Author: Op Ed

Since talking to The Daily about the anti-choice display in White Plaza on Monday, and reading the article covering the occasion, I have been doing a lot of thinking regarding abortion rights and the state of reproductive self-determination more broadly. “Feminist” is one of the first words I will use to describe myself, without hesitation, and I am certainly pro-choice. Yet, abortion is an issue about which I am exceedingly complacent. There are few people in my immediate circle who have had abortions, and those that have done so have been able to secure access to adequate health services quickly and effectively.

But the history of abortion rights nationally is not such a smooth one. Since the historic decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, anti-choice agents have used almost every tactic imaginable to undo the progress that we have made in terms of reproductive freedom. (I am oversimplifying legal history here, because obviously the recommendations of Roe were not carried out in full in most parts of the country for years, and some regions still struggle in this regard.) These individuals’ tactics have ranged from mundane to absurd and from peaceful to illegally violent. They have developed an anti-woman rhetoric that grounds itself in Puritanical values and in demonizing modern medical procedures with terms like “partial-birth abortions” or “neonatal pain perception.” Some who are anti-choice are passively so, and I contend that they are not dangerous. Rather, I believe the greatest threat to reproductive justice in this country is activists like me who are lulled into a sense of entitlement and security.

Think of the Stanford bubble phenomenon–only expand it to nearly every somewhat liberal social circle in the United States, and throw in an issue that affects lives, not just intellectualism. As health care reform was being so hotly debated in the legislature in November, several of my peers were following the dialog very closely. Those who identify as Democrats or leftists seemed relieved at the passage of the bill in the House–Facebook statuses and tweets abounded with exclamation points and joy. Yet, very few stopped to question the cost of the compromises that had been made to effect this shift. The Stupak Amendment, which passed along with the bill, essentially denied abortion coverage to anyone lacking the resources to pay for the services. Access to reproductive health services–already harshly delineated by race, class, age and geography–will become even harder to come by. The Democrats made a compromise on women’s lives. I know there are the moderates who will see this as a necessary middle ground, but I cannot see the value of a middle ground that strips the rights of a disadvantaged group.

Seeing the display in White Plaza made me more aware of my thoughtless state and how I had unwittingly allowed anti-choice messages to disseminate unchecked. I am not hoping to change the minds of the students involved in setting up the display, or those who are otherwise part of Stanford Students for Life. Instead, I wonder what it will take to shock those among us who support reproductive freedom to stand up and speak for those who cannot. Does it really take the rape or exploitation of our loved ones, lack of access to non-abortive emergency contraception in urgent situations or the deaths of young women who must seek back-alley abortions to save their own lives?

I ask that we use our powers of sympathetic imagination and think about the history of abortion that was memorialized Monday. I will let go, for the moment, of the fact that Stanford Students for Life placed the label of “victim” on the abortions that have been performed since 1973, for in countless arguments with anti-choice individuals I have found the personhood debate largely useless. Rather, let us think about the history of abortion and access to it as one of rape, violence and abuse, but whose future can be one of equality–provided that we stop taking for granted reproductive freedom and continue working for our rights with the knowledge that any concession in this regard is a threat to social justice.

Janani Balasubramanian

Class of 2012

As The Daily has reported, members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church will protest Friday morning outside the Hillel House. The group announced its arrival ahead of time, not out of courtesy, but to generate as much media attention as possible. They will bring large colorful signs and messages of hate for certain members of the Stanford community. Their anger and condemnation will be given in the name of Christianity. We will neither recognize nor repeat their messages here.

The Christian community at Stanford fully rejects and opposes the hate that will soon visit the front lawn of Hillel. Westboro Baptist Church is not affiliated with nor accepted by any Baptist denomination. They are an isolated organization serving a system of beliefs that perverts the message of Jesus. While we are determined to prevent undo attention to their visit, we stand with our fellow students who will be attacked verbally and emotionally. We ask and hope that the event does not stir up a similar response within the student body.

Representatives from our Christian fellowships will join the peaceful gathering at Hillel in opposition to the protest. However, the majority of our members will not. Because groups like these thrive on media exposure, we believe we should avoid reactionary crowds that are larger than necessary. Thus we are holding a time of prayer during the protest, but apart from it, on the third floor of the Old Union at 8 a.m. All are welcome.

Jesus offers hope and peace for everyone; it is not offered to only a select group, and it is not offered in hate. On Friday morning, we hope and pray that Westboro’s message will prove as transitory as is their visit to our campus.

Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship

Ekklesia

Intervarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship

Intervarsity (Undergraduate) Christian Fellowship

ReJOYce In Jesus Campus Fellowship

As a fraternity man, it is often painful for me to see the ways that some members of my community treat women. Once I started paying attention, I noticed that nearly every woman I knew had a story, either personally or from a friend, of being treated violently by a fraternity member. What’s worse is that even though only a small minority of fraternity members perpetrate sexual violence, the vast majority witness it and choose to do nothing or even treat it as a joke.

All too often, members of our community perpetrate traumatic, violent acts against women and continue as respected and socially active participants in Greek life. I may not have been part of the problem, but I decided that wasn’t enough–last year, I began investigating how to address not only the issues of sexual assault and relationship abuse in the Greek community, but also the culture of silence and permissiveness that surrounds them. To that end, I created Fraternity Men Against Violence.

The mission of Fraternity Men Against Violence is to show fellow Greeks how to create a more positive fraternity culture that does not tolerate violence against women. We believe that most fraternity men are uncomfortable with the violent actions of their peers, but do not know how to respond and so stay silent. Perhaps they will be ignored or, even worse, laughed at? We will show this silent majority that they are not alone, and that the power to end sexual violence is in their hands. In my many meetings with fraternity leaders to date, I can personally vouch that this mission has been met with universal enthusiasm–for these men, it has been a tremendous relief to see that they are not alone in wanting to live in a more positive, respectful culture.

To make this desired cultural shift a reality, I have created a new officer position: the Men Against Violence (MAV) Coordinator. The MAV Coordinator will be an educational resource to his fraternity brothers on the realities of dating violence and what to do if they see it happening. To date, six on-campus fraternities–Theta Delta Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Alpha Epsion, Kappa Sigma, Kappa Alpha and Sigma Chi–have opted to join our coalition and have at least one MAV Coordinator in their membership.

MAV Coordinators undergo a rigorous selection process–assisted by the Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness–and are required to complete an eight-hour training through the Center. As of Jan. 23, six of our seven Coordinators have completed this training (the remaining Coordinator has pledged to complete the training as soon as possible and will work under the supervision of trained members until that time).  Following a model similar to the Peer Health Educator, MAV Coordinators will lead discussion groups and provide educational programming for members of their own fraternities. In addition, they will collaborate on larger initiatives as part of Fraternity Men Against Violence. We are currently working on our first campus-wide campaign in collaboration with the Inter-Sorority Council, to be unveiled in February.

Our MAV Coordinators are: Michael Flynn (Theta Delta Chi 2010), Pedro Gonzalez (Sigma Alpha Epsilon 2011), Duncan Fisher (Sigma Alpha Epsilon 2012), Sam Gould (Kappa Sigma 2011), Philippe de Koning (Sigma Nu 2010), Camilo Cabrera (Sigma Chi 2012), and Eric Clapper (Kappa Alpha 2011). For those wanting to learn more about our group, please contact any of our members.

Phil Nova
FMAV Chair
Theta Delta Chi 2010

This Friday, at 8:10 a.m., the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) will be coming to Stanford.

When I received the e-mail last Thursday night saying that “some pretty awful people” were coming to Stanford, I was confounded. I had never heard of the WBC before and never would have guessed that a group of people would protest with such a message of hate at Stanford. But the fact is they’re scheduled to come.

From all the talk generated on Stanford chat lists, I see two ways that the Student Body can handle this situation: we can ignore the WBC and their message of intolerance, or we can counter them with our own gathering of love and unity. I will be outside Hillel at 8 a.m. on Friday morning joining in that unity, and I encourage the Stanford campus to do the same.

I want to briefly acquaint you with the WBC so you can understand why I will be at the event. The WBC is a church built on the concept of hate. Not actually affiliated with any Baptist convention or association, this church uses narrow interpretations of Biblical texts to sanction their protests. Officially characterized as a hate group by the Anti Defamation League, the WBC travels all over the country spreading, among their various beliefs, their anti-gay, anti-Jewish, and anti-American messages. Their strategy is to display provocative signs and messages to antagonize others into verbal or physical action. The WBC then interprets this action as impeding on their rights to protest peacefully and pursues legal action, the profits of which fund their next protest.

So why this Stanford United gathering? Why are we giving them the audience they crave? Because, as I heard at the Martin Luther King, Jr. interfaith service, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” To not take this opportunity to join together and spread Stanford’s message of unity and openness would indeed be a betrayal of our student identity.

Our dedication, as students, to become educated citizens active within the world revolves around the concept of coming together, of forming a united, diverse community. Religions, ethnicities, and academic majors all blend together to create our great campus. To be silent while the WBC protests one of our fundamental values as a University would be a grave betrayal to what we stand for.

Morally, I cannot stand idly by. Though Stanford United was created in response to the WBC, it is foremost a celebration and is not an anti-protest. We will not face the WBC picketers nor engage them. On the contrary, we will celebrate. We will use the energy and enthusiasm of our campus to create something productive: an event the whole campus can take pride in. Members of the Jewish community, the LGBT community, F.A.I.T.H, Challah for Hunger, the Catholic Community at Stanford, the Asian American Students Association, Sigma Nu, Talisman, and so many others will be outside, standing side by side, in song and cheers, celebrating the diversity of our community. This gathering is our party, our chance to rejoice with our friends in Stanford’s awesomeness; facing away from the hate and toward Hillel, which will be decorated to represent the diverse array of student groups.

Besides the symbolism of standing together, united as one community, there is a practical reason for the gathering. Even if the Campus decided to officially ignore the WBC, refusing to stoop to their level and provide an audience, people would show up. The original warning e-mail spread like wildfire throughout Stanford; people would know about the protest and, despite warnings, they would come. Instead of risking that individuals would fall prey to the WBC tactics, this event was envisioned to give structure to the response, engaging the whole Stanford community in a peaceful, celebratory event.

So please, I encourage everyone to come out, and to follow the guidelines of the event organizers to ensure everyone’s safety: Stay on the grass areas designated for the Stanford United gathering. Listen to and cooperate with the Stanford Police and student volunteers who will be there to help keep our event safe and dignified. DO NOT engage any member of the WBC. We are there to focus on our own values and commitments, and the best way to keep the event safe for everyone is to avoid engaging the protestors. Please, no outside community members. In order to keep everyone safe, we would like only Stanford affiliates to be present at the gathering.

Be on the lookout for e-mails detailing event specifics. I hope that you will join me Friday morning so that we can show the world that Stanford stands United.

Thank you,

Jeffrey Sweet

Social Action Chair of the Jewish Students Association

For more information, you may contact the Jewish Student Association president, Joe Gettinger ([email protected]), Hillel Executive Director Adina Danzig Epelman ([email protected]), or myself ([email protected]).

While eating dinner in Wilbur on Jan. 19, I spotted a flyer on the table announcing that there is only one more day to request a Student Activity Fee refund. The flyer was sponsored by the Stanford Conservative Society. I am curious as to why an American flag was featured prominently on the flyer. Is this implying that it is patriotic to request a refund?

I have nothing against conservatives on campus; many of my close friends are conservatives. However, I am appalled by the association of the Stars and Stripes with not supporting student groups on campus. I understand that students do have the right to request their money back, but is it the “American” thing to do? Are we not defending freedom by funding groups that express a variety of opinions, some shared by us and some not, ranging from music groups to club sports teams to cultural and political groups (for a full list go to elections.stanford.edu and view election results)? These groups are what make our community so vibrant and encourage us to examine our own viewpoints and better understand those of others.

While we may not be directly involved in many of these groups, they still affect us. The band plays at our games, we are serenaded by musical groups and the SHPRC and The Bridge are always there for us. Our student groups are a microcosm for American culture, a beautiful mural of diverse ideas; one of the greatest benefits of attending college is to be challenged by diverse ideas, is it not?

Reed Thayer

Class of 2013

Dear Editor:

In response to Monday’s article, “New Grads Face Health Care Worries,” the Stanford Alumni Association hopes that recent graduates understand that we offer short-term major medical coverage, administered by an outside insurance provider, to recent graduates and alumni. Though it is a temporary health insurance plan that does not cover preexisting conditions, it still has benefits for recent graduates and alumni. Participants have the ability to choose any doctor or hospital rather than confine themselves to a specific network in order to receive covered care. The plan provides up to 180 days of coverage, and participants can re-apply for coverage after 180 days. Recent graduates and alumni who have purchased SAA’s short-term medical coverage have given positive feedback regarding the plan’s customer service and Stanford’s dedicated customer service representative. More information about SAA’s short-term medical coverage offering for recent graduates and alumni can be found at: www.gradmed.com/Stanford or by calling the plan administrator at 1-800-922-1245.

Eric Cox ‘90
Director of Membership and Partnerships
Stanford Alumni Association

When President Obama gave his Nobel acceptance speech in December, he made reference to Dr. King saying that he was there in Oslo as a “direct consequence of Dr. King’s life work,” and as a “testimony to the moral force of non-violence.” And yet, the President also spent much of his speech distancing himself from the legacy of non-violence, explaining how we live in a dangerous world full of evil and that as a head of state, he cannot be guided only by the exemplars of non-violence. So, it would seem appropriate as we approach the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, to explore the gulf between the President as a head of state and the legacy of Dr. King.

President Obama’s Nobel acceptance speech was widely praised by both liberals and conservatives. Conservative columnist David Brooks of The New York Times referred to it as “Obama’s Christian Realism.” In fact, the President was very clear saying, “I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms.”

The President’s reasoning seems not only sound but, dare I say it, realistic. On the other hand, the President, without being explicit, suggests that King’s non-violence is idealistic and somehow inapplicable in the real world. None of this non-violent idealism for him, as if the threats and violence faced by the Civil Rights movement were in some way less real than the threats of today.

Moreover, the President seems to project onto the history of the Civil Rights movement a certainty of the effectiveness of non-violence that did not exist at the time. It was not at all certain that non-violence could be efficacious against the racism in our society. King was often mocked and criticized by more militant elements. Let’s be clear: the violence experienced by blacks was nothing short of terrorism enabled and supported by individuals and institutions throughout our society. This wasn’t the flash-in-the-pan violence that had been experienced for months, years or even decades; it was the systemic and intractable violence of centuries with millions of victims.

Malcolm X called King a “chump” and said that it was “criminal” to teach non-violence in the face of violence by whites. Malcolm’s criticism sounds intuitively obvious and, dare I say it, realistic. There was a clear evil in the world and Malcolm said it had to be confronted with force. It would seem that the President has more in common with Malcolm’s realism than with King’s non-violence. Is al Qaeda more intractable than centuries of slavery and racism? Is the President unaware of the effective use of non-violence during WWII? Why, then, the presumption that non-violence could not be effective in certain circumstances?

Part of the reason for the discrepancy between the President and Dr. King is that nation states really aren’t interested in community or brotherhood or even peace, as much as they may use these words. Nation states and their leaders are interested in acquiring and maintaining their own power and place in the world. President Obama, as difficult as it is for some of us to admit it, is sitting astride the greatest military machine the world has ever known.

Another reason for the President parting ways with King is that non-violence is more like a spiritual discipline than it is a political platform or foreign policy. Non-violence requires extreme personal moral courage and introspection that are not easily translated into policies. But this does not mean that military intervention is the only or appropriate alternative.

King’s words echo through time as both a warning and an opportunity nowhere more powerfully than in his last book, “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?” “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie nor establish the truth. Through violence, you may murder the hater, but you cannot murder the hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

The genius of Dr. King’s ethic of non-violence is that it is counter intuitive. Non-violence throws us off balance and because it isn’t “realistic,” we don’t expect it. King was a master of spiritual jujitsu, using the violence of his adversary to disable him. Dr. King has passed on his legacy of non-violence to us and we must decide what to do with it. Non-violence is hard work. Let’s get started.

Why Haiti? Undoubtedly, many are asking this question in the wake of the largest disaster of the new decade. One survivor simply expressed last night to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “We can only leave it in the hands of the almighty.”

This leads me to ask: Are you there, God? And if you are, are you their God? Truly if the old man is there, it appears he has abandoned Port-AU-Prince–probably too busy answering the all too frequent calls to ‘Bless America.’

In a world that allows me to make more in one month than the average Haitian does in one year, something seems to be out of focus. The God of our weary years appears to be asleep at the wheel–or is He?

2005 brought us Katrina, and 2010 has begun with a terrible bang, to say the least. However, in a span of five years, my prayer is that our world, our country and our campus are ready to uncheck the option of apathy for sake of–get this–action!

Time is out and up waiting for the Heavens to split, the bushes to burn and the rocks to cry out. While the world looks up to affirm through faith that God has not gone AWOL, let us not as members of collective faiths repeat the same patterns of apathy and passivism that have only allowed cycles of social justice to continue.

As someone who holds his faith dear to his heart, let me share with you the clear mandate I believe God has issued to His people. This will alarm many people, and others will be surprised to hear me utter these words. But family, it is simply not enough to pray.

I am a Christian, and I believe in the power of prayer, relying on it day in and day out. However, I charge you today to not only pray, but to be ananswer to someone’s prayer.

I am conscious of the blessings God has bestowed on all of us here at Stanford University. But now, we are reminded that it is not just about our being blessed. It is time to be a blessing.

I don’t want your money–Haiti needs your money. Plain and simple. More than TAP, the bookstore or, God forbid, Apple, hold off buying that STAT 60 text and consider giving to help someone whose struggles include more than finalizing a study list.

There is a HAITI RELIEF meeting being held today at the Black Community Services Center at noon. I encourage you to come find out how you might truly be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Are you there, God? I believe so. Where are YOU?

“To be honest, Mr. Leblanc, you are the best teacher I’ve ever had.” I was taken aback when one of my sixth graders told me this merely two weeks into my first year of teaching. How could I, a new teacher with only two weeks in the classroom, be the best teacher this student had ever had? I soon realized that this student’s sentiments were not just a result of my lesson planning and organization skills, but also related to the fact that I looked like him.

After graduating from Stanford University with a major in Urban Studies and a concentration in Urban Education in 2009, I decided to pursue teaching through Teach For America in New York City. Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors and career interests who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Now that I am teaching sixth grade English in the South Bronx, I understand more completely the academic achievement gap that persists along socioeconomic and racial lines. Seeing the deficiencies in my students’ educational experiences has highlighted for me that this is one of our country’s most pressing problems and an injustice we need to address immediately.

When I first arrived at my school, I was overwhelmed by my students’ questions, like, “Are you just a temporary teacher?” or ,“Are you doing this as part of college?” They could not understand how someone like me would want to be teaching them. Most of my students had never had a minority teacher before, let alone a male minority teacher. This is not unique to New York City and is a problem that is evident across the United States. With only two percent of teachers being black males in this country, it is no surprise that most students were shocked to see me in their school.

Growing up attending a school with a 100 percent minority population where in 10 years I only had one minority teacher who happened to be female, I completely understand where my students are coming from. I grew up without any role models who looked like me. I know what my students feel each day, and this helps me relate to them on a unique level.

As a result of my connection with my students, I have seen dramatic results in their work habits and performance in only three months. My class has gone from a 10 percent homework return rate to a rate of above 90 percent. I have watched my students go from reading one book in two months to now reading three books in one month. They are motivated, and my class is an active site of high expectations and hard work. I believe that my ability to relate to my students’ experiences as well as being a positive male influence in their lives has had a tremendous influence on their progress and accomplishments.

As a person of color and a Stanford graduate, you have the potential to be a powerful role model for students like my sixth graders. Not only will they have a profound impact on your life, but your presence and commitment can help guide them to academic and life success. I urge you to join me in the movement to end educational inequity.

Stany Leblanc

Teach For America Corps Member ‘09

So often I wonder if interfaith work can really have the voice I hear. I wonder if it can shed its pathetic refrain of vague, self-congratulatory liberal notions of tolerance. I wonder if, amid the noise and haste of talk-show evangelism and televised extremism, we can discern the more powerful alternative stories: of Mahatma Gandhi and Badshah Khan, of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. I wonder if our silence, our inability to tell these stories as they affect us, cedes the terrain to agents of destruction, who would have only their group dominate and others suffocate.

In truth, I don’t know. Our public discourse on religion is too frequently filled with violence and virulence, endowing the so-called clash of civilizations with the sheen of inevitability. It’s this very uncertainty, however, that urges me to change the conversation from conflict to cooperation. So, I’d like to tell you how I spent the last days of my winter break. The Hindu community in which I was raised bought a new property some two years ago–an old church in the foothills of San Jose. The final day of our new year’s retreat involved a special Vedic fire ceremony to pray for, among other things, spiritual maturity and mutual cooperation with our neighbors: a Polish church that has been particularly warm and welcoming. I love these rarefied rituals: the smells of smoke and mystery and tradition, the joyful liturgical harmony of the priests, the deep sense of the height and glory of this sacrifice. But my favorite part of the day was to hear the following from several attendees, my mother included: “There’s something about this place, this church. People have really prayed here. It’s those blessings that are coming to us.”

For her, the dialogue of religious experience did not simply override cultural boxes; it drew on their deep wells and breathed their spirit across space and time. I don’t think we require some mystical assertion to recognize that, as Gwendolyn Brooks says: We are each other’s magnitude and bond. Like the faith heroes I mentioned, I believe my religious tradition calls me to build mutually enriching relationships with those different from me by working together to serve others. Religious particularity is not only about domination or persecution or political intransigence; it gives us the ability to interrogate ourselves, to take learning seriously, to be surprised and humbled by the fact of existence. I am not interested in apologetics, but in fellowship; not merely in hearing another’s story, but in writing a new chapter together.

This is what I hope Stanford F.A.I.T.H. will begin here: countering violence by confronting the triple threats of racism, economic exploitation and war; countering hatred by advocating for feminist and LGBT rights; countering mistrust by preventing deaths due to malaria. These are concerns that call on the best of our traditions–religious and secular alike–and require us to engage our deepest identities in common action. Please join our weekly meetings: Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Common Room in the CIRCLE (Third Floor, Old Union). Help us transform interfaith cooperation from an anomaly to a social norm. Every student is a potential interfaith leader. We need only have the words and the heart to act.

– Anand Venkatkrishnan

Co-founder, Faiths Acting in Togetherness and Hope (F.A.I.T.H.)

As you head towards finals and the holidays, there’s an important step you should take to stay healthy: get the H1N1 flu vaccine.

This year’s flu season is the worst in many years, and young adults have been especially hard hit by the H1N1 flu.  Who is in the age group most likely to get H1N1?  People under 25.  Who get so sick they need to be hospitalized?  Half of them are under 25.  And who is least likely to get a flu shot?  People under 25.

I am writing today to urge you to take H1N1 flu seriously, not just as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services who has read lots and lots of scientific studies saying this is a young person’s pandemic, but also as a mother of two sons who not long ago were sitting exactly where you are today.

I know it’s easy to believe that flu is something that only the very old or the very young need to worry about, that catching the flu is no big deal.  No flu should ever be dismissed as “just the flu.”  The regular, seasonal flu is responsible for 36,000 deaths every year—mainly people over 65.  But H1N1 mainly hits the young.  And even though most cases are mild, some can be quite severe.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 540 children and teenagers have died from H1N1 flu since April, and we are only at the beginning of the official flu season.  Some of them were perfectly healthy when they caught the flu.

So what can you do to protect yourself and people around you from flu?

Get vaccinated. It’s the most effective way to prevent the flu. The H1N1 flu vaccine is made the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine, which has a decades-long safety track record.  And, it’s undergone more testing than other flu vaccines.

If you’re someone with a health condition like diabetes or asthma, the CDC says you should get vaccinated as soon as your community has vaccine available.  Other groups at high risk for serious complications include young children and pregnant women.  Also, people who care for babies under 6 months, health care workers, and emergency medical personnel should go to the head of the vaccination line.

In addition, many people do not realize that simply being younger than 25 also puts you in a priority group to receive the vaccine.  So look into getting vaccinated at school or when you go home for the holidays. Check out the flu.gov flu vaccination locator to find the best place for you to go to get vaccinated quickly.

Stay home when you’re sick. If you do get the flu, there are things you should do to protect yourself and those around you.  College campuses—dormitories, classes, wherever a lot of people are indoors together—are places flu can spread. If you get sick, don’t go out, and don’t invite visitors in.

If you live on campus but your home is not far away, consider going home until you’re well to avoid spreading the flu.  If you live too far to go home, check to see if your college has alternate housing for ill students.

Seek medical attention immediately if you have diabetes, asthma, or some other medical condition and you notice flu-like symptoms.  You should also ask your health care provider about anti-viral medication.  If you already have flu symptoms, antivirals have been very effective at keeping flu from getting worse.

Even if you don’t have a chronic illness, if you have symptoms, and they get worse—your fever spikes, you have difficulty breathing or you’re breathing too fast, if you have chest pain—call a doctor or other health provider right away.

Make it part of your daily routine to keep flu from spreading. The H1N1 vaccine may not have arrived in your area yet, so keep doing the simple things everyone does to keep germs in check:  wash your hands, cough and sneeze into your sleeve, not your hands, and disinfect surfaces like computer keyboards and countertops.

Go to flu.gov.  Check out our self-evaluation link to help you understand if your symptoms are really serious.  There’s a flu locater for where vaccine will be in your community; tips on prevention, including videos that give you critical information you can use, even a section to help you know how to tell a flu fact from a myth on the Internet.  There are widgets, buttons, Public Service Announcements, and a Facebook page, so you can spread H1N1 information—not the virus—to people you know.

In addition, we just released a new video featuring students, young people, and others talking about why they chose to get vaccinated.  You can also tell us why you got vaccinated by submitted your own video at YouTube.com/group/TheFluandYou.

No one knows whether this wave of H1N1 will get worse, taper off, or be followed by another wave later in the season.  But we do know that preventing flu depends on all of us, and everyone will be safer if each one of us is serious about preventing and reducing H1N1 flu.

Kathleen Sebelius

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services