APRIL 11, 2012


COLLEGIANNEWS.COM


3


Protect yourself from potent pollen Students try to cope with Atlanta’s record breaking allergy season


Collegian Contributor By Shannon Townsend


A couple of weeks ago, following


an uncommonly warm winter during which Georgia broke the 1907 record for consecutive days with temperatures of 80 or higher, spring rolled in. For some spring brings a welcome change in scenery and weather from barren winter and for others, namely those that suffer from allergies, it starts off several months of misery. While seasonal allergies can be


a problem year round for some, even those without regular allergy issues can fall prey to airborne pollen with the arrival of spring. “I get breathing problems when


I don’t wear a mask,” said Todd Gilliam, a GPC Economics major, who has resorted


to wearing Photo by David Schick Lights, camera,


no action? Film animation Bachelor’s degree stops rolling


Collegian Contributor By Adam Waldorf


A proposed Bachelor’s degree


in Film and Animation at GPC, slated to be in place by fall 2012, is on hold indefinitely. Te proposal’s course curriculum


chair, film instructor Elizabeth Lathrop, cited budget issues and pending Board of Regents approval as reasons that the program is not on track. Faculty and staff sources say


that there are budgetary concerns at GPC due to an anticipated drop in enrollment. “[Te degree] is likely to


happen, I just don’t know on what time line,” chair of Fine Arts and Humanities, David Koffman said. Koffman is excited about


the prospects for the proposed program,


which was originally


reported in Te Collegian. “We’ve had so much student interest in the program since that article came out, I don’t think we’ll have any problem meeting our enrollment goals,” he said. “We don’t want to just produce animators. We want to get students some foundation knowledge in animation,


film Like us!


And comment on facebook! www.facebook.com/collegiannews


Follow us!


And comment on twitter! @GPCollegian


studies and film production. One thing that makes our program unique as opposed to the program at [Savannah College of Art and Design] is those students just go in and study animation.” Currently, Koffman is focused


on getting the courses needed for junior year students in place before the program begins. Courses in sequential art and film studies are the priority. Koffman says GPC is well


positioned to have a Film and Animation degree.


the funding for “Te thing


that holds most schools back from implementing programs like this is


technology,


which we have in place through our student tech fee money. Also, the MediaSpot is a huge support infrastructure for this program.” One major question for the


program is who will be teaching courses. “We’ve got a lot of faculty in other areas that have experience in film and animation,” Koffman said. “So it would be a matter of looking at who we have and what we can do with what we have, but I would imagine we’d have to have new faculty to teach specific things like 3D animation and 2D animation.”


Say bye to the synthetic high Georgia Legislature outlaws fake cannabis after a teen’s death


Collegian Staff By Kyndell Mizell


Synthetic Marijuana was


introduced in 2002 and reached various stores around Georgia in 2006.


In 2008 researchers have


found that synthetic cannabinoids were the active ingredients in the synthetic drug which cause the same type of reaction to the body as authentic marijuana. Last year five of those types


of synthetic cannabinoids were deemed illegal in the United States. Te American Association of


Poison Control Centers received 4,500 calls involving problems from synthetic marijuana during


2010 and 2011, according to the study, published in the March 19 issue of Pediatrics. In early March, Fayette County


native Chase Burnett was found dead in his hot tub after a night of using synthetic marijuana. Shortly after Chase’s death,


Governor Nathan Deal signed the new law called “Chase’s Law” to stop the distribution of the synthetic drug. Tis chemical based drug


is known to cause seizures, hallucinations, paranoid behavior, agitation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, racing heartbeat and elevated blood pressure. Apparently this once legal


synthetic drug is more dangerous than the always illegal authentic


drug. “Te very first time I smoked


synthetic marijuana it hit me like a freight train and I got to the point I doubted my human existence,” said Britney Skipper. “I’ve never been that high on any illegal drug in my life.” Synthetic marijuana is more


dangerous than authentic marijuana because not only does it cause life threatening issues to your body it is almost untraceable in your system. Law enforcements are cracking


down on gas stations and tobacco shops who sell this now illegal drug. If found, distributors could face up to 30 years in prison.


a


mask outside to protect him from the pollen. “It has gotten worse


b r e at h in g pr oblems when I don’t wear a mask.


I get


this spring has not been kind to allergy sufferers so far. While you should definitely


consult your doctor before officially diagnosing yourself with spring allergies and resorting to medication, there are a handful of preventative measures


everyone


can take to limit their exposure to pollen this spring. On days when the pollen count


is high wearing a mask or clamping a damp rag over the nose during extended periods outside can cut down on how much pollen you inhale. Pollen clinging to hair and


over time.” According to Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic, Georgia broke the record high pollen count on March 20, soaring over from the previous record of about 6000 in 1999 to a whopping 9369. Given that this scale lists any number above 1500 as “very high,”


clothing can continue to be an irritant as well as pollute your living environment. Washing your hair and clothes


after entering the house as well as vacuuming your carpet and dusting surfaces on which pollen can collect over time can reduce the amount of pollen you have to deal with.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20