The new health care center will be the closest off-site emergency health care center to campus.

On top of treating non-life threatening illnesses, the center is also equipped with labs and x-rays.

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The center will accept all major credit cards, and operate Weekdays 9:00am to 9:00pm and Weekends 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Take note that the free screenings and lunch are on a first-come-first-serve basis, so make sure to get there quick!

The show is hosted by sex columnist Dan Savage, who has been touring other universities across the nation for his planned MTV show, Savage University. He set up a Facebook page about his trip to UCF, which states, “MTV and Dan are coming to UCF and are interested in your stories, questions, tips & ideas when it comes to students, sex, dating, relationships and hookups.”

Savage and his producers are looking to find out what makes UCF special when it comes to sex and relationships. He’s also advertising that he’s trying to uncover the “sexual pulse” of UCF, what students believe is “too much” or “too little” sex, whether students are settling down or hooking up, and if UCF students “sexperiment.”

The advertisements make it clear “no topics are taboo” and welcome all views and perspective. Savage set up a twitter page for the UCF event, where he posted a picture of a flier promoting the event containing the logos of UCF’s Student Government Association and Campus Activities Board.

The flier says filming will happen from Nov. 14 – Nov. 17, both on and off campus. It asks students who are interested in appearing on the MTV show about sex to send a recent photo, name, phone number, along with a relevant question or story to mtv.ucf@gmail.com.

Information that some sort of a bacterial infection caused Hefferin’s death was communicated by UCF administrators to Greek leaders this afternoon, KnightNews.com has learned.

Ann Hefferin on Homecoming Court

The medical examiner’s office has so far declined to release the full autopsy report, telling KnightNews.com the full autopsy report is not available at this time.

The medical examiner’s statement indicates toxicology testing confirmed a “trace” amount of alcohol was detected in her fluids, along with the drug naproxen (it didn’t specify if it was the prescription drug or an over-the-counter version) and caffeine within her blood.

ALCOHOL BAN ALMOST LIFTED IN RECENT VOTE AT GREEK COUNCIL

We’re working to gather much more information and reaction from the Greek community as to how this could impact the unprecedented ban on alcoholic events in Greek Life. KnightNews.com has obtained public records that show half of the councils sitting on the board recently voted to lift the alcohol ban during a Sept. 9 meeting.

Greek Council Almost Lifts Alcohol Ban, Read 9/9 Minutes

In a Sept. 12 email Greek Student Involvement Director Anthony Perry sent to his colleagues, he discussed push-back over the alcohol ban from minority councils in the Greek community.

“I don’t consider this a legal matter, but the legal concepts of ‘disparate treatment’ and ‘disparate impact’ exist on some level with this,” Perry wrote in the email. “Some students may be headed that way based upon what I’ve seen and heard.”

On Sept. 23, minutes show the Greek Council hosted another meeting where major changes to the moratorium were made. A vote passed unanimously which authorized organizations to now seek permission to host alcohol events, which would then be evaluated on a case-by-case basis before OFSL approval is given.

Check back for more details as soon as we get them.

Read the press release from the Medical Examiner’s Office on the next page.

If you know of a story we should check into text us at 407-5-Tip-UCF. Also, make sure you like us on Facebook.com/knightnews.

UCF President Hitt in Courthouse

See more testimony video in the Ereck Plancher trial and watch the closing arguments and opening statements.

Check back to KnightNews.com for continuing coverage of the fallout from the verdict, as well as for updates on the progress of UCFAA’s appeal.

KnightNews.com talked with several UCF students who attended the Electric Daisy Carnival, known as EDC, and confirmed the drug use was widespread among UCF students. While many admitted they used it off the record, none agreed to have their name attached to it on the record, for obvious reasons.

“People smuggled them in their bras. The guys smuggled them in underwear,” a student who attended EDC told KnightNews.com on the condition of anonymity.

“Everyone is taking this drug for the first time, I swear,” the student, who admitted taking the drug, told KnightNews.com. “They want to experiment, try something new.”

KnightNews.com learned some UCF students got their supply of “Molly” from South Florida.

Most were not aware of the side effects. KnightNews.com researched MDMA and learned there are dangers that can be deadly. Sasha Rodriguez, a 15-year-old girl who attended EDC in Los Angeles last year, died of an overdose from MDMA.

According to the LA Times, “the ingestion of the hallucinogen caused Sasha to lose oxygen to her brain, leading to inactivity and death.”

She arrived to the hospital in a coma, after an ambulance ride where she had seizures. She also had abnormal heart rhythms before tests showed she had no brain activity and she was pulled off life support.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUicv2RMvVc

“We have looked at what happened in other cities and taken measures to ensure they don’t happen here in Orlando,” Heather Fagan, Mayor Buddy Dyer’s press secretary, told the Orlando Sentinel.

The students KnightNews.com talked to confirmed security was tight, but admitted it didn’t stop them from sneaking in MDMA and consuming multiple doses throughout the night. And when the rave ended downtown, many students came back to the UCF area for after parties.

This flier was made in LA after an MDMA death at EDC

It’s not yet clear if the spike in MDMA/Molly use among UCF students will die off now that EDC has left town, or continue now that students have tried it.

In LA, officials published a controversial flier acting as a guide on how to avoid complications with MDMA. It came under fire for giving tips on how to minimize risks while using MDMA, such as by avoiding combining caffeine and other stimulants while taking MDMA. The flier does point out the best way to stay safe is not to use it at all, but that advice wasn’t the most prominent.

EFFECTS, DANGERS OF MOLLY/MDMA

KnightNews.com researched the findings of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which states: “MDMA can cause a dangerous increase in body temperature that can lead to kidney failure. MDMA can also increase heart rate, blood pressure, and heart wall stress. Animal studies show that MDMA can damage specific neurons in the brain. In humans, the research is not conclusive at this time; however, a number of studies show that long-term, heavy MDMA users suffer cognitive deficits, including problems with memory.”

Other side effects can include: nausea, chills, sweating, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision. The institute reports that MDMA overdose can also occur, which include symptoms like high blood pressure, faintness, panic attacks, and in severe cases, a loss of consciousness and seizures.

Even if you avoid the initial side effects, more can come over the course of the week following “moderate use of the drug,” according to the institute. Many MDMA users later report feeling emotions ranging from anxiety, restlessness, irritability and sadness that in some cases can be as severe as true clinical depression, the institute reports.

Research is unclear on whether MDMA is addictive, however, data indicates it can be in some cases. If you have an addiction you’d like to talk about, the UCF Counseling Center is available for free to answer any questions. The number is 407.823.2811.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office told KnightNews.com that together with the International Drive Resort Area
Chamber of Commerce and the Department of Children and Families, the groups will meet with Beard to “recognize her for her quick thinking and heroic actions in saving the life of a 1-year-old.”

Beard will get a medal of merit for her actions on the night of April 21, 2011, where officials say she saved the life of the child who, after clinging from the railings of a fourth story Econolodge hotel balcony, fell to the ground.

“Mrs. Beard showed unusual instinct and initiative when she exited from the swimming pool area and was able to catch the child as she fell, thus saving her from extreme physical injuries and/or death,” an Orange County sheriff’s spokesman said.

On February 18th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban all federal funding for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, adding more fuel to the already-flaming healthcare debate. Despite providing contraceptives, sexual health counseling, cancer screenings, pregnancy testing, testing and treatment for STDs, and basic healthcare for low-income families, the organization, with over 800 locations in the U.S., is primarily known as “the abortion clinic.”

It is true that Planned Parenthood provides pregnancy termination, but in 2008, the organization reported that abortions made up only 2-3% of its services for the entire year.

“Nobody is saying Planned Parenthood can’t be the leading advocate of abortion on demand, but why do I have to pay for it?” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said.

As the Republican face of the opposition, Pence believes that it is morally wrong to use pro-life Americans’ tax dollars to pay for abortions, but supporters of Planned Parenthood argue the representative’s point to be moot, as it is already illegal to use government funds for the procedure. Only one-third of the organization’s budget is made up of federal dollars, the rest coming from private donors such as the Buffett and Ted Turner foundations. Pence’s theory is that the government dollars “free up” funding for the abortion procedures.
The initiative to zero-out Planned Parenthood’s funding is frequently referred to as an “attack on women” and has sparked heated rhetoric even though it’s doubtful the bill will pass without revision in the narrowly Democratic Senate.

“These actions by the majority would severely hurt women’s rights and insert the government in private decisions about abortion and are nothing short of an all-out war on women,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

The real argument is that Planned Parenthood doesn’t just terminate pregnancies. They also educate more than three million patients nation-wide on sexual health, the first line of defense against an unplanned pregnancy. Over 60% of the organization’s services involve providing birth control pills and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Opponents of the legislation say that banning all federal funding would only exacerbate the issue of abortion.

Without adequate funding, many Planned Parenthood locations could close, leaving patients without the education or contraceptives to effectively prevent pregnancy. Remember, the majority of Planned Parenthood patients are low-income, unable to pay for healthcare. The pre-Roe V. Wade back-alley abortion stories could become a frightening possibility if the dream of cutting off all federal funding to the clinics came true.

“I do think the education should be out there for anyone who needs it and I’m not sure it would be if funds were unavailable,” said Lavelle Brooks, a Georgia registered nurse. “Hospitals don’t provide that information. Generally, it’s not something we do.”
Planned Parenthood currently runs on a 1 billion dollar budget, servicing all 800-plus locations with about 16 million dollars allocated for sex health education.

“A lot of people can’t afford to go to a personal physician and it’s a scary thing to be pregnant and not be able to afford healthcare. I see babies born with defects or deficiencies because the mothers weren’t able to afford prenatal care,” said Brooks, naming yet another service the organization provides.

Planned Parenthood has responded to the proposed legislation as “radically out of step with mainstream American values.”

“More than 90% of Planned Parenthood’s care is preventative care. Planned Parenthood does more to prevent unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion than any organization in America,” said Cecile Richards, president of the federation.

Here on campus, the views on the controversial bill seem to side with the organization.

UCF political science major, Sean Ellingham said, “I believe abortion is acceptable only if the life of the mother is threatened, but I still don’t think they should lose their funding. As long as it isn’t used directly for abortions, I don’t see the problem.”

“Abortion is not something I condone, but it’s not the only thing Planned Parenthood does. They offer several other services that some people cannot access as easily as others. That’s why I don’t mind that part of my money goes to support the organization,” said forensic science major Lindsay O’Keefe.

With the bill in the Senate, Richards addressed the attack as an opportunity to finally shift the abortion conversation to the more important, all-encompassing issue of women’s health, a talk that has been long overdue.

For years now, scientists have been conducting study after study attempting to prove whether or not extended cell phone use has an effect on the human brain. Many people believe that the radiation emitted from cell phones is too weak to have an effect on the brain.

However, in a year long study recently published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, acute cell phone exposure does, in fact, affect your brain.

The lead researcher of the study, Nora Volkow, who is the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists, took brain scans of 47 healthy participants after they held a cell phone to their ears for 50 minutes.

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“50-minute cell phone exposure was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism in the region closest to the antenna,” the study’s conclusion read.

To neutralize the any effect a conversation would have on the brain, the researchers placed the phone on mute.

There were two groups in the study– one whose cellphones were on, one whose cellphones weren’t. Scientists observed that the group with the active cellphones showed a 7% increase in brain glucose metabolism, which is how neuroscientists track brain regions responsible for everyday activities, like talking, moving, and listening to music.

Scientists are unsure of the repercussions of these findings as of now, but are on their way to understanding the overall effect cellphones have on our brains.

To read the entire case study from JAMA, click here.

The gym was flooded with UCF students, faculty and friends, as proud employees of the Recreation and Wellness Center prepared for the grand reveal of the brand new gym expansion. Although certain expansion areas, such as the weight floor and lap pool, were already open to the public since the beginning of the New Year, today’s ceremony offered the opportunity to learn about and tour the new facility.

The turnout for the grand opening was extraordinary, as hoards of people mulled through the sparkling new expansion, totaling 65,000 square feet. Sports clubs and fitness group leaders set up tables along the walls of the new hallways, offering information to the public about the semester’s events and opportunities.

On the new pool deck, live bands created a soundtrack to a game of water polo and a lap swimming between the school spirited black and gold lanes. Looking over the new pool is a spacious terrace that, for the grand opening, housed the Outdoor Adventure information center. The indoor section of the expansion features another weight floor, twenty new cardio machines, four racquetball courts, a larger basketball/indoor soccer court, a huge outdoor lap pool and a more spacious outdoor adventure center.

All of the cardio machines boast the “green” title because they capture energy in motion which is then converted into usable energy through the building’s central unit. In addition, the new indoor lighting system also intends to be environmentally friendly as it senses the amount of light shining in through the windows and adjusts accordingly.

With the new expansion, the gym now totals to a colossal 150,000 square feet of machinery, weights, courts, pools and countless plasma televisions lining hallway walls. Only time will tell if the number of people making use of the new gym will validate the costs and energy that went into its construction. And with no plans to cap expansion, we can be sure to expect more of this “green” way of building in the near future.