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Campus
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Report of
By STACEY GARNER
Special to THE BATTALION
No one likes to begin a new semester
missing classes and feeling miserable.
Contracting measles your first semester at
school could put you behind while you
recuperate. Measles has been reported in
the Bryan School District for the first time
since 1989.
It is preferable to be vaccinated than to
risk getting measles. The vaccination rec
ommended is the MMR (measles,
mumps, rubella), which vaccinates you
against three diseases at once.
Each disease may have potentially seri
ous complications. Measles can cause en
cephalitis (inflammation of the brain),
pneumonia, spontaneous abortion and
death. Mumps may be especially serious
in adults, and can cause meningitis (in
flammation of the membranes covering
the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis,
deafness and inflammation of the testes.
The Battalion
Wednesday, September 16,M
measles reinforces need for vaccination
Local measles outbreak nears end
which may cause sterility in men. Rubel
la (or German measles), during the first
three months of pregnancy, can cause
miscarriage or serious malformations in
the fetus. It is very important that all
women of childbearing age are sure of
their immunity to rubella.
These diseases are very contagious and
may be spread by casual contact. You
may be infected by sitting near, touching
or talking to someone with the disease.
Measles has an incubation period of 10-
14 days, and is contagious before symp
toms appear. The symptoms of measles
include tiredness, fever, chills, runny
nose, dry cough, watery eyes and a skin
rash after several days. Symptoms may
last 7-10 days. Swollen salivary glands,
increased temperature and headache are
symptoms of mumps. Rubella may cause
a fever and a reddish-pink rash.
Students born on or after Jan. 1, 1957
must show proof of immunity to measles
or two doses of measles vaccine adminis
tered on or after their first birthday and at
least 30 days apart.
Students who can provide proof of
having had measles or a vaccination after
1980 may not need another vaccination.
A blood test can determine if you have
antibodies to the disease. You can be re-
vacinated if you are unsure about when
you were vaccinated and/or whether or
not you have had measles. It takes ap
proximately two to three weeks after vac
cination for your body to develop immu
nity to the disease.
All Texas A&M students must provide
documentation of immunizations against
measles, mumps, rubella and tetanus/
diphtheria; or, they will be blocked from
registration until proof is provided.
A.P. Beutel Health Center offers both
the MMR vaccine and a measles-only vac
cine. The MMR vaccine costs $26 and the
measles-only vaccine costs $12. No ap
pointment needed between 8 a.m. and 3
p.m. Monday through Friday.
By KAREN BROYLES
Special lo THE BATTALION
Although a 17-year-old Bryan High
School student was diagnosed with
measles last August, the scare of an out
break of the disease seems to be over.
According to the Bryan High School
Nurse Mary Vincent, none of the other
students have caught the disease and
none are expected to.
"The two week incubation period has
passed and it looks like we're in the
clear," Vincent said.
From 1989 to 1990, 38 cases of measles
were reported in the Brazos County. Of
the 38 cases reported, 22 were from stu
dents at Texas A&M University.
The origin of the outbreak has "never
actually been pinpointed," said Shirley
Kostohyrz, head nurse with the Brazos
County Health Department.
"It's possible the measles werebrougk
into the county."
One case was, in fact, found to havi
come from a person from another tom
while two other cases were from peopii
who had recently been in Mexico.
At the time of the outbreak, studentsj
A&M were not required to haveasecoci
vaccination against measles, mumpso;
rubella, and were therefore moresuscep
tible to getting the disease.
"The last time they'd been immunized
they would have been a year to eighteen
months old," Kostohryz said. The vac
cine can lose effectiveness after 16 or 1/
years.
Students are encouraged to make sue
they are current on their vaccinations
For more information call the Beutel
Health Center at 845-1511.
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Congress allocates
$1 million for A&M
transportation study
By JULI PHILLIPS
Reporter of THE BATTALION
The U.S. Congress gave
Texas A&M, and its transporta
tion institute, a one million dol
lar go-ahead
last Friday.
Congress
man Joe
Barton, R-
Texas,
awarded the
grant from
the U.S. De
partment of
Transporta
tion for the
continua-
Barton
tion of the Southwest Region
University Transportation Cen
ter's (SRUTC) research and ed
ucation programs.
"This grant was made be
cause Texas A&M is one of the
premiere transportation re
search centers in the nation,"
Barton said. "This grant means
that A&M will continue to lead
in this important field."
The funding comes on the
back of a re-competition effort
for the grant that helped open
the center in 1988.
The grant will give the center
$1 million a year for the next six
years as long as the center qual
ifies for the money each year by
matching the funding at least
dollar for dollar.
The Texas Energy Manage
ment Center is in charge of see
ing that the money is matched
every year through non-federal
state money.
The center is a joint venture
between Texas A&M Universi
ty, the University of Texas and
Texas Southern University.
Texas A&M is the lead insti
tution with the headquarters lo
cated within Texas A&M's
Texas Transportation Institute.
Dr. William Harris, chairman
of the transportation center's
executive committee, said the
project is a wonderful example
of research cooperation.
"The combination of this
group of people is the most ex
perienced and recognized in
this field of research," he said.
"The project, then, is a very
useful and very effective pro
gram, and we are very happy
to continue it."
Dock Burke, director of the
SRUTC, emphasized that one of
"This grant was made
because Texas A&M is
one of the premiere
transportation research
centers in the nation."
-Joe Barton, congressman
-
the goals of the center, along
with researching the trans
portation industry, is to edu
cate people about transporta
tion factors.
"We are given the opportuni
ty to educate people so that
they can take a responsible role
in the transportation communi
ty," he said.
"One of the unique aspects of
this grant is that we can use
parts of it to draw people from
other disciplines and interest
them in a career in transporta
tion," Harris said.
Positions in the transporta
tion field are opening up even
in the higher administrative po
sitions, he said.
The Battalion
ATLANTIS TILLMAN, Editor in Chief
STEVE O'BRIEN, Managing Editor GARY CARROLL, City Editor
JASON LOUGHMAN, Opinion Editor J. DOUGLAS FOSTER, Sports Editor
MEREDITH HARRISON, News Editor CHRIS WHITLEY, Sports Editor
HEIDI SAUER, News Editor KARL STOLLEIS, Photo Editor
TODD BLACKMON, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Staff Members
Reporters — Melody Dunne, Mark Evans, Todd Stone, Sharon Gilmore, Brandi Jordan,
Cheryl Heller, Tanya Sasser, Robin Goodpaster, Juli Phillips, Tanya Williams, Julie
Chelkowski, Monique Lunsford, and Will Healy.
Copy editors — Kyle Burnett, Tracia Newbould, Jennifer Mentlik, David Thomas, Jennifer
Smith, Lance Holmes and Lauri Reysa.
Photographers — Darrin Hill, Jenny Matlack, Randy Nichols, Sandra Alvarado, Billy
Moran, and Robert Reed.
Lifestyles writers — Susan Owen, Anas Ben-Musa, Tricia Martinez, Julie Polston and
Mack Harrison.
Sports writers- K. Lee Davis, Michael Plumer, Don Nonwood and Ruly Medrano.
Columnists — Anthony LoBaido, Stacy Feducia, Dwayne Purvis, Shawn Ralston, Matt
Dickerson, Robert Vasquez, and Toni Garrard.
Cartoonists — William Harrison, Thomas Deeney, George Nasr, and Clay Welch.
Clerks — Darra Dees, Jane Harvey, Shelley Rowton and Jamie Anderson.
The Battalion (DSPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and
spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except
university holidays and exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid
at College Station, TX 77840.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840.
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in
the Division of Student Publications, a unit of the Department of Journalism. Editorial offices
are in 013 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom phone number is 845-3316. Fax: 845-2647.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Opinion Page staff or the contributor
and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Texas A&M Battalion editors, student
body, administration, faculty or staff.
Advertising: For campus, local and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For
classified advertising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald and
office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-5408.
Subscriptions: Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per
full year. To charge by VISA or MasterCard, call 845-2611.
Flu shots blow away potential for virus
By WILL HEALY
Special to THE BATTALION
The medical community prepares as the
1992-93 flu season approaches.
According to the Baylor College of Medi
cine, the flu strains expected this year are
A/Texas, B/Panama and B/Quinado.
Dr. W. Paul Glezen of Baylor's Influenza
Research Center said that each of the three
strains of influenza are covered by this year's
flu virus vaccination.
The formula for the flu serum changes each
year based on the expectations of researchers
at the Centers for Disease Control, said Don
Freeman of the A.P. Beutel Health Center.
Stacey Garner, Health Education Specialist
at the A.P. Beutel Health Center said the virus
is spread when an infected person sneezes or
coughs, or when healthy people touch items
that have been handled by an infected person.
The flu begins with aches, chills and cough
and may cause sneezing, runny nose and a
feeling of fatigue for up to three weeks, said
Garner.
The flu vaccination can substantially reduce
a person's risk of contracting the flu virus, but
the best precaution is avoiding infected peo
ple.
Other precautions, such as washing hands
frequently, can help reduce your risk of get
ting the virus.
Freeman also recommends those who can
not afford to miss a week of school should get
a vaccination.
The Health Center will vaccinate students
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
for $5. Since the flu vaccination takes several
weeks to take effect. Health Center officials
recommend students get their shots by the
end of November.
"People in high risk groups should get vac
cinated soon, in case the season's outbreak oc
curs early," said Glezen.
Shots are highly recommended
for people in the following high
risk groups:
•Asthma sufferers
•Persons with immune system disor
ders. anemia or renal dysfunction
•Persons with chronic cardiovascular,
pulmonary or metabolic disorders, includ
ing diabetes
•Over 65 or a nursing home resident
•Children with chronic respiratory disor
ders
•Health-care personnel
•People in contact with the previously
mentioned high-risk groups
•Providers of community services, such
as police or fire department employees
Voter registration for national
election approaches deadline
40
By MONIQUE LUNSFORD
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Voter registration ends Oct. 3,
and keeping a few things in mind
can make the process much easier,
said the Brazos County Voter Reg
istration Office.
There are a few locations on
campus where students can pick
up voter registration applications,
or they can contact the Voter Reg
istration Office to have an applica
tion mailed to them.
Rosemary Gongora, deputy
registrar for Brazos County, said
students need to be registered to
vote at only one residence.
"College students either regis
ter and vote in the county in
which their university is located,
or in the county of their parents'
residence," she said. "It's illegal to
be registered to vote in two coun
ties at the same time."
If a student is already regis
tered to vote in another county
but wishes to register and vote in
Brazos, the process involves the
Brazos Registration Office send
ing the student's name to the
county of previous residence
where it is then cancelled off the
registration list.
For students who will need to
vote early this year, absentee
votes will be taken from Oct. 14-
30 at a few locations around
Bryan-College Station.
These locations include the
Brazos County Court House, Are
na Hall on Tabor Rd. in Bryan, the
Memorial Student Center on cam
pus, Galilee Baptist Church in
Bryan and the College Station In
dependent School District Build
ing.
For the first time, a new system
of "mobile voting," under which
voting booths move from one
place to another, will be used in
Brazos County. The three desig
nated areas for the mobile stops
will be Appletree Grocery Store,
Wal-Mart and the Learning Cen
ter of Post Oak Mall.
Mary Ann Ward, the County
Clerk at the Early Voting Clerk's
Office, said this new mobile sys
tem would allow more convenient
voting. It was proposed by a Bra
zos County citizen and approved
by the County Commissioner's
Court.
The state and federal govern
ments have allowed for individu
als to vote early without having a
particular reason, such as traveler
illness, and Ward says that voting
does not have to be a hassle for
students.
"When they go to the polls to
vote, it's a much easier process if
they would take the Brazos Coun
ty Voter Registration Card," she
said.
"If they want to vote here, they
have to register here."
"College students either register and vote in the
county in which their university is located, or in the
county of their parents 7 residence. It's illegal to be
registered to vote in two counties at the same time."
-Rosemary Gongora, deputy registrar for Brazos County
Guess who f s coming to GarfielcTs,
For 3 nites in a row...
* STEPHEN DALE *
Enjoy 2 hours of comedy with
Stephen Dale & Scott Holman
during Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Nite Live at Garfield's.
Stephen Dale, seen on Fox T.V.'s "Laugh Star Tonight"
is regarded as one of the funniest comedians
in the country.
Show starts Tickets:
Thursday 9:00 p.m. in advance
Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. at the door
j" $500 entrance ~\
with this coupon expires 9/19/92
1503 S. Texas * Culpepper Plaza * 693-1736
Class of '93
Committee member applications
are now available in the Student
Programs Office in the Class of
'93 cubicle.
They are due Friday,
September 18 by 5:00pm
Class of '93 Awareness Week
September 14 -18!! Check the
What's Up column
for daily events!!