4: Name by Arnold Hedstrom, reprinted from the Ubyssey Herpes does most damage to the brain. Its symptoms are paranoia confusion and an urge to rush to the nearest health clinic. It affects mainly the middle and upper classes. Herpes of the brain is spread ee by magnetic tape, newsprint, and radio waves- the tools of the media. “There is an epidemic,’’ says a University of Victoria councelling psychologist, ‘‘an epidemic of the press.” ~ The press created the North American herpes syn- drome and the mass media has used graphic and exag- gerated journalism to attract readers. Magazines from Time to the San Francisco- based Mother Jones have Cee m em ee ee emer ee Hee eee ee eee ene __ STUDENTS OF DOUGLAS COLLEGE | THE SANDWICH TREE is pleased to offer you this special deal DOUGLAS COLLEGE STUDENT CARD Present this card for your Student Special of a 10 cent cup of coffee or tea with any purchase from our Breakfast Menu. Valid Monday to Friday until 11 a.m. AGNES STREET SANDWICH TREE 615 AGNES STREET, NEW WESTMINSTER : CARDS AVAILIABLE AT NO CHARGE ; : in the STUDENT SOCIETY LOUNGE or drop: in and pick one up at the TREE: GET YOURS TODAY! er ee ee ee ee ee ee ee HERPES BY MAIL!? THE OTHER PRESS used herpes for cover stories. Time magazines’s August cover story, Today’s Scarlet Letter-Herpes, had a notic- able effect on the number of enquiries about the virus at B.C. health clinics. The Time article exposed the most horrifying Herpes cases to be found. The result- an alarmed and uninformed public. At Vancouver’s VD clinic Dr. Hugh Jones says if the clinic sees 20 people a day, two will come in with false herpes alarms. ‘The publicity is certainly alarming people,’’ says Jones. ‘‘We see about 80 cases a month or about four a day that have herpes.’’ The UBC Herpes clinic also had increased numbers of enquiries, especially after the Time article, accordint to herpes researcher Paul Levindusky. ‘‘The general impression we pick up from the media is that there are some really serious consequences and that is not exactly true. Certainly there is an an- __.noyance. People indeed may. be sick the first time they contact herpes. Fifty percent will have a 10 to 14 day period when they are not feeling well. “There is another 50 per cent out there who will never have any symptoms at all,’ said Levindusky on a CITR radio interview recently. ‘If you understand herpes to be a disease of living, just as you catch colds or catch anv of the childhood The gifts that will last forever. (YES, THIS IS FOR REAL!] keeps on giving]. The best of 1983 humor comes ji wrapper complete with instructions and ID card. Perfect for presents or paper in a plain weights. This T-Shirt will let people know what you don’t have and what you don’t want. Tastefully discrete ‘I don’t have herpes’ high quality cotton-polyester T-Shirts will ‘‘last forever’. State size and color preference. diseases, then it is not the particularly new disease of the ‘80s that is being touted in some media presentations, There is some truth in Time’s report, says Levin- dusky. But he adds 90 per cent won’t have the severe physical and psychological effects reported. “This wasn’t pointed out in the Time article. It left the impression that everyone is suffering from deep psy- chological scars and have to go to sensivity training ses- sions to help them through itz’ But partial and selective information is only one way the media exploits its read- ers. The Time article and others play on what most people consider to be an intimate aspect of their lives- their sex life. The media exploits peop- le’s fears and attitudes con- cerning sex. With herpes, the most susceptible victims of media-exploitation are the upper and middle classes in North America. “| might venture to say _that..those in. the_working class might not be so con- cerned to present themselves because the effect it has on their lives is not high on their priority lists,’’ Levindusky says. According to the Herpes Resource Centre in Palo Alto California, the middle class and upper classes are used to having a great deal of ‘control over their lives and herpes to them means a loss. ~ _of that freedom. PARTY*DISCO*PUB BUTTONS Say it is black and white. only: $1.95 PAGE 11 The Herpes Hype: Media Myth? In many third world coun- tries herpes is much more wide spread. Levindusky says in warmer climates and crowded conditions most people will have herpes by the age of 30. But in the West, the middle classes don’t live in those conditions so the virus spreads slower. Blood tests of elderly show 80 per cent will have herpes anti- bodies indicating they have ‘contacted the disease. ‘“ All of us can at least expe ct to get one type of herpes,’’ Levindusky says. ‘“Somehow, people have ‘taken notions related to sex- ually transmitted diseases, like syphillis and gonoreha, and said if that is not treated things are just going to get worse. Herpes doesn’t do that,’’ says Levindusky. Herpes, as much as it is a physical and psychological affliction, is an attack on society’s sexual mores which have changed dramatically since the 1960s. The Time article con- cluded by stating ,’’But per- haps not so unhappily, it (herpes) may be a prime mover in helping to bring ‘to a close an era of mind- less promiscuity.” For those who do have the virus, at present the. only alternative is to continue living- as one does with a cold. As for preventative media ‘medicine: Rest in bed, read plenty of sources, and take the media with a grain of salt. =~ Prices mclude postage, sales tax and handling. R&R Enterprises 207 -720 6th. St. New Westminster, B.C. ___Del. T- shirts » $9.95 ea. ____“Idh” Buttons » $1.95 ea. “Love Bugs » $5.95 ea. V3L 3C5 Total MAME << s