My view of “Viewpoints”

In the Sept. 7 issue of News & Events, RIT Medical Director Brooke Durland writes a Viewpoints article about the potential threat of an Avian Influenza, or “bird flu,” pandemic. Take a look—her comments are well written, informative and encouraging. Although it’s impossible to predict what a pandemic of this magnitude would really be like, I’m encouraged by the fact that RIT experts are taking this “bird flu” seriously, and have made it a priority to educate and protect the RIT community.

As managing editor of News & Events, I’m always proud to showcase the knowledge and expertise of our faculty and staff. Sometimes we showcase experts who have produced groundbreaking research in an obscure area of study—research that may be important to statisticians, engineers or the military, for example.

However, Durland’s Viewpoints is something that we should all be concerned about—a global health issue that could potentially hit home. We are drawn to newspaper articles, blogs and Web sites that have relevance to us and those we care about—and Durland’s Viewpoints should spark a sense of curiosity in everyone. She mentions the possible dangers to our university community if a pandemic were to occur, but also assures us about the proactive measures that the Student Health Center has taken to help them manage such an incident.

Between you and me, I am quite concerned about the bird flu. Little by little, my family has been stocking up on bottled water and food, and my husband has really gone “cold turkey” when it comes to eating chicken. As a result, I’ve had to “beef” up my culinary skills.

In all seriousness, I commend Durland and the Student Health Center team for their proactive stance on this issue.