Page 4-Wednesday, March 15, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Eighty-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 129 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Time to check the charges
g y
Munich, Kiryat Shemona, Maalot, Zion
Square and now Saturday's Palestinian raid
on the Israeli coast.
Once again Yassir Arafat's band of radical
guerrillas have murdered innocent Israelis.
Once again the Palestinian Liberation
Organization has proudly proclaimed respon-
sibility for this brutal act, rationalizing it as a
necessary step to achieve their aims of an in-
dependent Palestinian state on the West
Bank. And once again the world has remained
silent except for messages of sympathy from
President Carter, United Nations Secretary
Waldheim and British Prime Minister
Callahan.
ABSENT FROM the processions of sym-
pathy and regret over the weekend raid, is
any hint of a United Nations resolution con-
demning the raid, at least against its effect
in delaying the intricate peace process. Coun-
tless times in the past the U.N. and its Arab-
oil-blackmailed third world countries have
strongly condemned Israeli reprisal acts
against Palestinian guerrilla camps as acts of
brutal aggression.
But the world has remained silent, bracing
itself to criticize the inevitable Israeli
The need
for U.9S.,
sympathy
By Michael Arkush
peace talks. Former Foreign Minister Yigal
Allon claims the Begin government is being
too tough in its stance during negotiations,
especially on the settlement issue. Former
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has denounced
the Begin government for not capitalizing on
the great opportunity for peace following
President Sadat's initiative last November.
The Begin government has even encountered
SEVERAL WEEKS ago The Detroit
Free Press revealed that mental
patients at the. Plymouth Center for
Human Development were being
abused and neglected by the institute's
staff.
The state legislature has finally got-
ten around to establishing a committee
charged with looking into the problem.
Approved legislation establishes a 14-
member committee armed with the
power to issue subpoenasin its probe of
abuse charges which have rocked the
State Department of Mental Health.
The scandal led to the resignation last
week of Dr. Donald Smith, the direcor
of the department.
Such legislation, albeit long in
coming, is well founded. The charges
leveled at the institution, including
some that patients were beaten by the
attendants, are truly disturbing. The
widespread mistrust that now
surrounds the state's mental health
community can only be dispelled by
careful and in-depth investigation.
Governor William Milliken has also
established a task force to investigate
the situation at the Plymouth Center
and at other state institutions.
Hopefully, both the governor's task
force and the legislature's committee
will investigate the broad spectrum of
state health care institutions, including
those that cater to the aged, the
destitute and the physicallyahandicap-
ped.
If it is found that the Department of
Mental Health is unable to police the
state's mental health care community,
then the various investigative bodies
should be made a permanent part of
the governmental structure..
Only then can the citizens of the state
be confident that their loved ones are
receiving humane care at state health
facilities.
It is inconceivable the Israelis can agree to permit
the establishment of a Palestinian homeland and
the implementation of the self-rule principle.
before the Israelis retaliate.
In his message of sympathy sent to Prime
Minister Begin, President Carter admitted
the attack was one of senseless brutality. Car-
ter, however, also cautioned Mr. Begin not to
retaliate, claiming it would only further harm
the peace process and lead to no constructive
result.
BESIDES HIS public statement, President
Carter has attempted to influence Israeli
policy through private channels. Secretary of
State Cyrus Vance has conveyed the
American position concerning a reprisal at-
tack to Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Sim-
cha Dinitz.
This expression of U.S. policy in the Middle
East is a further example of the Carter Ad-
ministration's insensitivity to the crux of the
Middle East problem. The United States and
other countries have claimed the heart of the
Arab-Israeli dispute lies in the struggle of the
Palestinians for a national homeland.
Perhaps there they are right, but they fail to
grasp the potential character of such a
homeland.
Carter and others believe the Palestinian
people have a legitimate right to a national
homeland and a right to self-rule in that
homeland. Even though it may be possible for
the Palestinian "people" to have that right, it
is inconceivable the Israelis can agree to
permit the establishment of a Palestinian
homeland and the implementation of the self-
rule principle.
WHAT THE Carter Administration must.
realize is a Palestinian homeland most likely
will turn into a Palestinian state, led by the
terrorist PLO. It would be used as a future
base in the struggle to destroy Israel - a
struggle which is explicitly stated in the
organization's doctrine.
The Carter Administration must demon-
strate a greater sensitivity to Israel's
- defense interests. This most. recent
Palestinian raid should show President Car-
ter just why Israel is so wary of a Palestinian
homeland in the West Bank. This is just
another in a long line of Palestinian raids
which have plagued Israel in its 30 years of
statehood. Carter should understand now why
Israel considers it so dangerous for there to
be a Palestinian state - most likely to be led
by the PLO.
When Carter finally does meet with Prime
Minister Begin, he should be more sym-
pathetic to Israel's concerns, especially in
light of the most recent guerrilla attack. The
attack was a senseless, brutal and atrocious
act and Prime Minister Begin is telling the
truth when he says Israel will never forget it.
' Neither should Jimmy Carter.
Behind the scenes on Panama
reprisal. Terrorism has struck another blow
into the heart of humanity. By their recent
raid on the coast near Israel's largest city,
Tel Aviv, the Palestinian guerrillas have
achieved their immediate aims of postponing
and ultimately hindering the chance for suc-
cess in the peace talks between Israel and
Egypt. They have made it known they don't
want a separate peace between the Israelis
and Egyptians and they have set out to make
sure it doesn't happen.
THE TIMING of their raid was obviously on
purpose. The Palestinians were fearful that
the Carter Administration's pressure on
Prime Minister Begin would finally result in
some substantial Israeli concessions on all
the major issues: The West Bank, the set-
tlements in the Sinai, and the armaments
dispute.
Prime Minister Begin has faced severe in-
ternal pressure within the last few weeks over
his government's attitude and position in the
dispute within its own party ranks. Defense
Minister Weizmann threatened to resign last
week unless Begin ceased expansion of set-
tlements in the West Bank: The government
quickly complied by postponing further ex-
pansion for at least another few weeks.
The effect of the recent raid on Israeli in-
ternal policy remains very uncertain.
MORE IMPORTANT,. though, is what the
American reaction to the guerrilla attack will
be. Carter Administration officials have been
preparing extensively for weeks to present
the administration's peace proposals to
Begin, who was scheduled to arrive in the
United States Sunday for talks with the
President. But the Prime Minister im-
mediately postponed his trip for at least a
week to consider Israel's response to the
terrorist attack.
As of yesterday, Israel had not staged a
reprisal act against Palestinian guerrilla
bases in southern Lebanon but many Western
observers believe it is only a matter of time
S THE TIME for voting draws
1 near, the two sides in the
Panama Canal treaties debate are
using every means available to secure
support. The means range from those
of an honest sort - like good healthy
argument - to those of a more shady
nature.
It is traditional, for instance, for
lawmakers to make "deals" with one
another on various issues. One senator
Smay promise to support a bill spon-
sored by another senator, if and only if
that senator supports a bill in common
with the first senator. This "trading
back and forth has become a mainstay
of American Democracy, as it is
visible at all levels of government.
Even the President participates in
this bill-bartering from time to time -
on a very quiet basis, of course - and
the Canal treaties offer a good exam-
ple of White House pressure.
there is something mindless going on.
Supposedly, the President and his
staff had thoroughly researched the
issue in question - in this case, a $2.3
billion emergency farm aid bill - and
decided in a responsible manner that
the White House would oppose such
legislation. Then along comes this
senator who literally snaps his fingers
and "convinces" the President to end
his opposition to the aid bill, simply
because it would mean another vote for
the treaties.
This type of activity compromises
the integrity of both the White House
and the Congress.
How much other legislation is ban-
died about in this manner? It may be a
sad fact that some of the nation's most
influential laws could have been deter-
mined in this thoughtless way.
The trading back and forth must go
on, though, if fair legislation such as
the Panama treaties is to be enacted.
The best one can do is simply to make
people aware that this trading is a
common method in shaping law, even
if it is not the most forthright and
honest procedure."
After much debate, as well as much
trading back and forth, senators have
scheduled a vote on one of the Panama
Canal treaties for tomorrow. As has
been argued here before, Panama has
lived long enough under the thumb of
the United States and deserves the
treaties it has helped negotiate as a
means to real freedom from im-
perialism.
The Senate should take a realistic
glance into the twenty-first century
and realize that Panama will have its
freedom - with or without the
cooperation of this country.
They should approve the treaty.
wwmmmmmml
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
On Fleming, divestment and integrity
President Carter believes, and with
good reason, that the vote on the
treaties will foreshadow Congress' ac-
tivities for the remainder of his first
term. He is therefore approaching the
Senate vote in an aggressive manner
- contacting senators and placing the
power of the President at their dispos-
al. "What do you want me to do for
you," Carter has reportedly been
saying to some of the Canal treaty
holdouts.
A To say that such pandering is wrong
would be to go too far, but it does give
one some doubts about how our
political system operates.
: If, as in one case documented this
week, the White House reverses its
stand on an issue just to please one
senator who has expressed opposition
to the Canal treaties and to charm the
lawmaker into changing positions,
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-/'
DIST.fED NiEWSPAPERSYNDICATEi9n j
-- Ow
-.
a PA A~CANL
--l P/ K-
To The Daily:
This is SALC's response to
Robben W. Fleming's article in
the Daily 3/1/78:
We note with approval that
University of.Michigan President
Robben Fleming has modified his
position on South Africa. In July
1st year President Fleming
thought thesSouth African gov-
ernment was "doing the best it
can to ease the situation there,
and to bring about majority
rule." (Daily 7/11/77) Now he
believes in "the evils of Apar-
theid." (Daily 3/1/78).
We would like to review some
history with which present U-M
students may not be familiar. In
1976 Mr. Fleming spoke at a
public forum in the Union
Ballroom on behalf of the CIA,
defending their right to recruit U-
M students on campus. While his
speech was in progress, two ob-
ese uniformed police officers
were discovered in a closet,
photographing members of the
audience. Though visibly em-
barassed, Mr. Fleming offered no
comment on the incident.
It was no surprise then, to learn
that Mr. Fleming is also
spokesman for Chrysler and
Deere Corporations, both of
which do extensive business with
South Africa: "If you see these
Africans on Friday afternoon af-
ter payday you would see that
they are not quite
human ... African men smell
and can't keep clean." (John
Deere manager, Daily 2/19/78).
Mr. Fleming admits these cor-
porate connections. (Daily 3/1/
78) Instead of defending them, he
pointed out that a great deal of
money is channeled to the U-M,
i.e. to us, in consequence of these
connections. Mr. Fleming him-
self has given $99,551.68 (tax-
deductible?) Mr. Fleming claims
that Deere and Chrysler cor-
porations similarly "gave" the
U-M large sums of money. How
much of this was obtained from
forced labor in South Africa?
We conclude from Mr.
Fleming's article that he is a
conduit for corporate money to
the U-M, some of it deriving from
the highly profitable system of
Apartheid. This arrangement
benefits the corporations, the U-
M.. .and Mr. Fleming, who con-
tinues to draw the highest salary
nf anv state emniovee in
asked the U-M to disengage from
South Africa; so has the Daily, as
have numerous student and
community organizations and in-
dividuals, "including
congressman Charles Diggs and
the, Democratic party. And so
have a number of South African
organizations, including the
African National Congress, the
Black People's Convention and
the South African Student's
Movement. at the U-M, just as in
South Africa, the corporations,
which Mr. Fleming represents,
are not responive to the people's
demands. Our message to the
regents is simple, we say: begin
your disengagement from South
Africa by =March 21, Sharpeville
Day. And to other students at the
U-M we say: if you ever engage
Mr. Fleming in conversation, fir-
st check the closets.
-South Africa Liberation
Committee
s
To The Daily:
Robben Fleming's recent ar-
ticle defending his corporate ties
to apartheid is confusing and con-
tradictory.
Fleming suggests that per-
sonal "integrity" will prevent his
directorships in Chrysler and
John Deere from influencing his
position on U-M investments in
firms which (like the two above
companies) do business in South
Africa.
Fleming's integrity, however
- i.e. his "wholeness" or "com-
pleteness," in Webster's usae -
is precisely the problem.
If Robben Fleming were a
schizophrenic, an amnesiac, or a
scoundrel, he could presumably
decide the South Africa issue one
way as a Chrysler director and an
entirelyndifferent way as U-M
president.
If he is a whole person, his in-
tegrity should push him to recon-
cile the two positions. To do
otherwise is to invite cognitive
dissonance, which psychologists
tell us is highly uncomfortable
and therefore almost universally
avoided.
Like Andrew Young, who, as a
member of David Rockefeller's
Trilateral.-Commission, has ex-
tensive ties to multinational cor-
porations, Fleming cannot help
but be influenced by his business
commitments.
Since U.S.-based multination-.
als have - until recently - made
enormous profits out of apar-
enormous profits out of apar-
theid, it is nottsurprising to hear
Young defend their "constructive
role" in South Africa, despite all
available evidence.
It is to be hoped that Fleming
will resist the temptation to
follow suit. Elementary
psychology suggests otherwise.
-Andy Feeney
Alumnus
Contact your reps
Sen. Donald Riegle (Dem.), 1205 Dirksen idg., Washington,
DA.20510
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep.), 353 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515
Rep. Carl Pursell (Rep.), 1709 Longworth House Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 20515
Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rep.), Senate, State Capitol Bldg., Lan.
sing, MI 48933
Rep. Perry Bullard (Dem.), House of Representatives, State
Capitol Bldg., Lansing, MI 48933
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-Health Service Handbook
Li
By Sylvia Hacker
and Nancy Palchik
QUESTION: I'm 25 and still have my wisdom
teeth. Will I know if they need to be pulled; will
they bother me - or will I need to see a dentist,
and if so, when? Can the dental technicians at the
dental school that clean teeth tell if a person has
cavities - or can only a dentist tell through x-
rays? My teeth don't bother me, I have good den-
tal hygiene, and although I haven't seen a dentist
for 3 years, I have had my teeth cleaned each fall.,
Many of my friends my age seem to have had their
wisdom teeth pulled already.
ANSWER: In response to your first question,
our initial reaction was to say, "Why worry about
your wisdom teeth if they don't bother you?"
However, we have learned from dental
authorities, that it is always possible that there
may be quietly lurking some problems which have
as yet shown no signs or symptoms. Since you
have not seen a dentist in 3 years, there is no way
of being absolutely certain whether underlying
difficulties exist. you would need to obtain an
,.<..nl*afnf at ..n..artr..n.. ciaun n, h..n.,naI
infection around the crown of the tooth, can
displace the teeth in front of them or cause a
resorption or loss of part of the roots of teeth in
front of them. Impacted teeth can do some of these
things too and can occasionally cause cysts to
form in the jaws with resulting bone destruction.
The older you are, the more difficult extractions
can be and the greater the chance of com-
plications. Therefore, having the situation
evaluaed at a young age (preferably 18-25) can
make their removal, if necessary, easier, and
recovery from extraction quicker. Don't be unduly
alarmed by all this because it is possible that,
upon evaluation, your particular mouth has ac-
commodated the wisdom teeth well and that they
are exhibiting no problems needing drastic treat-
ment.
With regard to your 'second question, dental
hygienists at the dental school are competent
members of the dental health team and as such,
make their contribution by educating patients
about oral health and by removing stains, plaque
and calcific deposits adhering to the teeth. They
can, by virtue of their training, see cavities which
are accessible to a dental mirror end exploration
of the mouth, but they do not diagnose. Diagnosis
w.