Surgeon HIV-Positive, Med Center Informs Patients Attorney Gives
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Dreaming of Shakespeare The Broadway-at-Duke performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream is reviewed on THE CHRONICLE page 4. TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 4, 1992 DUKE UNIVERSITY DURHAM. NORTH CAROLINA CIRCULATION: 15.000 VOL 87, NO. 85 Surgeon HIV-positive, Med Center informs patients By MICHAEL SAUL given public concern about the mologist is Dr. Michael Cobo, In December, the ophthalmolo mittee determined it was unlikely The Medical Center is cur transmission of HIV, you may associate clinical professor in the gist filed a lawsuit against a phy the ophthalmologist passed the rently notifying 1,481 patients have some questions," ophthalmology department. sician in private practice from virus to any patients. The review that the eye surgeon who treated Snyderman continued. Cobo could not be reached for whom he had received medical is ongoing. them tested positive for the HIV The Medical Center is offering comment at his office or at his care. The lawsuit, which involves In eye surgery, the absence of virus six years ago. counseling and testing at no cost home Monday night. his HIV status, does not involve bleeding and the type of instru The letter tells patients not to to the patients. Patients with The ophthalmologist voluntar the Medical Center. Duncan ments used help curb the likeli worry and claims the likelihood questions can call 1-800-772-5022 ily informed the Medical Center Yaggy, acting director of Medical hood of blood transfer, according of infection is "extremely remote." between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. that he was HIV-positive on Jan. Center communications, refused to the statement. HIV is trans "We believe that no action on Administrators at the Medical 17 and he was relieved of his to elaborate on the suit. mitted when blood or body fluids your part is needed now and that Center have refused to release clinical duties the same day, ac On Jan. 21, a Medical Center from an infected person enter blood testing is not necessary," the name of the physician in or cording to a statement from the committee began reviewing the another person's body. wrote Dr. Ralph Snyderman, der to protect his privacy, but Medical Center. He has chosen to ophthalmologist's case, with con A person can test positive for chancellor for health affairs. television station WTVD reported discontinue his practice and has sultation from the national Cen the HIV virus without showing "Even so, we appreciate that Monday night that the ophthal not requested reinstatement. ters for Disease Control. The com See HiV on page 14 • A.B. Duke scholars protest planned cuts By SCOTT HALPERN nates the University-paid plane Current Angier B. Duke schol flights given to A.B. Duke final ars grilled University adminis ists who visit before they are ac trators Monday night on the cepted. Under this plan, poten University's plans to reduce the tial scholars would have to pay number of new A.B. Duke schol their own costs of traveling to arships for the next two years. Duke. The A.B. Duke program will be Current recipients pointed to reduced in order to partially off problems inherent in both pro set a forecasted budget deficit for posals. the 1992-93 year, said Malcolm Several questioned why the Gillis, dean ofthe faculty of Arts A.B. Duke program is being cut and Sciences. before other programs. But other "These cuts are necessary to programs have already been cut avoid having to make draconian for 1992-93, including the Na budget cuts [in the future]," Gillis tional Merit Scholarship program said. and several scholarships for in The A.B. Duke program cur state students, said Paula Burger, rently awards 20 four-year, full- vice provost for academic services. tuition scholarships each year to Before cutting scholarships, outstanding high school students faculty salaries and research op nationwide. Next year, the A.B. portunities were also cut, Gillis Duke award will be more than said. $16,000. Most students at the meeting Two proposals for cutting the complained that the A.B. Duke DAVID MAZIARZ/THE CHRONICLE program are under consideration, cuts are not being accompanied said Richard White, dean of Trin by any cuts in athletic scholar What's missing? ity College. One plan reduces new ships. The University needs to These fencing students seem to have forgotten their weapons. At least they won't hurt scholarships to 13 a year. reassess its priorities and goals themselves. The other plan cuts scholar as an intellectual institution and ships to 15 per year, but also elimi See SCHOLARS on page 13 • •—• Attorney gives students free advice Law School alumnus has seen all sorts of cases By HUNTER GATEWOOD Tenant-landlord disputes are charged with speeds of 120 miles- Your landlord is being a jerk. Sessoms' most common cases. per-hour in a 35 miles-per-hour So is one of your housemates. You "We help with everything from zone. just got stopped by the Durham 'I want to move' to The landlord Sessoms recalls it vividly. police. Where do you turn? won't fix the plumbing,' " says "I called the arresting officer 7:7:: 7 7 ;7 7.7 Durham attorney Stuart Sessoms, Law '74. out of the courtroom and asked Sessoms has been providing Uni The second most frequent prob him, 'Are you sure he was going versity students legal services lem Sessoms handles is the room that fast?'" through ASDU for 13 years. mate problem: "You and your best " 'No, sir,' he said, 'He was Sessoms handles any legal con friend get an apartment together going a lot faster than that. But cerns or emergencies that students and find out you can't live in the my radar gun only reads up to may have, ranging from off-cam same space." 120.'" pus housing difficulties to dare Most of the rest of Sessoms' Sessoms managed to get the devil feats on the road. All situa student cases involve traffic tick sentence reduced to prevent the tions that are not emergencies are ets and related problems. student from having to serve an scheduled through the ASDU of In one case several years ago, a active jail term. fice. University student was charged Sessoms enjoys helping stu With ASDU funding, Sessoms with several offenses after trying dents by informing them of their is able to give 15-minute consulta to outrun a police car on Franklin legal options. If he is inexperi Street in the early hours of the enced with a subject, Sessoms tions free to students. Many stu CHAD STURGILL/THE CHRONICLE dents go on to hire him to repre morning. The student was driv will refer the student to a firm sent them in court. ing while intoxicated and was See LAWYER on page 14 • Stuart Sessoms helps a client. PAGE 2 THE CHRONICLE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1992 World and National Newsfile Bush, governors tangle over budget plan Associated Press By ANDREW ROSENTHAL speak before the press. Defense begins: Manuel Noriega New York Times News Service Bush, clearly annoyed by the question was the United States' closest ally in WASHINGTON — A White House ef ing, responded by trying to trap the Demo Latin American drug wars and fort to rally the nation's governors behind cratic governors into the political served its political ends in Central President Bush's economic plan degener embarassment of advocating a federal tax America and the Grenada invasion, ated into a tense confrontation Monday. increase or listing military bases in their his attorneys said. Several Democratic governors said they states that could be closed. believe the states will pay for Washington's After Bush spoke, White House aides Nazi files Opened: After decades efforts to cut the budget in an election began escorting reporters from the room, of secrecy, the Argentinian govern year. but Gov. Roy Romer, D-Colo., interrupted. ment on Monday displayed some of The exchange, in a meeting between "Could I ask the press not to leave yet?" he its files on Nazis who fled to Argen Bush and the bipartisan National Gover said. tina after World War II and said all nors Association, was touched off by a mix Clearly perturbed, White House officials would be made public soon. of not only campaign politics, but differ permitted the reporters to stay. Turning to ences between the parties over economic Bush, Romer said, "There are a couple of Prodigal parent accused: Dr. policy and grievances by both Democratic points that you made that I think have Cecil Jacobson built a successful and Republican governors who are con partisan implications and I just, frankly, UPI PHOTO practice helping childless couples cerned by the states' increasing burdens. want to answer them before the press start families after years of failure. Since Bush's State of the Union Mes leaves the room." George Bush Now he faces trial in a disturbing sage last Tuesday, governors have ex When Romer suggested there were "other ing compared to what the family of tomor case; he's accused of using his own pressed concerned about cuts in Medicaid approaches" to a budget that he said in row will suffer." sperm to father up to 75 babies with and Medicare. cluded "gimmicks" that made it appear as In addition to tangling with the nation's out his patients' knowledge. Some governors have called for greater if more money was being saved than actu governors, the White House on Monday cuts in military spending than Bush pro ally was, the White House cut off the publicly rebuked Housing Secretary Jack Nympho sentenced: A judge posed, and there are also differences over official audio feed to the loudspeakers in Kemp, who said over the weekend that Monday sentenced self-proclaimed whether the president went far enough in the press room in the West Wing.