The Towerlight, March 11, 1993

tl19930311_002 "The Towerlight Towson State University University Union, Suite 313 Towson, MD 21204 (410)830-2288 (410)830-3862 fax 10,000 copies, , Every Thursday Editor-in-Chief: Diane LaMorte Senior Editor Corene Bruce News Editor Thom Kohout Assistant News Editor Tom Johnson Sports Editor: David Wharen Assistant Sports Editor Chris Lauver Featun3s Editor Londa Scott Photography Editor Dan Richter Assistant Photo Editor Jay Clark Production Manager Christopher Woodfield Senior Designer: Alison M. Fordice Production & Design Staff: Bill Eyler, Shen Fuller, Chris Stevenson, E. Augusto Jarava Jodi Meitl Staff Artists: Cathy Disbrow, Thomas Neuberger Proofreaders: Tina Vardaro, Angela Davids, Sarah Jones, Jason Miller, Kasey Edison, Liese Carrington, Ellyn Karasick Advertising Director: Jonathan Oleisky Senior Account Executive: Michael Spector Account Executives: Marc Gleicher, Rob Notrica, Mitch Sheiner, Mike Stefancik Classified Advertising Manager Katie Smith Circulation Manager Diane LaMorte Circulation Staff: Jason Miller, David Wharen Advisor Michael Raymond Office Administration: Lorraine Mayers POLICIES The Towerlight is published by students of Towson State University every Thursday that classes are in session during the fall and sPnng semesters for the Towson State corn-munity. The Towerlight is printed by Chesa- Peake Printing, Inc. The Towerlight deadlines are firm: Shed advertising � Monday, noon; display ad-vertising -Friday, 5pm, Weekwatcher � Friday, noon; letters and commentaries � Monday, SPni. Line classified ads will only be accepted during morning hours. Editorial viewpoints expressed are those of the editor-in-chief. Columns, letters to the editor and editcrial cartoons express the opin-ions of their authors and not necessarily the views of the newspaper. Letters to the editor should be brief. All let-ters are read with interest but space does not Pemiit publishing every letter. Letters must be Sign ed and typed. Students should include their year and max. Faculty and Staff should include their departments. All letters should in-clude a phone number where the author can be reached. Letters become properly of The Towertight upon receipt, and may be edited for length. The Towerlight dces not discriminate based en age, color, condition of handicap, marital slatus, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientabon. 01992 by The Towerlight Towson State University, Towson, MD 21204. All rights reserved. EDITORIAL Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know You've heard it all before. Never have unprotected sex. Always use a condom. The AIDS virus can lie dormant for up to 10 years before any AIDS symptoms appear. Over 1 million people are infected with HIV. I know, you say. I know. So why has a recent report suggested a 62 percent increase in the spread of AIDS among 13- to 24-year-olds? If we know about AIDS, why aren't we listening? The largest group of AIDS victims are 25- to 34-year-olds. If the HIV virus lies dormant for an average of 10 years, then the majority of AIDS victims contract the virus in their col-lege- age years � a time when most people feel invincible and untouched by the outside world. But sometimes it's too easy to be dead wrong. No one should have to find out about the reality of AIDS firsthand. AIDS Awareness Week, March 11 to 18, offers stu-dents a view of the reality of AIDS from a safe distance. Orga-nized by the Diverse Sexual Orientation Collective, the week includes ""Living With AIDS"" speeches by AIDS victims and a candlelight AIDS walk and vigil. And a section of the AIDS Quilt, one of the most sobering views of the devastation wrought by AIDS, will be on display in the Potomac Lounge tomorrow night. All in the hopes of raising just one person's awareness ... and maybe saving just one life. Fear often prompts us to cover our eyes, to put on blinders and focus on an unrealistic comfort zones. We become vic-tims, and circumstance dictates our reactions. But when we open our eyes, and open our minds, we can focus on truth. We become proactive, dictating our own des-tiny. Although families of AIDS victims remember them as real people, individuals who die of AIDS are quickly shuffled into a list of statistics. Don't let everyone else remember you as just another number. View reality. This Get a Perspective The Perspectives ticket secured the majority of SGA positions in this week's elections. 7 French Couture The Baltimore Museum of Art stages a mini-fashion show in Theatre de la Mode. 19 �Diane LaMorte Issu e�_. The Towerlight previews women's tennis, softball and women's lacrosse for the 1993 season. 2G Caver Facing AIDS The TSU community comes together to educate students about HIV and AIDS. 10 Story COVER PHOTO BY DAN RICHTER OPINION The Towerlight, March 11, 1993 3 II LETTER Charonda's Disappearance Well, thank God she was found; and found alive was the best news of all. I am speaking of Charonda Parker, our classmate that was missing since Thursday evening Feb. 25, 1993. I have to give my thumb up to the University Police because they had little or nothing to go on and they found their missing per-son. There were many who were ter-rified and frightened by Charon-da's disappearance. This could have all been avoided by just a little consideration on her part. Whether or not she was close to anyone at Towson State, home in New York State, or friends and acquaintances in the Baltimore area, I feel she could have let someone know what her inten-tions were. I know as well as anyone how stressful being away from home �in a new environment away from family and friends� can be because I spent six years in the U.S. Navy and sometimes I did not see my family for a year at a time. At times, we all want ta just get away from all of the madness and pressures of life, but when we have duties and responsibili-ties, we cannot just take off. When Charonda Parker took off for her destination, she took Tow-son State University and her par-ents with her. Her poor parents came down from Brooklyn, N.Y. in concern for their child. I can't even begin to imagine what they went through. I did not realize until now that people care for you even when you are not aware of it. Miss Parker had a candlelight vigil in her honor at-tended by many people who may not have even known her person-ally. The love and caring that the students of our great Institution showed towards our classmate really came out when something happended to one of us. It would be phenomenal if peo-ple could pull together like that all the time instead of when there is a crisis. But, as the saying goes, ""when the chips are down, you will find out who your friends are."" I am truly happy that she was not harmed and is in good health; even though she does not plan on returning. I, just as many others, prayed that she would be found alive, and she was. This is living proof that prayers do get an-swered. Marcelus Porterfield Junior Walk a Mile In Her Shoes When I read the media release about Charonda Parker being found, I was angry. How dare she, 1 thought. People were wor-ried about her. Couldn't she have told someone she was leaving? Didn't she realize that there were people who were worried about her? Did it cross her mind even once that people cared enough to turn the world upside down to find her? To hold a candlelight vigil for her? 1 was angry. I didn't know her and yet I cared. She was one of us. A Towson State student and she was missing. How could she do that to us? I vented these feelings to sev-eral people and most agreed with me. One person did not. She questioned me: ""Would it have been better if we had found her dead in a ditch?"" Then I realized that my anger was not appropri-ate. Wasn't all we wanted for Charonda to be alright? Instead, I now felt disappointed. I was dis-appointed that she did not real-ize that people would miss her. Something made her leave. Perhaps we will never know the reason why. We should not judge her actions because we do not know the reasoning behind her actions. Perhaps if we were in her shoes, we would have done the same things. Let us be happy that she is safe. That is the most important thing. We should also not forget to thank all of those who worked in the search to find her. Say what you may about the Towson State police, but they did one hell of a job trying to find her. May they never have to search for anyone again. Madelon S. Kuhn Communication Studies Senior More LITTERS, next page The Towerlight welcomes letters perspectives Submissions should be typed. Include major, year. University Union 313 Towson State University Towson, MD 21204. "