ey d
NNPA N� Service
WASHJ GTON, D.C.
African-American Ie der , call­
ing for cea e-Iire in the Per ian
Gulf War, have adopted a n tion-
I trategy which includes up­
port for con cientiou Objector
nd war re ister nd rete e of
n "open letter" urging Pre ident
Bu h to begin negoti lion iHl
Iraqi President S dd m Hu ein,
Participants at a recent day-
long me ting convened under
the aus ice of the National
o
by
are hi her amon white �i h
chool eniors than among
Black senior and those in mo t
6ther racial or ethnic groups,
according to ocial scientist at
'fhe University of Michigan. .
The re earcher credit Black
culture and the inspiration of
the church with protecting
Black tudents from drugs.
The research findings con­
trast h rply with the media­
portrayal of the drug scene .as
one limited to poor, young,
urban Black male .
Native American high chool
senior have had the highest
rates for use of illicit drugs such
as marijuana, cocain, for daily
use -of alcohol, and for u e of
cigarette, according to the
study.
WHITE SENIORS had the
ne x t-hi g he s t rates for mo t
drug. Hispanic eniors had in­
termediate level of use for
mo t drugs.
Asian American had the
lowest rates, and Black seniors
had level nearly as low.
The U-M report, based on
data from 14 nationally repre­
sentative urveyi of high school
s e niors from 1976 through
1989, will be published in
March.
ummt
Emergecy Afric n-American
Le de hip Summit on the Per­
ian Gulf War al 0 dC!_ ignar d
April 4 through 7, to be a time of
pro-peace activity. The call for
public action includes fasting,
pr yer , lobbying and protests at
u
e
churche and among civic
leaders eros the country.
The ummit, held at the his­
toric I\by sinian Baptist Church
in Harlem, wa ttended by
Coretta Scott King, Rev. Jo eph
Lowery of the Southern Chris-
Wranglin
by DENNIS MANSFIELO
Capi/a/ News Service
LANSING - Republican
leader are saying the
Democrats' plan to balance c
current year's budget is full of
bookmaking gimmickry, a both
partie take sides in finding a
budget sol ution for the state'
projected $).1 billion deficit.
Rep. Paul Hillegonds, R-Hol­
land, said a Demo cr at ic
proposal to balance the budget
for this fiscal year would just
delay meeting the problem of a
budget deficit.
"A lot of the short-term sol u­
tions they've offered do involve
bookmaking gimmickry which
only puts off the day of reckon­
ing," said Hillegonds, the
House minority leader.
Hillegonds made his tate­
ments before the Michigan
State Court of Appeals made it
ruling on Tuesday giving multi­
state bu ine se tax breaks,
which may necessitate cuts in
education. Both' parties, how-
r 0
u h:
tian Leader hip Conference and
cores of religiou leader repre­
enting every m jor BI ck
denomination.
"The ummit meeting was a
profound expre ion of African
American unity in oppo ition to
rupt
ever, are stilt trying to tackle the
states budget deficit.
The Democratic plan calls
for a delay in payment of more
than S300 million to schools
from July until October,
"THAT ALLOWS to look
like we have a balanced budget
thi year. but imply put off a
S300 million problem," Hil­
legond said. "That's not the
type of olution the admini tra­
tion is looking for, and per­
s o nat l y that' n01 what I'm
intereste<J,..i.,Q either."
Now is th time to make
"hone t, difficult decisions" to
avoid what is h ppening at the
federal levc I, Hi Ilegonds said.
He added that he doe not want
to ee the tatc thv budget year
to budget year in cri i."
"Th problem we still have
before u i a S1.1 billion
budget diriclt in a S7.6 billion
'budget," he said.
Hillegond aid that he hopes
to tart biparti an negotiations
on a budget compromise so
the immor lity of the Gulf W r,"
aid Rev. Benjamin F. havi
on of the or anizer .
Chavi , exe utiv dire tor
the Commi ion for R ci 1 Ju -
rice of the United burch of
S DIRTY WAR, Pig 9
.tat
rge lay-off' can be avoide\1.
"These cuts make very little
sen e in an across-the-board
fa hion," he added.
TilE 9.2 pr�RCENT aero -
the-board cuts would re ult in
the laying off of orne 8,000
employee. compared \ ith
3.000 lay-oft's called for by tar­
geted ut in Gov. John Engler'
budget, Hillegonds aid. He
added that he ha yet to se a
Democratic plan which would
avert the lay-off called for in
the 9.2 percent cuts that were
approved in December.
"We believe there can be a .
negotiated settlement," said
Linda Benedict, admini trative
assi tant to Rep. Do ml ntc-:
Jac betti, D-Negaunee. the
chairman of the Hou e Ap-.
propriation Committee. "To
eliminate that much that fa t
will cost more in other areas."
Benedict aid the "forward
funding" of th chools is a
"cash flow mechanism." She
aid the delayed payments are a
budget
better option th n potential cut
in education.
"It is an acceptable budget
procedure," Benedict added.
The more than $300 million
in delayed payment i one part
of ' the Democr tic proposal.
The plan al 0 calls for u ing
3.30 million of the t le' rainy
day fund" and saving of $330
million from e rly retirements
to tackle the $1.1 billion budget
dificit. Benedict said thi
would re ult in the cutting of
only 500 state employees.
The plan would then be to
continue downsizing state
government and using program
cut in future budgets in an ef­
fort to provide long term olu­
tion, Benedict aid.
The Appropriations Commit­
tee i expected to report on a
package on Feb. 12 or 13 that
incl udes a supplemental bill for
uch items a correction and
oc i al serv ices, and acrio n
needed to implement the 9.2
percent cuts passed ill Decem­
ber
or approxi mately 17,000 hi h
chool seniors, located in bout
135 high school ,during pring
of each year ince 1975 ..
"Of cour e, a study of high
chool seniors tell onl y part of
the story, bec use it leave out
the hard-core drug users who
have dropped out of chool,"
Bachman says. "But this part of
the story is important and often
overlooked: The majori ty of
non-white youth do complete
high school. and among these
individuals, usage rates for both
i l li c it and licit drugs are
generally lower than average."
Racial and ethnic differences
in high school senior drug use
cannot be attributed to parental
pre ence in the home, parental
education, region or urban den­
sity, according to the U-M so­
cial scientists.
"ON THE OTHER hand,
low usage rate do seem to be
strongly influenced by par­
ticular religious doctrines or
affiliation; different attitudes
regarding the use of drugs; dif­
ferences in family, peer or corn­
munity norms; and differing
levels of perceived risk, tI Bach­
man says.
•• DRUGS, Page 9
DR D RODG R: "I
have problem with them
being there in the fir t pi
My an wer is no."
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