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Gym Renovations Begin with New Equipment
By Eugenia Hannon ’10
STAFF WRITER

Renovations to the Daisy Williams Gymnasium have been discussed for over seven years, and finally there is something really happening. The entire student body is excited about the plans for the new gym, which includes a café area and racquetball courts. Sweet Briar’s gym, which was state of the art in 1931 but is now painfully antiquated in comparison to most other schools, is being modernized.

Kelly Morrison, the Athletic Director, is extremely enthusiastic about the new gym. The plans took “…a lot of foresight and work,” and Morrison and others recently went to other colleges in the area to look at their gyms for ideas. The addition of a café seems to bring a lot of students to the gym, making it very social and active—not just a place for activity. In addition to drawing in current students, it is presumed that the improved gym will encourage prospective students to chose Sweet Briar, once we have athletic facilities that equal or perhaps eclipse our rival schools.

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Student Iron Deficiency Appears to Fall
By Emily Clifton ’08
STAFF WRITER

Giving blood is a generous act, and many students sign up each year to donate at the bi-annual blood drives hosted by the Bum Chums.

But what happens when students decide to give blood, only to find that they are ineligible due to iron deficiency? Despite the fact that Prothro serves meat with every meal and le Bistro boasts plenty of fare that is rich in protein, many students suffer from iron deficiency, evidenced by the large number of students that turned away at each drive.

Iron is a mineral whose function is primarily as a key element of carriers of oxygen in the body called of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is found in the blood. In the muscle, iron is part of the structure of myoglobin, another oxygen carrier.

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Honor Infractions Rise, Prompting Questions
By Julia Pratt ’09
STAFF WRITER

Though we are well into this academic school year, returning SBC students might remember the extensive lists of Honor Code sanctions posted around campus during last year’s spring semester. The frequent appearance and length of these reports indicated that there was a marked increase in honor code violations during that semester. Concerned, as much of the student body no doubt is, we at The Voice set out to discover why it appears that more of us are disregarding the Honor Code.

Natalie Pye ‘07, the Academic Chair of the Judicial Committee, believes that there are as many infractions as before, but that improved communication and education has led to a rise in incidents being reported: “I think the increase is encouraging in a way because it means that people are using the system. The Judicial Committee is really the best way to deal with violations.”

She also attributes the increase in the reporting of Honor Code violations to the Academic Integrity Discussions held in 2005. It is likely that these discussions raised awareness in the community, as do the Honor Code portion of the Student Handbook and first-year orientation.

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Student Contracts Meningitis
By Blair Mullally ’10
STAFF WRITER

During the first week of October, SBC was confronted with a situation not often encountered at a small, liberal arts college: a case of the potentially deadly meningitis infection.

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes covering the brain. It consists of two types: bacterial and viral. Usually caused by Streptococcus preumoniae, the viral strain is more common, yet the less serious of the two forms. In less severe cases, it can sometimes be resolved in a few days, provided the patient obtains immediate treatment. The deadlier form, bacterial meningitis, strikes 1,400 to 3,000 Americans each year and is responsible for approximately 150 to 300 deaths.

Although meningitis can affect all age ranges, rates of the disease fall after infancy, rising later again in early adolescence and peaking between the ages of 15 and 20 years. College students should be particularly aware of the risks, as nearly 30% of patients in all cases of meningitis in the US are adolescents and young adults.

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Mold in Our Dorms?
By Brandon Ayers Agnew '08 & Rachel Reynolds '07
STAFF WRITER

About two months ago Brandon Agnew ‘07 brought up the concern of mold in the dorms at an SGA meeting. Shortly after that, she received a call from Kelly Espy inquiring about the problem, and physical plant employees were sent over the next day to check out the situation in her room. She thought the problem was resolved.

Unfortunately, she returned to a room with mold still growing from the air vent and a note claiming it was just dirt.

She says, “I’m sorry, but dirt is not fuzzy. In fact, dirt can be removed easily with a wet rag. My mold, on the other hand, is anything but dirt.”

Since then issue came up, she has heard of numerous cases of potential mold in most of the dorms around campus. Girls develop allergies they’ve never had at Sweet Briar before, smell mold in their rooms, or they can actually see it on the walls, like Agnew.

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