The weekend's weather
Tomorrow: Periods of clouds and sunshine.
HIGH 52
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
LOW 25
Sunda sunshi
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 5805
TOKPEA, KS 66010 5805
Kansan Weekend Edition
Friday
February 20, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 108 • No. 105
Saturday
& Sunday
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
(USPS 650-640)
Vanilla Ice prepared to 'kick it' at Granada
By Tamara Miller
miller@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
Whether out of genuine interest or morbid curiosity, more than 1,300 fans bought tickets to see the man who put the "vo" into "vo, vo, vo."
Late 1980s rap legend Vanilla Ice is scheduled to perform tomorrow and Sunday at the Granada. Tomorrow night is
Vanilla ice: Rapper brings show to Lawrence…twice
sold out,
but approximately 60
tickets still are
available for
Sunday
night's
show, said
Josh Martin,
assistant manager
for Avalanche
Productions.
"I think
Sunday night will sell out before the show too," he said.
Bill Rile, promoter for Avalanche Productions, said there were no opening bands scheduled for either show. Tomorrow's show will function as part of the Granada's Ultra Groove show. Dance music will play during breaks in Vanilla Ice's performance.
"Basically, it's like a dance party," Pile said.
Many people are attending simply to see what has become of Vanilla Ice.
He said Vanilla Ice would be playing songs from his old albums and his new record, Hard to Swallow.
"I wonder what he will sing?" she asked. "Is he still rich? What does he look like?"
Angie Packard, Lawrence sophomore, said she had many unanswered questions about the performer.
Evan Bailey, Lawrence freshman, said he was surprised to hear Vanilla Ice had found God and compared the performer to Mike Tyson.
"It sounds almost like he just wants to get more fans," he said.
Both students agreed Vanilla Ice would be unable to lose the image he has had since Ice, Ice Baby was released.
"Vanilla Ice is kind of like the New Kids On The Block thing." Bailey said.
Despite the mockery, the return of one-hit wonders from the 1980s has been successful for entertainers, Pile said. Initially, Avalanche Productions scheduled only one Vanilla Ice show. However, another show was scheduled because the first one sold out so quickly.
"It's part of the retro dance craze," Pile said. "We just confirmed Tone-Loc at the Granada for April 25."
Index
News ...3A
Sports ...1B
Coupons ...3A,5A
Entertainment ...6B
Classifieds ...4B,5B
Horoscopes ...2B
Features ...6A
Movie Listings ...3B
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
Learning to live with HIV
By Lisa Stevens John
john@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The note on Alan Carr's door read: "Please contact me immediately. I have some important medical information for you."
Attached was a card with the phone number for the Bureau of Disease Control.
"I called the guy whose name was on the card," said Carr, 25, Douglas senior. "He was in Topeka, but within about 45 minutes he was at my house in Lawrence. He told me that I had, indeed, tested positive."
Carr is infected with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
The story he tells of his disease and how it affects his life is worth telling, and one he hopes will make people stop having unprotected sex, Carr said.
He thought he had contracted HIV during unprotected sex with a man he barely knew.
He learned he was HIV-positive a year and a half later.
Carr described the symptoms that prompted him to request an HIV test.
"I had more colds and flu than usual," he said. "I was tired a lot of the time." There was a mole on my leg that suddenly got infected and had to be removed. I had no appetite and I lost 30 pounds in four or five months."
After going in for the test, Carr said fear kept him from returning to learn the results.
"I was really scared," he said.
"That was the most vivid day of my life," Carr said. "People ask me how it feels to find out out you are HIV-positive. The closest I can say is, you know how in the movies when someone is about to die? They see their life flash before their eyes? Well it was kind of like
Illustration by Travis M. Millard/KANSAN
that, except I saw my future flash before my eyes.
I envisioned myself in a hospital bed with tubes everywhere. I was thin, bone thin, and my face was covered with scars from Kaposi's sarcoma."
Carr said questions raced through his mind.
"I'm going to die," he thought.
"Should I go back to school? Should I tell my parents? Should I go to work tomorrow? What will I do for the rest of my life?"
For two years after learning he was HIV-positive. Carr was weak.
"I didn't have any energy. A task for the day might be to wash dishes or take a shower." Carr said.
But for the last year and a half, Carr said new medications helped him feel better. He takes a version of the AIDS cocktail, a blend of medicines that helps keep HIV at bay. For now, it is working, he said.
"One of the reasons I've been able to adjust so well is because of the help that I got from DCAP (Douglas County AIDS Project)," Carr said. The project referred Carr to a physician, provided suggestions on how to tell his parents, put him in contact with a social worker and steered him to a support group. April Ramos, director of the project, said Carr was an asset to the agency.
"Besides being a client of DCAP, as well as serving on our board of directors, he is a wonderful volunteer for us." Ramos said. "He brought so many different perspectives — that of a client, of a student, of a gay man, and of a younger person. He gives us so much information on ways to target our program." Education is the key to stopping the spread of HIV, Carr said. That is why he speaks to classes and organizations at the University. Carr said he had spoken to more than 50 groups in the Lawrence area as part of his volunteer work with the project. Carr said he donated his time to put a face on the disease.
"It helps people realize that this can happen to them," Carr said.
New love bugs
The 1998 Volkswagen Beetle hits the streets next month. Old bug lovers have mixed emotions about modernizing a cultural icon. See Page 6A
Julia Surrendered The Lawrence band plays through the difficulties of the local music scene. See Page 6B
...
the men's basketball team can clinch the Big 12 Conference title outright with a win tomorrow. See Page 1B
One win away
The KU Environs staged a "hazardous“ waste spill yesterday on Jayhawk Boulevard. See Page 2A
Wasting away
Dancin' in the streets