Queen’s students participate Brain Injury Awareness Week
Brain Injury Awareness Week occurs in March this year, and Queen’s students are informing elementary school students about dangers that are associated with brain injuries.
Queen’s launched Brain Day nine years ago, during which students from the department of psychology and the department of life sciences, as well as the Faculty of Medicine, organize visits to classrooms.
Brain Day is also a part of the charity Parachute, which aims to prevent injuries through safety awareness.
Local organization ThinkFirst Canada is also a part of Parachute.
Around 150 Queen’s students participated this year, with the group planning to reach 46 different classrooms in the Kingston area. The program began during the last week of February and will continue through March, excluding March break.
The presentations aim to show the importance of wearing a helmet, and using one properly.
— Olivia Bowden
Human Rights and Equity Office hand out awards
On Wednesday, the Human Rights Office and the Equity Office, alongside the Council on Employment Equity, handed out awards to congratulate those in the Queen’s community who have worked to further equity, human rights and accessibility at Queen’s.
Irene Bujara, director of the Human Rights Office, said it’s not easy to create an environment that is focused on equity, as it involved a lot of hard work from all members of the community.
She said those awarded were able to overcome barriers to create a more inclusive community.
The Queen’s Black Academic Society (QBAS) was given the Employment Equity Award for its mission to improve the Queen’s experience for black students on campus.
This was done through QBAS providing mentoring to students as well as relationship building between staff and faculty. QBAS also organizes events to discuss current or past issues that are relevant to the black community at Queen’s.
CFRC Radio received the Human Rights Initiative Award for offering diverse programming on their station, 101.9 FM.
The station features talk pieces about human rights issues on a
broad and local level, including music and news from several different cultures.
Accessibility Hub coordinator, Andrew Ashby, received the Steve Cutway Accessibility Award for creating a better environment at Queen’s for those who have been diagnosed with a disability.
He created the Accessibility Hub, an online resource available to the Queen’s community that informs individuals about policies and practices regarding disability initiatives.
— Olivia Bowden
New Queen’s study tackles colon cancer
Queen’s is conducting a new trial to determine whether exercise could improve the rate that which colon cancer is cured, and if it could increase the quality of life for those who deal with the disease.
NCIC Clinical Trials Group is leading the study, entitled CHALLENGE.
Three-hundred patients are currently participating in the program, and the study is aiming to increase those numbers to 962.
The norm with colon cancer patients would be to follow them for three years after the six months of chemotherapy, and have them complete CT scans and blood tests to determine whether the cancer will return.
Within the trial, some patients will follow this standard, along with a book that encourages them to exercise. Another group of patients will complete the same tests but will also be given a physical activities consultant (PAC).
The PAC will prescribe exercise to the patient and monitor their exercise, as well as their exercise history.
If the trial proves that exercise can help improve the survival rate for colon cancer, providing a PAC for survivors would be part of the standard treatment that patients receive.
— Olivia Bowden
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