edu/guidon. If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.