Don't blame children
for being AIDS victims
State education and health officials are discussing guidelines
for allowing AIDS victims to attend public school. The basis for
the guidelines is the knowledge that AIDS can’t be transmitted
through casual contact, Dr. Robert Bernstein, state health com
missioner, said. The action may help to dismiss some of the hys
teria surrounding the fatal disease.
Many Americans fear AIDS because of its link to the homo
sexual community and especially its lack of a cure.
But fearing AIDS doesn’t warrant discrimination against its
victims. Children who have the disease shouldn’t be kept from
attending school merely because of the public’s fear of it.
State health officials don’t know of any AIDS victims cur
rently enrolled in Texas schools,-but it’s good to see them mak
ing preparations in case the situation arises.
The meeting is merely to establish guidelines, not rules. But
maybe the education of parents and students will help to quell
the wave of over-reaction that many other states have experi
enced.
Children stricten with AIDS aren’t to blame for getting the
disease. They will have enough troubles dealing with the effects
of the disease, they don’t need to be treated like lepers.
The Battalion Editorial Board
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Thanks to all who
helped ease tragedy
EDITOR:
As President of the International Stu
dents Association, I would like to take
this opportunity^to thank all the volun
teers, both individuals arid groups, that
have aided the Mexican Students Asso
ciation during the recent earthquake di
saster. The unselfish actions have
helped to lessen the blow of the tragedy
and reinforced our beliefs that “Aggies
help Aggies.”
The Amateur Radio Club and other
radio operators have aided students in
obtaining news from the disaster area.
Anyone that has been separated from
their family will tell you that the absence
of information during a time like this is
extremely painful.
Also, those who are aiding in the re
lief efforts should be commended for
their actions. It will be years before the
effects of the earthquake are repaired
and it would be impossible without their
help.
Once again, I would like to thank ev
eryone who has given their aid, time
and prayers for the victims of the Mexi
can disaster.
Luis Rodriguez
President
International Students Association
Drinking age of 21
saves many lives
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to the opin
ions of the Battalion Editorial Board
published Sept. 6. The tragedy being
caused by drunken drivers on our high
ways is a complex problem to which
there are no simple solutions. However,
raising the drinking age is one of the
changes which has been proven to save
lives in Texas and elsewhere.
When the drinking age was changed
from 18 to 19 in Texas, the death rate of
18-year-olds on our highways dropped
30 percent and has remained down for
the past three years. During the same
period, the average death rate of 19-and
20-year-olds has remained constant.
When Michigan raised its drinking
age to 21, involvement in alcohol-re
lated traffic accidents of 18- to 20-year-
olds decreased 31 percent. A study by
the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety found a 28 percent reduction in
alcohol-related accidents in eight of the
nine states where the drinking age had
been raised.
Statistics alone do not make the argu
ment for raising the drinking age. Rais
ing the drinking age has been recog
nized as an effective countermeasure by
the Presidential Commission on Drunk
Driving, the Transportation Association
of America, the National Transporta
tion Safety Board, the American Auto
.v ,Vj;i f ; ,v ». -v V : k
Tjvra-'v -wr’
Dealing with the trauma
of a wife’s lost luggage
mobile Association, the National Safety
Council, the National Council on Alco
holism, the National Association of Gov
ernors Highw’ay Safety Representatives,
the National Parent and Teacher Asso
ciation, Citizens for Safe Drivers, and
the American Medical Association, just
to name a few.
As for the man on the street, a Gallup
poll showed that 77 percent of all peo
ple polled and 58 percent of the 18-, 19-
, and 20-year olds agreed that the drink
ing age should be 21.
The idea that raising the drinking age
will force young people to drink in less
safe environments is not valid. Most
teenagers already buy alcohol at liquor
stores or grocery stores. Those who do
drink in bars often become intoxicated.
No matter where they buy alcohol, they
drive home.
Some young people have been able
and will continue to get alcohol illegally,
but as the police and the Texas Alco
holic Beverage Control officials increase
the enforcement of the laws we already
have, as you so rightly pointed out must
be done, the availability of alcohol to
those under-age will continue to de
crease.
We all need to refcognize that no law is
100 percent enforceable, but the law
sets the norm for responsible members
of our society, and as the public calls for
stricter enforcement, the police have
and will continue to act accordingly. Not
every murderer is arrested and brought
to justice. At present, only one out of ev
ery 2,000 drunk drivers is arrested, but
I am sure you would agree that we
should neither make it legal to murder
nor to drive drunk.
You also suggest that local establish
ments will lose business when the drink
ing age is raised. I am against continu
ing to sacrifice the lives of young people
for the commercial gains of those who
make their living by selling alcohol.
It is interesting to note that you do
not mention the other businesses and
jobs which also will be lost when the
drinking age is raised. We will need
fewer doctors, particularly those who
specialize in trauma and plastic surgery,
we will need fewer physical therapists,
fewer insurance adjusters and yes,
fewer mortuaries.
There are many business opportuni
ties in our community, and I am confi
dent that enterprising individuals who
find a decrease in their business when
the drinking age is raised will be capable
of availing themselves of these opportu
nities. How about providing alcohol-
free dance and recreation facilities
where those under age can gather and
enjoy themselves as starters?
Raising the drinking age is an impor
tant step toward controlling this killer of
our young. A study conducted by the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
indicates that raising the drinking age to
21 across the nation could save 1,250
lives annually.
I remember the words of one Con-
Art Buchwald
(Whilst Art
Buchwald is on va
cation we reprint
some columns
from the past.)
One of the big-
■ gest problems of
air travel is getting
your luggage back
at the end of the
trip. For some rea
son more luggage is being lost now than
ever before, and it’s quite a headache for
the airlines — not to mention the people
who are flying.
What makes the whole thing mys
terious is that if you’re traveling with
your wife, the airlines somehow manage
to lose only her bags, the ones she abso
lutely needs if she is going to survive the
trip.
There isn’t a husband who has ever
flown by air who hasn’t faced this situa
tion.
You get off the plane dog tired and
wait at the baggage area. The carousel
keeps turning and turning with every
one’s luggage. You have all your bags in
a matter of minutes. Your wife gets all
her bags except for one — the large gar
ment bag with all her dresses, costume
jewelry and underthings. You wait an
hour staring at the carousel, hoping
against hope it will be the last piece of
baggage off the plane. You don’t dare
speak to your wife. She finally speaks to
you. “They lost my bag.”
“I guess they did.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
she says, her lips pursed as if she’s going
to let out a scream.
“I am going to do something about
it,” you say, knowing in your heart there
isn’t a damn thing you can do. But you
have to show some machismo. You go
up to a man in uniform. “See here, sir,”
you say in your sternest voice. “You peo
ple have lost my wife’s bag.”
The man looks surprised. “I’m sorry.
I’m the pilot of the plane.”
There is another official-looking man
with a badge on his chest. “Sir,” you say,
“you people have committed one of the
gravest crimes known to tourism. You
have lost the luggage of an honest
woman. Unless you produce my wife’s
bag in the next 30 minutes, I shall have
to report you to the president of your
company.”
“I’m a customs inspector,” the mail
replies. “Go talk to someone from the
airline.”
Your wife, who is over in the corner
twisting her handkerchief, asks, “What
did they say?”
“I’m narrowing it down,” you say.
“The pilot of the plane doesn’t know
where your bag is and neither does the
customs service. So it must be someone
else.”
You are directed to a counter where
one lone clerk is trying to cope with a
large crowd of angry husbands. It is ob
viously the lost-luggage counter because
all the women are huddled nearby wail
ing and tearing their clothes.
The clerk hired for his masochistic
tendencies, is smiling as he fills out long
sheets of paper taking descriptions of
the lost bags.
You get to the counter and ask the
stupidest question any air traveler can
pose: “Where is my wife’s bag?”
The masochist smiles. “New Delhi,
Rio De Janeiro. It could be anywhere.”
“I have a good mind to slug you,” you
say.
“Oh, would you please?” he
“Most people just shout at me, bun®
few of them really hit me."
“I wouldn’t give you the salisfactt
What are we supposed to do now?"
“Why don’t you go to your hotelai
get a good night’s sleep? If wefindyo
luggage, we’ll have it delivered.”
“Suppose it’s never found?"
“Then you can come back hereai
I’ll fill out another form.”
You return to your wife. “Welfjt
say, “it’s no problem. They knowexaci
where the bag is, and you’ll haveitinik
morning.”
This calms her down until you gel
the hotel. Then you make a mistake.?!
she’s crawling into bed, you ask, 1
here’s your nightie?”
And she lets out a scream thatcanl*
heard all over the roofs of Paris.
Art Buchwald is a columnist forthi
Los Angeles Times Sy ndicate.
Mail Call
gressman from New Jersey whose
promise to vote to raise the drinking age
was bitterly opposed by the students
from Princeton who he represented. He
told his constituents that he would vote
to raise the drinking age despite their
opposition, because he wanted to give
them the gift of life whether they
wanted it or not.
K.W. Brown
SDI not that simple
EDITOR:
Once again, journalists V have shown
their complete inability to understand
technical subjects. The latest episode in
this ongoing saga occurred in last
Thursday’s Battalion editorial on the re
port by the Of fice of Technical Assess
ment discussing the Strategic Defense
Initiative or SDI.
The Editorial Board based their crit
icism of SDI solely on the articles re
leased by the major national press asso-
ciations, and it appears no prior
research was done to verify the accuracy
of the wire reports. Thus, they totally
misrepresented the conclusions of the
report to Congress, either intentionally
or not, to reinforce their apparent pre
conceived notions on SDI.
Anyone with a small amount of
knowledge on SDI knows it cannot be a
complete shield against all nuclear
weapons since SDI systems will be used
against only one, and the most numer
ous, class of nuclear weapons — namely
the ballistic missile carrying nuclear
warheads.
All other ways to transport nuclear
weapons, such as cruise missiles and
strategic bombers, can bypass SDI ex
cept for the point of terminal phase de
fense of SDI which is ground-based.
By eliminating ballistic missiles, you
have eliminated the possibility of a first
strike since ballistic missiles take under
30 minutes to reach their targets while
cruise missiles and bombers take several
hours at best. Also, cruise missiles and
bombers can be defended against with
current or future air defenses. Thus, a
vast majority of the nuclear arsenals can
be rendered useless, also protecting the
whole United States.
As one can probably tell, the SDI is a
very complicated subject. By showing
the Battalion’s error, I hope in the fu
ture they will do their homework first so
worthwhile editorials will appear based
on truth and not half-truth. Also, for
those who may care, the following two
references will help describe the intrica
cies of SDI: “Weapons of Tommorow”
by B. Beckett, Plenum press, 1983 and
“Ballistic Missile Defense” by A.B. Car
ter and D.N. Schwartz, ed., The Brook
ings Institute, 1984.
Donald E. Palmrose
Graduate Student
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Rhonda Snider, Editor
Michelle Powe, Managing Editor
Loren Stcf f y, Opinion Page Editor
Karen Bloch, City Editor
John Hallett, Kay Mallett, NewsEditon
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors
Kirsten Dietz, Jerry Oslin
Assistant News Editors
Cathie Anderson, Jan Peri)
Assistant Sports Editor
Charean Williams
Entertainment Editors
Cathy Riely, Walter Smitli
Art Director WayneGrabein
Copy Editors Rebecca Adair,
Mike Davis, Sarah Oates,
Brad Whitten
Make-up Editor Ed Cassavov
Staff Writers Tamara Bell,
Meg Cadigan, Ed Cassavov,
Cindy Gay, Doug Hal,
Paul Herndon, WendyJonnsoa
Tammy Kirk, Jens Koeplte,
Trent Leopold, Mary McWhorter,
June Pang, TriciaParker.
Brian Pearson, Marybeth Rohsner,
Gigi Shamsy, Frank Smith,
Kenneth Sury, Scott Sutherland
Cartoonists Scott McCullar,
Kevin Thomas
Columnists Camille Brown,
John Hallett, Karl Pallmeyer
Photographers Greg Bailey,
Anthony Casper, Frank Hada,
Jaime Lopez, Michael Sancher
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