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04 th YEAH • ISSUE 1S9 • 6 PAGES
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY ■ COLLEGE STATION. TEXAS
Next Monday
Opinion:
Pets positively test
students’ future
competence as parents
THURSDAY • JUNE 25 • 1998
ational HIV testing
iromotes awareness
By Sarah Goldston
Staff Writer
As health education coordinator for sexual health at A.P.
?utel Health Center and a volunteer with AIDS Services of
Brazos County, Margaret Griffith has seen many people suf-
• fp*ring with AIDS.
'This is a field of work that grabs your heart/'Griffith
laid.
Griffith got involved in educating people about HIV and
dDS in the late '80s when a woman shared her son's sto-
one afternoon at lunch.
"This woman, whose son was a popular newscaster in
jnother state, told me about the treatment her son had re-
[eived from people," Griffith said. "When his mother
Jouldn't care for him anymore she took him to the hospi-
lal. No one would touch him to take care of him. Nobody
Ihould be treated like that, and that made me get interest
ed in helping."
At Beutel, Griffith talks to people about sexual responsi
bility and how to prevent HIV and AIDS.
'A vast majority of people get HIV through sex," Griffith
bid. "It only takes one encounter to get HIV."
AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-
blds in the United States. A report from the Center of Disease
Control and Prevention said the total number of acquired im
munodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases reported among U.S.
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Dispelling the fear
of getting tested
By Sarah Goldston
Staff Writer
Fear of the unknown often stops students from getting test
ed for HIV.
Margaret Griffith, Health Education Coordinator for HIV
and Sexual Health at A.P. Beutel Health Center, said the
process is confidential and personal.
The first step of the testing process is an informal counsel
ing session.
"There is a confidentiality agreement between the coun
selor and the client," Griffith said. "Counselors will ask how
the person is having sex and the gender of the partner. Stu
dents should be prepared to be candid and frank."
Counselors and clients also will discuss the possibility of
the test being positive or negative.
"We present the different scenarios to the person," Griffith
said. "Let's say the test comes back negative. We ask the per
son how they plan to keep it that way and what the person
would do to protect themselves in the future."
Blood is then drawn out of the arm, however, if the person decides
to not continue the test, he or she does not have to, Griffith said.
The whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes, or however
long the client needs to take, she said. The sample is then sent to
the state lab where the blood goes through a series of tests.
see Test on Page 2.
IVING WITH AIDS
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adolescents, 13 to 19 years old, has increased from one case in 1981
to 2,900 cases as of June 1997.
More than 22,000 persons ages 20 to 24 and over 85,000 persons
ages 25 to 29 have AIDS, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Daniel Fowler, a test counselor for AIDS Services of Brazos
County, said the majority of positive HIV tests in Brazos County
are females between the ages of 14 and 25.
"Many females have tested HIV positive during prenatal test
ing," Fowler said. "HIV testing for pregnant mothers is now re
quired by law."
Fowler also said heavy drinking and casual sex is common
among college students.
Because these actions put students at risk, people of col
lege age are getting screened, he said.
Suzanne Soriano, assistant volunteer coordinator for AIDS
Services and a senior biomedical science major, said her vol
unteer experience has taught her to be open-minded about all
kinds of issues.
"College students are not immune to HIV or AIDS," she said.
"Anybody can get it. Most college students know the basic facts
about HIV and AIDS. However, there are many people who aren't
as educated."
Griffith encourages students to take advantage of the free test
ing being offered on Saturday, June 27, as part of National HIV
Testing Day.
"National HIV Testing Day was designed to create awareness
of testing opportunities and to remind people about testing,"
she said.
"Not knowing whether you have HIV doesn't mean you don't
have it, it just means you don't know," Griffith said.
HB
FOURTH ANNUAL HIV TESTING DAY
Saturday, June 27
Testing Locations:
AIDS Services of Brazos Valley
1702 B South Texas Ave.
Sunnyland Center, Bryan
Free Testing
260-AIDS
Brazos County Health Department
Corner of Texas Ave. and W.J. Bryan Pkwy.
Downtown Bryan
Free testing
361-4450
■
Planned Parenthood
4001 East 29th St.
Winn-Dixie Center in Bryan
$5 fee for testing
260-1061
For more information on HIV and testing, students can call Mar
garet Griffith, Health Education Coordinator for HIV/Sexual health.
Student Health Services at 847-9242.
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Heat exposure prompts
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animal-care protection
By Shatera Kennedy
Staff Writer
Dogs in the heat may be more serious
than a few extra mouths to feed.
As meteorologists warn of the in
creasingly hot summer temperatures
that rise pass the 100 degree mark,
many may forget that their pets also
need protection.
Liane Brown of the Texas A&M Small
Animal Clinic provided a few tips and
warning signs to protect "man's best
friend" from heat exhaustion.
Because heat exhaustion affects an an
imal suddenly. Brown said owners
should pay particular attention to the eat
ing and drinking habits of their pets.
If your pet doesn't follow usual eating
cycles or shies away from drinking water,
be concerned.
Listlessness or no desire to play also is
a sign of heat exhaustion.
Brown said if your pet appears to
have no energy, or pants heavily, watch
it closely.
If you have noticed any of these signs,
you should first get the animal out of the
sun. Next, try to lower their body tem
perature with cool water for drinking and
cold compresses.
Keep observing the animal's behavior,
and if its temperature doesn't lower, con-
. 1
tact a veterinarian.
"It's possible that we may see an in
crease in heat exhaustion cases with this
extremely hot weather," Brown said, "but
I am hoping people will protect their pets
as they would protect themselves."
If your pet is unable to stay inside, a
continuous water supply and an open,
shaded area are essential to prevent
heat exhaustion.
Dog houses should not be used to pro
tect animals from heat because they pre
vent air circulation.
Brown has worked in animal clinics
since 1987 and came to College Station to
supervise the Small Animal Admissions
department last January.
The Small Animal Clinic is located on
University Drive, just past Wellborn Road.
Tappin’ the wire
Students receive help in form of Ethernet connections
By Patrick Peabody
Staff Writer
Beginning in the fall semester,
WireFest will once again kick off, help
ing students hook up their computers
to ResNet.
The program is sponsored by Resi
dence Life and allows students to help
other students in their Ethernet problems.
Raymond McCauley, a coordinator
of the program, said it is a great pro
gram because the students have hands-
on help.
"Instead of just calling for support
over the phone," he said, "students,
called WireTechs, will come by and
help students."
The WireTechs actually are other
students who set up shop in their own
dorm rooms and help the students
who need assistance.
At the beginning of the fall se
mester, the WireTechs, carrying lap
top computers, will go to certain res
idence halls on weekday afternoons
and provide technical support for
the residents.
They will answer questions and go
with residents to their rooms with
hardware and software problems re
lated to connecting to ResNet.
WireTechs will primarily assist res
idents with ResNet connections. They
also may help students with modems
as time permits, but residents with Eth
ernet cards will be helped first.
WireFest teams will visit halls dur
ing the first three weeks of Fall 1998
classes, Monday through Thursday,
from 4 to 9 p.m.
McCauley said the ResNet is much
better than regular modems.
"There will be over 10,000 network
connections," he said. "They will run
at 300 times faster than regular
modems. There will also be two con
nection per room, so if you have two
computers you can both hook up at the
same time instead of waiting for a
phone line."
McCauley said that they are looking
for people with a proficiency with
computer hardware and software, par
ticularly those with experience in
stalling network cards and configuring
networking software on a variety of
platforms and operating systems.
Knowledge of computing resources
on campus as well as Internet re
sources also is needed. Experience
consulting, tutoring, team skills and
strong written and verbal communica
tion skills also are looked for.
Aspiring WireTechs must be en
rolled for the fall semester, must re
main in good academic standing and
attend technical training work about 15
hours each week (minimum 10 hours,
maximum 25 hours).
WireTechs will be paid a biweekly
rate of $5 to $7. McCauley also said that
there are about 20 people working with
WireFest right now, but they would
like around 50.
"If people are interested," he said,
"they can go to our Web site and get
more information and also get an ap
plication. We don't have any paper
applications because if they can't get
on the Web then they probably aren't
going to be the best WireTechs."
The Web site for WireFest is
http: / / Reslife.tamu.edu/rescomp.