Now the multi-billion dollar corporation, which carries licensed brands as Under Armour and New Balance, that started in 1987 downtown, has downsized to 50 jobs in the design merchandising and distribution center, in Mebane, Greensboro and Newton.

Gold Toe of Burlington, and Moretz of Newton, both leading sock mills, merged in 2006 to create what is now the third largest producer of socks, supplying more than half of men’s dress socks in the United States.

The company, which started as the Great American Knitting Mill in 1919 in Bally, Pa. has always had its toes in U.S. soil until late 2008, when about 425 employees were laid off and the headquarters manufacturing plant in Burlington bunged its doors to expand internationally.

Gold ToeMoretz has shifted its production lines overseas to areas in Mexico and China as many textiles industries have been forced to do in the last decade.

Gold Toe, as well as its seven brand extensions in athletic, hosiery and other sock performance wear, is one of the last U.S mills to transfer operations overseas. A official statement from the company said that, “We continue to develop a sustainable competitive advantage by leveraging a low cost, world-wide supply chain.”

Stateside, there are product development areas unaffected in Newton and Conover, as well as division offices for sales and distribution in Mebane and Greensboro, to ensure corporate principles of customer service and quality control.

“It’s truly a great product, it’s the only sock my family will wear,” said Amy Vaughn, a Burlington resident.

Before closing, in 2008, Gold ToeMortez was the ninth largest employer in the county, according to the Employment Security Commission.  Sock mills defined Burlington in the early 1900’s, and Gold Toe was a prime corporate citizen.

Wanting to expand while still profitable, Gold ToeMoretz out-grew its headquarters in Burlington, but is still maintaining a local presence. The company also contributes and is actively involved in non-profits in Catawba County, including the United Way, Family Builders and Hospice.

In tough economic times, Gold ToeMoretz felt the unstable grounds in the textile industry. Revamping the organization of the company strained the closing of the Burlington plant, yet the enriched, yarned, gold toe remains on the soles of Burlington residents.

As he stood in front of photojournalism class, after class, at Elon to show his work to students his age, he was missing his own journalism classes at UNC-Chapel Hill himself.

This of course, is on top of missing prior weeks because of workshops and stories he decided to participate in.

John believed it was better, or easier at least, to ask for forgiveness than permission.

He was a Hearst winner and yet his voice was faint, his hair shaggy and he didn’t give a damn about presenting himself in an honorable way. There was no PowerPoint or speech.

It was just John and his organized pictures by date on his MacBookPro that had PHOTO stamped across the middle, a sticker covering the Apple symbol. You could tell he wasn’t much into brands, or fitting in.

But John was passionate about moments. As a photographer, he could easily take 3,000 frames and had to choose 10 to 12 to best tell a story.

Through his lens

He wasn’t a typical student, with a day broken down play-by-play, scheduled, highlighted and color-coded in a planner. Time to John, isn’t measured by minutes or determined by managing class and homework.

• He said moments are visual.
• They aren’t inside the classroom.
• They take time.

John showed me five of his monographs that focused around a migrant working in tobacco, pizza business on the street, on-spot robbery, family fire and unemployment.

John responded to an on-the-spot news call of a robbery. He photographed a woman distraught, in tears, after hearing her husband, and father of her two children was murdered at the scene.

He explained the story took three months. He was always waiting for moments to happen. Sometimes it happens and you react; others you just have to make sure you are there.

It led to following her path and as John says, leading him somewhere interesting. He photographed the funeral, the family driving, crying, playing Uno, visiting the grave, so on and so on.

To him, it wasn’t a dream or career goal. It was his moment. He knows the business and ‘that times are tight’.  I stared at photo after photo and would glance back at John behind the computer stand. A professor teaching public speaking would have had a field day with him.

But the entire class was thinking it: how did he get ahead?

What moment let him take this time to focus instead on these issues, in-depth, around us, affecting us every day?

I can’t find any time. John said, “Um, I always work harder than everyone else.”

Dedication

One day, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, John drove above Richmond, VA, to shoot a health clinic opening in the wee hours of the morning. He slept in his car after a black night’s drive, shot the clinic, jumped back in his car, sped down the interstate to be back at work by mid afternoon the same day in Chapel Hill.

He didn’t feel like he truly captured the story, so he decided to take a trip back, within 24 hours.  I love a moment, he said. If you spend enough time, it’ll all work out.

John makes life so simple.

I thought about my moments, day dreaming of work I could share, as John does. My moments were exactly that, my moments spent in class. If not in class, at work or doing work for class.

I spend all my moments in journalism school to prepare for that big moment.

John said it’s their story, not yours, your job is to tell it the way it is.  Right now, in my messy, semester situation, I can only tell his story.

John is one of those guys himself, where after the flash, there is the moment.

I think a smile will get you a long ways, he says, grinning.

Alamance County is in the midst of its official drive for Cell Phones for Soldiers, an organization collecting used cell phones to donate prepaid calling cards for soldiers worldwide.

“If you live in the dorm or at home during Christmas break, you can donate your phone at any drop-off site including AT&T stores,” said Scott Ward, an employee in the County Management Information Systems office.

The nonprofit, started in 2004 by siblings Brittany Bergquist, now 19, and Robert Bergquist, 17, of Norwell, Mass., has donated more than 550,000 phone cards to troops deployed and recuperating in hospitals overseas.

“We received requests for over 26,000 phone cards this week,” Brittany said.

The collection box at the county office building in Graham has collected more than 400 phones since November 2008. Ward proposed the idea and is now in charge of the drop-off site.
The drive in the past has collected the most during the Christmas season, but has not collected as much this year because of the downturn in the economy. One of the largest sources of contributions last year were from county employees.

“In the last drop-off, there were 14 cell phones and plugs,” Ward said.

Used phones are sent to Michigan mobile phone recycler, ReCellular, that pays per phone to Cell Phones for Soldiers. On average, each phone is worth $5, allowing 60 minutes of talk time for military personnel.

Most cards in past years were sent to Iraq, but the majority now are being shipped to Afghanistan.

“We will continue to provide for the communication needs of our troops,” Bergquist said. “Our motto is ‘as long as there are troops deployed, Cell Phones for Soldiers will be there to help’.”
AT&T stores, like the one at Alamance Crossing, are also collecting phones throughout the year.
“Two large bags were collected last week, and the box is filled again this week,” said Alice Bennett, an AT&T representative.

The drive, ongoing at AT&T, has been present since Bennett started working for the store two years ago.

AT&T works closely with the Bergquist family, setting up hospitality tents and outreaching for more communication cafes in Afghanistan for troops. The organization hopes to raise $9 million for video and advanced methods of communication for troops and their families in the future.
“We are working with companies to provide computer video cafes throughout the Middle East,” Bergquist said.

Ward has not discussed expanding donation boxes into other towns and cities in the county, but he said he wants to explore ways of managing multiple collections and increasing participation for the ongoing drive.

“We are happy to receive any phones and will be accepted with a smile,” Ward said.

This is an article that I wrote for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student-produced newspaper. It was published on November 11, 2009.

Elon, N.C. – It’s the time of the year where flip-flop weather takes on a new meaning.

But not even the rain keeps Elon University tour guides from showing prospects the campus, known as the 9th most beautiful campus in the U.S., according to Princeton Review.

Thursday afternoon, Elon tour guides Sarah Carideo and Clayton Winkelvness puddle-jumped a group of 13 students and parents across the 64 facilities on campus.

Winkelvness, a senior from Pittsburgh, is aware that tours must adapt to the weather conditions. The admissions welcome center provides umbrellas and ponchos for visitors.

Tour guides stay under shelters as much as possible before talking about the facilities. Winkelvness also tries to engage visitors to keep their minds off the weather conditions.

“On a sunny day everyone wants to ask everything, everyone is real excited,” said Winkelvness.“ [When it’s raining] you have to work a little harder to get them to answer and ask questions.”

Tara Smith, a Mass. native, drove from her hometown to Elon with her father on Thursday morning for the afternoon tour.

Smith has visited any campuses favoring better conditions. She said the rain did not affect her tour at Elon because it was weather she is exposed to frequently at home.

“It would have been nicer, I did some tours where it was sunny out, but overall I could still see everything, it wasn’t down-pouring,” said Smith.

The center in Moseley Campus Center schedules two tours, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., each day. There are two paths that tour guides can take, one focusing on the North and West campus or the East campus, including the Koury Business Center.

**Footage was shot with Flip Video

The comfort of friends and family. The smells of home-cooked meals. The freedom to relax or walk among shopping traffic.

To the 330,000 military men and women deployed to combat zones, this is a daydream and an unattainable wish this holiday season.

Give2TheTroops, Inc. is one local non-profit reaching out to spread the holiday cheer and keep the hopes and wishes of troops alive through its annual 2009 Holidays for the Troops Care Package Collection Drive.

Donate locally

The North Carolina branch, located in Greenville, expects to ship 800 packages this holiday season, with each package filled with items for 12 to 20 military personnel.

Elon alumni donated holiday packages and money to the organization over the weekend. The alumni collected supplies ranging from beef jerky to electronics as well as holiday decorations and gifts.

“On Thursday, an alumna drove a delivery down and brought us a donation for mailing packages,” said Diane Craig, a board member of the North Carolina branch. “We are blessed.”

This year’s theme for the collection drive is “Seasonal Sights, Sounds & Sweets.” The organization is striving to include favorite memories of home, entertainment, food and personalized items in each package.

“One thing troops say they love, and our branch does with every box, is top it off with a gallon-size bag of cards and letters written from families and individuals,” Craig said. “It is just a piece of home, a card or letter they normally find on the refrigerator at home.”

The non-profit, including its warehouses, telephones and supplies, are all run through donations.

The North Carolina branch, directed by Barbara Whitehead, is entirely voluntary. Businesses, churches, organizations, schools and families can donate and volunteer at the on-site center.

Support in a tough economy

Give2TheTroops contributes year-round, with 15 programs and campaigns sending themed packages for birthdays and special occasions. The organization is in need of donations, especially for postage costs of $10,000 per month. Holiday shipping costs alone are expected to be $18,000.

“We are sending packages year-round, so we are always in need of donations,” Craig said.

No coal for soldiers

Craig said the supplies needed are constantly changing as troops move into Afghanistan, and many are living in tents. Troops must find ways to entertain themselves during their downtime overseas. Craig confirms that donations such as reading materials and interactive games are beneficial, depending on whether troops have electricity.

“Downtime is critical. It is their only time to de-stress,” Craig said.

The North Carolina branch sends packages from across the nation to assigned pools of units.

The director receives information of the number of troops, the most needed items and the troops’ conditions. Packages are then personalized for each unit.

Not far in heart

“They appreciate the effort,” said Elon senior Jessica Rossi, the girlfriend of a U.S. Marine. “The fact that people back home were thinking of them makes them smile.”

Other Elon community members recognize the importance of the care packages to the troops.

Senior Catherine Melendez is in the process of organizing an event with her sorority and close friends to gather supplies for the troops this season. Melendez creates care packages for her father and other members serving in the military.

“Everyone deserves to be thanked,” Melendez said. “I know that one of the most important things is (to show) appreciation.”

Melendez’s father, a major in the Army, is currently deployed to Afghanistan. This will be her first Christmas without him at home in Maryland.

“It’s hard to celebrate and be happy when you know that someone you care about is so far away,” she said. “The biggest reward is when you sit back and think about your life and you know that it’s like that because of brave people like my dad.”

Senior Emily Speer creatively issued a ‘joint-package operation’ with Melendez in showing their appreciation to soldiers. Speer’s brother shipped out for his first 12-month tour in Iraq last month.
Speer and her family are preparing bags of holiday treats for the 26 soldiers in her brothers’ platoon.  She also sends frequent packages to mutual friends of her brother’s, stationed around the world.

“I can’t even talk about it,” Speer said of the holidays. “I refuse to do anything traditional (because he is gone). I am not receiving any gifts or observing any holidays this year.”

Help Out

Give2theTroops will be collecting donations until Dec. 1 and will be mailing packages to designated Army Post Office Box addresses until the middle of December for the holiday collection drive.

“Troops need to know the citizens of the country they are fighting for are behind them and that we support them,” Rossi said. “We all do not have to agree with world events or the leadership of our country, but it is important to support those risking their lives for our safety.”

For more information about ongoing programs and campaigns visit: http://www.give2thetroops.org/programs.htm

To set up an appointment to volunteer or coordinate large shipments, contact Barbara Whitehead, director:

Tel. 252.321.8227
E-mail. Barbara@Give2thetroops.org

This is an article that I wrote for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student-produced newspaper. It was published on November 11, 2009 and can be found at: http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=2996

November 11, 2009

Elon, N.C. – This season, in the heart of New Bern, N.C., Elon club swimmers discovered in a game of Red Rover how a team is only as strong as the weakest link and the importance of teamwork.
This game, among others, was part of the retreat the club swimmers went on at the beginning of the season.

“This year, we are a lot closer than in the past, and we spend a lot of time together,” senior co-vice president Peyton Jenkins said.

The club retreat brought an excitement to the member’s poolside at the Fall Championship, hosted by club swimming last weekend.

As a combined team, Elon placed sixth out of the 18 competing schools with 396 points. The female swimmers placed third out of 18 scoring 251 points while the males placed seventh out of 17, with a total of 145 points.

More than 450 regional swimmers and visitors filled Beck Pool and overflowed into the racquetball and additional gym facilities for the two-day championship.

“It was excellent to see every member of the team chipping in for this event,” junior team treasurer Kelly Molin said. “It’s a huge deal.”

The team had its largest participation yet, with 35 of its 40 active members participating in one or more events during the meet.

“We are retaining many swimmers and haven’t been able to say that in the past,”  Jenkins said.
The team also has similar numbers of male and female swimmers, giving more opportunity to place in events during meets.

Freshman Matt Florian joined club swimming this year, just one of the reasons why the club created a second relay team to compete.

“I was just swimming laps one day and (Jenkins) told me to join club swimming,” Florian said. “So I did, and so far it has been a lot of fun.”

The team participated in two meets this semester. Against Appalachian State University on Oct. 3 the females finished fourth out of nine and the males  finished sixth out of eight, putting Elon in fifth place overall.

The team also competed at Virginia Commonwealth University at the end of October, with both teams finishing third overall.

“We usually travel more in the spring, so we are all looking forward to preparing for our meets and possibly planning another retreat,” Molin said.

Club swimming, a year-round sport, practices an hour and a half a day, four days a week. On Fridays, the swimmers connect in team building exercises outside the pool.

“We work hard, but we have a lot of fun,” sophomore upcoming co-vice president Laura Bondi said.

Freshman Kelly Lahvic said she is hopeful for the upcoming meets next semester. Lahvic placed first in one event at VCU and placed in the top two in all six events in the championship Saturday and Sunday.

“The biggest challenge is balancing swimming with classes,” Lahvic said.

Lahvic finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke and in the 200-yard individual medley, scoring 108 points toward Elon’s overall placement.

Sophomore Ross Rodriguez placed second in the 50-yard butterfly against Appalachian State and finished in the top 16 in four events during the championship, including 1st in the 50-yard butterfly and fourth in the 100-yard butterfly.

Club swimming started the season with an abundance of firsts. Looking ahead, the team will focus on participating in more traveling meets and preparating for the next championship, including finding ways to endure the demand of participants of schools on the East Coast.

“Last year, it was a fire hazard to have the amount of people we did in the facility,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins advised team members in ways to build ground in expanding swimming facilities, including  a survey that was sent to students last year.

“I told them it will take time,” Jenkins said.

The swimmers said they have high hopes to see how the club can grow in the upcoming meets and seasons. They are used to racing against the timer.

This is an article that I wrote for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student-produced newspaper. It was published on November 11, 2009 and can be found at: http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=2922

November 11, 2009

Elon, N.C. – Come the new year, Elon students and Alamance County residents will notice there is something less smelly in the air when entering restaurants and bars throughout the state.

North Carolina’s new law requires enclosed areas of restaurants and bars to be smoke-free by Jan. 2. The smoking ordinance, passed in May, bans smoking in any establishment where food or drinks are prepared for profit.

Alamance County will see many changes in the food service establishments, with 300 sit-down restaurants and 100 food stands that currently allow smoking in some or all parts of their facilities.

“A lot of restaurant owners wanted to (go smoke-free) before, and now they are more than willing to comply with the law,” said Barry Bass, director of the Alamance County Health Department.

Gov. Beverly Perdue encourages businesses and customers to visit the state’s new Web site, SmokeFreeNC.gov. Launched by the N.C. Division of Public Health and N.C. Association of Local Health Directors, the site offers resources on the new law and health hazards of smoking.

Last week, Perdue said owners and managers are being notified of the changes. Informational packets are hitting the front doors of businesses across the state explaining the terms of the new law, including the requirement to post no smoking signs at public entrances.

Restaurant and bar owners are responsible for the posting and enforcing of smoke-free environments. Bass said he encourages businesses to post signage and lead in the transition of smoke-free establishments as soon as possible.

“‘There are no smoke police,’” Bass said. “It is the responsibility of the individual businesses to enforce the law.”

Many restaurants in the county allow smoking, but those are separated from sit-down dining services.

In Burlington, The Red Bull Tavern and Grille allows smoking in the bar area and outside patios.
“I think it will hurt the bar business, but you will see a lot more restaurants adapting,” said Matt Beveridge, a server at the restaurant since it opened two years ago.

Sandy’s Subs & Italian Grill on East Haggard Avenue in Elon, a popular establishment for students, will be one restaurant that must adjust to the new law, as will as West End Station.

Sandy’s owner Greg Saldanha said he thinks banning smoking will hurt his business. Saldanha opened his restaurant 20 years ago as a non-smoking facility and received some complaints until 10 years ago when he began to allow smoking on the bar side of his establishment.

Sandy’s has a smoke-free section, closed off from the bar, that has worked well for both parties.

“People enjoy drinking a cold beer and a smoke,” Saldanha said. “It’s a tough position to be in.”

Saldanha is adding an outside patio for customers by the time the new law takes effect.

“It’s a good law for health issues but I want to have a place for my customers to smoke if they like,” Saldanha said.

According to the Health Department of Alamance County, there are more than 100 restaurants which are already smoke-free.

Mellow Mushroom, a pizza parlor which opened Monday, does not allow smoking even though the smoking ban does not take effect until January.

“We have decided that not allowing smoking is in the best interest of our patrons,” manager Mike Fox said.

According to the new law, local governments may adopt stricter rules than the statewide smoking law. Any enclosed area the public is permitted in the local government may be able to impose rules and fines for local business owners and visitors to comply with.

“As we speak, in the county, there is no more than the basic law that applies now,” Bass said.

The Elon Poll, released March 2, found 87 percent of North Carolinians agree that employees have the right to work in a smoke-free environment, while 51 percent were in favor of banning smoking in all restaurants and bars.

“I personally hate smoking, but I think (a) restaurant or privately owned establishment should be allowed to make any choice they want about allowing smoking in their businesses,” Elon senior Matt Horowitz said.

The new law does not prohibit smoking in all work environments — but in all restaurants and bars with few exceptions. Cigar bars, private non-profits and country clubs, as well as certain lodging establishments, may be exempt under audit.

“If having the workplace smoke-free is a requirement, I don’t think the law would have passed,” Bass said.

North Carolina is joining 23 other states and the District of Columbia in requiring smoke-free establishments since the U.S. Surgeon General released a report in 2006 arguing that there is no safe exposure of second-hand smoke and indoor spaces should be smoke-free.

The American Lung Association launched an anti-smoking campaign shortly after The Smoke-Free Air Challenge in hopes to have the country smoke-free by December 2010.

The Lung Association’s annual report, State of Tobacco Control, which measures tobacco control by local legislators in 2008, rated North Carolina with a grade of F.

“With large groups of the public in restaurants and hotels, we see that the culture of people in the United States want to be in a smoke-free environment,” Bass said.

This is an article that I wrote for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student-produced newspaper. It was published on November 11, 2009.

It can also be found at Tobacco News and Information, http://www.tobacco.org/news/292442.html

For those seeking treatment for the flu or visiting friends or loved ones that may be infected, expect some limitations at Alamance Regional Medical Center this fall.

The hospital, which is the county’s largest health care provider, is not restricting visitors but is encouraging anyone not seeking treatment to steer clear of facilities.

“If you don’t need to come, you shouldn’t,” said Sara Wall, the infection control nurse at the hospital.
North Carolina is one of 46 states with widespread flu activity, according to the Center of Disease Control. The visitation guidelines were placed in hopes of controling flu outbreaks in the region. The guidelines placed in May require each visitor and employee to sanitize their hands upon entering the facilities.

“At this point we aren’t banning visitors, but we are about to move toward more strict guidelines in the future,” Wall said.

Additional guidelines suggest any person with flu-like symptoms, including the H1N1 strain, should not visit patients. Also, individuals should come to the hospital for treatment only.

Senior Jennifer Schafer has had the H1N1 flu since Thursday and has since been quarantined in her apartment.

“I had a really high fever and it’s developed into bronchitis,” she said. “The most miserable part of it has been that I haven’t been able to leave my apartment since Thursday. Otherwise, it’s just like the regular flu.”

Schafer was told to stay in her room with the door closed as to not infect her roommates. She was also instructed not to visit any public place until 48 hours after her fever broke.

She said she agrees with the procedures Alamance Regional has put into place.

“I think it is fine because I don’t want other people getting what I have because it’s really miserable,” Schafer said.

According to the CDC, adults can infect others a day before getting flu-like symptoms and within five days after contracting the virus. If sick, it is recommended to not visit a hospital or emergency room unless experiencing high-risk complications. Instead, self-isolation is the best option for protecting oneself and others.

“With the flu, you can pass it on even before you know you have it, or you could pick it up in the hospital,” Wall said.

The hospital currently has designated waiting areas for patients experiencing flu-like symptoms. When in waiting rooms, visitors should be six feet away from others to provide some level of protection against illness.

“All space helps,” Wall said.

Along with proper respiratory etiquette, Wall said she thinks limiting traffic in hospitals is the best way to prevent more outbreaks. If one must visit patient care areas, exercising safe practices when entering facilities is required.

This is an article that I wrote for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student-produced newspaper. It was published on October 28, 2009.

Elon, N.C. – Erin Mahn, after three years, returned today to the classroom where she took a Reporting for Public Good course to find it filled with eager journalism students.

Mahn, a 2007 graduate of Elon University visiting for Homecoming, spoke with Glenn Scott’s Reporting for Public Good class on the shifting economy, lifestyle and workplace her first two years in her journalism career.

When Mahn moved to New York City after graduation, she found landing a job was harder than she imagined in a city of 8.1 million people.

“Most jobs offered less than the tuition at Elon. I had to decline,” said Mahn.

Mahn set a deadline to have a job. She chose the offer with the best options. Applying in areas from Alaska to Singapore, she found herself settling in Cambridge, Md., mere 45 minutes from her home in Salisbury, Md.

Working as a staff reporter for The Daily Banner, Mahn found herself writing on crucial local topics her first week on the job. Having a passion for news and feature writing, her favorite experience was writing a piece on an annual Outdoors Show.

“I have learned to intertwine news writing and features,” said Mahn. “I have found audiences like it.”

Among the early morning deadlines and 14-hour days Mahn realized what really mattered in a newsroom filled with constant chaos.

• Treat everyone with respect.
• Check your ego at the door.
• People will not like you. Maybe not you, but the media.
• People will tell you your mistakes.
• Ask people how to spell their name. Twice.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
• Have fun.

Reminiscing with current students and alumni during Homecoming weekend, Mahn encouraged independent growth in addition to the Elon experience.

“When I first came to my job, I had no experience,” said Mahn. “Elon well prepared me. It’s all up to you, though.”

Erin Mahn visited my Reporting class. The professor gave the remaining class period (20 minutes, even though it felt like five) to write a 300 word news article about Mahn.

Although a new study concludes alcohol may help people survive trauma-related injury, Elon officials still point to the staggering evidence: One-third of injuries are initially caused by the use of alcohol.

U.S. researchers found that trauma patients who were intoxicated before a fatal accident had a greater chance of survival than patients who consumed no alcohol. The study, released in the October issue of American Surgeon, suggests alcohol may create an altered chemical response in the body during impact of a traumatic injury.

Researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center reviewed the cases of 7,985 trauma patients with similar injuries and ages to find if consumption of alcohol prior to a traumatic injury affected the outcome. Database results concluded 7 percent of sober patients died, compared to only 1 percent of patients who had previously consumed alcohol.

Robert Vick, an associate professor of biology at Elon, said he is excited by the research, but still skeptical.

“It is too early to determine the process or chemical alteration alcohol has in the cells,” Vick said. “No one is going to be able to tell you how alcohol directly influences higher survival rates at this time.”

Vick said he thinks the study has many interesting observations on how alcohol may protect cells and nerves during or after a traumatic brain injury. Researchers do not know how much or how long alcohol must be present in the blood to protect the brain. At this time, observations show only that alcohol may lessen the body’s inflammatory response at the time of an injury.

“The study is very open to being misinterpreted,” Vick said.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, each year 1.4 million people in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury.

Lauren Martin, Elon’s coordinator of substance education, warned that all research has limitations and encouraged students to do their own research to know the correlations and potential conflicts on the topic.

“As (with) any research, you must take it for what it’s worth and use common sense to not always take it for face-value,” Martin said. “Any piece of information can be critical, but you have to realize it’s not always reality.”

Martin said low-risk choices will help all sides of this issue. A person consuming alcohol exhibits a decreased fight or flight response that may cause different reactions when exposed to mild to severe traumatic injuries.

“Alcohol is a drug and like any drug it can be harmful to the body, and in some cases medically beneficial,” Martin said.

Martin does not see a significant number of traumas or incidents requiring hospitalization among Elon students and. In the last three years, drinking incidents on campus have decreased.

“We are still concerned with the unreported and undocumented issues,” Martin said. “Students should be comfortable to turn to resources on campus if they are concerned about the health of themselves or friends.”

The study follows research released in September from the Archives of Surgery, which showed similar results. Researchers found that even though patients who consume alcohol have a lower mortality rate, alcohol is also associated with a greater risk of complications, including the inability for doctors to determine the severity of an injury or a patient’s level of consciousness.

“It reinforces that it is important to know how alcohol affects the body and also the consequences of one’s actions,” senior biology major Alexis Moss said.

While alcohol alone will more than likely not be a key component in standard health care, understanding how alcohol may protect against swelling during a traumatic injury to the body could help develop new treatments and therapy.

“If researchers can figure out why it is protective, not just presenting a correlation that is present, it may be a part of the standard-of-care protocol in the future,” Vick said. “Sometimes, the most unlikely is what is most beneficial, like alcohol, a traditional substance.”

This is an article I wrote for The Pendulum, Elon University’s student produced newspaper. It was published on October 14, 2009.