The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Page: 3 of 6
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Opinions
February 14, 2007 3
'As a father, I find myself torn...'
Texas governor's HPV vaccination plan is challenged by parents
Harry
Keeley
Texas governor Rick Perry
signed an executive order
this month requiring all girls to
get an additional vaccination
before entering the sixth grade.
For most immunizations,
this would cause little concern.
This one, however, is a hot
topic among _______
parents, and
one I am
struggling
with myself.
The vaccination, in this case,
is one to prevent the Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) and other
viruses known to
cause certain can-
cers, namely cervical
cancer. HPV is clas-
sified as a sexually
transmitted disease
but is often not asso-
ciated with any
symptoms and can
therefore go undetected and be passed from per-
son to person.
Of the 100 or so different viruses included in
this group, more than 30 are specifically transmit-
ted sexually.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
estimates that there are 9,710 new cases of cervi-
cal cancer each year, and 3,700 deaths because of
The Food and Drug
Administration estimates that
there are 9,710 new cases of
cervical cancer each year.
Mail Code 1946
Texas Department of State Health Services
Imnunization Branch
1100 W. 49th StrBEt
Austin, Texas 78756
Rax: (512) 458-7544
this cancer in the United States each year.
Those are certainly scary statistics. Another
frightening fact is that current recommendations
from the Center for Disease Control include pap
smears for women beginning by at least age 21,
but HPV tests are not standard until age 30. This
would mean that it would be possible for a woman
to contract the disease at age 17 or earlier and per-
_______ haps go undiagnosed for 13 years
or more.
As a father, I find myself
torn. I know the facts of preven-
tion should sway me in favor of
the measure, yet I am also nerv-
ous about government interfer-
ence in my child's life. On the
other hand, 1 ask
myself, if this were
made optional, how
many would actually
take advantage of the
vaccine?
I find comfort
in the fact that
parents' rights
widespread availability of the vaccine. They sup-
port the parents' right to make choices about their
child's health and well being. Focus on the Family
also encourages, according to its position state-
ment, the education of parents and minors about
their health and
sexuality.
are taken into account in that they can
choose to opt their child out of this vac-
cine. They may opt out for religious or
philosophical reasons but must do so
writing through a form.
Opponents, such as Focus on the
Family, do not support the mandatory
vaccination of girls but do support the
Harry Keelev is a senior mass communication major and is a staff writer for The Rambler.
Microsoft debuts Vista
The 'nice-to-have'software offers increased safety,
does not create instantaneous rush of consumers
Eric
Douglas
A ^"icrosoft recently released Windows Vista, the
IVAnewest installment in Microsoft's dominant operat-
ing system franchise. Vista is promised to be "a break-
through computing experience," according to the
Washington software corporation's marketing arm. But
how much of that hype is really true?
Let's
start with
security.
Vista has
enhanced
this feature dramatically. The
whole way it networks to
other computers was rewritten
and enhanced to protect
against the growing number
of virtual attacks that lead to
things like identity theft.
However, this protection is
not without a cost. Many
third party developers feel
like the new security is lock-
ing their companies or mak-
ing it extremely difficult to
develop other add-ons for the
operating system.
Among other things,
Vista also touts stronger parental controls and visual effects with its new
Aero interface that allows users to flip through windows like they were pages
in a book. With a simple combination of keys, a poison can bring all of their
windows up as if their desktop were a spiral notebook. This makes it really
easy to work with a large number of windows open and not want to kill your
firstborn because you can't find the paper you were doing research for under
Photo by Tyler Atkinson
Windows Vista offers new 'spiral notebook' feature, which allows users to flip
through open windows with ease.
all of the other windows.
Speak ing of that first born, the new parental controls allow parents to
more effectively monitor what content their children view on the computer. It
also limits what files little ones can and cannot dig in and mess up. This fea-
ture is well timed, as the number of children learning about the "birds and
bees" online is growing rather quickly.
Along with these. Vista also has new
and improved built-in applications like
the whole new Microsoft Office 2007.
This operating system better integrates
these built-in applications so they actu-
ally feel more like a part of the operat-
ing system and not a separate program
working within the system.
So what does this all mean? Should
we all be rushing out to get our hands
on the latest copy of Windows? Many
people at Wesleyan can remember when
Windows '95 came out. The lines, the
hysteria, all the people camping outside
of stores just to be able to plop down a
roll of cash for this software. Many
people might be wondering where the
excitement is for Vista. After all. none
of the same storefront campouts or
media craze went on for the Jan. 31
release.
The solution is best put by the people at PcMag.com when they wrote,
"Call it a nice-to-have product rather than a must-have." So. despite all the
hard work Microsoft put into this project, they just couldn't beat their biggest
competitor. Windows XP.
Eric Douglas is a junior religion major and is a staff writer tor The Rambler.
The Rambler
Founded in 1917 as The Handout
llantld G Jeffcoat, Publisher
Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association
Chad Wvlie. editor-in-chief/sports editor
Trier Atkinson, managing editor
Julie Davis, business manager
Shaw n R Polling, new s editor
Opinions expressed in The Rambler arc those of the individual author only
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Wesleyan community as a whole
Letters to the editor: The Rambler, a weekly publication, welcomes all letters
Ml submissions must have a full printed name, phone number and signature; however, confidentiality will be granted if requested.
While every consideration is made to publish letters, publication is limited by time and space.
The editors reserve the right to edit all submissions for space, grammar, clarity and style
I otters to the editor may be subject to response from editors and students on the opinions page
"We arc not afraid to follow the truth, wherever it may lead." -Thomas Jefferson
Address all correspondence to:
Texas Wesleyan University. The Rambler, 1201 Wesleyan St.. Fort Worth. TX 76105
Newsroom: 531-7332 Advertising: 531-7582 Fax: 531-4K7H
F -mail: twuramblerfci yahoo com
Rambler Ratings
m
Thumbs up to everyone who
attended Julie Whittington
McCoy's solo recital titled
"Sometimes I Feel" Feb. 13.
Thumbs down to the gloomy
weather this past week.
Thumbs up to all who attended
SGA's Food Forum Feb. 13.
Thumbs up to cashiers office
for getting all the tax forms
out quickly.
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Wylie, Chad. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 14, 2007, newspaper, February 14, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253385/m1/3/: accessed June 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.