2017-12-01

              According to data from the McLean County Coroner, opi­oid drug overdoses have reached double what they were in 2016, with 10 deaths in the month of October alone.
It begins with pain medication from the doctor and, upon with­drawal, morphs into crippling addiction to street opiates like heroin.
The opioid epidemic has swept the nation in recent years, and, thanks to a new cheaper drug called fentanyl, Bloomington-Normal is experiencing an un­precedented death toll.
McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis said that fentanyl can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin, and, when cut with other drugs, is so strong that it can kill people with one use.
At a forum on addictive sub­stance control held at the Illinois State University Bone Student Center, Davis said, “These are powerful, deadly, deadly drugs that are out there. It’s not like back in the day where you could try marijuana and see how you felt. These are drugs that on the first time out, a novice user can literally die from that evening.”
Last year, the death toll from drug overdose was 16 people, and before 2017 has even ended, 33 people have already died from overdose, 26 cases of which were opioid-induced.
“The deaths have gone up ex­ponentially,” Davis said. “It’s amazing how much it’s hitting McLean County.”
McLean County officials along with U.S. Attorneys and the Drug Enforcement Administration are exploring alternative solutions to combat this deadly problem.
The county’s drug court pro­gram has proven relative success over recent years. A focus on treatment rather than incarcera­tion is becoming the more widely accepted route of treating con­trolled substance addiction.
Argus
the
Illinois Wesleyan University
“The eyes of the Argus are upon me, and no slip will pass unnoticed”
-George Washington
Tricky to transfer
Photo courtesy of AARP.ORG
JOHN BARRETT
STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy of IWU.EDU
According to an article by The Chronicle, one-third of college students are considered transfer students.
A quick glance at Illinois Wesleyan University’s website would indicate that there is not much offered for transfer stu­dents.
Of the entire website, there is only one tab dedicated to trans­fer students.
A huge drawback associated with transferring to IWU is the way credits are transferred.
“I lost some credits,” Justin Walsh, a senior at IWU, said. “The bigger issue was the con­version of a three-credit class to 0.75 units.”
Credits aside, social acclima­tion is another thing to consider. IWU’s idea of a transfer orienta­tion was putting all transfer stu­dents in with freshman during their orientation week.
“We were supposed to go through ‘Turning Titan’ with freshmen,” Kayla Ranta, a soph­omore at IWU, said. “They had nothing planned specifically for us. The activities were all for the first-year college student. I real­ized this when my itinerary had taking the class of 2021 picture on it. I am a part of the class of 2020.”
Many students found it easier to acclimate socially by immers­ing themselves into the Greek system at IWU.
“Social acclimation was made substantially easier because of Greek life,” Walsh said. “I think I would have had a much harder time without it, especially when most people have found their friend groups by junior year.”
“It’s funny. Of the 11 trans­fer students I met, four of them rushed,” Stephanie Morales, a sophomore at IWU, said. “That just goes to show how hard it is to adjust socially.”
For the first time ever, IWU held a transfer student dinner, on August 29 at the Joslin Atrium, where transfer students were able to mingle with each other and staff.
“They are making an effort.” Ranta said. “I still think IWU has a long way to go in helping transfer students feel welcome and ready.”
“ The deaths have gone up
exponentially.
It’s
amazing how much it’s
hitting McLean County.”
-Kathy Davis
Opioid epidemic emerges in Bloomington - Normal
“I still think IWU has a long way to go in
helping
transfer
students feel welcome and ready”
-Kayla
Ranta
STEPHANIE VARGAS
NEWS EDITOR
Photo courtesy of BHPALMBEACH.COM