tl19891109-001 "Page 2 The Towerlight November 9, 1989 NEWS � photo by Dorothy Roeder Jane Halpern, director of University Health Services, encourages students to take advantage of free AIDS testing. Red Cross provides AIDS tests students assured anonymity by Lisa Goldberg News Writer The Red Cross will be provid-ing free and anonymous testing for the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) antibody at an undisclosed site on the Towson State campus on Friday, .November 17. The testing, sponsored by the Presidential Task Force on AIDS, and the University Health and Counseling Centers, will include both the regular HIV-antibody testing, common-ly used to determine if a person has been infected with the virus, and counseling, before and after the testing, by Red Cross offi-cials. The actual testing constitutes a two-step process which in-cludes a general screening test and a more specific confirmatory test. According to Dr. Jane Hal-pern, director of University Health Services and chairperson of the AIDS task force, this double-step procedure allows for a low margin of false positives and is generally accurate. Although the November 17 date will be the only one offered Salvadoran civil war rages underground radio offers uncensored messages by Kim Asch Assistant News Editor Sometimes they transmit from open fields or from tunnels un-derground while several others stand guard to avoid detection by the military. This is the stan-dard procedure for underground radio in El Salvador, according to Alejandro Salazar, spokesper-son for the Salvadoran popular radio station, in his Tuesday night presentation to Towson State faculty and students. Radio Farabundo Marti is an underground radio frequency founded in 1982 by the FMLN, a guerilla organization who has been fighting a civil war against the Salvadoran government for the last 10 years. Salazar, former Farabundo Marti correspondent and FMLN member, explained in his Tues-day night presentation that all other media in El Salvador are censored by the press committee of the armed forces and therefore don't accurately portray the events of the war. According to Salazar, this al-ternative Farabundo Marti of-fers to the legal means of corn-munication is needed to ""combat misinformation circulated by the government, keep the interna-tional 'community informed about the war and to make the public aware of the struggles of the FMLN."" Since 63 percent of the popula-tion in El Salvador is illiterate but most have transistor radios, the FMLN decided to use radio as the medium for its message, Salazar explained. Radio Farabundo uses a net-work of ""popular"" correspon-dents who are civilians that gather information about living conditions in their communities. A correspondent might discuss the need for social services such as healthcare, education or de-cent housing. Another function Radio Fara-bundo serves is the maintenance of the nation's cultural identity. ""The tendency [during this war] is to lose our cultural identity. We need to rescue that and we do it by broadcasting our his-tory. We talk about different events that happened in the past . . because the stories that are being taught in schools are so far apart from reality,"" Sala-zar said. The FMLN is a ""political/mili-tary force with its roots in the Salvadoran people,"" he said. It is impossible to estimate the number of people involved in the FMLM because of the secre-tive nature of the group. According to Salazar, there are three levels of involvement against the government: those people who are directly involved in FMLN activities, civilians who silently support them and the ""opposition popular move-ment""� an independent oppos-ing force. ""Whoever opposes the government is at risk,"" Salazar explained. Salazar said 14 families in El Salvador own 90 percent of the land and therefore have gained much of the political power over the country. For this reason one of the goals of the FMLN is re-distribution of the land. Another of its objectives is the withdrawal of U.S. military aid to the ARENA government so the $1.5 million per day can be spent revitalizing the Salva-doran economy. Salazar denied all FMLN con-nections with communist back-ers, ""We are receiving no ex-ternal aid�we are self-suffi-cient."" this semester, the University plans to set up bimonthly testing next semester, and if the demand is great enough, may eventually move to testing on a monthly basis. According to Halpern, the Health Center originally offered ""confidential"" testing for stu-dents. However, the testing was costly for the students and the results became a permanent part of their medical records. Since then, the state of Mary-land has designated Towson State as an anonymous test site, with the Red Cross providing the funding for the procedure. The anonymous testing in-volves no names and no medical records. All results are attached to codes and must be obtained in person. Halpern explains that this added measure of discretion may give students who fear that they have AIDS the courage to find out for certain, as it dispels the stigma associated with having the testing done. ""It's difficult these days with people trying to get jobs and insurance. The results of a test in someone's medical records, whether they be positive or nega- ' tive, could potentially be used against that person as the com-pany might wonder: Why did the person have the testing done in the first place?"" said Halpern ""Our thought is that if testing can be done discretely, some people who were afraid to have the test done before would come to us. And with recent indica-tions that early treatment may be able to prevent the serious manifestation of AIDS, the test-ing would be very beneficial,"" she added. According to University Presi-dent Hoke Smith, the con-venience of the procedure will act as a further benefit for the students. ""By having the site more convenient, it will en-courage more people to test for the virus. And by having this kind of testing on campus, we are heightening awareness of the seriousness of AIDS and encouraging precautions,"" he said. Students wishing to partici-pate in the procedure should call the Health Center at x2466 to set up a testing time. To further protect the anonymity of the process, the actual testing site will only be known to those having the testing done. photo by Mary Gardena Alejandro Salazar speaks to students and faculty about Salvadoran war. "
