Graduate Students Spread Y2K Info to the Community

The message may be out about Y2K, but Saint Louis University graduate students have discovered that it isn't reaching all the right ears. The students are taking action to reach the members of the community who may not be aware of the perils Jan. 1, 2000, could bring.

The students are members of Saint Louis University's Graduate Fellows Action Committee, an interdisciplinary group that works to better the St. Louis community. Each year, the group collaborates on a project to serve the community. Y2K seemed like the logical choice for this year's project, but even the fellows were surprised by the demand for information.

The group wished to target St. Louis residents who do not have the financial resources to prepare for Y2K in ways suggested by other pamphlets, books and information sources. For these residents, purchasing generators, camping supplies and large qualities of food and water simply is not feasible. The fellows conducted several surveys to assess the needs of the community before setting their goals. An initial survey of local agencies such as food banks, emergency help agencies, hospitals, police and fire units, utilities and community centers indicated that, while each organization is taking in-house precautions, no wide-scale emergency plan is in place for the local population.

A second survey of the local population revealed a distinct desire to learn more practical information to help residents prepare for the potential problem.

"There's so much that has hit the news, but our survey results said residents were interested in more information, so we developed the brochure," said Charlene Teaser-Polk, one of the graduate fellows. The brochure, which will be distributed this month, offers tips for the local population. Some of the advice includes:

Make reasonable food purchases to last through any problems, such as cereal, dried potatoes and canned foods.
Develop simple methods for food storage and water treatment.
Have on hand general supplies such as a can opener, candles and first aid supplies.

With fields of study ranging from philosophy to chemistry, the graduate fellows represent a myriad of perspectives, which makes the brochure all the more unique. The fellows took advice offered by national organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) and tailored it for the local audience.

"What we were trying to do was take things we had heard and learned and try to reinvent them for the local population," said history graduate student Stephen Bartlett.

Teaser-Polk, a graduate student in the School of Public Health with a public policy background, said Y2K initially interested her as a health issue.

"That's what led me into looking at this -- the human impact," she said. "So many people don't understand. We've never encountered anything like this in the history of the world."

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