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The Battalion
College Station, Texas
Friday, July 8, 1988
on Post
onspird
A&M student apartments
torn down after 52 years
Don Metcalf, of Coronado Wrecking and Salvage,
uses a bulldozer to demolish one of the Southside
Married Student Apartments. All 15 units, which
Photo by Jay Janner
were built in 1936, are scheduled to be torn down
because the cost of maintaining them became too
high.
By Alan Sembera
Staff Writer
Demolition crews have begun
the work of bulldozing the houses
at the Southside Married Student
Apartment complex.
The 15 houses, which were
built in 1936, are being destroyed
for economic reasons, University
officials said.
“The buildings were more or
less just unreasonable to maintain
and repair,” said Phil Hash, staff
architect for Texas A&M’s Facili
ties Planning and Construction
Department.
“They’re too far gone and it
costs too much to bring them up
to standards,” he said.
Hash said the first house was
torn down Wednesday, and the
demolition should be complete in
30-45 days.
Dr. Donald B. Powell, director
of business services at A&M, said
the students who were living in
the houses have been moving out
over a period of months.
The last ones left at the begin
ning of June, and no families
were forced to move off of cam
pus, he said.
“We have people that come
and go all the time,” Powell said.
“They graduate or they move on
or whatever.
“Those who wanted to remain
in the married student apart
ments were found accommoda
tions over at the Northside apart
ments.”
The destruction of the South-
side apartments will cause a loss
of 59 housing units, and there is
already a waiting list to get mar
ried student housing.
Powell said new students who
are married and cannot get an
apartment on campus now have
other choices.
He said this is because of the
large number of apartments in
the community.
But living off campus can be
more expensive than living in
campus housing.
Rent for the Southside apart
ments was about $170 per month.
Northside married student hous
ing costs from about $ 170 to $265
per month, and is smaller than
the Southside apartments.
The University has no plans
for the land where the houses are
located, but ideas include build
ing parking facilities, dormitories
or athletic facilites.
The decision to demolish the
houses was made by the Board of
Regents in June 1986.
Powell said the Southside
houses are the oldest married stu
dent apartments on campus.
He said there was no need for
married student housing until af
ter World War II, when service
men came back to school with
wives. At that time, he said, there
were no apartments in College
Station.
Army barracks were used in
the late ’40s to meet the demand
for married student apartments,
Powell said, and the last one was
torn down eight years ago.
Study to
oat bran
on heart
S
By Theresa Emmert
Reporter
Texas A&M researchers will con
duct a major human study on how
oat bran and diet decrease the
chances of heart attacks by-lowering
cholesterol levels.
Subjects will be chosen before the
Aug. 1 study start date through a
preliminary screening. Subjects who
are at a moderate to high risk of a
heart attack will be chosen. The pre
liminary screening will be from 7
a.m. to 1 1 a.m. on Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, and July 15
in 145 MSC. On July 16, the screen
ing time will be from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m.
Studies have shown that a 1 per
cent reduction in blood cholesterol
decreases the rate of a heart attack
by 2 percent. One to one-half cups
of dry bran per day, according to the
Journal of the American Medical As
sociation, decreases the level of cho
lesterol from 19 percent to 13 per
cent.
The researchers will monitor the
cholesterol levels in 150 people eat
ing different amounts of oat bran
during the 28-day study. These peo
ple will be divided into six groups
and will eat different amounts and
types of products containing oat
bran such as cookies, muffins and
cereal.
In addition to the consumption of
oat bran, the participants will receive
instructions about a fat-modified
diet suggested by the Isfational Cho-
monitor
’s affect
attacks
lesterol Education Program. This
diet contains foods which decrease
cholesterol and increase fiber.
Susan Clay, project coordinator,
said the study will be the first to use
diet in a clinical trial.
Health Valley Foods from Califor
nia is funding the project. It will
furnish the oat bran products and
monitoring devices. Each participant
will receive $50, tests on cholesterol
levels, the results of the diet modifi
cation, a computer analysis deter
mining the nutritional adequacy of
the diet, free oat bran products and
free diet education.
The criteria for partication in the
study are anyone between the ages
of 20 and 64 who are within 30 per
cent of ideal body weight. Their total
cholesterol has to be greater than or
equal to 220 milligrams per deciliter
and they cannot smoke more than
10 cigarettes a day. The participants
can’t be pregnant nor have diabetes
millitus.
Participants must not have a per
sonal history of occlusive or definite
vascular disease, hypo/hyperthyroi
dism, liver or kidney problems, coro
nary heart disease or cholesterol al
tering agents. They can’t have a
history of alcohol or drug abuse.
Participants can’t be under extreme
stress.
For information, contact Susan
Clay or project director Dr. Joanne
Lupton at (409) 845-2142.
A&M seeking more aid for students
Financial aid awards double in five years
By Lisa Williams
Reporter
Data compiled by Texas A&M’s Student Financial
Aid office show that $90 million was awarded to A&M
students during 1986-87, more than twice the $38 mil
lion awarded five years ago.
Taft E. Benson, director of the University’s financial
aid program, said the largest aid awards, about $41 mil
lion, went to institutional employment, including the
college work-study program, assistants, part-time and
summerjobs.
Benson said financial aid programs assume students
and parents are primarily responsible for securing edu
cation funds, so this type of aid benefits all parties.
“Students are not just handed the money, they earn
it,” he said. “They provide largely for themselves, and
the University benefits from the work they do.”
Loan programs, which require repayment, were the
second largest funding categroy with about $20 million.
Benson said long-term loans constituted $17 million
while the short-term loan program received about $3
million. These aid packages are available at low interest
rates with varying payback periods. They include Guar
anteed Student Loans, installment plans, Health Pro
fessions and Student Loans and other student and par
ent supplemental loan programs.
Short-term loans are available for temporary finan
cial problems. Such funds exist for graduating seniors’
relocation expenses, emergency medical expenses, in
terview trips, co-operative programs and other uses.
“There is a marked increase in ‘students relying on
FINAtNlCIAL
A|I|D
Graphic by Carol Wells
long-term loans funded by banks, savings and loans and
credit unions,” Benson said. “But we have no way of de
termining these figures.”
Grants and scholarship programs, commonly known
as gift aid because there is no repayment, received
about $14 million each. Grants are awarded on the basis
of need, while scholarships go on the basis of academ
ics, campus or community activities, leadership posi
tions and work experience.
By Lisa Williams
Reporter
In the wake of federal cuts in finan
cial aid, the Texas A&M Student Fi
nancial Aid Department has beefed
up its efforts to solicit funds ear
marked for financial aid, depart
ment director Taft E. Benson, said.
But many students forfeit their
college career because they think
they aren’t needy enough or out
standing enough to qualify for assis
tance. The department’s goal is to
find enough money for those stu
dents to secure a higher education,
Benson said.
“Although the aid may seem
harder to come by, it hasn’t disap
peared,” he said. “The Development
Foundation and the Former Stu
dents’ Association are the biggest
contributors of funds. Independent
corporations and organizations are
also sources.
“Texas A&M generates funds
through the Texas Public Education
Grant, which requires the University
to collect and save a percentage of
each student’s tuition to be used as
grant money.
“But we (the financial aid depart
ment) provide support in solicitation
with brochures, presentations and
other direct involvements with do
nors. And we provide information
and counseling to students seeking
financial support.”
Benson advises students to write
their congressmen and express con
cerns about education opportunities.
He thinks it is especially impor
tant to increase government funding
for grant programs because schol
arship and loan programs usually re
ceive more donations. Benson said
donors will contribute to scholarship
or loan programs because they think
the government will take care of
grant programs.
“It’s important for students to
take an active role in lobbying for
more funding, as well as expressing
views on funding regulation,” Ben
son said. “Make your opinions
known to the people who make the
decisions — your congressmen.”
The Texas Student Coalition also
has committed itself to helping stu
dents reach their goals for college
careers by developing a plan of ac
tion to influence the 1989 Legis
lature on tuition and financial aid.
In a statement released at a news
conference, the coalition of student
associations said, “Policies promot
ing affordable education are nec
essary to the future of Texas. Pro
gress depends on a highly-educated
workforce and electorate.
Proposals by the coalition call for
legislative control over the establish
ment of tuition rates, no tuition in
creases until the effects of the most
recent increases can be assessed, es
tablishment of a statewide work-
study program and a complete re
view of current financial aid pro
grams.
The Texas State Teachers Asso
ciation also has joined forces to keep
career goals alive by designing a free
guide, “Paying for College,” which
outlines various assistance pro
grams, including scholarships,
grants, low-interest loans, work pro
grams and private sources.
Illinois officials not commenting on death of A&M student
By Loyd Brumfield
Senior Staff Writer
Belleville, Ill. police are keeping the cir
cumstances surrounding the death of for
mer A&M student Audrey Cardenas tightly
under wraps and police officials indicated it
may stay that way for a long time.
Cardenas, 24, a May journalism graduate
from Houston, was found dead Sunday,
June 19th, after a week-long search.
She was reported missing from her job as
an intern for the Belleville News-Democrat
onjune 13th.
Cardenas was working as part of an in
ternship for minority students and had
been on the job 10 days before disappear
ing.
James Rokita, chief of detectives, said the
department was not going to release any in
formation to the media any time soon.
“We’re still actively investigating at this
point, but we haven’t released any informa
tion to the media and we probably won’t for
a while,” he said.
The Major Case Unit was called in from
St. Louis, which is about 16 miles away from
Belleville, and it left last Friday.
Rokita would not comment on the case
unit’s role in the investigation.
“It’s nothing personal, but we just aren’t
talking to anyone from the media,” Rokita
said.
“We’re still working on it, and when we
decide to release whatever news we have,
we’ll let you know,” he said.
Belleville Police Chief Robert Hurst also
would not comment on the situation, but he
said murder was still suspected.
Rokita would not say if the police had de
veloped any leads or suspects in the case.
“We’ve pretty much kept to ourselves the
past few days,” he said. “Everything is still
wide open at this point.”
A memorial service for Cardenas was
held last week at A&M All Faiths Chapel.
AIDS plight hits close to home for local victims
AIDS in B-CS
Final part of a three-part series
By Janet Goode
Senior Staff Writer
Editor’s note: This the final seg-
Mment of a three-part series on AIDS
Band its impact on the Bryan-College
■ Station community. Part three ex-
■ amines the plight of local AIDS vic-
■ tims. It presents some interesting
I statistics and focuses on the efforts
Band advice of support groups and
Borganizations that try to help victims
■ cope with the personal reality of the
B disease..
Shock. Fear. Denial. Depression.
■ And finally — acceptance. It’s hit
Bhome. You’ve tested positive for the
|| HIV virus and you will most likely
develop AIDS. Death is a four letter
word that forms in your mind and
stays there until the day it’s over.
At least 21 people have gone
through this in Brazos County since
1980. At least 14 have died.
According to the Texas Depart
ment of Health, AIDS surveillance
division, June 20th statistics show
4,506 people in Texas have been di
agnosed with AIDS — 2,567 of
whom are dead. By 1991, the de
partments estimates that 16,000
Texans will have contracted the
deadly disease and 11,000 will be
dead.
A report from the states’ health
department lists the most important
things to understand about AIDS:
• The “AIDS” test is not a test for
AIDS — it is a test to identify antibo
dies to the HIV virus. A positive test
does not mean that a person will def
initely develop AIDS.
• A negative test result in a mem
ber of a high-risk group does not
guarantee the person has never been
infected with the virus either.
• The antibodies indicate that a
person has been infected by the vi
rus and may possibly carry it
throughout their lives. Some re
searchers believe whether a person
develops AIDS may be dependent
on the strength of their immune sys
tem because the incubation period
seems to be different for everyone
infected.
Because of this, health officials
suggest a person should wait at least
six months after engaging in “risky
behavior” before getting tested to
give the antibodies time to show up.
If the test is negative, they should
wait another six months and be re
tested.
If a person has the antibodies
(AIDS-related complex), they can
pass the disease on to others through
unprotected sex or sharing of IV
drug needles, even if they never de
velops AIDS.
It is also important to note that a
positive test can be “false-positive” —
it can say that you have antibodies to
the disease when in fact, you don’t.
Despite all the confusion over test
ing, health department officials say
the test was designed with the pur
pose of screening blood and making
blood transfusions safer.
The report says everyone at risk
should be tested as a safeguard
against this. According to the book
“AIDS: A guide for survival,” people
who are “at risk” include:
• Any man who has had sex with
another man since 1977 (even once).
• People who inject illegal drugs
or who have done so in the past.
• People with symptoms suggest
ing AIDS.
• People from Haiti or Central
Africa.
• Prostitutes and their sex part
ners.
• Anyone who is entering into an
intimate relationship, planning to
get married or thinking about hav
ing a child and has not been in a mo
nogamous relationship for seven
years or more.
John Schnase, chairperson of the
board of directors at the Brazos Val
ley AIDS Foundation, says this dis
ease is unique in that scientists have
known from an early point how to
contain the illness. Schnase says it is
primarily behavior-controlled and
information on what behaviors not
to engage in can save people’s lives.
“Information coupled with appro
priate behavior will distinguish the
illness,” he says. “There are very few
examples of this in medical history.”
But for some people, it is too late
for behavior control.
Chris Blaundet is one person who
contracted AIDS before he even
knew it existed.
In his story, as told in the May 22
issue of theEagle, he says he ex
pected to live only another 12 to 18
months.
Blaundet has been known as a ho
mosexual since high school and
spent several years living in San
Francisco before coming to Bryan-
College Station seven years ago.
See AIDS in BC-S, page 4