VOL. 4, NO. 6
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, N.C.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1988
AIDS threat grows on campuses
As many as three out of every one
thousand college students may have
AIDS, the preliminary results of a
nationwide study involving 20 cam
puses show.
The results; if tliey hold up when
the full study is completed in Febru
ary, would indicate students are not
paying much attention to efforts to
get them to change their sex habits
and mean a significant portion of the
American student body is at risk of
catching — and dying — of AIDS,
observers say.
“If the figures hold up, there is
more concern than we had antici
pated,” said Dr. Rolan Zick, director
of the University of Colorado health
center. “If there is an infection rate in
that range then students will simply
have to start paying more attention to
educating themselves.”
“At this point, the numbers are so
preliminary it’s practically meaning
less,” cautioned Anne Sims of the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC.)
“Meaningful estimates” won’t be
proper until the study is finished in
February.
The CDC, along with the Ameri
can College Health Association, is
gathering and testing 1,000 blood
samples drawn from students on 20
campuses for other medical reasons
to see how far AIDS has spread.
Few know which 20 campuses are
in the study, but Tulane and Rutgers
universities as well as the imiversities
of Colorado, Maryland and Georgia
have acknowledged they’re partici
pating.
AIDS (acquired immune defi
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MAJOR DONATION—A check for $24,570 for the endowment fund was recently presented to North Carolina
Wesleyan College from thelndependentlnsurers. Frank Wilson (center) with the Frank Wilson Agency presents
the check to Wesleyan President Leslie H. Garner, Jr. At left is Reid Rhodes of Mixon Insurance and Realty.
Computer lab user-friendly
Initially, some students are leery
as they approach the newcomer. Al
though it does not appear threatening,
its powers far exceed the limits of the
human mind.
However, once introductions are
made, students find the newcomer to
be extremely friendly. To be exact,
the new arrival is “user-friendly,” for
it is the recently-installed Novell net
work system which is now in place in
the computer lab on campus.
“Within five minutes, students are
familiar enough with the system that
they can feel comfortable to work
independently,” said Dr. Alex
Koohang, assistant professor of
Computer Information Systems
(CIS).
“The system is easy to use,” said
Rormie Rogers, a freshman who
plans a career in the business sector.
“There are a lot of students in and out
of the lab, and everybody seems to be
working on something different.
Some are writing papers and some
body else might be writing a program
in BASIC.”
Student response to the updating
of the lab has been positive, but there
are always those who doubt their own
ability to establish a good working
relationship with the computer. The
CIS department strives to make it as
easy as possible for these wary stu
dents to overcome their disquiet. The
department is achieving its goal by
implementing two ideas; simplicity
and easc-of-use.
“We have tried to make access
simple; our students learn from us
and from each other so that they can
work independently and still feel at
ease,” said Koohang.
The computer lab is open for use
by all students and faculty 80 hours a
week.
Students use IBM computers cen
tered on the Novell network system.
(Continued on Page 4)
ciency syndrome) is caused by a virus
which destroys the body’s immune
system. The virus is most typically
contracted by having sex or sharing
intravenous needles with an infected
person, or by contaminated blood
products. There have been more than
76,000 cases reported in the United
States since 1981, with 43,000 fatali
ties.
Campus hfestylcs, health admin
istrators believe, leave students espe
cially vulnerable to the disease.
“Students are a sexually active
group,” said Dr. Florence Winship of
the University of Georgia health cen
ter. And because they tend to be
young and inexperienced, “they feel
immune, even when they know the
problem’s out there.”
Many students objected to the
CDC study when it was proposed last
spring, noting they would never
know if a blood sample they gave at
their clinic was being tested or if, in
the end, they tested positive for the
(Continued on Page 4)
Marron says
no to condom
dispensation
By TERRIE ROBERTS
Dr. Joseph Marron, Dean of Stu
dent Life, decided that condoms will
not be dispensed at North Carolina
Wesleyan due to the college’s “legal
liability if someone contracted V.D.,
AIDS, or got pregnant and sues the
institution.”
Marron said he does not know
where Janice Stump, the college
nurse, received permission to dis
pense condoms last year. But Mar
ron, who is in his first year at
Wesleyan, said he is “ultimately re
sponsible for health services and
takes full responsibility for the deci
sion.” He also believes the United
Methodist Church would have the
same views on the issue. He stated
that he went to the administrative
council and told them what he wished
to do.
Stump states that she was notified
by Marron that health services woiild
not be selling condoms on campus.
She is disappointed with Marron’s
decision but, “will abide by the rules
of the college.” She also stated that
she will “continue to educate anyone
to make them aware of the need to
use (condoms,) and added that she
hopes that “students will go out and
buy them on their own.”
According to Stump, last year the
condoms were “available in tlie R.A.
offices of two dorms as an experi
ment to see if they would sell.” The
condoms were sold at cost and Stump
DEAN MARRON
said they “always sold with no prob
lems.”
Michelle House, a student, be
lieves that the condoms should be
available on campus because “it
helps the students out and the school
should not be held liable if a student
catches a disease or becomes preg
nant.” Another student, Michael
Miele, believes it is “definitely
wrong” not to have condoms dis
pensed on campus. “College is a
place where they are needed because
many (college) students are not ready
(Continued on Page 4)