By Andrea Park & Sarah Pfander
Gargoyle assistant editors
Posted Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, The OG, news

THE STUDENT LOUNGE will be closed the rest of the week due to a report of lice earlier this morning. Although no one has proved that the lice infestation has spread to the school, safety precautions must be taken, the administration said.

“We don't believe there is lice in the building, but it would be irresponsible if we didn't take any precautions,” said Director/Principal Kassie Patton.

These precautions include restricting the use of upholstered furniture, which the lounge is full of.

Lice are easily spread through various forms of contact, such as the sharing of hats, hair brushes, towels, helmets, and even pillows and headrests.

“Lice like to live in upholstered chairs especially,” commented Assistant Director Sue Kovacs.

Head lice generally cannot survive for more than 24 hours away from a human host, although in some cases they have survived for up to three days. Thus, the lounge must be closed long enough to ensure that the lice have died. The lounge is expected to reopen with the return of Uni students from winter break.

According to the administration, Uni will not have to throw away any couches or sofas. Special cleaning along with daily vacuuming will be provided by University of Illinois Facilities & Services.

“Head lice are extremely common,” clarified Patton. “People should know it had nothing to do with cleanliness.”

Fun facts about head lice
Provided by biology teacher David Stone

— Lice are sometimes referred to as “cooties,” their eggs as “nits,” and infested people as “lousy.”

— In North America and Europe, children are more frequently infested than adults.

— Head lice have been recovered from prehistoric mummies.

— Caucasians are more frequently infested than other ethnic groups.

— Nits go through an eight-day development period; lice then take nine to 12 days to develop from a nymph to an adult.

— A female louse may deposit more than 100 eggs at a rate of about six eggs each day; only eggs deposited by inseminated female lice will hatch.

—Throughout history, louse-born epidemics such as typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever have decimated populations.

Why lice should be our school mascot

Says Stone, “Let's face it, nobody in Urbana worries about tigers [Urbana High's mascot], but toss a few head lice into a crowd and it's as though the world is going to end.”