february 01, 2011 - Over the Edge OVER THE EDGE EDITORS SURVIVE NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK IN VICTORIA 160 students fall ill at National Journalism Conference HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR his January’s Canadian Uni- versity Press (CUP) journal- ism conference, NASH ’74, ended with a zombie-like outbreak of the gastrointestinal Norovirus, previ- ously known as Norwalk Virus. The Harbour Towers Hotel in Victoria, BC became host to an unofficially quar- antined puke fest as conference dele- gates from university papers located across the country were infected by the virus. Three of the four Over the Edge editors attending the conference fell uncontrollably ill. The rapid onset of the virus and extremity of the symptoms played out like something from a movie and the conference, which was titled Archipelago in honour of its sea-side location, was effectively renamed “Archipukeago” as the events of the final night unfolded. After the more than 300 delegates enjoyed their final and most formal dinner, followed by the hilarious final keynote address given by ESPN and Esquire’s own Chris Jones, they were all piled into a number of yellow school buses head- ed to a Gala night of drinking and so- cializing at the University of Victoria. To say the least, things did not go ac- cording to plan as the virus quietly made its way through the ranks of the dolled-up attendees. As the buses arrived at the univer- sity it was not long before the effects of the virus began to show. One young man was seen rushing off the bus with a thick layer of vomit from the top of his head down to the middle of his back. The exposed puke also launched the virus into an airborne state putting everyone else sandwiched together on the buses at an even higher risk of in- fection. It wasn’t long before confer- ence staff shut down the Gala as more people were running outside and into the bathrooms in sudden and violent fits of sickness. A pair of Over the Edge editors fell dangerously ill early on in the night, and instead of taking a bus to the Gala, opted for an ambulance to the hospital where they were given med- ical attention because of the extremity of their symptoms. Immediately after the Gala had been shut down the dele- gates and staff were still uncertain as to what the cause of this horrify- ing pukidemic was. A few long hours later it became clear that those still healthy were not in the clear, but in- stead waiting for the symptoms of the extremely contagious Norovirus to hit them as well. “This is actually horrifying,” said delegate Alex Migdal, via Twitter. “People are starting to projectile vomit randomly, out of nowhere. #nash74.” Tom Cardoso tweeted something similar, “uh oh: looks like everyone at Nash 74 is puking uncontrollably!” A disoriented journalist vomiting in the hallway and a delegate journeying through the hotel hallways to deliver Gravol to someone’s digital distress call were among the common sights during the thick of the outbreak. The severity and extent of the out- break grew every hour and delegates were requested to return to the hotel and stay in their rooms in order to avoid spreading the virus to others. It was similar to a domino effect, as one person became sick after another. Vancouver Island Health Authority was contacted and the next morning the story received national cover- age to the delight and obvious intent of the affected journalists. The CBC provided passing coverage of the be- ginning of the epidemic and the story also circulated through other news outlets. Delegates began to tweet sick counts, and the initial numbers re- ported 40 to 60 people affected. CUP staff, however, rose to the challenge and handled the epidemic with fi- nesse. Through twitter, e-mail, and door-to-door visits, CUP staff made sure that everyone in the hotel was managing their symptoms and in- formed with the latest news. “Extra big kudos to all CUP staff and volun- teers who worked through the night on Saturday and into Sunday morning to ensure the seriously ill received the help they needed and that all af- flicted received information, support, and resources where possible,” said CUP National Bureau Chief Emma Godmere. Some post-epidemic re- ports have noted that the epidemic read something like a case-study in disaster management. Hotel manager Ian Jones complimented CUP staff for their efforts handling the downright unexpected and bizarre situation. “They did a great job,” said Jones, “They certainly stepped up and acted beyond their years.” As the epidemic occurred on one of the last days of the conference, a lot of students including Over The Edge Staff, had to reschedule their transpor- tation home. Vancouver Island Health Authority advised everyone to remain in the hotel until the virus passed, and some of those affected took advan- tage of the extra night the hotel was offering for free. A large number of people were also unable to physically travel because of the constant need to vomit, among the other disturb- ing symptoms of the gastrointestinal virus. Others traveled back in lieu of the somewhat apathetic airlines, al- though WestJet eventually announced they would wave the “change fee” to affected delegates. With all delegates cleared out of the Harbour Towers, reports that pre- viously healthy people fell ill upon returning home travelled through the CUP channels of communication. As a result, a clearer total of the number of people who were directly infected by the outbreak has been tallied. Archipukeago has officially seen 160 delegates out of 360 representing 54 papers from across the country con- tract the horrendous Norovirus. De- spite the contagious disease infecting everyone and turning the conference into something out of a horror movie, like the recently released Contagion, Nash 74 was otherwise a huge suc- cess. RESEARCH PROGRAM RECEIVES FUNDING An innovative program that could help discover new drugs for cancer HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR The Canadian Foundation for Innova- tion (CFD) has announced funding for research equipment at the University of Northern British Columbia. The funding will contribute to an anti- cancer drug discovery program that will be a unique endeavor in Canada. With the funding UNBC will pur- chase highly specialized equipment that will allow cancer researchers to screen chemical molecules to deter- mine their cancer fighting potential and give an indication as to how they may function as a drug. “This equipment will enable the development of a fluorescence-based technique to screen libraries of chem- icals. It will be the first of its kind in Canada,” says Dr. Chow Lee, the bio- chemistry professor who is heading the program. “This research is very important because it will allow future study into designing more potent anti- cancer drugs.” The goal is to develop a method of flagging chemical molecules that Bio-chemistry Professor Dr. Chow Lee with using the new Fluorescence Multi- interfere cancerous activity plate Reader and a Circular Dichroism Spectropolarimeter. “This equipment will allow researchers to ‘preview’ how the identified molecules act as anti-cancer agents,” says Dr. Lee. “Any chemical molecules that we flag are expected to act through a new molecular pathway to inhibit the de- velopment of tumors.” Cariboo-Prince George Member of Parliament, Dick Harris expressed his excitement about the research. “Congratulations to Dr.Lee on the success of his research. Our Con- servative Government’s commitment to research and innovation has and is being demonstrated by the Lead- ers Opportunity Fund,” says Harris. “This project meets the high stan- dards required to qualify for funding under this program.” Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River, Bob Zimmer, is equally supportive of the project. “Investing in science and technology is essential to the future of Canada’s economic growth,” said Zimmer. “Our government’s commitment to helping universities like UNBC, attract and retain world-leading research talent will lead to discoveries that improve the quality of life of Canadians and create new jobs.” CFI’s funding totals $135,000 dol- lars towards the equipment, which has a overall cost of $223,000. Dr. Lee also expresses thanks towards the Northern Cancer Control Strategy: “Td also like to thank the Northern Cancer Control Strategy for their con- tribution as well as the University for investing seed money into this pro- ject.” The funding is a part of CFI’s $33 million dollar effort to support re- search across Canada. One hundred and thirty-two research projects in 31 communities across Canada have re- ceived funding from the organization. “Canadians from coast to coast can be assured that Canada’s research com- munity is bringing its talents to bear on the problems that matter to them,” said Dr. Gilles G. Party, Canadian Foundation for Innovation President and Chief Executive Officer. “This round of investment illustrates the value of research and innovation in building stronger, healthier and more prosperous communities.” The $25 million dollars is con- tributed through the Leaders and Op- portunity Fund and the $8 million contributed through the Infrastructure Operating Fund is awarded through a rigorous, objective and merit-based competition process.