ge
The Battalion
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Page 13
Friday • April 18, 1 997
eckless abandonment
allege students plagued by often ignored sexually transmitted diseases
Ihe short term and su
perficial HIV/AIDS
awareness week has
|me to a close after beck-
jiing all irresponsible young
lults to ponder the dangers
(unsafe sex. Though it is
pious that this temporary
ne span of events has
aused an iota of con-
lousness in college stu-
Ints. Their immortal ef-
jmtery abounds effortlessly
students remain oblivious
| the severe illusion of such
i atrocity as safe sex.
I The free HIV testing and HIV/AIDS ed
ition for the week is a thoughtful ex-
■ession of concern to avoid contraction
■ a societal taboo. Yet the mindful mis-
ftn is misplaced. Surely society realizes
th it the dangers of such a deadly disease
Jeds more coverage than a week.
■ It is too easy to ignore such a far-
av ay concept as AIDS when an invinci
Columnist
Kate Shrophsire
Freshman biomedical
science major
ble student is faced with it for
only one week.
There is too much statisti
cal evidence indicating that
the AIDS virus is hitting youth
for such neglect to be running
rampant. One of every 92
American men between the
ages of 27 and 39 may be bat
tling the AIDS virus. The Cen
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention broadcast that in a
1993 study, AIDS was the No. 1
killer of people ages 25 to 44.
With such devastating evi
dence, many issues become question
able. Considering the virus may lay
dormant for 10 years, it becomes a con
cern as to how young these people were
when they caught it. Also, as these
young American men battle the AIDS
virus, the potential for the spreading of
the disease is magnified in its uncer
tainty. It is known that about three-
fourths of those infected with AIDS
have not yet been diagnosed.
The presentation of these facts se
verely questions the actuality of safe
sex. Along with AIDS, there are other
sexually transmitted diseases which are
equally disregarded. If the contraction
of STDs is becoming more probable
with time, it is incredulous that the
practice of safe sex is upheld as the key
to prevention. Safe sex is now a figment
of students’ imaginations and they fail
to realize this.
Many students say certain kinds of
sex are safer than others. But just be
cause there is no actual sexual inter
course, the probability of an STD does
not fade away. Although many students
treat oral sex as no biggie, it can have
serious repercussions since usually, no
protection is used.
Reagan Brown, nurse practitioner
for the Women’s Clinic at A.P. Beutal
Health Center, said students have mis
conceptions about safe sex.
“The biggest myth about safe sex is
that oral sex is safe,” she said. “The
truth is that they are all equally danger
ous — oral, vaginal and anal sex.”
Brown also says young adults carry
an indestructible mentali
ty to the prospect of STDs.
“This has always been
typical of young people,”
she said. “The idea that ‘it
won’t happen to me’.”
To add to the delusions
of youth, it is widely ac
cepted that once an STD
is contracted, the proba
bility of contracting more
stops there. Brown em
phasizes the false facade
of this belief.
“If you can get one
STD, you could have
gotten any of them,” she
said. “If you’re exposed
“The truth is
that they [all
kinds of sex] are
are equally
dangerous —
oral, vaginal and
anal sex.”
Reagan Brown,
Nurse Practitioner, A.R
Beutal Health Center
to one, you’re exposed to all of them
and should get tested for all of them.
There are seven major STDs and only
good tests for five of them.”
Often the theory of “if you have sex
with someone you have sex with
everyone that they have had sex with”
is trashed.
Brown stresses the
amount of credit in this
truthful statement.
“That theory is very
true,” she said. “Even if
you are a virgin and
have sex with a guy
who has had sex only
once, the possibilities
are limitless. Anything
that anyone got is
transferred.”
Despite any type of
cajoled training for
young adults, a mind
less mentality persists.
The prevalence of
STDs cannot be wished away, even
by the comfort zone associated with
safe sex.
neffective enforcement argues for a lowered drinking age
Columnist
Jon Apgar
Junior
Journalism major
nderage drinking — it
is not a problem, it is
' a fact of life, especially
n a college campus like
exasA&M University.
Yes, one must be 21 years
lid to purchase and consume
Icoholic beverages,
voulff However, the drinking age
Jwis like the speed limit —
jifs the law, but no one cares
and most do not adhere to it.
I The drinking age, mandat-
[tf d by the federal government
|o that states can receive fed-
^ "eralfunding for highways, should be repealed,
and regulation of the drinking age should be left
to the states.
I This is how it worked when our parents grew
jp.Most states had a drinking age of 18 and only
jchanged to 21 when the federal government
ireatened to withhold federal funding.
No one pays attention to the drinking age any-
ay. Underage teens simply tell their friend
whichever one happens to be of legal age) what
ley want for the weekend and fork over some cash.
The police have no ability to enforce the drink-
Igage. Probably less than 5 percent of those who
J rink illegally will ever receive a Minor In Posses-
on citation.
In fact, the police in College Station routinely
jnore the fact that one must be 21 to drink,
pen parties are busted, the police do not check
reryone’s identification. Instead, they warn the
artygoers to keep it down and to stop bothering
[e neighbors. At worst, they will tell every one to
ohome.
Even the local bars are fairly lax in their en-
kcement of the law. A hint to the bartenders:
lost of the people drinking in front of you are
lot 21.
The current drinking age brings up some inter-
ting questions as well.
Why is it that a person can drive when they are
Unvote and die for their country when they are
v:
18, and yet cannot legally sip a beer until they are
halfway through college?
Most would agree that driving a car requires an
excessive amount of responsibility and is far more
dangerous than splitting a six-pack with a friend.
However, the government thinks that if
something is illegal, people won’t do it.
Another argument in favor of the
drinking age is that underage drink
ing results in more drunk drivers
and alcohol abuse.
Yes, underage drinking
does contribute to more
drunk drivers and many
underage drinkers are
clearly alcoholics.
The flaw in the argu
ment is that these prob
lems exist now, and the
drinking age does
nothing to stop it. It will
never stop underage
teens from drinking.
If the govern
ment repealed the
drinking age and
set it at 18, college
students would
drink just as much
(maybe even less
once the novelty of
buying beer wore off).
Perhaps more peo
ple would learn to
drink responsibly
instead of feeling
the need to
rebel against
“The Man.”
Most European
countries have
liberal drinking
laws. Children learn
to drink in modera
tion at a young age,
r
"X.:
Hi*
immi
fittGl STATIC* TX
m
and as a result, the abuse of alcohol is much
lower for teens.
In the United States, however, the picture is dif
ferent. A study done at Harvard
University in 1995 revealed that
over one-half of all underage col
lege students drink five or more
alcoholic beverages each week.
The other one-half drink
less than five per week.
% "N Underage binge
drinking is a bigger
problem in the United
States than anywhere
else in the world.
The drinking law is a
mere formality nowa
days. Most underage
students forget there is
a law at all, while booz
ing it up at parties on
the weekend.
These drinking
habits are not going
to end with a drinking
age of 21. Individuals
are responsible
enough at 18 years of
age to decide whether
or not they want to
have that shot of Jack Daniels or
not. The government should not
decide for them.
In fact, the government needs to
wake up and smell the coffee. It is
using legislation to define responsi
bility. An individual who is five min
utes shy of his or her 21st birthday is not
responsible enough to have a beer, but
six minutes later, he or she magically as
sumes a higher degree of responsibility and is a
“responsible drinker.”
Yes, that is the absurd logic of the federal gov
ernment. Think about that while telling your 21-
year-old friend what type of beer to get tonight.
"Hi-
Mail
iartoon offends,
isturbs student
response to Mike Luckovich’s
pril 16 editorial cartoon.
After seeing the cartoon, I
istantly became outraged
er the lack of respect The
attalion shows many of its
‘aders.
It is true enough that some
lay see the so-called humor
i the cartoon, but many indi
duals like myself fail to see
|ast the racial slandering.
The cartoon was very in-
tisitive, and I hate to play
ie role of informant, but af-
Fmative action was not the
pson the door opened for
Ickie Robinson, nor for the
lany African American indi-
iduals who attend this insti-
J tion.
Jackie Robinson, my peers
^d myself have had to work
a rd to overcome racial barri
ers and slurs like the one
printed in The Battalion.
Affirmative action does not
give us energy to complete
our jobs, nor does it give us
the money to pay our bills.
Affirmative action does
promote the equal division of
the jobs and power held by
our counterparts.
Recian Haywood
Class of ’98
Aggie spirit reveals
itself in Rumor’s
As I stood at the cashiers in
Rumors Deli, my mouth hung
on my chest.
I had just ordered a regular
sandwich and drink, but when
I went to pay, my wallet was
completely empty.
I was a bit embarrassed and
imagined how dumb I looked
to the other people in line.
Much to my surprise, the
young lady behind me stepped
up and offered to pay for my
food. I want to thank her for
her incredible generosity.
I have heard many people
say that the Aggie spirit is dy
ing. I learned from that woman
the Aggie spirit is just as bright
as the day I first stepped foot
on this campus.
She is the perfect embodi
ment of Aggie spirit, and a re
minder to myself, and I hope
to other people as well, of why
we came to be students at this
world-class University.
Thank you so much for the
food and the reminder.
Josh Duncan
Class of ’99
The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 300 words
or fewer and include the author’s name,
class, and phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the right
to edit letters for length, style, and ac
curacy. Letters may be submitted in
person at 013 Reed McDonald with a
valid student ID. Letters may also be
mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
For more details on letter policy, please
call 845-3313 and direct your question
to the opinion editor.
A&M lacks personal attention
T he purpose of
a university is
twofold in to
day’s society. A uni
versity exists to cul
tivate the mind and
character, encour
aging thoughtful
pursuit of truth. It
also serves a more
utilitarian purpose
of preparing one for
a job. In the past,
universities were a
bit more free to
seek truth and knowledge be
cause the job market was less
specialized; universities were
made up of a more genteel,
leisure class which was not
concerned about the future as
much as today’s students.
However, there are still
some ideas from the past that
have crossed over to present
day. One of these is the inter
action between a student and
a professor in informal, dis
cussion-oriented environ
ments. Many other universi
ties still have this valuable
interaction among students
and their mentors. Professors
invite smaller classes to their
Columnist
Courtney Phillips
Junior
psychology major
homes for dinner or
agree to meet groups
of students at coffee
shops or other locale
for a discussion of
lecture topics from
that day.
This informal envi
ronment is ideal be
cause people only at
tend if they want to
and are truly interest
ed in the subject mat
ter. This way, students
benefit from the in
teraction they always antici
pated in college before they
actually got here and started
snoozing through lectures.
In this setting, the impor
tant truths behind what is go
ing on in class become fodder
for discussion, and the em
phasis shifts from frantic note
taking to active listening and
sharing. Professors are free to
share humorous stories and
personal anecdotes that they’d
like to discuss in class but
don’t because they have a cer
tain amount of information
they must cover in a limited
amount of time.
Here the relationship be
comes less stiff and formal,
and though there is still au
thority of teacher over student,
the relationship is more about
friendship and less about fear.
When John Newman wrote
on The Idea of a University in
England in 1852, he expressed
some of these same ideas. “It is
more correct... to speak of a
university as a place of educa
tion [verses a place] of instruc
tion,” Newman said.
Instruction that takes place
in the classroom is necessary,
but alone is not sufficient for
an education. Education takes
place through life experiences
and other intellectual interac
tions. Students have a great
deal of life experiences outside
of the classroom but not many
of them are of the intellectual
ly stimulating sort.
Students and professors
who are open to these ideas of
interaction stand to gain a lot
from one another. Debate and
discussion are hobbies for
many students and faculty and
if the right people hook up, the
university experience will be
enriched to its fullest degree.