4a
Opinion
Thursday, September 7, 2000
For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Don't mess with AIDS treatments
Apparently, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, does not cause AIDS, and most people who are infected are "alive and well." At least that is what AIDS activist Christine Maggiore claims, as well as many of her followers, including the rock band the Foo Fighters and South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Since its discovery, HIV and AIDS have claimed the lives of more than 20 million people worldwide, so it would seem feasible to believe that those who contract the virus eventually would die from complications related to AIDS. However, as most of the general public knows, contracting HIV doesn't always prove fatal. Possibly the most famous case has been that of ex-NBA superstar Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who
superior HIV-ida has lived for a decade while being HIV positive.
This is where Maggiore, a single mother with no scientific training or college degree, comes into play. She tested positive for HIV in 1992 after she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend. Despite Maggiore's diagnosis and her doctor's wishes to initiate treatment, she refused. If she felt fine, why acknowledge having a deadly infection
Corey
Snyder
columnist
opinion@kansan.com
With this bold and unconventional idea, she founded Alive and Well, an advocacy group for the justification of HIV testing and the recall of AIDS drugs that promotes unprotected sex for people in low-risk groups.
fine,why acknowledge having a deadly infection?
According to the Foo Fighters' web site (www.foofighters.com) and Alive and Well's web site (www.aliveandwell.org). Maggiore's main goal is to support those who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS and to explore nontoxic approaches to treatments. While I agree that a support group such as Alive and Well may help those people with the disease cope psychologically — as support groups may help those people with other life-threatening diseases such as cancer — I seriously question the rationale behind rejecting the millions of dollars and years of scientific research that have been spent on the physiology of HIV.
I believe Alive and Well means to constructively question AIDS research,however, its methods are illogical because it promotes the behavior that originally led to the spread of HIV. Sometimes the power of belief can cloud the facts of reality Within the past two years,numerous reports have come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention substantiating that the latest class of AIDS drugs along with increased prevention has attributed to a huge drop-off in AIDS cases in the United States.
While those trends are good news, we are far from eradicating HIV or even controlling it, especially because new mutations of the virus are found each year. This makes Alive and Well's campaign even more horrifying, as Maggiore's subculture of HIV activists searching for alternative treatments will continue to promote discarding drugs and condoms. Maggiore and her followers seemingly ignore the fact that many patients receiving treatment for HIV have had success suppressing the virus for years or even reducing it to almost nothing, as in the case of Magic Johnson. Furthermore, those patients who follow Maggiore's advice would likely reverse their progress when rescinding the treatments. And I find it even more shocking that Maggiore condones not using condoms during sex, when that is exactly how she claims to have been infected with HIV.
Since the discovery of HIV and AIDS, common sense has dictated that safe sex or abstinence is of utmost importance in preventing the spread of the virus. My hope is that the average citizen sees through the unsubstantiated counter-information distributed by Maggiore and her supporters. It takes a strong belief and trust in science to do so.
Snyder is a Topeka senior in pre-physical therapy.
Steve Sack / TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Kansan report card
Pass:
- Heat wave wanes. Props to the University for imposing campus water restrictions last week. The grass was drier, but the cracked dirt added a new aesthetic to the University's landscape.
- National Merit Scholars. At 116 in attendance, maybe the record enrollment will help raise some of the University's other less-impressive rankings.
- Hepatitis B vaccines. Watkins Health Center offers free vaccine shots to students under 18 and those with vaccination coverage. If you're older, though, you get to fork over $20 to $30.
Murphy Hall renovation. Somehow, amid the beautification, they forgot to install water fountains in the new part. What if an opera student gets a dry throat?
Fail:
University rankings. We've dropped again in U.S. News and World Report's top public university rankings. New rally cp: "We're No. 421."
Kansas football. The team has seen better days. Perhaps the next game Saturday, Sept. 16, at home against Alabama-Birmingham will be one of those.
Perspective
Ignored football team deserves fan support
I am writing to get an issue off my chest that has been festering more with every Roy Williams article and Kansas basket ball recruiting article I see in the Kansan. In fact, Xavier Rice said it as simply and as bluntly as possible when he said. "There is more to KU than just basketball."
I'm not saying basketball deserves no attention and respect. I am trying to convince KU students to show a little more interest in the football team. Many students
have the same attitude as my roommate from last year when it comes to the Jayhawks. "They have to gain my respect before I'll buy tickets," she said. "That means they have to win first."
How can you expect them to win if the student body doesn't support them?
As a member of the University marching band, I have been fortunate enough to be able to watch almost every football game since I arrived
at the University of Kansas, and I have witnessed the metamorphosis of the team as it builds strength year after year.
Take, for instance, the first half of the Nebraska game last year. The Jayhawks were amazing. They showed what they were capable of in those two quarters, and the memory of the first half of that game forever will be embedded in my mind. This is one of the shining moments that proves our team is improving and changing. Just as a plant needs nutrients, water and healthy soil to continue to sprout, our football team needs support, attention and enthusiasm to continue its growth.
Alison Smith guest columnist opinion@kansan.com
Let's take a look at some numbers from
the past two seasons.
The basketball team's records — 23-10 in 1988-99 and 24-10 last year.
The football team's records — 4-7 in 1998 and 5-7 last year.
Notice any similarities? Both had only a one-game improvement. Notice any discrepancies? Basketball had more games, which means more chances to improve. Obviously, the number of students attending basketball games compared with the number attending football games is staggering. It's an enormous difference. The only times Memorial Stadium is filled is for the Kansas State and Nebraska games, and even then it's half full of purple or red. There's not enough blue.
Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to Kansas coach Terry Allen. He always makes sure to thank all groups involved with the team Spirit Squad, Crimson Girls, marching band and flag corps. Allen has attended several rehearsals to thank us personally for our hard work, and it makes us all feel truly appreciated.
While the number of fans at every football game still disgusts me, progress is slowly being made. There were still, however, many games last year when the student fans were few and far between, and the band was the only cheering section in the stadium.
Where were our fans at the K-State away game last year? And Missouri the year before? Both universities are not an unreasonable drive away, and, unlike basketball, all football games are either on a Saturday or a Sunday. These are the times when our team needs us the most.
appreciated My bottom line is that we know students have football tickets. Please put them to use and come support the football team. Give the Jayhawks a little recognition.
Smith is a Prarie Village junior in elementary education
Editorial
Flanigan's dress code is exclusive
Local bar discriminates against African-American clothing line, FUBU.
"Jack likes Abercrombie, not FUBU, no FUBU gear or anything that looks like it." This is one line from the list of dress-code rules at the entrance of Jack Flanigan's Bar and Grill, 804 W. 23rd St., which is a dance club at night. What exactly is Jack trying to say here?
Abercrombie & Fitch and FUBU, to some extent, are geared toward different audiences. FUBU's largest concern, as it says in the company's mission, "is to stay in touch with our audience and keeping our identity, as the word FUBU stands for, 'For us, by us.'"
Both Abercrombie and FUBU are popular brands among college-age students, and by saying that one or the other is not to be worn at a night club is unfair. If one label is allowed, the other should be, too. Many students in the age group that frequent bars such as Flanigan's express themselves through the way they dress. Flanigan's has the right to say what can and cannot be worn inside its doors, but it should be done in a manner that doesn't offend or discriminate.
The owner of Jack Flanigan's justifies the dress code through a stipulation that was placed on the establishment after two shootings that occurred when the bar was called Langstons. The owner claims that the city said the establishment no longer could play the type of music that attracted the type of crowd it did when the shootings occurred.
No harm or racist undertones were intended in the wording of this particular rule, as the owner of Jack Flanigan's is an African American. And the reasoning behind the dress code is a logical one — to prevent any unfortunate events such as those that happened in the past. But if one label is banned from the bar, the other should be treated the same. The owners and managers are doing their jobs by trying to provide a safe, fun environment for students. However, there may have been a more politically correct way to go about wording the rule rather than simply saying, "Jack likes Abercrombie, not FUBU."
Katie Hackett for the editorial board
free all for 864-0500 864-0500
Free for All is the telephone public forum for the University Daily Kansan. Callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit missions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed.
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In this paradox we call reality, keeping it real will make you a casualty of abnormal normality.
--sometimes I think it would be pretty cool if they served cold beer out in front of Wescoe Beach.
If you insist on being one of those obnoxious people who thinks people who smoke on campus are obnoxious, you should be less obnoxious.
sometimes I think it would be pretty cool if they served cold beer out in front of Wescoe Beach.
You have to admire the tenacity of Mr. Rogers in today's world of flashy dot-competition. Mr. Rogers remains a fixed point and allies to children all around the world. My only suggestion is that they change the show's name from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood to Mr. Rogers' World of Relevant Morality.
Yeah, it's a beautiful view from up here on top of Fraser Hall. I just haven't figured out how to get down yet.
sometimes I think it would be pretty cool if they served cold beer out in front of Wescoe Beach.
Moe said to Larry my favorite food is quiche.
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--sometimes I think it would be pretty cool if they served cold beer out in front of Wescoe Beach.
I was wondering, when do classes start this fall?
sometimes I think it would be pretty cool if they served cold beer out in front of Wescoe Beach.
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I was wondering if this was the number I call to find out when fall classes start this year.
Regarding the new zoning laws, if we just wait another 5 to 10 years to put these into effect, half of those people will be dead and we wouldn't have to worry about it.
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Are the Hollywood Theatres in Hollywood, or are they in Lawrence?
If I could tailgate and drink beer at a football game, I would go. Other than that, I have no reason to.
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I don't drink to have a good time, I drink to make people more attractive.
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