Valparaiso University - Beacon / Record Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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The Neoteric And The Unfathomable 1987-88 was a year of fear and panic, controversy, and eventual hope. Medical developments this past year were astounding with the AIDS scare, eutha- nasia, aspirin break-throughs, and artificial dietary substitutes. The highest publicized issue of this year was AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This is a disease that attacks the T-helper cells in the blood, and leaves the victim without any immunity. The victims die soon after from another illnesses, that would leave a normal person with just a sniffle. The groups that are mostly affected are homosexuals and IV drug users. The transport modes of the disease were found to be blood and other body excretions. Fear and panic were imposed onto all Americans, especially those who weren't happily settled into a monogamous relationship. Out of concern for those engaging in sex outside a monogamous relationship, a campaign promoting safe sex by use of condoms and knowledge of one's partner was started and sup- ported by the U.S. Surgeon General. Another issue rocking the medical profession was the report of the mercy killing, or euthanasia, of a patient by her doctor. The report came from the January 8th issue of the journal of The American Medical Association. A young doctor was asked by his patient to end her life. The doctor complied, giving her an overdose of morphine, causing death within four minutes. The question of whether the act is murder or an act of compassion has been a matter of great controversy for many. The situtation is not uncommon, although the act is usually com- mitted by a member of the patient's family and not the doctor. This situtation caused a dark shadow on the medical profession. Are doctors playing God? Aluminuim was found to have a direct link to Alz- heimer's disease. This is the disease that slowly de- stroys the victim's memory and reduces his or her mental capacity to that of an infant. An aspirin a day is found to keep the doctor away. It was found that a person taking an aspirin once every other day significantly lowers the chance of having a heart attack. This past year 2.1 million Americans died. Three quarters of a million died from heart disease; this is more than cancer, stroke, accidents and pneumonia put together. Because of further findings on the artificial heart, research and development on the project was dropped. It was found to cause more harm to the recipient than good. Many toes were stepped on when smoking was banned in all public places in California. The first city in CA to ban smoking in restaurants was Beverly Hills. The entire country soon followed suit, banning smoking in federal buildings and many other public places. Soon it will be hard to find a public place without an entire ban on smoking, or else a special place will be set aside for those who want to light up. A federal law prohibits smoking on all airflights of less,than three hours. After the great commercial success of Nutras- weet, the company which discovered it developed a fat substitute. This substitute would taste like fat, but was reported as having no calories. This would allow for many foods, such as dairy products, with a high fat content, to maintain the consistency of the llreal thing and allow those watching calories and cholesterol intake to eat those foods that were pre- viously forbidden. Thanks to the hard work of diligent physicians and scientists throughout the world, we came to know much more about the world and its effect on us in 1987-88. Through these discoveries and others, Americans will hopefully be able to benefit by plan- ning their lifestyles more intelligently in the future. - William P. Buckley FRANKLY SPEAKING . . . phil frank a'm'nll . : ay I - zi', CO CREATIVE MEDIA SLRVICES Box 5955 Berkeley, CA. 94705 Current Events 23