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Page 2 • The Battalion 0LMPUS Thursday • Novemberll Infants need test for AIDS, speaker says By Katherine Arnold The Battalion Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing for pregnant women could be es sential for early identification of health problems in infants, a speaker for the E.L. Miller Lecture Series said Wednesday night. “Modern medicine has taught us that early identification in any health care situation is vi tal,” Bill Viscovich, a New York attorney, said. “If an infected child is not identified, that child will not be treated.” Viscovich is a proponent of the “Baby AIDS Bill,” a New York bill which would imple ment mandatory HIV/AIDS test ing for all pregnant women in the state of New York. The lecture series brought three gruest speakers to Texas A&M to discuss AIDS testing policies. Current law in Texas does not enforce mandatory AIDS testing for anyone. However, two of the visiting speakers were from New York, where mandatory testing is a major policy concern. Elizabeth Cooper, a New York City attorney and member of the New York Task Force on Women and AIDS, said mandatory testing would be violating women’s rights. “Through mandatory testing, the state will interpose a message that the state is a better caretaker than the mother,” she said. Cooper said voluntary AIDS testing might be a better possi bility because tests often give false positives, which could lead some women to wrongly termi nate a pregnancy. Many people are opposed to the state conducting the test because the information would then be available to employers and service providers, Cooper said. She also said mandatory HIV testing will result in many women avoiding prenatal care. Cooper proposed that testing re main voluntary and confidential, thus ensuring that appropriate ser vices be offered to mothers. The mandatory testing policy would eliminate certain pretesting counseling services, which would ease the testing process. “Many women are scared off by the testing policy,” Viscovich said. “AIDS tests are like no other test ing. There are pages of forms that describe the possible discrimina tion and effects of a test that comes back positive.” This counseling is essential, Cooper said. “It is not our desire to have any one be ignorant about anything,” she said. Many people who test positive for HIV face discrimination in many aspects, John Scroggs, with the AIDS Services of Brazos Val ley, said. “There is personal discrimina tion from friends and neighbors, and even domestic violence,” he said. “People sometimes face E-Walk Continued from Page 1 Amy Browning/THE Battalion Helping build a home Sophmore international business major Tommy Baril, of San Antonio, engraves a roofing nail that he bought for one dollar. He bought the nail as part of a fundraiser sponsored by the A&M chapter of the Habitat for Humanity. tion from a study she helped con duct to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus from mothers to their unborn children. Not all mothers infected with HIV transmit the virus to their babies, Hanson said. The rates "Modern medicine has taught us that early identifica tion in any health situation is vital. If an (HIV) infected child is not identified, that child will not be treated." — Bill Viscovich, New York attorney losing their jobs and problems with insurance.” Celine Hanson, a Houston- area doctor, presented informa- vary, but in the United States, between 20 and 25 percent of ba bies born to infected mothers also have the virus. The study was conducted on 409 pregnant, HIV-infected women. Half of the women were treated with AZT, one of four drugs cur rently being administered to HIV positive patients. The rest of the women were given a placebo, a nonmedicinal treatment used to make patients believe they are re ceiving treatment when they actu ally are not. The study showed that women who were administered a placebo had a 25.5 percent transmission rate to their unborn children. The women who received treatment had an 8.3 percent transmission rate of HIV to their babies. The long term effects of the study still have not been examined, Hanson said. But the research did show a significant decrease in the number of babies who where in fected with HIV by their mothers. According to the Texas A&M Archives, Elephant Walk origi nated when the members of the Class of ’26 were freshmen. “Elephant walk started when Piccolo Red, a senior, started walking down Military Walk playing Pop Goes the Weasel,” Joe Fenton, curator of the Sam Houston Corps of Cadets Center, said. "A sousa- phone joined in. Later down the road a bass drum joined. You could hear it all over cam pus, it was a distinctive sound.” In the past, underclassmen weren’t allowed to even look at the “elephants” walking by. “No where was the elephant to be shot, killed or gored,” Fenton said. “The business of killing ele phants has nothing to do with Elephant Walk.” This year, members of the Class of ’95 and the Traditions Council have made efforts for the Elephant Walk to return to the style of Old Army days. “I hope the day is a success and that we can say that we were the class that turned the tradition back to the way it’s supposed to be,” Kennedy said. Some Aggies hope that spirit and tradition will return to Ele phant Walk. “I think it’s time for individ ual Aggies, true Aggies, to tow the line, to say we’re not going to lose the spirit of Aggieland,” Fenton said. Kennedy said Elephant Walk should be a respected tradition. “Don’t talk about death, or even say zip,” Kennedy said. “It has nothing to do with dying. It’s all about respect. Don’t reflect on the seniors at all. Reflect on your own class.” Burke said he hopes the class council’s work pays off. “I think we’ve made great steps and I hope that today is the respected tradition it usej Burke said. The Class of has activities planned t« niors from “groding”tl The Class of '96 w 1:36 p.m., 96 minutes at Duncan Field. Class will have an opportunity pictures with an elephant Kennedy said that! phant will be at Dunca;j from 9 a.m. until 5 p.ra. The juniors will move Field after the seniors gun their walk. Thedi hold a pull-out yell prai Patterson will speak to thij The day will end for the with a picture in the on the field. The Class of ’96 Com be collecting cannedlt part of a service project held along with the day'sBanna get ities. The juniors will 4to see the tempting to feed 96 frian see the b Clark iTTALlON ixas A&. omedia ellamy uditorii Town F c Jam. amy exp e of his rence to with the food they collect. Kennedy said people it it of all p perience traffic congestion nection with Elephant Wall “Faculty and staff and to the campus may wan aware of the possibility of so they can allow extra reaching their campus i tions,” she said. diversity eauty pa rear and it was tl s first se ad to ha\ ling total it worke Vait a mi Correction 1 Additional informal: was excluded from an ar appearing in Wedne edition of The Battalion. Mel White said an Ore; survey stated people thoiij homosexuals were 78 pen more apt than heteroser; to molest children. 1 said this survey was an ample of misconceptions pie had about homosex and that they werenoi dined to molest children Provost Search Continued from Page 1 an open individual with high in tegrity and common sense. “This position is extremely im portant,” Bowen said. “The provost will advise me on a vari ety of issues.” Bowen said students should take an interest in this search because he or she will need to have a concern for students. “The provost will directly af fect the education you will get at Texas A&M,”, Bowen said. Alexander said she encour aged student participation in the search. “We want active student input as the search progresses,” Alexander said. “Students can nominate individuals from this campus or other campuses.” She said students should be interested in the search be cause the provost sets the life on campus. “Students need to understand how much responsibility this person has,” she said. The major responsibilities of a provost are: • to serve as acting president in the absence of the president, • to oversee the development of budgets, • to oversee planning for aca demic and physical facilities, • to oversee the recruitment and admission of students and • to review the selection, tenure and promotion of faculty. Student leaders will have a chance to meet the final candi dates when they visit campus for their interviews. After the committee has evaluated and interviewed po tential candidates, it will sub mit a short list of names to Bowen for final consideration. The advisory committee will begin screening candidates on Feb. 1. Bowen said he wants to name a provost on or before July 1. Alexander said the search committee, which Bowen select ed, is different from past search committees because it represents a wide range of people. “This is the most diverse committee I know of,” she said. “This is to Bowen’s credit. He wanted to make sure every group was represented.” Dr. Mark Weichold, speaker of the Faculty Senate and a search committee member, agreed. “The composition is a big de parture from the past,” he said. “It is more diverse in every defin ition of diverse.” Dr. J. Charles Lee is serving as interim executive vice presi dent and provost until the posi tion is filled. Dr. A. Benton Co- canougher had previously held the position on an interim basis but requested to be returned to his position as dean of the Col lege of Business. Dr. E. Dean Gage, a profes sor in the College of Business, vacated the provost position in August 1993 to serve as A&M interim president. Gage said it takes a person who has great academic vision and leadership skills to succeed as provost. “They have to be highly or ganized and effectively orga nize their time,” Gage said. “They have to enjoy people and have excellent communication skills because a provost makes presentations to external and internal constituents. “They need to help secure adequate funding to be able to offer the highest quality acad emics.” Gage said the provost is vital ly important because whoever serves in this position has to re cruit and retain the best possible faculty and staff. “Students should have vital interest in who the next provost will be because he or she sets the tone of what hap pens in the classroom and re search laboratory,” Gage said. “Basically, the provost deter mines the quality of education.” Affirmative Action Continued from Page 1 feel is important. “There are leaders all over the place,” Allen said. “If they aren’t talking about your issues, you talk about it. If your movement is about justice and the means are nonviolpnt, call me and I’ll follow you.” Allen said people should be prepared for setbacks, but should never give up. “Do not ever accept, consid er or acknowledge failure,” Allen said. “Just think that success simply has not yet been achieved.” David Butler, president of Kappa Alpha Psi, said the theme of Tuesday’s meeting, “Affirma- amy got amy s en one. Li] using pr itine. link a lot which is funny,” 1 I didn’t \ be raw, c ill be fun lamy evei imedy Jai ■ga argaret ( UTALION n orgamz that Texa for studei iport Ser\ tive Action: Why We Can’t! was taken from one of!!! books, Why We Can't Wait Brooke Leslie, student! ilities (SS president, said it is importa: rorks to ei people to take Allen’s messifal and phy nonviolent change seriously, Kite fully in “I feel this is very imponfetry to cr for a new and broadertejlle with dis; Leslie said. “Take what ah si to heart and go out and better world.” .at they wi rs, assists liters said te an acc :M campi Legett Continued from Page 1 last spring that the University will not build any more residence halls. Jake Carr, head of the Puryear/Law relocation committee, said that without the proposal, 402 spaces for males will be lost. With the proposal, 214 spaces for males will be lost and 188 spaces for females will be lost, he said. Eddy Evans, Puryear’s RHA delegate, said the Puryear and Law residents should be allowed to move as a group to maintain their spirit. “If we can move as a group that has spirit now, it would be better than waiting until that group has disintegrated and you have to start over with freshmen,” he said. Kristi Shaw, Legett’s social chair, said that moving Legett residents out of their hall so that the men from Law and Puryear can move in will make matters worse. “This is a definite lose-lose situation,” she said. > the oil “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Would it be to preserve their traditions at the sake of ours? This would not be the first time a residence has been converted. Fowler Hall was converted from a female hall: a male hall in 1991, but Carey Bresler, vice president, said the two situations are parable. She said the former Fowler residents suppoi the decision to move out and that they had ol balcony-style halls to move into. Legett is hall of its style and the residents do not v, move out. “One hundred percent of our residents si; petition saying they do not want to give up hall to the men of Puryear and Law,” Bresler The RHA decision does not make the final sion, though. The staff council, which is made up of Life Staff members, decided Tuesday night no! support the conversion of Legett. The administration will now consider the posal, along with the decisions of the RHA and staff council, and it will make a final decision. SD works nts to accc i and out SD official Usabilities avid Wim Sattalion 1 3 T H AN CHRIS C 0 L 0 R A D B E A K S JAHVABY 2 - IS. 1995 » 4. 5. 6 OB 7.HIGHTS VAII/BEAVER CRE TOLL FREE INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS 1'800‘SUNCHASE NOW OPEN Thunder FRESH, FAST, & HEALTHY FREE! FREE! BUY A LARCE SUB & CET A SMALL SUB FREE! 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