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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1989)
I \ Page? ials ifts Clal a gent of the u can influence a « of calculated tr ' false view of hj, ed im o the mark! Hnunal) transact r ive n u pforper S( ioi the honest ne, it felt a ^as not lie reasi Institui Act of 1 1 the h< Industr nd deal Ilf ( OSt I use costs ’ t ' (i by the president ng by the middle of iced to rebuild tit ucing to resolve the ons issue of the proposed )0-bed psychiatric $ 138 million in e already been ap es. Gov. Hill Clem- he supports this ve also proposed tiers again in No- ids to build the re- oeds. ious bookkeeping tax adjustments, has been able to billion in additio- would be better to inds on one-time as the construe- >n, then on pro- 11 demand more years. Friday, April 7,1989 The Battalion Foundation representative, doctor push public awareness of arthritis Organization says it is time public took disease more seriously By Juliette Rizzo STAFF WRITER Outside the meeting-room door in the hospital was a large, white sign with the words “it’s time we took arthritis seriously” scrawled in hand writing that many people would associate with their grandparents. It was the handwriting of a victim of arthritis; not necessarily an elderly per son, but anyone of any age or race. The word arthritis usually brings to mind an old, hunched over elderly figure with knobby fingers, but, according to the National Arthritis Foundation, this is more myth than reality. According to the foundation, arthritis, affects 37 million people; one in every seven people and one in every three families. It can develop at any age causing inflamation of joints, pain, stiffness and loss of joint movement. Laura D. Brown, representing the South Cen tral Texas Chapter of the foundation at a Hu mana Hospital arthritis seminar, said young peo ple may be as susceptible to arthritis as the elderly but do not take the disease as seriously. “The not me’ syndrome surrounds the college community as well as others,” she said. “Eve ryone needs to realize it can happen to them ” At the meeting, Dr. James Giles, a local ortho pedic surgeon, addressed local community mem bers who are suffering from one of the many torms of the disease or know someone who is. Through knowledge of the disease, he said, victims may become more aware and less scared or what their bodies are going through. Some general symptoms that may appear as signs of one of the forms of the disease are pain, swelling, limited range of motion and deformity he said. ' Brown said the average person with the dis ease may suffer less if medical attention is sought as soon as any ol the symptoms appear. The average person who has periodic aches and pains waits four years to seek medical help,” she said. By this time it is too late to stop the de generative processes of arthritis. Giles said some forms of arthritis may be he reditary, but many forms cannot be traced to anything specific, although some scientists have linked some cases to viral infections and stress. Arthritis is a disease that affects the autoim mune system, he said. I he body’s autoimmune system forms antibodies that aggressively attack the joints, thus causing joint destruction. Carti lage breakdown occurs faster than the body can repair it. Besides affecting the joints, arthritis can also affect the heart, lungs, kidneys and vision. Brown said once the disease attacks the im mune system, the victim may be vulnerable to a number of other diseases unless proper health care is taken. Giles stressed the importance of balancing exercise, to keep the joints active, and rest to keep the joints stress-free. He recommended exercise that is less stressful on the joints, such as swimming. For further information about the disease or to become a member of the South Central Texas Chapter of the foundation, contact Laura at (512) 451-7323. On Wednesday, April 26, the Arthritis Foun dation is sponsoring an All-Star Salute to Secre taries’ Week at the University Inn in College Sta tion from 11:30 a.m.-l p.m. Local celebrities will auction items donated by members of the com munity. President William H. Mobley donated a book for the auction, and Texas A&M represen tatives will attend. All proceeds will benefit the Arthritis Foundation. Official says media inaccurately depicts Texas agriculture By Sharon Maberry STAFF WRITER Mass media coverage of agri culture usually does not accu rately represent the industry, Texas’ Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture told Texas A&M ag ricultural journalism students Thursday. “Public perception is every thing in journalism,” Mike Moel ler said. “Unfortunately, public perception doesn’t always reflect reality. “Over the last few years, the media, in particular the electronic media, has concentrated on the sensational, dramatic and un usual aspects of agriculture. ‘Tra- ctorcades’ to Washington, D.C. become news because they’re visi ble. Musicians putting on a con cert to alleviate the farm crisis be comes news. Farm auctions become news.” Moeller said one problem lies in the complexity of agricultural issues. “It’s difficult to explain what the Farm Credit System is in 30 seconds, much less why anyone should be concerned about it,” he said. Another problem with accu rately covering agricultural issues is the stereotype that agriculture has gained, in part, from tele vision shows like “Green Acres” and “ The Beverly Hillbillies,” Moeller said. Also, American society has evolved away from the agrarian society that it was as recently as Wodd War Ily he said. Moeller estimated that only 40,000 Tex ans earn their entire incomes nom farming and ranching. It’s difficult for the urban population to relate to farmers and ranchers who make up a relatively small part of the population, he said. Although there are only 40,000 full-time farmers and ranchers in Texas, their diversi fied interests make it virtually im possible for them to be cohesive around one issue and speak with one voice, Moeller said. There fore, they can’t approach the me dia with their concerns and be heard. “The end result is that the press holds a perception that there are two agricultures in Tex as,” Moeller said. “There is tradi tional agriculture, made up of the people who have been in the busi ness for a long time and who grow traditional crops like wheat and cotton and corn. “In general, traditional agricul ture is not news. You rarely find anything interesting enough to put on the news, unless it’s a ca tastrophe. “The second type of agricul ture is, what I call, new agricul ture. This includes non-tradi- tional crops, like fish farming, exotic wildlife and growing crops in arid land. Moeller said the Texas Depart ment of Agriculture works to ac curately represent agriculture to the general population. The agency focuses on the transition from traditional agriculture to new agriculture. “Agriculture is in transition and that message goes out all the time from our agency,” he said. “We’re also trying to give urban people something they can relate to in the area of agriculture. We recognize that most Americans today have no farm background. We do a lot of programs on things that directly affect urban dwellers, like food quantity and quality and controlling pests.” Eastern (Continued from page 1) era pilot. “We are ready to accept concessions — if that’s what the new management wants, I’ll go along with it.” At a crowded union hall in Miami, Machinists members chanted “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Lorenzo’s got to go” and sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” as they heard news of the sale. Union officials were more cau tious. John Peterpaul, vice president of the International Association of Machinists, said his union is “guard edly optimistic” and Jack Bavis, chairman of Eastern’s 3,600-mem ber pilots union, said his group was encouraged by the development and looked forward to working with Ue berroth. In New York, Lorenzo told re porters that under the proposed urchase Texas Air would get about 200 million cash, would be forgiven $185 million that it owes to Eastern and would get $79 million worth of Eastern assets. The asset transfers — which have been vocally opposed in principle by the unions — would include East ern’s New York-Montreal route plus eight landing slots and one gate at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. In turn, Ueberroth and his part ner Thomas Talbot, a former airline Faculty (Continued from page 1) cause many problems exist in de partments concerning who should be tenured. “We hope to make the tenure sys tem better by providing fairer ac cess, clearer rules and fair compen sation to non-tenured faculty members,” Hunting said. “Right now tenure procedures vary too much. Departments have different criteria. Tenure is sometimes based on favoritism. We want it to be based on merit.” Jim Biehn, secretary and trea surer of TEA and a senior engi- executive from California, would own 30 percent of the airline. East ern’s unions would get another 30 percent of the company in exchange for wage and work-rule concessions to be negotiated with Ueberroth. Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., a major investment house, and Ardshiel Inc., a smaller New York firm, would sell securities to inves tors for the remaining 40 percent of Eastern. Eastern would get a 19.9 percent interest in Texas Air’s computer res ervations system, System One, as well as the Miami-London route op erated by sister carrier Continental Airlines. Ueberroth said his group also would receive proceeds of Eastern’s previously-agreed $365 million sale of its profitable Northeast shuttle to developer Donald Trump. Lorenzo said an outright liqui dation of the airline’s assets would have been more profitable to Texas Air shareholders. However, he said, “We did not buy Eastern Airlines to dismantle it or to liquidate it.” The Texas Air chief said Eastern intended to file a bankruptcy reor ganization plan that would pay cred itors 100 percent. Lorenzo will re main in charge of the airline until the deal is approved, but Ueberroth will participate in formulating the reorganization plan. neering lecturer, said TEA has a powerful lobby group in the state Legislature and that it encourages faculty members to write letters pushing faculty-oriented bills. “TEA is trying to pass many im portant bills,” Biehn said. “One would put a faculty member on the Board of Regents. This member would not be able to vote but would represent faculty interests. “Another bill would establish a minimum salary for full-time faculty members of $20,000. Currently A&M has more faculty members that make less than $20,000 than any other university in the state.” At SPECIAL EFFECTS Waterbeds & Bedrooms I FUTONS ARE HERE! Mattress Pads Padded Rails Satin Sheets Massage Units j $9 95 j i$29 i BEDS STARTING AT $129°° complete Futon Frames from Special Effects in natural & black STARTING AT $199 00 SALE ENDING SOON!; ! 1104-C Harvey Rd. 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