UB in the News

An article distributed by The New York Times News Service about rumors that are circulating in the wake of Hurricane Katrina quotes Elayne Rapping, professor of American studies, who says many of the rumors have racial undertones and "white people are starting these rumors to blame the victims. They don't understand that the citizens of New Orleans are scared to death and powerless. What's happening is racism, the major problem of our country. These kinds of rumors are deadly."

An article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on the opportunity the lower Mississippi Delta has to not only rebuild the region following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, but also to transform its economy quotes Lewis Mandell, who says it gives the region "a once-in-forever opportunity to do it right," and that transportation, education and tourist segments of the regional economy should bounce back strongly.

A column in The Washington Post reports on research by doctoral candidate Davina Moss, who found that heroin addicts trying to kick the habit often profoundly grieve their lost "relationship" with the needles they use to inject the drug.

An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on disaster plans and their effectiveness quotes Ernest Sternberg, professor of urban and regional planning, who says you have to plan with the assumption that you don't know what you'll encounter, because it's not possible, nor rational, to try to prepare for all contingencies.

An article in the Baltimore Sun on celebrities and television personalities who have gone to New Orleans to lend their support after Hurricane Katrina quotes Elayne Rapping, professor of American studies, who says "disasters are loved by the media and they're loved by the celebrities because it's very safe and it makes them look like such good people."

The current (Sept. 19) issue of BusinessWeek features as its cover story an article on earthquake and disaster risk in the U.S that quotes Michel Bruneau, professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering and director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, who says that in a disaster, "the three most important things are power and water, acute-care facilities like hospitals and response-and-recovery capabilities. Strengthen these three and you are better prepared to deal with almost all eventualities."

Lee Albert, professor of law, is quotes in an article in yesterday's issue of the Kansas City Star on a case before the Kansas Supreme Court in which the Kansas Attorney General is seeking the medical records on 90 women and girls who received abortions in order to prosecute suspected cases of illegal late-term abortions and child rape.

An article in the Hartford Courant on the Jennifer Aniston-Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie love triangle quotes Elayne Rapping, professor of American studies, who says "celebrity culture still thrives on this idea of the scorned woman and the evil seductress."

An article in The Washington Post reports that the Environmental Protection Agency has issued formal guidelines for using information culled from tests that expose human subjects to toxic pesticides and quotes Alan Lockwood, professor of neurology, who says "Studies that do not meet the highest scientific and ethical standards should not be carried out or accepted by the EPA."

An article published by Reuters on Friday on models that predicted the New Orleans disaster quotes Ernest Sternberg, professor of urban and regional planning, who says law enforcement agencies were more eager to invest in high-tech "toys" than basic communications.