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Volume CXVI, Number 51
University of Southern California
Thursday, November 14, 1991
SCIENCE
& MEDICINE
Treatment available for overly painful menstruation
By Linda Sellers
Staff Writer
Millions of women suffer from pain ful menstruation, but there is treatment available that may provide relief, ranging from acupressure to vitamins
"Dysmenorrhea means painful menstruation," said Dr. G. Tyndall of the Student Health Center. A number of symptoms may be associated with dysmenorrhea, including headaches, irritability, abdominal cramps, breast tenderness, backache, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
Dysmenorrhea differs from premen strual syndrome (PMS) in that the symptoms appear at the time of menstruation, or at most one or two days before menstruation, Tyndall said.
It seems to be more common among women who have heavy bleeding, Tyndall said, and it is primarily a disease of young women who have not yet given birth.
There are two kinds of dysmenorrhea. In primary dysmenorrhea, there are no underlying physical abnormalities, he said.
Tyndall said the menstrual pain associated with secondary dysmenorrhea is due to an underlying physical abnormality such as a fallopian tube infection or endometriosis, a painful condition in which the cells that normally line the uterus (the endometrium) lie outside the uterus.
Primary dysmenorrhea typically begins with the onset of the menstrual cycle or within a year or two thereafter and often becomes more severe with time. The condition peaks in the woman's late 20s or early 30s. The symptoms are usually the worst on the first day of menstruation, Tyndall said.
The most widely accepted theory is that the symptoms are due to the production by the uterus of hormones called prostaglandins, Tyndall said.
Drugs such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen inhibit the formation of prostaglandins and are sometimes helpful.
However, there must be other mechanisms involved, Tyndall said. It is also known that combination oral (See Diagnosis, page 3)
WEATHER
M ostly Sunny, 55/77
TOMORROW:
Sunny, 60/84
Funds allocated to KSCR
Radio station to switch to FM
By Arwen Adams
Assistant City Editor
The Student Senate voted Wednesday night to allocate $5,000 to the university's student-run radio station, KSCR, to enable access to an FM band, under the condition that the sum be matched by the university.
"I'm delighted senate is supporting us," said Raymond So, general manager of KSCR. "We really thank them for coming through for us; the whole issue hinged on them.
"Their vote tonight shows it's not just lip service and they really do support the station," he said.
Earlier Wednesday, the Student Affairs Committee of the university's Board of Trustees expressed support for the radio station's conversion to FM.
"The Media Advisory Board recom-
mended it and the senate came through," said Student Senate President Sam Sheldon. "Me personally and the senate have always felt strongly there needs to be a campus radio station."
Since 1984, the radio station has sought to reach the widest possible student audience. Originally, it was broadcast over AM, but old and faulty equipment caused the system's demise.
Since all frequencies are filled in the Los Angeles area, other methods were
(See KSCR, page 2)
Housing office |Hitting the books
to implement student study
By Glenn S. Griffith
Staff Writer
The university's housing office has authorized a $35,000 study to try to improve the current housing situation, said Bill Thompson, director of housing.
The survey is being done by McNab and DeSoto, a research firm based in Houston.
"We are trying to get what the students' perception and attitudes are about student housing," said Mike McNabb. "The idea is to find how to make it better."
He emphasized that the study will make use of computers.
"The field work, the on-campus surveys, were even done on laptop computers," he said.
McNab did not wish to release details on the survey for fear of contaminating results.
Although the study is still in its early stages, the surveys should be completed by the end of the week, McNabb said. The firm does between 300 and 400 studies a year, he said.
The firm has also conducted four surveys over a two-year period for the University of California at San Diego.
"In the past, we have done internal surveys," Thompson said. "We decided to go to an outside agency this time. We wanted to have the study conducted with more professionalism and accuracy ... no slants from constituencies on the inside."
The questions on the survey were molded by housing personnel from those suggested by the firm to match the university's goals.
"We want to know what the students like and don't like, and what we can change," Thompson said.
Surveys are being conducted among students who live both on and off campus.
Oan Perez de la Garza / Daily Trojan
Kun-iiang Chuang, a graduate student in English, is captured reading between the shelves among the Doheny Library stacks.
Trustee pans observer proposal
Senate surprised by Board’s response
By Robert Moran
Staff Writer
Though students voted overwhelmingly in late October in favor of putting a student observer on the university's Board of Trustees, the board's chairman has expressed firm opposition to the idea.
Forrest Shumway, the first trustee to publicly comment on the issue, said last week that he is against allowing a student observer on the board.
Last month, students voted in record droves to support having a non-voting student sit in on board meetings. The final tally was 1,188 to 33 in favor.
The referendum is expected to come up at the next board meeting in December. The trustees have final authority on all personnel matters involving the board.
"I see bigger problems than benefits," Shumway said, adding that "it has nothing to do with the caliber of the students."
Sam Sheldon, Student Senate president, said he was surprised by Shumway's reaction.
"I understand his objection to a student member," Sheldon said. "I thought a student observer would solve all his questions."
i Sheldon and the senate had first proposed having a student member on the board, but later put their support behind the student observer proposal. The change was seen as a compromise when Shumway originally objected to the student member proposal in August.
But Shumway said he was even more opposed to having a student observer on the board. He also said other trustees have also voiced opposition.
"It came to the executive committee and there was no sentiment for it," Shumway said.
Having any type of observer on the board would be a disruptive influence, he said.
(See Trustees, page 2)