Western Front - 1989 December 8

              Say good-bye to the 80s page™
(he Western Front
Volume $1, Number 57 Friday, December 8,1989
AIDS
victims
treated
unfairly
By LINDA DAHLSTROM
the Western Front
The AIDS issue became an emo­tionally
charged one last Friday at the
U.S. - Canadian border. One group
charged that people with AIDS are
being harassed, discriminated against
and in some cases, arrested, while
officials are denying a problem ex­ists.
Last Friday, about 100 protesters
gathered atBlaine's Peace Arch Park
calling for an end to the discrimina­tion
against people who have AIDS
— at home, abroad and when cross­ing
international borders. The protest
was organized by ACT UP of Seattle
and Vancouver's Persons with AIDS
Coalition.
"There aren't any (AIDS)
regulations. I didn't understand
what that whole protest was
about," said Elva Caulkins, of
U.S. customs.
But, just ask David Lewis.
On April 11, he experienced
harassment and discrimination
first-hand when he and his lover,
James Landsdown, who has
since died of AIDS, had to go
through airport customs into
Canada, where Lewis lives.
Customs officers were reluc­tant
to admit Landsdown after
they began to suspect he had
AIDS.
After arrival, since
Landsdown wasn't feeling well,
the two men went to the customs
booth for handicapped people
where there was no line.
"The (customs officer) asked
where he lived, and Jim said 'San
Fransico.' (The officer) asked for
proof he'd be leaving, and Jim
showed him his return ticket.
Then he had to show proof of
See PROTEST on page 3
Marriott up for contract renewal
By MICHAEL FLYNN
the Western Front
Western's Office of Univer­sity
Residences is currently de­termining
whether the Marriott
Corporation, or another food
service company, will be serving
students next year. Marriott's
contract is up for renewal Jan. 1,
1990.
The SAGA Corporation was
originally awarded the contract
in 1977, and had it extended in
1983. The Marriott Corp.
bought out SAGA in 1986.
"We will be gathering finan­cial
-information and exploring
proposals from other institu­tions,"
said Roger Oettli, busi­ness
manager for the Housing
and Dining System. "We also
will be working with Marriott
because they are our food service
right now.
"This is a big project. West­ern's
food service contract is one
of the largest around. We're talk­ing
about a $6 million contract.
We're working on preparing an
RFP (request for proposal) now
that's potentially a 10-year deal."
The $6 million is for the up­coming
six-year contract with an
option for an additional four
years without an RFP.
One of the factors the school
will be looking at will be how
Marriott has performed over the
last five or six years, both as a
food service, and as an employer.
Oettli said the school will be
looking for consistency.
An area of concern on the
part of some students employed
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Santa,alias David DeYoungwitohistelp^^
at Wednesday's men's basketball game. The University Service Club will be taking people's photos with
Santa from 6:30^:36 p.m. at Saturday
Travel laws discriminate against AIDS
By LINDA DAHLSTROM
the Western Front
A person with AIDS who
wants to visit the United States is
faced with stringent travel restric­tions
which some say are ex­tremely
discriminatory.
"It's ridiculous. It's a law to
discriminate against homosexu­als.
AIDS knows no boundaries,"
said Patrick Haggerty, represen­tative
of ACT UP, a group that
co-sponsored last Friday's pro­test
at the border.
According to a law passed in the
1950's it is illegal to enter the U.S. if
you have a communicable disease,
such as AIDS. The only way around
this rule is to qualify for a waiver.
To qualify, he or she must
meet one of three criteria: must
be either visiting, immediate fam­ily,
have business in the United
States or be receiving medical
care, said Duke Austin, Immi­gration
and Naturalization Serv­ices
press spokesman.
"It's a felony to attempt to en­ter
the United States illegally, and
it's illegal to enter the United
States if you have AIDS," he said.
But Austin begs to differ.
"Whoever said that; doesn't
know what the hell he's talking
about," he .said.
He added it is not a felony to
enter the United States illegally,
and that people trying are asked
to leave and are sometimes "de­tained;
arrested is the wrong
word."
Canada also has regulations
for people with AIDS coming
into the country, but instead of a
blanket law, they determine ad­mission
on a case-by-case basis,
said Canadian Customs Shift
Supervisor, Sharon McFadden.
Officers evaluate the purpose
of the visit, length of visit and
length of stay, she said. If some­one
is suspected of having AIDS
or any other communicable dis­ease,
they can be required to have
a medical evaluation.
"Only health and welfare can
determine inadmission. The cus­toms
officers just refer people to
them."
A visitor with AIDS must
prove that he or she won't be a
burden on the health care system
by showing extensive health in­surance
and sufficient money,
Lewis said.
But McFadden said that a
person with AIDS probably
would be admitted for a short
term visit if "the purpose of the
visit doesn't pose any risk."
By risk, she said she is refer­ring
to the medical and financial
burden Canada might have to
shoulder if someone became se­riously
ill and didn't have the re­sources
to cover it.
"There has to be a realistic
risk, not a prejudicial one. A real
risk, such as being a financial
burden," McFadden said. "It is a
communicable disease, but it's
not like the Bubonic plague
where you could give it to some­one
by just going shopping (and
exposing them to it). With AIDS,
there isn't that kind of risk."
However, both Lane and
Lewis argue that no matter what
officials say, the harassment and
discrimination is occurring.
'I'm sure it happens every
day," Lewis said. "But when it
happens to people, they're reluc­tant
to step forward and say it hap­pened."
by Marriott is how sympathetic
the company is to the situation of
the student-worker.
"Sometimes it seemed like
they weren't always interested in
making us feel a part of what was
going on,"said Colleen Sullivan,
a sophomore who worked as a
food server for Marriott last year.
"(They) maybe took us for
granted. But some of the manag­ers
were really cool. It sort of
depends on who you are talking
about."
See MARRIOTT on page 3
Gl Bill
will end
Dec. 31
By JENNIFER HAYES
the Western Front
Veterans may lose more than
their checks when the Vietnam-
Era GI Bill ends Dec. 31, 1989.
Western has 300 veterans
who attend school on varying
educational assistance programs,
but 40 attend college on the Viet­nam-
Era Veterans GI Bill
(Chapter 34), said Katie Pyeatt,
Western's veterans coordinator.
According to a Department
of Veterans Affairs news release,
60,000 veterans currently en­rolled
in school will lose funds
because of the bill's termination
date.
Some may have unfairly lost
time to use the GI Bill, taking
time to readjust to life outside the
military, said Tim Osterholm,
Western's veteran's outreach cen­ter
coordinator.
Those that the old GI Bill af
fects are Post-Korean Conflic
and Vietnam veterans who serve<
between Jan. 31, 1955 and Jan. 1
1977. The bill applied for 10
'years after a veteran got out of the
military, but could not be used
after the December deadline.
He said many veterans do not
know how to go to school after
the military because their lives
were so structured, it becomes
difficult to change to a college
lifestyle.
Paul Giusti, a management
and information systems major,
lost time to use his Chapter 34
benefits because he had a family
to- support and little time'or extra
money to attend college. When
he was finally able to attend col­lege,
his benefits expired in July
1989, leaving 15 months of col­lege
to pay for before he could
See GI BILL on page 4
The Western Front
staff wishes you
happy holidays.
Next issue is Fri­day,
Jan. 12.