Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 61, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 21, 1985 Page: 2 of 4
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Thursday, November 21, 1985
Page Two
Editorial. .
Involvement Lacking
Vitality, Enthusiasm
Vitality and enthusiasm. The TWC campus seems to lack
these two qualities, as far as student involvement is concerned.
Why? It is no secret that this campus could be considered a
"commuter” college. About 80% of the students that attend
classes here commute from their homes in Fort Worth or sur-
rounding areas. This situation results in low turnouts at func-
tions, and a less active student body. For most commuters, once
a day at school is enough. They usually have jobs or a family
to return home to after classes.
But it is a different situation for those who live here on
campus. Day and night they sleep, eat, breath Wesleyan. Never-
theless, the two aforementioned qualities are rarely seen on
campus.
The last time students got really involved and excited about
something was last year, over the S.G.A. controversy concerning
who could and couldn’t run for president. For the first time in
three years, students became involved; meetings were held,
hearings were scheduled, students were talking and communi-
cating and debating over something.
It was nice to see a little vitality flowing from the stu-
dents. That was truly student involvement.
Perhaps there is no controversy raging over the campus
now, but it is not understood that there doesn’t have to be
for a student to be heard.
So many students have complained that our S.G.A. is
simply a "party organizer," and that is true to some extent
They have the responsibility of ensuring the Howdy dance, the
Christmas dance, etc. But it is questionable whether students
realize that the S.G.A. has had a suggestion box placed in the
TV room in the sub, for a number of years. Last year, one sug-
gestion was placed in the box. This year there hasn’t been any.
It doesn’t have to be a suggestion, it can be a complaint,
a compliment, a well hidden important issue that needs to be
brought to the attention of the S.G.A., or any other campus
student organization.
It goes without saying that there are many students on this
campus who voice their grievances about various aspects of
campus life, quite loudly. But actions speak louder than words.
Remember students, that you do have the power to change
things vou don’t like. S.G.A. is here to represent us. Words and
actions are two different things. There is a way to be heard by
the leaders of this campus. All it takes is a little enthusiasm
and vitality.
Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor: to certain members “pitch a fit"
In the Nov. 14 article entitled, every time they do not get their
"By-Laws Controversy Stirs way. That kind of immaturity is
S.G.A.,’’ one S.G.A. member was quite an embarrassment to the
quoted as saying, “I personally student body as a whole. If a
do not want this group to be motion Is passed by a majority,
embarrassed . . ." The only em- then the majority of the voting
barrassment that should exist members are in agreement,
should belong to the open-mind- Sounds like a democracy to me.
ed members who have to listen Unsigned
EDITORIAL BOARD OF
TEXAS WESLEYAN RAMBLER
Editor ...................................... Sandl Harris
Managing Editor.........................Geno Borchardt
Advertising Manager ....................... Beth Burleson
Sports Editor..............................Sean M. Wood
Photographers ................ Ernie Todd, Stacey Dobbes,
Toni Ubingcr, Carlo Aguilar
Staff...........Kristi Knox, Leigh Patterson, D’Anne Rhea,
Bill Day, Kathleen Klltzke, Doug Olvey,
Mike Keck, Cristina Hernandez, James
Saint, Colin Christensen, Paul Linkletter,
Molly Donahue
Cartoonist .................................... Aron Head
Sponsor...............................Dr. Michael Sewell
The Rambler Is published weekly during the school year,
except holidays and examination periods by Student Publica-
tions at Texas Wesleyan College.
The mailing address Is Texas Wesleyan College, Fort
Worth, Texas 76X05.
Texas Wesleyan College Is an equal opportunity employer
in all aspects of Its operation.
Professor's Corner
Education Needed To Tackle AIDS
Aids, (Acquired Immune De-
ficiency Syndrome) it a fatal
disease that has affected over a
million Americans, the majority
of them homosexual males. Since
the birth of this disease, the
media have done their part to
educate a stunned and fearful
public, and Dr. James Cannici,
director of the Counseling and
Testing Center, shares his views
on the complex subject.
Q: Why is there so much sensa-
tionalism surrounding AIDS?
A: First of all, there is so much
sensationalism because this is a
life and death disorder. Anytime
a disease has the capacity to
create death there are going to
be dramatic implications. Unlike
herpes, for example, which is a
disease that causes inconvenience
and perhaps even embarrass-
ment, it does have the implica-
tion of death. Secondly, I think
the sensationalism is due partly
to the fact that it is a disease
associated with homosexuality.
Any kind of behavior not main-
stream acceptable in our society
is going to create much more
sensationalism. A third reason
why the AIDS epidemic has
created sensationalism is that it
has been associated by the funda-
mentalist church with God’s
wrath against homosexuals. So
AIDS is being made into a very
dramatic issue by not only lay-
people but by church people as
well.
Q: What psychological stages
does a victim go through who
has been diagnosed as having
AIDS?
This semester has been a busy
one for your Student Govern-
ment Association. It seems a
week has not gone by that we
have not been involved in some
major project. Our moat recent
visible undertaking was last
week's homecoming activities, for
which some of us spent many
hours in preparation of. How-
ever, that project made up only
a small part of what we have
been doing in S.G.A.
Behind the scenes, we have
been compiling a student direc-
tory. working with Susan Lou-
dermilk of the Academic Skills
Center to start a new restruc-
tured tutorial program, and we
are planning a formal dance for
A: I don’t know of any particu-
lar studies which have been done
on AIDS victims, but to the ex-
tent that it is similar to other
life-threatening diseases, I would
think it would follow similar pat-
terns already outlined by re-
searchers. The stages are denial,
anger, bargaining, depression and
acceptance. People generally
don’t go through the stages in
that order, it may differ from
person to person. Quite frequent-
ly you will see elements of each
of those stages manifesting itself
in a person who is confronted by
death. All of these are coping
mechanisms, Important steps in
eventually accepting the disease.
Acceptance includes knowing,
“yes, this terrible thing has hap-
pened and yes, I am going to
die,” but also coping with it as
best they can. And this is when
you begin to see some positive
adaptation to their situation. A
person may then go on to try and
help other victims, try to make
a positive contribution to the
extent they can, and tie up their
last affairs.
Q: Has there been an increase
in support groups/available coun-
seling for AIDS victims?
A: Yes, particularly among the
homosexual community. A lot of
efforts have been made to help
homosexuals who have contracted
AIDS, the majority to help them
cope better. A number of re-
covered victims have started sup-
port groups to help other vic-
tims.
Q: Recently the appearance of
young hemophiliac children with
Wesleyan students to be held at
the Fort Worth Elk’s Lodge,
Dec. 4, the last day of classes.
We have been keeping busy
with other things, too; we plan
to rework our by-laws before
the end of the semester, plan for
next semester’s Howdy Week,
and create a questionnaire to en-
able Wesleyan students to com-
ment on various aspects of Wes-
leyan’s college life.
Although this semester has
been a busy one, it has also
been a satisfying one, at least it
has far me. Although we may
not have accomplished everything
we had hoped to, we have ac-
complished a lot and I am look-
ing forward to coming back to
an even better semester in the
spring.
Dr. James Cannici
AIDS has lessened the earlier
connotations of AIDS being a
disease for only homosexuals and
drug users. As attitudes change
toward AIDS victims, in what
ways can the public become more
supportive?
A: I think the first way to be
supportive Is far people to be-
come educated about what ex-
actly the disease involves. I think
we should all go beyond some of
the yellow journalism we’ve seen
on AIDS and learn the facts. This
will go a long way in stopping
the problem itself. I think when
people are educated they can be
supportive in an emotional, phy-
sical, and financial way.
Q: Definite links between AIDS
and homosexuality have been
made. How has/will this effect
active gay communities, such as
in San Francisco?
A: What I see occurring in gay
communities such as San Fran-
cisco is a lot of educational ef-
forts aimed at encouraging peo-
ple to get involved in what is
called “safe sex." There are a
lot of things that are known now
about having safer homosexual
relations that will minimize the
opportunities for AIDS to devel-
op. This is a mainly grass-roots
effort among local homosexuals
and organizations forming to deal
with this problem specifically.
Q: Because of widely varying
reports on the causes of AIDS,
the public seems to be in a state
of panic. What can be done to
ease the fear and apprehension?
A: As we begin to see more
scientific evidence on what AIDS
la, what it can do and how peo-
ple can avoid getting It, the level
of panic will reduce. I see some
panic occurring because of the
blatant misinformation that came
out from early on. So beoomii«
educated I feel is the primary
issue in tackling AIDS.
Busy S.G.A. Looking To Spring
by Daniel Crouse
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Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 61, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 21, 1985, newspaper, November 21, 1985; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth645423/m1/2/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.