ee
a d
cold
VOL. XVI NO 7 An In/olf11NI Pt'OIJ/l' Is A FIN' Pc optc JANUARY 1 - 8. 1994
00
a e
-p A2
zaa c lebratlon December 8. A program rich In rtl
expre sion wa follow d by K r mu, a traditional f
By SETH ERICKSON
sm-' to the Mlchill!n Cltlan
LANSING (Capital N wa S rvice)
� What happened to the
healthy kids in Michigan?
Where did they go?
Fifteen years ago kids who
played on th beach of Lake
Michigan' shore would be
swimming and running, digging
and 'building nd tl.
Now on that same beach, it is
more likely that playing m ns
the children are sitting with one
arm insid of a cooler pa
with soda and junk food, and the
other arm permanently re­
served to hold th ir"Gameboy ."
And is it imagination or do all
of the kids look heavier than
they did fifteen years . go?
The fact is more kids are over­
weight. A study conducted by
the University of Michigan
howed that 25 percent of the
boys and girls a the nation
are overweight. Michigan per­
centages are even higher 33 per-
, cent. The study also howed that
40 percent of Michigan children
have high chol terol.
DR. ROBE T Froehlke, a
pediatrici n at Michigan Stat
University, says that lack of ac­
tivity, and poor ting habi are
major ca of h Ith p
lems in children.
"Children r en ertain d
thro gh televi ion and video
games and this promo a sed­
entary lif tyle which can ily
contribute to a child being over­
weight," Froehlk id. "Chil­
dren 15 yea ago ould be
out ide playing with their
friends."
Michigan Public Health Di­
rector Vernice Davis Anthony
said Michigan has to tart doing
som hing about our children's
h lth. "Many children do not
t h lthy foods at home or at
chool," Anthony said. "I'his
needs to change. "
KIDS, A8
By BART ORBAN
Sp!C'" to tl» Mlchlp n Citizen
LA SI G (C pital N ws S rviee)
- Republican lawmakers look­
ing to lash the ever-expanding
corrections budget have Michi­
gan's elderly prisoners in their
sights. Plans calling for the relo­
cation of the state's geriatric
prisoners - defined as those
over 60 - from prisons to a pri­
vately operated facility run like
a nursing home are being ug­
gested by Republican leaders
while experts advi e caution.
"It gets into the whole issue of
whether we should be incarcer­
ating 70 and 80-year-old people
who may have taken live in
their early years but do they
warrant that kind of security to­
day?" said House Co-Speaker
Rep. Paul Hillegonds, R-Hol­
Ind.
It' •
By MAlTHEW RUDY
Sp!c,., to tl» Mlchlg.n Citizen
LANSING (Capital Ne� Service)
- With a flick of his fingers, a
56-pound, 8-year-old boy sev­
ered a human head.
But he wasn't a criminal -
not yet anyway. He was a con­
sumer.
Focusing intently on a 10-
inch square screen, the boy ma­
nipulated a controller almost too
big for his hands.
"Watch this, mom," he said.
With a devastating uppercut,
the eight-year-old boy's kimono­
. clad video warrior relieved an­
other video character of his
head.
"Cool. "
I MOTHER admitted she ,
was buying the system for the
boy for Christmas.
This ne, played out at an
Okemos shopping mall, is no
doubt a common one during the
holiday on,
.On the h 1 of a national de­
bate on video violence, state
Rep. Alma Stallworth, p-De­
troit, proposed introduced two
bills in the House Dec. 1 - one
See VIDEOS, AS
are
your
...
ew ear'
resolution
Elderly prisoners could be
brought together in one facility,
still technically a prison, that
would be run by a private com­
pany. The Engler administra­
tion has shown a de ire to
privatize state operations.
The presumption is that a pri­
vate company would run the op­
eration more cost efficiently
than the tate. Hillegonds
another money-saver.
"IF WE DID it in that form . The e tudent at Highland Park' Henry Ford Elementary
we probably could qualify for a School perform a choral recitation of en African-American
See JAIL, AS hi tori cal event during the chool's econd annual Kw n-
M Ilk Yakinl, director of the N oroma In titute pictured with Ea ter Re dy, a teach r for AI he'
Schule.
ca
and ati e
cometo t e
•
can
By EFUA KORANTEMA ment. Pesters of Harriet Tubman, Marcus
�Spr;;..;IIC�/. __ ' t=o...:;th;..;..;e:;...:M='=ch='ga.;.=n;...;;C:;...;.It=Ia=.,n ' Garvey, Malcolm X, African proverbs, and grass
weavings decorate th walls and doors.
Malik Yakini, director of Nsoroma Institute, Literature on a long table has neat rows of
an independent African-centered academy for brightly colored fly r : Kwanzaa materials,
children in Highland Park, Mich., wanted to book signing's, an Afrikan Library House open­
explore the "onen that exiats between Afri- ing, and the Leon rd eltier Support Group.
can culture and Native American culture," Peltier, AnishinabelLakota, is a jailed I der of
In the entry way of the school is a 1972 poster
of the purpo e of the American Indian Move- S NSOROMA,
?
•
"To keep my priorities in 'order
and to be nice to other people."
"To get higher grades
college courses."
, - Sha hu H rri
- Alish Jone
"Finish my Master's degree and
implement Narcotics
Abuse/Awareness education
on a school-age level (K-9)."
-Sh
"
