Loyola Greyhound

The A.M.D.G. Community Award was recently created to recognize the staff and administration of Loyola University Maryland for their dedication to the mission, visions and values of the university. Prior to this year, the award was only given to faculty, but it has now been extended to administrators, allowing for two awards to be given each semester, one to a faculty member and one to an administrator.

The H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, will be a concern this flu season. The 2009 H1N1 is a type of new flu that originated a pandemic, which means it affects a wide geographic area, during last spring's flu season. The first cases in the U.S. occurred in April 2009.

Loyola students may have noticed that the Charles Street bridge, usually plastered with fliers, is unusually bare this year. A paper hangs here or there, but long stretches of stone are actually visible, thanks to Loyola's new goal of "going paperless." The school's paperless campaign is finding momentum this year because of what Louise Finn, assistant vice president of Technology Services, calls the "perfect storm.

Professors David Binkley, Ph.D., and Dawn Lawrie, Ph.D., are making great strides toward advancements in the field of computer science, more specifically, software and programming. The Loyola University Maryland Computer Science Department recently received a grant worth $309,757.

Police officers in Texas are now allowed to take blood samples without consent almost immediately after arresting a person for driving under the influence of alcohol if the driver has a history of offenses or if a serious injury or child passenger is involved.

In addition to the physical implications of the H1N1 virus, self-isolation and worry over missing classes are plaguing students. Emory University has been coping with the effects of the heightened amount of swine flu cases by offering a specific dorm for self-isolation, being lenient on attendance policies and accommodating walk-ins while maintaining a full appointment schedule at Student Health Services.

After hundreds of requests for Congressman Bob Latta to hold a public town hall-style meeting on health care reform were ignored, over 50 citizens within Ohio's Fifth District vehemently protested in front of his local office by repeating slogans and holding up bright, blue signs stressing the need for nationwide, affordable health care coverage for every American citizen.