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
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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.
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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
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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
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liters said
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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
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Usabilities
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