Next Meeting: April 13

Since we had to cancel the last meeting, we're planning on having a STOMP meeting next Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m. in 306 North Kedzie.

We need to go over and finalize all the details for our t-shirts sale (coming up in less than two weeks!) so we can raise some money to save some lives!

I hope to see you there!

Have a great weekend! It is supposed to be nice and sunny!

Danielle

STOMP Meeting Minutes, March 23, 2009

Attending: Derek, Levi, Angie, Aaron, Pike, Danielle

STOMP Progress, Updates, Etc.

Electrocizing -- you heard it here first.

Facebook

• Greenpatch: send fake plants (10 plants saves 1 square foot of rainforest)
• Same thing with malaria, only with bednets (20 people equals one bednet)

Fundraiser

• Noodles?
• Bdubs no go, booked until May
• T-shirt sale some time between April 19 and April 25

Steph Dawes and Group Collaboration

• Meeting in a couple weeks at Noodles

Home Depot

Bricks in toilet -- put in only one, not two

Patches: Earth STOMP logo, sell them at T-shirt sale, too

Pine Sap -- it's cool

Transfer funds into bank account

Next year transition

Next meeting is April 6 at 7 p.m.

STOMP Meeting Reminder

Hi Folks:

This is just a friendly reminder that we have are having a meeting tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in 244 Natural Science Building. We have a lot to discuss. Look forward to seeing you all there.

-Aaron

iVote

So here is the deal with iVote. I know this has all been a little confusing, but believe me -- I'm just as confused as the rest of us. I think the guy in charge may have multiple personalities because he keeps changing his mind/the plan for how things are supposed to run.

But anyway, here is OUR deal -- we're going to meet in the TA office on the third floor of North Kedzie (room 306) at 5. Once everyone is there, we'll make our way over to the Breslin Center. We don't really have all that much to set up (just a banner, a sign up sheet, and some t-shirts). Then, we'll be at the Breslin Center at our table until 7, when the concert starts. I think we should just leave at 7. Everyone will be in the concert at that time anyway, so it's kind of pointless for us to hang around. If anyone wants to stay and enjoy the concert, you're more than welcome to, but I'm going to leave at 7.

That's about it. Please e-mail me back and tell me if you can or cannot make it so that I have an idea of how many people we're going to have. Here are the people who are signed up right now:

Derek
Ashley (are you going to with us or your other group?)
Danielle Donovan
Greg
Levi
Rachel
Danielle Pombier and hubby

Also, if you have a Buzzkill t-shirt, please wear it. If you don't have a Buzzkill shirt and you want one, you can purchase one in the TA office before we go (they're $10). If you want a shirt and can't be at the TA office, just tell me what size you are and I'll bring it to the concert.

Hope this clarified everything. Sorry again for the confusion.

Aaron

Mosquito T-shirts

Hi guys:

Since the majority of you are working with our friends the insects, I thought that you might like to have an eye on the link bellow. It is actually an online museum created by some guys in the UK (maybe some of you already know this web site museum) . The museum aims to show high resolution/definition pictures of the mini/micro world. Hence this beautiful collection of insect portraits. As a photographer, I have never seen microphotographs as focused and clean as this. Having pictures like this is just impossible with normal techniques. Anyway, the guy explained to me that they used stereomicroscopy coupled with a software to compile images taken at different focuses. Check the definition of those pictures, it is just amazing!

I thought that a picture of the portrait of a mosquito (of the type that you have on the website) on a T-shirt would be great. A friend of mine that is a stylist in Paris already made T-shirts with insects on them and those had a lot of success. I think that having a well-designed T-shirt would be great. People would buy our T-shirt because they would be making a good action but also because they would have a really nice T-shirt to show to their friends. We live in a world where people care so much about the way they look.

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/insectportrait/

Thanks,
Greg
--
Grégoire Seyrig, MSc
Graduate Student
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Center for Microbial Ecology

STOMP (Students Taking on Malaria Prevention) is back!! So all you anopheles gambiae -- watch out!

Dear STOMPers:

I know we're already a few weeks into school, but welcome back. I hope that everyone had a great summer. But now that we're back, we've got some life-saving work to do!

First things first -- we need to meet again. I've talked to some STOMPers recently about times that will work for them and it's looking like Wednesday around 4:30 works best. So September 17th at 4:30 p.m. we're going to meet in room 244 of the Natural Science building. I hope that this time and place works for most, if not all of you.

Second, and we'll talk about this more at the meeting, I've signed us up for the iVote event that is coming to campus. It's for RSOs and it looks like it will be great publicity for us and possibly help us get more STOMPers. Not to mention -- it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun! I'm pasting the description of the event below.

Other things we're going to discuss at the meeting (tentatively):

• goals for the upcoming year
• formal positions for people
• other events that we can put on/take part in
• adopting a village in Africa
• partnering up with a study abroad
• bringing STOMP the Broadway show and Stevie Wonder (you're welcome Gabe) to campus.
  

Needless to say, this is going to be a fun-filled and important meeting so that we can get our year started off right!

Please contact me back and tell me if you'll be able to make this meeting. If you can't make the meeting, please tell me what times would work best for you.

Talk to you all soon.


Aaron Schaer
schaerraa@msu.edu

Slow and Steady

As I noted last week, summer break has caused us to slow down a little. But it's nice to see that donations continue to come in steadily. We're up to 47 percent -- almost half way to our goal!

If you're a student, I hope you're enjoying your break. If you're a faculty member, staff person or alumni, soak in the relative calm and tranquility of the campus. No matter who you are or where you are, consider making a donation to the MSU Nothing But Nets Team.

When most groups ask for a donation, they start by asking for $50 or $100. To me, the great thing about the Nothing But Nets program is the opportunity to do so much good for so little money. The cost of a bed net -- $10 -- is an amount that most people can afford without too much sacrifice. Every time I slap a mosquito, I think about the family that's using the net I provided. And I feel good.

A Slight Summer Slowdown

Between finals, graduation and other pressing matters, our Nothing But Nets campaign slowed down a little. But fear not, we're still working away behind the scenes to send bed nets to Africa to stop the spread of malaria.

Donations are still coming in and I'm proud to say we're achieved 45 percent of our goal. Thanks to all!

I'm hoping to have an update on Ned's research very soon. Stay tuned for more event announcements.

World Malaria Day Report

This is a couple of days late, but I wanted to pass along a note from Aaron Schaer, one of the STOMP student leaders, about the campus events on April 25:

YESTERDAY'S EVENT WAS AWESOME!!! For those of you who couldn't be there, here is a brief description:

Ned and Danielle set up a volleyball net on the sidewalk in front of The Rock, where they hung a sweet banner and a bunch of "Buzzkill" shirts and wristbands (which I still think are cool despite what everyone else says).

We also had a table, some chairs, and some good music (courtesy of Ned). We would have painted The Rock, but another student group (who did not register to have it unlike other groups *cough cough*) painted it and literally were laying down and guarding it in sleeping bags. They were there for the National Day of Silence which signifies the discrimination that gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people face in society (between that, National Malaria Awareness Day, and Earth Day, April 25th is a pretty popular time).

Their cause was definitely a good one, but seeing as none of them were speaking due to it being a "day of silence," I'm not sure how many people they actually reached. Perhaps talking would have been a better strategy...I don't know, that's just my opinion.

Anyways, back to our awesome group. All in all we raised almost $400.

I truly feel that if we had more shirt sizes than just 3XL and youth small, we probably would have sold more. In addition to that, a woman came by who works over at the local middle school and she told us how they also did a Nothing But Nets fund-raiser where they raised over $400, but she wasn't sure what to do with the money now. So, after talking with her for 30 seconds, she has decided to trust us with the money, which she is sending over to Gabe's office in the very near future.

In short, good times were had by all and we've raised enough money to purchase around 80 nets!!! That's at least 80 more people who will be much safer because we spent 5 hours sitting outside and hanging out.

If that doesn't motivate you, check your pulse.

Thank you so much to everyone that helped. A special shout-out to Derek for bringing his bunk bed so that we could display a bed net; Ned for getting the volleyball net, music, basketball hoops, donuts and bagels, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm probably forgetting; Ashley for being there for about 4 hours; Danielle for waking up at the butt-crack of dawn to help set up; and Emily, Emma, and Rachel for being there and just being great. If I'm forgetting anyone, I'm really sorry...but a special shout-out to you as well.

I'm not really sure what STOMP is going to do over the summer, but if the past 3 weeks are a sign of things to come, then we're definitely going to be busy. I'll write everyone again just to stay in-touch and keep you guys informed of anything fun, interesting, or just because I'm bored.

Thank you all again. This couldn't have happened without everyone's efforts. We truly have done a lot for a group that isn't even formally registered yet.

Good luck with finals, and if I don't see you--have a great summer.

Sincerely,
Aaron

P.S. For the graduating Seniors: "Adventure is not in the guidebook, and beauty is not on the map. Seek and you shall find." (Someone who I once went camping with told me that. She is one of the nicest, coolest people I've ever met and at age 32 still has not grown up.
She is also the happiest person I know). Be courageous, be influential, and most importantly, be you! Good luck...and I'm keeping you on the e-mail list.

Another Student Group Meeting

There's going to be another student group meeting on either April 17 or 18 (Thursday or Friday) at 12:30 p.m. in 334 North Kedzie. As soon as I get confirmation on a day, I'll let you know. If you'd like more info, contact Gabe Ording at ordingga@msu.edu.

The plan is to discuss a name for the group, start planning a fundraising event and figure out what to do with all the Buzz Kill t-shirts and armbands Nothing But Nets has sent.

Excitement about Bed Net Success

As part of his research, Ned Walker travels regularly to Africa and international conferences. Here are short reflections from two trips:

I just returned from the annual conference of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, where some of our work was presented but where further there is a general excitement about the clear reductions in incidence of malaria owing to national roll out campaigns of bed nets in Africa.

On my trip to Kenya I consulted with local Kenyans about this idea, in particular to pick some communities (villages) that we could use as partnered sites for a net distribution program. Two villages -- Tiengre and Kakwema -- near Kisumu in western Kenya are interested and offer local cooperation.

Why Bed Nets?

Despite its apparently simplicity, malaria has resisted rigorous attempts to control it. That is, until recently when insecticide-treated bed nets have emerged as a powerful and simple control tool. What we don't know is whether malaria will find some way to overcome this disruption to its system. That's what Ned Walker and his team are studying.