(Professor Jen Lynds and Professor Daniel Dobbs pose after having their pinkies’ painted purple for charity.)
by Professor Jen Lynds
UTimes Advisor
When most students think of a pandemic, the ravages of polio do not come to mind.
They were not alive when the devastating infectious disease caused epidemics in the United States, the effects of which are still visible today. According to the Mayo Clinic, there were approximately 16,000 polio cases in the United States before 1955. A significant cause of disability in children, polio is caused by a virus that spreads from person to person. It invades the brain and spinal cord, causing paralysis. The crippling disease is incurable and can be fatal, but the invention of a vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk eradicated most cases.
At the same time, not everyone has access to the vaccine. Each year, the University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Presque Isle Rotary Club partner to change that.
On Thursday, October 24, members of the UMPI Student Nursing Organization led The Purple Pinkie Project on campus. The event was held in conjunction with World Polio Day. Donors painted their pinkies’ purple to garner funding. Donations supported Rotary International’s End Polio Now effort to bolster polio immunizations in countries where polio remains a threat. One dollar is the estimated cost to immunize each child.
While polio was eradicated from the U.S. in 1979, the disease is active in other countries. According to a 2024 article in Science magazine, wild poliovirus remains virulent in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Professor Daniel Dobbs, who teaches political science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, donated to the cause. He laughed as student nurses colored his pinkie with a purple Sharpie.
He did not hesitate to donate to the fundraiser.
“It is a great cause and something everyone should do,” he said. “I think people need to stand up and act when there is a just cause. Fighting and eliminating polio is just that.”
