Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2001)
''cptcmber' Fricl.u September 7, 2001 outh Africa ights for survival FHE BATTALlO' Taman fra* ry ar removed from the world of academia, foot ball games and beer, tihere is a place where once Hopeful youth have surren dered their will to live. They Struggle against an incom prehensible illness that has killed millions of fellow citi- Zi ns in the prime of their lives. The place is South Africa and the illness is AIDS. For years. South Africans have painfully sat By and watched as this dis ease has rap idly spread throughout their nation before any real govern ment action was taken. Today, plagued with pr oblems exacerbated by P‘ >verty and desperation. South Africa is filled with destitute communities where il has been estimated as many as 5,500 people die of AIDS every day. In recent years, the media has brought public attention to the tragedy in South Africa. Millions of dollars from the United States have been pumped into a South African AIDS initiative. This terrible disease can be fought, s However, more com munity-based AIDS pre vention pro grams designed to change sexu al behavior must be imple mented. In a nation where one-fifth of the adult popula tion is already infected by AIDS, an attempt to change behavior must run deeper than encouraging condom use. 111V transmission often Biccurs inside marriages or regular partnership, where condom use is hard to intro- iuce or maintain. Instead, more effort should be put into ncouraging people to delay sex, to reduce their number of sexual partners and to practice marital fidelity. Too many >oor communities still lack the education they deserve and are living in silent fear of a disease that is prevalent in their community. Today, South Africa’s most isible HIV-prevention cam- iaign is misguided. The high- •rofile campaign consists of Madison Avenue-style” HIV- Iprevention targeted at the [youth of South Africa. [According to The Washington Post, these colorful billboards [carry “cryptic word pairs” such as “Your Body/Anybody, Climax/Anticlimax or Drop Dead Gorgeous/The Drop.” To make things worse, these billboards are written in English rather than the local language. Not even containing the word “AIDS ” these bill boards only reinforce the communities’ inability to speak openly about the dan gers of AIDS.These billboards are part of the “loveLife” campaign funded by the More community- based AIDS prevention programs designed to change sexual behavior must be implemented. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the South African government. Scattered generously throughout the continent, these billboards make an attempt to stimulate “frank communication” and “the ability to make better choic es” within the youth commu nity. According to The Washington Post, instead of sparking open communication about AIDS, “many dismiss it as confusingly vague.” Some are outraged by the misalloca tion of public and private resources, especially when many community-based organizations are struggling to survive. “In the African culture, it is a taboo to talk about sex,” said Joel Arimadri Tivua, coordinator of the AIDS pro gram at Uganda’s Kuluva Hospital. This belief can be found at the heart of Africa's AIDS pandemic, and it clearly highlights why this aspect of the loveLife AIDS-prevention campaign is not working. What is needed is the strong backing of religious, civic and other grass-roots communities working together with com mitted political and institu tional support to promote behavior changes. These are the same suc cessful strategies used in Uganda, which, according to Sojourn rs Magazine, “had the highest number of reported AIDS cases in Africa in the late 1990s,” but has steadily declined since then. Open communication about the transfer of AIDS, abstinence, marital fidelity and safe sex are more likely to confront the crisis at its roots than the cryptic messages emblazoned on billboards throughout South Africa. The ineffectiveness of South Africa’s current AIDS prevention campaign is painfully obvious in the small, rural communities such as Mogwase, where “every weekend there's another funeral,” according to one 18-year-old boy. In Mogwase. and many other devastated communities, despair has become the com mon response to these tragedies. This does not mean that people should give in to AIDS or on AIDS prevention plans. In Uganda, HIV among pregnant women dropped from 21 percent in 1991 to 10 percent in 1998. A solution in the form of behavior changes can hap pen. “The solution will come from the community,” Tivua said. But for now, a deep fear and silence remains imbedded in these impover ished communities and much of South Africa. Much more must be done to break the silence and stop the spread of AIDS before it is too late. Jennifer Lozano is a junior English major. :artoon of the day CONGRESS r SHALL V anessa Leggett currently is in a federal detention center for refusing to turn over her notes of a sensational Houston homicide case. This unfortunate episode provides yet another example of how the FBI has abused its power. She should be freed imme diately and should be treated with the same considerations as a journalist who does not wish to compro mise sources but must cooperate with a crim inal investigation. Leggett, a writing instructor at the University of Houston, was imprisoned July 20 of this year after being found in contempt of court. Federal prosecutors asked her to give up all of her notes, tapes and material related to a 1997 murder. Based on their dealings with Leggett, the federal government is deciding improperly which journalists count more than others. The FBI is setting a disturbing trend by not having to prove a reporter’s information is directly relevant to their case. Leggett had begun to research the killing of Doris Angleton, the wife of a wealthy former bookie, with the intentions of writing a book. Texas state prosecutors focused their attention on the victim’s hus band, Robert Angleton, and his brother Roger. It was thought that Roger was hired by his brother to kill his wife, thus prevent ing her from collecting millions in a divorce settlement. Leggett interviewed Roger in prison before he committed sui cide and left a note claiming he had mur dered Doris and framed his brother to extort money. Robert Angleton was acquit ted of capital murder at a trial in which Leggett handed over copies of her notes and taped interviews upon reaching an agreement that the materials would be returned. The information was not admitted at trial, and she never testified. Some of the materials were handed over to federal officials who are now conducting an investigation into the crime and seeking to bring federal charges on Angleton relat ed to the death of his wife. Leggett refused to become a paid informant of the FBI, who then responded with a demand that she turn over any information she has to JONATHAN JONES U.S. government should remember the First Amendment, release journalist the FBI, including every copy of her notes and taped interviews. This would render complete control of Leggett’s work to the federal government, and her refusal has led to the contempt of court charge. Having fulfilled her obliga tion in the state trial, she maintains that she cannot turn over any more material without compromising her sources. Though the Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment does not offer com plete privileges to journalists before a grand jury, FBI rules require the approval of the attorney general for subpoenas. The federal government does not regard Vanessa Leggett as a real journalist. Paul McMasters, of the First Amendment Center, said, “The feds are probably count ing on, one she doesn’t have the resources to fight them very long and two, that she would have a difficult time putting herself in the same category as reporters working for a news network and newspaper.” Leggett should be in the same category as any television or newspaper reporter because she is a journalist. Having already CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION properly cooperated with state authorities, she should not be unfairly harassed into turning over her notes. Her hearing was closed to the public and the transcripts sealed. That was also wrong and unnecessary. This is a high-pro file case that will inttuence the way jour nalists and law enforcement interact. Mike DeGuerin, Leggett’s attorney, said, “It’s one thing to incarcerate a member of the press for not doing what the government wants. But to do it in secret and threaten to jail her lawyer for talking about the details is outrageous.” The way the FBI is handling this case is overly aggressive and improper. The gov ernment should not decide who falls within the boundaries of a professional journalist. Leggett was gathering information with the intention of making news available to the public, thus functioning as a journalist. The attorney general should approve a subpoena and follow the proper procedures if Leggett’s information is such a necessity. She has been treated unfairly by the federal government. The Washington Post reports Leggett could be jailed indefinitely until she relents. Amateur and professional jour nalists everywhere should be cautious of a government that abuses its power. Jonathan Jones is a senior political science major. MAIL CALL This cartoon in no way suggests any offensive posture towards the many brilliant cultures of cheese TUs DNchRtc>c>Nv»f-© Parking garage inconveniences In response to the Amanda Smith's Sept. 5 article: Ever since this school decided to start construction on the West Campus Parking Garage, there has been a barricade lining the perime ter of the Student Recreation Center. The vast majority of stu dents are now inconvenienced. It takes me an extra 45 minutes to work out because I have to walk all the way around the gates and enter the Rec Center near Reed Arena. Sometimes, I have been known to get mad at small details, but the fact that the school has not created a pathway to the Rec Center from main campus makes me furious. If 1,000 students work out on a daily basis, then Texas A&M admin istrators are wasting 750 student hours per day because we have to walk around so much construction. That is almost nine years of student time being wasted each semester. Maybe the decision-makers at A&M really do not care about our sched ules and making resources conven ient for us. Matthew Deeke Class of 2003 McDonald’s is totally to blame In response to Melissa Bed sole's Sept. 5 column: Six years of lying, deceit and scandal under McDonald’s wing and notorious name, but blaming McDonald’s for advertising games that are impossible to win is “childish and silly.” That was the point of view from Bedsole’s arti cle on Wednesday. McDonald’s should have been more involved in the distributing of the winning game pieces. I agree with Bedsole that the announcement of these competi tions being fixed is disappointing, but it is not about to make me cry. I am sure after class a large majority of Ags will head out towards the golden arches and it will be crowded as usual. I know these same people just finished reading the article about the great Monopoly scandal. I honestly can not say that during these comple tions I ate every meal at McDonald’s in search of the win ning St. James Place that would help me become the owner of a Polaris jet ski. If you picked up my floor mats, you may find a Reading R.R. or a Marvin Gardens game piece left over from a year ago. We go to fast food place because they fit in our tight budg ets because of other expenses such as utilities, books and rent. Mark Ingle Class of 2005 Established religion lacks individuality In response to Tim Dyll’s Sept. 6 column: I find it amusing, and rather annoying that Tim Dyll would be so sensational in an article that spends time speaking out against sensationalism. To support his argument that lack of religion is making the United States a bad place, Dyll used data from the United States Census Bureau that says violent crime is way up over where it was 40 years ago. The FBI and the Dept, of Justice, however, have released their statistics show ing that violent crime is on a steady decline and is at its lowest point in 20 years. If only one figure is cor rect, who should a person believe? My money would go on the guys who actually deal with crime. I also disagree with Dyll’s asser- tation that religion is the solution to the problems that America has. If he’s so concerned about family and such, shouldn’t he be advo cating that parents spend the time with their children providing guid ance? Sitting in church is all well and good, but they should be inter acting with their children. That should be the top priority. After all, it would be selfish for parents to try to “save themselves" at church instead of teaching their kids by spending time with them. Finally, I have to say that per haps the lower churchgoing rate is a sign that people are beginning to stand up and think for themselves. It could be a sign that people today are better educated, more strongly principled, and generally more self-validated than they used to be. To me this would be a great sign for the future as better lead ers will come out of this group with the spine to break away from establishment religion. I believe that Dyll’s article was very sensational, and his pes simistic forecast for America ignores a great many signs that the country is looking better than ever. It’s funny that while he is preaching against media sensa tionalism he follows their lead exactly with his article. Chris Carlin Class of 2003