The University of Guam was awarded a $4.3 million cancer research grant from the National Institutes of Health to last until 2020. This third award is part of a grant partnership between UOG and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.

In 2003, UOG received $3.6 million for a comprehensive planning grant known as the U56, partnered with the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Then in 2009, UOG received an additional $12.8 million for the first grant cycle of the U54, a comprehensive partnership grant with UHCC.

However, the University of Hawaii Cancer Center has been financially struggling over the past several years due to frivolous overspending by former director, Michele Carbone. According to the Hawaii Independent, on Feb. 3, 2015, “The fiscal solvency of UHCC was also severely impacted by the loss of senior faculty over the past four years along with their extramural funding. Recovering from these losses is a major obstacle to the future success of the Center.”

UHCC’s financial plight over the years begs the question about whether or not the partnership with the UOG cancer research program has been jeopardized.

Despite the UHCC controversy, the recent U54 cancer research grant award suggests UOG and UHCC continue to meet their objectives in cancer research and prevention on Guam and Hawaii.

UOG’s primary investigator, Rachael Leon Guerrero, Ph.D., stated that one of the big things the U56 did was create the tumor registry. 

“The function of a tumor registry states that here on the island we need to collect cancer data and report it out so that we have an idea of the actual rate of cancer on Guam,” said Leon Guerrero. “We also did a lot of outreach advocating for public policy, so the Natasha Act, the no smoking, that was our group that really pushed for that and we were the first Gov Guam agency to institute a no smoking policy on campus and it was because of the cancer grant.”

Renata Bordallo is the Guam Cancer Registry data collection specialist supervisor. When asked if any of our funds were mismanaged by UHCC’s former director, Michele Carbone, she stated, “As far as I know, the University of Guam has its own funding and then UH has its own funding even with the partnership grant from the National Institutes of Health.”

But one of challenges the Guam Cancer Registry is faced with is having a small staff of only three people tasked with a heavy load of cancer registry mandates.

However, the partnership between UOG and UHCC does experience their own set of challenges.

“Because our project involves a partnership with the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, communication and scheduled project tasks made between Guam and Hawaii prove to be challenging. Scheduled Zoom teleconference meetings are norm for U54,” said recent UOG graduate, Jiana Salas, who is now a UOG Cancer research associate.

Salas is currently working on two projects with U54; Pilot Project I: “Reducing Cervical Cancer Screening Health Disparities Among Pacific Islanders Living in Guam and Hawaii” and Community Outreach Core.

When asked if the grant was effective in helping to prevent cervical cancer, Salas agreed that the grant is effective in helping to prevent cervical cancer.

“Our project is an intervention to increase cervical cancer screening that could help decrease cervical cancer rates. We are funded under the Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE). Health equity means efforts to ensure that all people have full and equal access to opportunities that enable them to lead healthy lives,” said Salas. “We try and promote health equity by building up our island neighbors who have migrated to Guam and Hawaii from Chuuk or the Marshall Islands. We will be conducting an SMS intervention to help promote cervical cancer screening and education – health topics that often go unspoken – in women of these communities.”

Leon Guerrero added that their role is to do research, find answers, provide information to the public and to Public Health, and to help shape policy.

But have policies like the Natasha Act impacted or reduced the number of lung cancer incidents?

“It would be too soon to tell because here we are analyzing cancer in five-year groups, even nationally they report it in two years and by the time they come out with official stats, already two years have gone by. Whether there has been any change, that’s the hard part about studying cancer because certain cancers develop faster than others. Lung cancer is usually diagnosed late stage, unfortunately,” said Bordallo. 

One of the initiatives of the U54 cancer research grant also includes a betelnut cessation project and curriculum.

“We can’t force people to stop chewing betelnut. We can just do the research that shows that it’s carcinogenic and here is a program we found that works to help people stop,” Leon Guerrero said. “What we’re doing is finding information that helps to inform the public and inform public policy and we hope that people follow that advice. But it might take a couple years for that to trickle down and for people to actually take heed of the message.”

Bordallo also said one of the most important initiatives is the Non-communicable Disease (NCD) initiative.

“In fact, the Pacific Island Region has declared a state of emergency for NCDs, our people are dying at younger ages because of NCDs. That’s caused by obesity, drinking alcohol and other drugs, smoking cigarettes, etc.. The good thing about the NCD consortium is that group is going after the risk factors,” Bordallo said.

According to the Guam Cancer Facts and Figures from 2008-2012, on average, on Guam one person is diagnosed with cancer each day, and one person dies of cancer every two and a half days.

“A lot of the cancers are lifestyle related. Liver cancer is a huge health problem here on Guam. Liver cancer is related to drinking. Lung cancer is related to smoking and second-hand smoking. Breast cancer and colon cancer are related to a myriad of lifestyle factors. It’s not just a one-time shot, it’s over years so you try to impact kids so that you reduce their risk of developing those types of cancers along the line,” Leon Guerrero said. 

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With an anticipated 8,250 students who will be enrolled during the upcoming academic year, the UOG Student Government Association recently proposed their fiscal 2017 auxiliary budget proposal, estimating that $198,000 would be available from student activity fees.

This could beg the question—where does all the money go?

Part of SGA’s proposed 2017 academic year budget includes initiatives of $60,000 for sponsored activities, $35,000 for Enrollment Management and Student Services (EMSS) Division support, $20,000 for Charter Day and Blue Night, $20,000 for stipends, $20,000 toward clubs, theatre, and HR transfers, and $15,000 for leadership development.

The remainder of the budget is reserved for contractual services, supplies, equipment, uniforms, and utilities.

According to Jericho Tobias, UOG SGA president, “Sponsored activities include the Welcome Back event and spring and fall assemblies. Our main goal was to enrich student activities.”

Tobias further addressed that EMSS received about $45,000 last year but that was greatly reduced to $35,000 this year.

Dean of EMSS Michael Gunn, Ph.D., stated that EMSS will be evaluating next year’s budget to determine if money is being used to support students in the most efficient manner.

Gunn posed a question for the upcoming student government: “Are we really getting the right bang for the buck or could we get the same amount of input for $40,000 or $50,000 and provide a little more money to clubs and organizations?”

“Currently, we have funds available to support student organizations as well as to support significant university-wide events for students,” Gunn said.

Gunn further noted that the SGA budget serves three main purposes, including support student organizations, support university-wide student activities, and support SGA.

When asked how EMSS is supporting SGA with the proposed $35,000, Gunn responded that approximately $15,000 goes to recruiting materials, office supplies, computers, printers, and associated automation, roughly $5,000 goes into student support activities such as select student travel, and other student activity opportunities are about $7,000.

Click here for a full graph display at Tableau

SGA President Tobias encourages students to join UOG’s events, especially Charter Day and Blue Night because they are UOG’s two largest events and students help to fund them through student activity fees.

“We are very transparent. If you have any questions, come by the Hall. All of our documents are always free to see,” Tobias said.

Elected SGA officials and members of the student election committee receive $50 for each session or meeting attended and no more than two regular sessions per month.

Tobias also elaborated that the stipend account of $20,000 is split equally between Triton’s Call and UOG Fine Arts Theatre.

Students react

Mariah Ramos, a senior in communications and President of UOG’s Lambda Pi Eta said, “I think more money should go into student organizations since they help promote Triton spirit.”

Ramos feels SGA does a good job of engaging students in student activities. ”I guess they do what they can,” Ramos replied.

When asked if she thinks SGA does a good job of engaging students in student activities, Ramos replied, “I guess they do what they can.”

Because part of the student activity fees goes to the Theater department, Athena Meno, a senior double majoring in Theatre and English Literature, says that the money is very beneficial because theatre admission is free for students and help to cover costs for copyright fees and show supplies.

“I think they are doing a pretty good job. I’ve attended their Triton’s Got Talent, which I thought was phenomenally successful. They are doing a lot of work to bring in more students but I feel like there is just a little more outreach that needs to be done,” said Meno. “I know that they encourage the different clubs to attend their meetings but it would be nice if we had certain SGA members coming out to the actual meetings for the other clubs so that everyone is on the same table.”

Meno believes that SGA members who attend student organization meetings would create a more interconnectedness between the clubs.

Katherine Campbell, an undeclared freshman, further said she will be more likely to attend UOG events knowing that $24 of UOG tuition money goes toward those student activities from SGA and clubs.

“We are looking at for future expenditures as to whether an appropriate amount of money is given to student clubs and organizations as related to other student government activities,” mentioned Gunn. “We are looking at the most efficient way to use student government money to benefit the student body as a whole.”

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Ehlert was indicted for criminal sexual conduct and official misconduct after two UOG students filed complaints of sexual assault that occurred at his home at the end of the Fall 2014 semester. 

When committing a criminal offense in the university, you need to be represented by an experienced Criminal Defense for ASU Students.

The Ehlert case has prompted the UOG community to respond by helping to get them Criminal defense lawyer, empower students with knowledge and available resources about sexual assault and harassment and by proposing new campus policies and procedures.

UOG President Robert Underwood encourages anyone to bring a concern or issue directly to his attention or to the attention of the Senior Vice President Anita Enriquez and EEO institutional compliance officer Elaine Faculo-Gogue.

President Underwood said, “I want everyone both staff member and student to feel absolutely comfortable and secure here at the University of Guam. We have followed our policies. We have followed our procedures. Sometimes the decisions that people make are not the same decisions. But I followed our policies and procedures. Our outreach has not been as strong as it could be but we are endeavoring to make every effort and every person safe and secure.”

At a recent community forum, President Underwood emphasized that there are three major changes to the UOG Sexual Misconduct Policy that include banning amorous relationships between faculty, staff, and students, a Yes Means Yes affirmative consent, and finalizing the protocol for reporting sexual harassment.

Aside from directly contacting UOG President Underwood, SVP Enriquez, and EEO Faculo-Gogue, students can also seek help regarding sexual misconduct by contacting GPD, UOG Isa Psychological Services, and UOG Violence Against Women Prevention Program.

According to EEO Elaine Faculo-Gogue, “sexual misconduct” includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, and may include domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and inappropriate amorous relationships.” Faculo-Gogue says there have only been two complaints since the Ehlert case and 17 official cases in the past 10 years.

“I want everyone to have a good and pleasant college experience. If any student has a concern, please do something. These kind of issues (sexual misconduct and discrimination) we cannot afford to keep quiet about. Ask friends and classmates,” said Faculo-Gogue.

The EEO/ADA office handles sexual misconduct and discrimination complaints and the Violence Against Women Prevention Program handles sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

However, not many students are aware of the protocols and policies.

Selene Santos, a UOG junior majoring in linguistics said, “All I have heard is that there is this professor who allegedly is harassing students. My parents told me about it and they said to just be careful. Now that I’ve heard about it, I’m kind of scared because I have a late night class. I know there is a G4S escort service and counseling that is free in the HSS building.

Some students raised concerns about Ehlert having connections with Isa Psychological Services and VAWPP because he was part of the psychology department.

When asked if Dr. Ehlert ever worked at VAWPP or Isa, the VAWPP and Isa Director Dr. Twaddle explained that as Dr. Ehlert is an experimental psychologist, he was not affiliated with either program.

“We have a big team of supervisors and graduate students in both VAWPP and Isa. It’s a good team of people,” he said.

VAWPP education and training coordinator, Jean Macalinao, said that UOG’s sexual assault statistics are very low in comparison to other college campuses.

“I am very proud of the students who have come forward and I admire their courage and persistence because that takes a lot of effort on their part and I want everyone to feel like they can do that,” said President Underwood.

EEO Faculo-Gogue encourages anyone to call the new helpline 735-HELP or stop by her office located at Dorm 2 near the UOG Field House to report any sexual misconduct or discrimination. For sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, contact VAWPP at 735-2890 and vawpp@uguam.uog.edu. For campus security (G4S) escort, contact 888-2456. For free counseling, contact Isa Psychological Services at 735-2883 and isa@uguam.uog.edu. Students may also report any issue or concern directly to President Underwood or SVP Anita Enriquez.

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SGA plays an integral role in communicating student needs with UOG’s administration, such as Dean Michael Gunn Ph.D., who is in charge of Enrollment of Management and Student Success Division. EMSS manages all student services like admissions and records, student housing, student counseling, and student health services.

According to SGA’s office manager Kyle Sandbergen, SGA comprises of student leaders who want to try and make the university a better place for students.

“We are the bridge between the students and the administration,” said Sandbergen. “We have the power to bring up concerns that we relay to the administration.”

Students are encouraged to speak with the officials of SGA about any needs or concerns that have not been addressed because the officials are well-versed in the procedures and policies around the UOG campus.  If a student addresses a particular issue to an SGA member, a bill or a resolution will be drafted by the senator and voted upon in the next SGA open session.

After a bill or resolution is passed by the SGA officials, the process begins to make its way for approval toward EMSS.

Despite how formal SGA’s duties can be, the organization is still comprised of students who value networking and hosting fun events for other students across the UOG campus.

Pollar Idesou-Ngiralulk is a senator of SGA who has written bills and resolutions. Idesou-Ngiralulk also understands the duties of hosting events like Charter Day and the Spring Assembly.

“We work for the students and try to be the students’ voices,” said SGA Senator Idesou-Ngiralulk. “Being a senator is a lot of fun because we get to meet new people and get to know them. We help each other.”

SGA Senator Darryl Navarro said he tries to provide students with his best work.

“I enjoy being a Senator because I enjoy serving the students,” said SGA Senator Navarro. “I love working with people, getting to know students, and working in a team.”

Navarro mentions that lack of student participation can be frustrating, but through SGA, they continue to reach out to the students and hold events.

Navarro is also an active general member of UOG’s American Marketing Association and majoring in Business Public Administration.

Additionally, SGA offers a point system incentive program to student organizations increase participation throughout the academic year.  There are 49 recognized student organizations on campus. Student organizations can earn points by hosting events or by participating in other events.

The top-three student organizations from last year were the Pohnpeian Student  Organization, the Chuukese Student Organization, and the Residence Hall Governing Council.

The diligent group of students at SGA in collaboration with other UOG students work to solve problems, giving students a supportive hand and a strong voice.  

SGA encourages students to stop by their office located at the student rotunda to chat or just hang out.

Please follow SGA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uguam.sga, Instagram: @uog_sga, and Twitter: @uog_sga.

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MANGILAO, Guam (Oct. 28, 2015)— Knowing the facts about violence is futile unless people who are affected by it recognize its negative effects, seek protection and assistance for their situation, and empower themselves to transition into a better life.

The University of Guam’s Violence Against Women Protection Program hosted a “Domestic Violence Awareness” campus exhibit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the student rotunda. The event also featured non-profit service affiliates such as the Victim Advocates Reaching Out, Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence, ALEE Women’s Shelter, and Healing Hearts.

The organizations set up tri-fold displays on tables, and distributed informational brochures and souvenirs to showcase the array of assistance available for women who seek information and protection against domestic violence and abuse.

“This event is to show people at UOG that domestic violence exists. If you or someone you know is experiencing issues related to domestic and dating violence, there are programs out there that can assist,” said Jean Macalinao, education and training coordinator of VAWPP.

VAWPP is a program designed to assist college students who experience any form of harassment or abuse by equipping them with information and protection training. VAWPP also provides on-campus escorts and counseling. The office is located at the Humanities and Social Sciences building in room 103 and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

According to GCASAFV, domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a way to stay in power and control committed by one intimate partner against another. Emotional and physical abuse is wrong and increases an individual’s risk of death and crime.

“We work together with other programs like VARO, VAWPP, Healing Hearts, and ALEE shelter to help victims and try to make the transition as smooth as possible,” said Gabrielle Wusstig, a GCASAFV worker. GCASAFV assists these non-profit affiliates by offering training, outreach programs, and printing of collateral when needed.

VARO is a non-profit organization that provides free and confidential information and services to individuals and their families who experience any form of domestic violence, abuse, or trauma.

VARO, ALEE shelter, and Healing Hearts also have hotlines available 24/7 by providing emotional support to anyone who needs to talk or who needs help.

“It takes a lot of courage to speak to someone, whether it is you or for your friend,” said Erica Ventura from VARO. “If you really want help and you feel like no one is out there to help you, we are always here.”

The location of VARO is confidential but people can call 477-5552. Other hotlines available are the ALEE Shelter at 648-4673 and Healing Hearts at 647-5351. For emergencies please call 911.

For more information about these organizations visit www.guamservices.org.

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Balancing school and work life is an act many students can relate to. Nicole Leon Guerrero is a UOG communication major who juggles her courses with performing music at the lobby of the Lotte Hotel and the Venue.

Leon Guerrero, 23,  is a junior at UOG and is minoring in writing. Growing up in a vibrant household of musicians and listening to 60s music, Leon Guerrero began singing and playing the guitar at the age of 10.

Her mother, Patricia Leon Guerrero, was a singer, and her father, Peter Leon Guerrero, played the guitar.

“As a toddler, my mom would take me to her gigs and her family is very musical,” Leon Guerrero said. “I was inspired by that and I enjoy it so much. It is my passion.”

When she reached 18, she began singing at the Venue for three hours on Fridays. Leon Guerrero enjoys playing relaxing and upbeat oldies music.

“People say I sound like Norah Jones or Colbie Caillat,” she said. Some of her favorite songs to perform include “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night or “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray.

Leon Guerrero’s musical performances helped her to overcome shyness and made her less judgemental.

“I just open myself up to new personalities and new ways of thinking through meeting other people,” she said.

Leon Guerrero mentioned she enjoys how music helps to expand her social network, which is why she gravitated toward majoring in communications. Like her musical career, a communications career will continue to allow her to interact with people and grow her social network.

“I love it here at UOG. My dad graduated from UOG and a lot of my family members graduated from here,” Leon Guerrero said.

Leon Guerrero’s positive philosophy involves visualizing doing something enjoyable and working hard to get there. “You can’t wait until you’re ready,” she said. “Throw yourself into the deep end and learn how to swim. Just go for it.”

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The Luna Festival celebrates the creative arts on Guam, according to an article from Pacific Daily News.

Organizers are encouraging participants to dress up in costumes to create a convivial atmosphere of fun. The upcoming festival will showcase a colorful array of local vendors, arts and crafts, live entertainment, delicious food, and interactive demonstrations from a unique set of local artists. Some activities include face painting and body art.

Anyone seeking to display any creative talent can participate. The Luna Festival is also looking for volunteers and business sponsorship.

Vendors can register for the festival by contacting Michelle Pier at info@creativeindeed.net or 777-1284. For further details, go online at http:/CreativeIndeed.net.

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