The Battalion
Vol. 88 No. 21 USPS 045360 14 Pages
College Station, Texas
Monday, September 26, 1988
Texas leaders
differ in opinion
on debate result
-
Associated Press
Texas political leaders predictably
differed on who came out on top in
Sunday night’s nationally televised
lebate between presidential candi-
■i lates George Bush and Michael Du-
I iakis.
Gov, Bill Clements, a Republican,
ailed the 90-minute debate a clear
iictory for Vice President Bush,
vhile State Treasurer Ann Richards,
he keynote speaker at this year’s na-
ional Democratic Convention, said
Bush appeared confused and that
ukakis “looked presidential.”
Clements said the debate pre
sented a dear focus of the two candi-
lates’ positions on the issues.
“He (Bush) showed Michael Du
kakis for what he is — a liberal Mas-
ichusetts politician who is out of
step with the majority of the people
of this country, and especially the
■"h pple of Texas," Clements said.
“After watching this debate,
America should know there is a clear
ind distinct choice: we can continue
nth the kind of leadership that has
irought America back to greatness,
wwecan start over again with Car-
er-Mondale-Dukakis liberal pro-
ams,” the governor said.
U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, also a Re-
ublican, called the meeting “proba-
ily the best quality presidential de
late we have had.”
Gramm said,“l don’t think either
candidate scored a knockout in the
debate, but 1 believe George Bush
did what he had to do to win the
lection. He came across as being
nore of a leader and more of a real
terson. Michael Dukakis had to win
■4 his debate in order to get back into
he race. He not only did not do that,
iut I think in terms of overall im
pression, he was a loser.”
Richards, a possible Democratic
jubernatorial candidate in 1990, ex
pressed satisfaction with the debate.
“Dukakis seemed in command of
he issues, certainly in command of
mformation,” she said.“I thought he
looked presidential.
“I thought that George Bush . . .
te sometimes has difficulty . . . I’ve
lever really known whether he’s
confused about facts or simply mis-
ipeaks himself ... the silver foot syn
drome,” Richards said.“I thought
»meof that was evident.
“I thought both of the men han
dled themselves well, although 1
thought Bush visibly lost his temper,
which is a no-no in a debate.”
Texas GOP state chairman Fred
Meyer of Dallas said he liked the de
late because “the contrast between
he candidates was very apparent . . .
and that worked to George Bush’s
favor, because his stance on the is
sues is one that is the stance of most
of the people, and certainly the peo
ple in Texas.”
Meyer said, “I thought he (Bush)
was very relaxed and communicated
his position very well. You notice
that Dukakis danced every way
around the tax issue without an
swering the question.”
Gramm said he thought Dukakis
came across “especially weak” on
foreign policy and defense. He also
thought Dukakis was poor with his
indignation when he argued how
anyone could accuse him of not be
ing patriotic when he was the son of
an immigrant.
At stake in the debate, considered
by many to he the most important
event in the 1988 presidential cam
paign, was an edge in a campaign
rated a tossup in most national polls.
Texas, with its 29 electoral votes
and home to two of the candidates
running for national office, is
viewed as a key state in the election.
A statewide poll released earlier
Sunday found Bush had a solid 10-
point lead over Dukakis.
Peaceful Protest
Paul Perry pickets the Plitt Cinema Three to protest the opening of
Photo by Scott D. Weaver
the film “The Last Temptation of Christ” Saturday evening.
Bush, Dukakis clash over deficits, patriotism
n
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) —
George Bush and Michael Dukakis
clashed over deficits, drugs and the
Pledge of Allegiance in a crackling
campaign debate Sunday night.
Bush said, “I hope people don’t
think I’m questioning his patriot
ism,” but Dukakis said he was and
added, “I resent it."
Bush said his sharp campaign at
tacks were meant to question Duka
kis’ judgment on matters like his
membership in the liberal American
£>ivil Liberties Union and his veto of
legislation requiring teachers in Mas
sachusetts to lead their students in
reciting the pledge.
But Democrat Dukakis, saying he
hoped he wouldn’t have to repeat
himself, replied: “Of course the vice
president is questioning my patriot
ism. I don’t think there’s any ques
tion about that. And I resent it. I re
sent it.”
The clash came little more than 30
minutes into the 90-minute nation
ally televised confrontation. At stake
was an edge in a contest rated a
tossup in most national polls. With
many voters undecided or wavering,
both campaigns viewed the show
down as a potentially pivotal event.
The formal debate rules were de
signed to prohibit direct candidate-
to-candidate comment, but there
was no shortage of hostilities.
Bush worked into one answer that
Boston city police had endorsed him
over their hometown candidate. Re
plying to a Bush comment about be
ing haunted by the plight of under
privileged children, Dukakis said, “I
must have been living through a dif
ferent eight years than the ones the
vice president has been living
through.” He said programs had
been “cut and slashed and butchered
and they hurt kids all over this coun
try.”
In their argument over ways to
cut the deficit, the vice president de
picted his rival as a tax-raiser and the
Democrat suggested that Bush
would cut Social Security.
Both men aimed snappy com
ments at the other in the debate’s
opening moments.
Dukakis was asked to specify three
programs he would cut to curb the
federal budget, and said he would
reduce "certain weapons systems,
which we don’t need and can’t af
ford.” He also said he would try to
implement a program of collecting
delinquent taxes that has been suc
cessful in Massachusetts.
With that, he focused on Bush,
and said the Republican wants to
spend more on defense, cut capital
gains taxes, spend more money on
other programs yet impose no new
taxes.
“If he’s serious about what he’s
saying the only way he can do it is by
raiding the Social Security trust
fund,” Dukakis said.
“If he keeps this up, he’s going to
he the Joe Isuzu of American poli
tics,” he said, drawing laughter from
the audience with his reference to
the television advertising character
who exaggerates everything he says
about the cars he’s selling.
“Is this the time to unleash our
one liners?” Bush said in response.
“That answer was about as clear as
Boston Harbor,” he said in refer
ence to environmental problems in
Dukakis’ home state.
Tli£ first question of the debate
was about drugs, and Dukakis took
the offensive by questioning Bush’s
leadership on the problem.
Bush said the reason drug use was
exploding was because of a "deterio
ration of values.”
Dukakis agreed, but said values
must begin with the nation’s leaders.
He accused the Reagan administra
tion of dealing with Panamanian
Gen. Noriega, whom he referred to
as a “drug-running dictator. We’ve
been dealing with him, he’s been
dealing drugs to our kids.”
Bush swiftly replied that the Rea
gan administration moved quickly to
indict Noriega on drug charges as
soon as it had evidence.
Bush and Dukakis were all smiles
as they walked onto the debate stage.
They met midway and shook hands
before taking their positions behind
wooden podiums.
Shuttle flight delayed eight hours
because of ‘lagging preparations’
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA postponed
the start of the countdown for space shuttle Discovery
by eight hours Sunday because of lagging preparations,
but still aimed for a Thursday morning liftoff.
“We’re still on the timeline for launch on the 29th
and that’s the plan,” launch director Bob Sieck said.
The countdown was rescheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
EDT Monday for the first manned American space
flight since the Challenger blew up over the Atlantic 32
months ago.
The space agency had added 27 unprogrammed
hours to the countdown as insurance for last-minute
problems, and Sieck said eight hours of that time would
be used in advance to complete the work of replacing
panels and work platforms.
NASA had planned to start the countdown at mid
night, but “buttoning up” the aft end of the spaceplane
— akin to closing the hood on a car — was delayed by a
problem that had the potential of postponing the
launch for two days.
Low voltage readings were found in an electrical cir
cuit that triggers the explosive charges used to separate
the shuttle from its fuel tank when the tank is empty.
Eventually engineers determined that the fault was in a
ground circuit, which does not affect the flight.
Expert:
II
*
I
By Kelly S. Brown
Staff Writer
rs
Editor’s note: This story is the
irst in a three-part series on ac-
uired immune deficiency syn
drome. Staff writer Kelly Brown at-
:nded a state conference on “AIDS
nd the College Campus — Policies
ndPerspectives”earlier this month.
AIDS is not going away. The
umber of those infected is not de
feasing. It has invaded the lives of
icmosexuals and heterosexuals, rich
ndpoor, young and old. Immunity
a AIDS can be achieved only
trough education and application
f that education, an expert on
ilDS says.
Dr. Richard Keeling, director of
tudent health at the University of
Virginia, said in the American Col-
ege Health Association Special Re
tort that many people know about
)1DS, but they don’t know exactly
vhat it is — and many don’t want to
)etold.
0
Barbara Tyler, a staff physician at
IP. Beutel Health Center, said,
A&M has no reason to believe that
•feare different from any other uni-
f ersity — AIDS is here and the num
bers are increasing.”
Education holds key to AIDS epidemic
After AIDS was identified in
1981, it took a lot of deaths and a lot
of publicity before America began to
listen — really listen — to the dan
gers of AIDS.
“The personal tragedy of Rock
Hudson in the summer of 1985, like
the discovery of AIDS cases in chil
dren several years earlier, initiated
an epidemic of fear,” Tyler said.
“However, studies have shown that
the accuracy of information the pub
lic possesses is considerably less im
pressive than the fear many feel.
“Next year at this time there will
be twice as many cases of AIDS as
there are today. And from that num
ber, two or three times as many peo
ple have AIDS-Related Complex.”
ARC, Keeling said, includes some
symptoms of infection with the cau-
sitive agents of AIDS, but does not
meet the Center for Disease Con
trol’s definition of AIDS.
“There are many other people,
apparently healthy, who are infected
with human T-lymphotopic virus,
type III (HTLV III), which is the vi
rus that causes AIDS,” he said. “Of
the people who have this, some are
infectious carriers who can transmit
the disorder, while others are not.
And most of these people don’t even
know they are carriers and that they
can infect others.”
Tyler said she encourages any stu
dents or faculty who think they
might be infected to come to the
health center for testing. The center
will give the HIV testing with in
formed consent, but the report will
be locked in a separate file and will
not go in the patient’s official medi
cal record.
The outlook for people with the
severe form of AIDS is exceedingly
bleak, and the months and years of
their survival is often tainted by hos
pital stays and debility, Keeling said.
But for some, he said, the most
devastating blow is when they are
told of the incubation period for
AIDS. While incubation usually
takes less than three years, some
times five or more years may pass
between the time of exposure and
the development of symptoms of
AIDS itself.
“No wonder then, people are
afraid — a new disease, a relatively
short period of observation, rapidly
increasing numbers of cases, a long
clinical incubation period, healthy
carriers, and a dreadful outlook,”
Keeling said.
Looking at current evidence, re
searchers say that so far they only
know of AIDS being spread through
needle sharing, sexual contact and
less commonly, through blood.
The Harris County Medical So
ciety and the Houston Academy of
Medicine describe what happens to
the immune system when a person
has AIDS.
Usually, when antibodies fail in
fighting a sickness, the immune sys
tem battles the virus. White blood
cells find the infected cells and de
stroy them.
But the AIDS virus attacks these
cells that normally are protectors,
the HCMS said. The virus then takes
control by turning the white blood
cells into mini-factories for making
more viruses. After a cell is taken
over, it fills with thousands of new
viruses, dies and releases those vi
ruses, which attack more white blood
cells.
This process recurs until the de
fense system becomes so weakened
that certain infections and condi
tions which normally could be
fought off, win the battle.
Carriers are virus-infected indi
viduals with no symptoms of the dis
ease. Most carriers are unaware that
they are infected, the HCMS said.
These individuals represent a major
potential source of new infection
since they are fully capable of trans
mitting the virus to others. ,
The HCMS listed some of the
symptoms which are common in
most people who have the AIDS vi
rus: unexplained, persistent fatigue,
unexplained fever, night sweats or
shaking chills that last for several
weeks or more, sudden and unex
plained weight loss of more than 10
pounds, diarrhea that continues for
several weeks, a dry cough that will
not go away, and purple or pink
spots or bumps on or under the skin,
inside the mouth, nose or around
the eyes.
Those who get AIDS might live a
week from the time they are told
they are infected, or they may live
for many years, but the outcome is
usually the same — the person dies.
Meeting victim brings understanding of AIDS
By Kelly S. Brown
Staff Writer
It seems that every time we pick
up a newspaper, read a magazine or
watch TV, words about AIDS are
read or heard. The facts are there,
and sometimes a face, but we can
turn off the TV or turn the page and
the cries are quieted, the faces gone.
Viewpoint
They’re gone only from our
minds, though. Behind every AIDS
story and statistic is a real person
wishing they could keep turning the
pages.
But they can’t. Without a cure, the
numbers of those infected with
AIDS continues to rise, and educa
tion programs, like the conference
on AIDS 1 attended last week, are
being relied on so that prevention
will become the rule and force the
numbers to drop.
When the conference broke for
lunch, there was a mad race to get
the prime tables, which were closest
to the speaker. I was the last one to
enter the dining room and there was
one remaining seat. As I sat down,
the young woman beside me intro
duced herself as Penny. This ini
tiated introductions around the ta
ble.
Around me were health center
workers, two doctors, three nurses
and a vice president of a college.
The talk around the table focused
mostly on how colleges are handling
AIDS, how students aren’t handling
AIDS, and how moist the cheesecake
was.
I could only comment on the lat
ter because I knew very little about
the consensus of how everyone is
handling or not handling AIDS. I
was the only one at the table who
had never known or met anyone
with AIDS.
One of the doctors spoke of the
AIDS patient who would be the clos
ing guest speaker. No one knew who
he or she was, but we all wondered if
the person were there.
Talk wasn’t all about AIDS. Penny
had us laughing with her keen sense
of humor. Even when she was
slightly serious with her honest and
blunt opinions, she would still slip in
a sarcastic word or two.
When we returned to the confer
ence room, Penny took her daugh
ter, who was almost three, aside and
introduced me to her. I told her jok
ingly she should have had her hus
band take girl for the day. She
smiled.
The day was winding down and
there was but one speaker left —the
person with AIDS —whom the con
ference was really all about.
See AIDS, page 14
As the speaker was called. Penny
arose from her seat in the back of
the room, handed her daughter to a
woman, and walked to the micro
phone at the front of the room.
I was stunned. Wait a minute, I