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Page 4/The Battalion/Thursday, September 19, 1985
Letters, visits help
couples handle
long separations
By MANDY MIKULENCAK
Reporter
For some, going away to col
lege means having to leave a girlf
riend or boyfriend behind, but it
doesn’t necessarily mean the
relationship has to end.
Some students at Texas A&M
say long-distance relationships
are possible if the person is will
ing to find ways to cope with the
situation.
The common theme these
relationships seem to share is fre
quent communication through a
combination of phone calls, writ
ing letters and weekend visits, but
Dr. Donna Davenport, a counsel
ing psychologist at the Student
Counseling Service, says there
may be more to maintaining
those successful relationships.
For example, Sheila Roberts,
19, says she relies on long-dis
tance phone calls to stay close to
her boy-friend, Don
Wiktorowski, 23, who lives and
works in Massena, N.Y.
“I think the ones that last and
that really work are the ones that
have not only the frequent com
munication, but where both peo
ple are committed to continuing
to grow together,” Davenport
says.
Roberts says their relationship
is successful because she and
Wiktorowski decided from the
beginning that they were suited
for each other, and that it was im
portant to stay together and work
things out.
“If the two people are compati
ble, things will pretty much work
out if you’re just willing to work
with the other person,” Roberts
says.
Davenport says that couples
sometimes try to keep the
relationship established exactly as
it was before the separation and
think of change as something that
may threaten their relationship.
She says trouble may begin
when the relationship remains
stagnant like this, because growth
and change allow the couple to
continue to share the things
they’ve shared all along.
Southeast Asia
News of recent coup attempt doesn't alarm local Thai studeri
By FRANK SMITH
Reporter
Colorful, scenic posters pc
aying life in his native Thailai
jor-
traying hie in his native Thailand
line the walls of Suchat Pivsa-art’s
room in Dorm 8.
“The north part of Thailand is
very pretty,” he said while point
ing out several pictures of that re
gion shown on one of the posters.
Pivsa-art is from the province of
Singburi, 60 miles north of Bang
kok.
The 23-year-old junior chemi
cal engineering major is one of
about 40 Thai students enrolled
at Texas A&M and is one of six in
the Corps of Cadets.
He said news of last week’s at
tempted military coup in Thai
land really didn’t alarm him.
“I know the names of the lead
ers of the coup and I know all of
them are in or used to be in the
military,” Pivsa-art said. “Because
all of them are in the military,
(even) if they were successful and
they changed something, the gov
ernment would not change very
much. So, so be it. We are not
afraid about it.”
Sudjit Hemsorach agreed.
Hemsorach, also a cadet, is a
sophomore aerospace engi
neering major from Bangkok.
“In my opinion, even though
we have a military coup, they are
still Thai,” he said. “Everybody’s
still Thai.”
Nithi Kietchai, a sophomore
aerospace engineering student
from Bangkok, said he first heard
news of the attempted coup while
in his dorm room in Moore Hall.
a good cause by forcing the gov
ernment to take heed of the
country’s economic problems.
“I was watching TV when a
bunch of guys came running
down the hall yelling, ‘Nithi! Ni
thi! There’s a coup in Thai
land!’ ” Kietchai said.
He said he could sympathize
with those leading the takeover
attempt.
“I kind of agree with the coup
because the economy in Thailand
is bad right now,” Kietchai said.
“I mean oaribad.”
Although the effort was unsuc
cessful, Kietchai said it may serve
An A&M political science pro
fessor who teaches a course on
Asian governments and politics
said the Thai military has ruled
the country intermittently in re
cent years.
Kwang H. Ro, associate profes
sor of political science at A&M,
said the military leaders, after
permitting free elections, will typ
ically monitor the new civilian
government’s effectiveness at
economic reform. If the civilian
rule proves ineffective, the mili
tary will want another change, he
said.
“Consider this: In the United
States we change governments
through peaceful means — elec
tions,” Ro said. “Some other
countries simply cannot wait four
more years or five years or six
years. And they like to change
right now. There is a coup.”
However, Ro said that Thai
power struggles never involve
plots against the nation’s Gj
u rehead monarch.
“The one characteristic
I hai coup is they never chalb
the royal family,” he said. “1
monarchy in Thailand is a tti
popular institution. AThaicn
is simply designed just to chatj
ruling factions.”
the ruling
Pivsa-art also emphasized i
popularity of the king.
“The king doesn’t have pen
but he has a lot of influence
Thai people,” Pivsa-art said
guess every Thai loves him,
spects him, will protect him."
Occasional political pon;
struggles aside, Pivsa-art saidtl
the unity of the Thai people
strong, especially within thefas
ily unit.
“Here, the technology isa
belter than in my country,'!
said. “But I think of our
of our — how can I say it? Heat
warm-ness — the relationship
tween people in your family,
think that in my country veb|
it better. We’re closer togethtj
lot more than here.”
Vitamins not answer to all health problems
Franklin Bohac, 19, is another
student who has decided it’s
worth the extra effort it takes to
maintain a long-distance
relationship.
Bohac keeps close to his girl
friend, Kim Caesar, 18, by tele
phoning and writing but also
plans to make frequent trips
home this semester.
Sharyn Romler, 22, agrees that
for a relationship to work, it’s es
sential for the couple to share
things that go on in each other’s
lives.
By PAGE PATTON
Reporter
For Bohac, going home means
driving 90 miles to Granger, but
he says both he and Caesar will
share the responsibility.
“I plan to drive down one
weekend,” Bohac says, “and then
Kim will drive up the next.”
Romler says the relationship
she has with boyfriend Tim Sas-
mann has been successful for
over two years, even though Sas-
mann lives and works in Hous
ton, because they take the time to
call each other to talk about what
goes on in their daily lives.
For others, weekly visits aren’t
necessary to carry on a successful
relationship with someone back
home.
Tracie Green, 20, says she only
sees her boyfriend, Tim Welch of
Dallas, about once a month, but
keeps in touch through letters
and phone calls between visits.
“When you think about it,
that’s what going with someone is
all about — sharing each other’s
lives,” Romler says. “It just takes a
little more effort when one per
son lives 130 miles away.”
Magic youth pills sold by a quack
out of the back of a wagon or a spe
cial tonic that brought vitality back to
the elderly are some of the potions
once used to fool the public into
thinking that the aging process
could be reversed.
Although these mystical cures
sold to reverse the aging process
have been around for centuries, the
process is actually irreversible.
“No vitamin or mineral can pro
long life or stop the aging process,”
says Dr. Alice Hunt, a nutritionist at
the Texas A&M University Agricul
tural Extension Service.
Hunt says one company markets a
product, which is supposedly similar
to what bees feed their queen, and
the company claims the mixture
gives people extra strength and
power.
“The product is nothing but pro
tein and carbohydrates,” Hunt says.
“There are no special compounds in
it. And it could be dangerous to take
it.”
“and signs of vitamih abuse are be
ing seen.
“People are taking 100 to 1,000
times more than the recommended
daily allowance,” she says.
“After the aj,
menopause, the!
While some vitamins and nutri
ents are being abused, others, such
as calcium, are not being taken
enough.
1 K
nants from the field, such as pollen
or ragweed, and serious allergic re
actions may occur. Hunt says.
And is the extra effort it takes
to maintain this type of
relationship really worth it?
“It’s definitely worth
Romler exclaims.
it!’
“Vitamin companies have played
up the need for vitamins,” Hunt
says, “but with a good basic diet, with
a variety of foods, a person doesn’t
need vitamin pills.”
If children eat properly, she says,
they don’t need vitamin supple
ments either.
Although professionals know that
the aging process is irreversible,
modern-day nostrums can still be
found.
Another modern theory believed
to be true is that the intake of vita
min C will prevent colds.
“Vitamin C does not prevent the
common cold,” Hunt says, “but it
can reduce the symptoms by about
one-third.”
If a person has a cold, it is better
k fluids with vitamin C than
to drink fluids with vitamin C
to rely on a vitamin C pill, she says.
“Vitamin C is the most common
vitamin taken today,” Hunt says,
Women suffer the most from the
lack of calcium, resulting in an in
crease of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a reduction in
bone density accompanied by in
creasing breakage. Hunt says. This is
due to a loss of calcium from the
bone.
“It is estimated that one out of
four women over 65 will see some
complication from osteoporosis,”
Hunt says.
Osteoporosis is a long-term chro
nic disease, she adds, and people set
the stage for the disease their entire
life.
“The teen years up to 35 are the
most important,” Hunt says, “be
cause that is the time to lay down ex
tra calcium.
of 40, or
dy begins toi
on the stored calcium,”snesa«.
But just taking calcium pit
the remedy for osteoporosis.
“Two-thirds of American w |
do not get the RDA of calciumi
ded, " Hunt says, “which isesiis
to be 800 milligrams a day.”
Exercise prevents calcium
she says, so if people exercist
get the RDA of calcium tl
their diet, there is no need for
“Just two glasses of millu
would meet RDA stjudardi,
savs.
NA1
Pi
S<
"People still believe the mjtli
only kids need milk,” she savs,
they need to realize thatadulisr
it uk).”
The aging process cannoi
stopped and osteoporosis is a pi
it.
Yet even with the technolop
fered today, no known concoo
can help.
“Good nutrition and exerdst
keep what we have in goodcu
tion,” Hunt says, “but that’sii
it.”
A,