NEWS BRIEFS: Bed races to raise money for CHOP

Teams of five people can register for the event from 10 a.m. to noon, with the actual competition running from noon until 4 p.m. Pre-registration will also take place on Locust Walk this week. Competitors will race from King's Court/English House at 36th and Sansom streets to the Mellon Bank building at 36th and Walnut streets. There is a $35 fee for each team, which entitles each member to a T-shirt. Prizes include CDs, dinners at Smokey Joe's and Kodak film products. The groups hope to raise between $750 and $1,000 for the hospital. -- Chris Marcisz U. revises required immunizations Due to the increasing number of college-age students contracting measles and hepatitis B, the University has decided to revise its pre-matriculation immunization requirement. Starting with the Class of 1999, entering freshmen are now required to receive two measles shots and three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine, according to Student Health Services Director Marjeanne Collins. She added that a recent measles outbreak at Rutgers University convinced University officials that a change in policy was necessary. Those freshmen who choose to disregard the requirement will be unable to pre-register for the spring term. Collins said students are more susceptible to catching measles because the intimate nature of a college campus fosters the spread of the disease. She explained that students also import the diseases after studying abroad. If an outbreak of either disease were to begin on campus, Collins said the University would be forced to cancel all events and quarantine travel. Collins added that new vaccines for chicken pox, hepatitis A and meningitis are now available. However, these vaccines are not yet required for University students. -- Sarika Garg