Page 4-Wednesday, October 19, 1977-The Michigan Daily
- _ _ a
Eijhty-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Hypocrisieson human rights
f Y
rI
14
Vol. LXXXVIfI, No. 36
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Some can't afford pay hikes
Y ESTERDAY, a committee of fac-
ulty members recommended that
te University hike faculty tuition by a
whopping 12.5 per cent. Meanwhile,
raduate student assistants are still
erking without a contract; clericals
*e trying to regroup and form a new
union; University AFSCME workers
are still some of the lowest paid service
yorkers in the state; and students are
ruggling to meet soaring tuition
sts. This shows where the Univer-
~ity's priorities lie..
.Last yfar the faculty recommended
ah 11.5 per cent raise, which was ap-
proved by the administration and the
Regents. The state legislature, how-
ever, was not so generous. By the time
it was done trimming the fat off the
*- University's budget, the faculty wound
up with a measly 5.4 per cent raise. So
this year the professors are calling for
:an 11.5 per cent pay increase, and they
have warned us that we may lose some
professors to other schools if faculty
pay isn't improved. The ad-
ministration and Regents will.
probably approve this hike because the
:.professors deserve a raise, and
=ecause we need to retain our quality
intructors.
-The problem is that much as the
faculty deserves a raise, there are
many other campus groups that deser-
ve a break too.-
Governments
better way to
'* NCE AGAIN a country has
4X pressed the boundaries -of fate
fand ambushed hijackers on a plane
filled with captive civilians. Once
again the ambush has been a complete
3success.
The places are different, as are the
.number of hijackers and the number of
" captives, but the adventure generally
follows the same story line. This time,
;four hijackers - their affiliations
':never established - took a West Ger-
man jetliner on a five-day, 6,000 mile
oddysey of Europe and Africa, carry-
4ing 86 hostages and demanding the re-
4ease of 13 prisoners from West Ger-
;man and Turkish jails, along with $15
million.
The West German commandos
must be congratulated for their spec-
tacular show of courage and skill. All
;aptives were rescued and the
hijackers were killed.
. The raid and rescue couldn't help
.but remind one of similar incidents in
*ccent years: the rescue of over 100
hostages by Israeli commandos at
Uganda's Entebbe airport in 1976, and
more recently, the Dutch army's
. storming of a trainload of captives held
by Moluccan terrorists in the Nether-
AEA
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Graduate student assistants,
clericals and service workers are all
struggling to get by with their five per
cent wage hikes of last year, while the
cost of living continues to rise at a rate
of more than six per cent. Although it is
true that faculty members received
wage hikes approximately in percent-
age to those of other University em-
ployes, we must recognize that five per
cent of a professor's salary buys a lot
more food than five per cent of a cleri-
cal's salary. There are some Univer-
sity employes who need a raise to nieet
house payments, and keep food on the
table rather than purchase a second
car, or go to the Bahamas for Christ-
mas, and if the faculty were to receive
its desired wage hike, these other em-
ployes would be forced to bear the
brunt by struggling through another
year with less than a cost of living pay
hike. In addition, a 12.5 per cent faculty
wage increase would almost certainly
necessitate yet another tuition hike -
the sixth in the last seven years.
In short, while it is easy to under-
stand that faculty members want more
money, professors must realize that
they are not an island. If they get more
money, others must suffer some loss to
pay for it. And many of those people
just can't afford to pay for higher
faculty wages.
mnust think of a
stop terrorists
lands last June. In all cases, the gov-
ernments had to be admired for their
stern stand against and eventual over-
powering of the terrorists.
The course of action followed by
these governments and the West Ger-
mans currently seems to be the only
way to fight against international
terrorism. No other solution seems to
deter future incidents as effectively.
Nonetheless, what will be the
world's reaction when - while com-
mandos are attempting the sme
heroic maneuvers to rescue other inno-
cent people - the terrorists actually do
make their threats a'reality and set off
their ever-present bombs? When 50 or
100 people suddenly become the casu-
alties, will heads of state still make
long-distance congratulatory phone
calls, slap a few backs and say "Oh,
you'll get them next time"?
Governments must never think of
hijackings as suspense stories which
always end with a good guy victory.
The latest incident should not be used
to plan the next ambush, instead it
should be cited as evidence of the need
for all governments to cooperate
toward the total elimination of terror-
ism.
97 NOEL PEASE PR2 E CE.SSARY
By ROD KOSANN
It was last week that President
Carter sat down with the Niger-
ian Head of State Olusegan Oba-
sanjo to a dinner of duck and wild
rice. After reviewing the mutual
back slapping and praise be-
tween the two leaders, one must
seriously ask the question - who
spiked the orange sauce?
As part of .his toast to Carter,
Obasanjo stated, "nowhere else
are fundamental justice and hu-
man rights more wantonly tram-
pled upon" than in southern Af-
rica. Such a statement has be-
come routine for black African
leaders, and can hardly evoke
surprise. However, it is President
Carter's response which every-
day becomes both more puzzling
and disturbing. Carter praised
.the Nigerian leader for
promoting ."human rights" in his
African nation, and agreed with
Obasanjo's assessment of the sit-
uation in the south. It seems that
President Carter should have ex-
amined his guest's record before
making hasty judgments.
In a New York Times article of
February 20, one finds some
clues as to the true human rights
situation in Nigeria. The article
recounts an incident in which
"several hundred soldiers attack-
ed the home of Nigeria's best ,
known musician, and dissident,
setting it ablaze." During the
burning of the commune style
home, sixty men and women
were badly beaten and forced to
strip naked. The article went on
to state that such incidents be-
tween "civilians and soldiers"
were "not uncommon.'
HEAD OF STATE Obasanjo is
aiming at civilian rule by 1979.
President Carter praised him for
this goal, but it is one which
homeless dissident Fela Anikula-
po Kuti says will never be effec-
ted. Having seen Obasanjo's
means to this democratic end,
one is inclined to agree with Mr.
Kuti.
It ap ars that the Nigerian
leader's statement on southern
Africa might also be applied to
those games played within his
own backyard. Why then the
praise by President Carter? Bar-
ring the possibility that the New
York Times is not receiving the
circulation it should around the
oval office; the more likely an-
swer is that Carter is feverishly
pursuing the path of hypocrisy
that is so characteristic of South
Africa's severest detractors. One
must gather than the President's
line of reasoning grants human
rights violations the greatest pri-
ority only if committed between
races. The persecution of blacks
by their own leaders - that is
widespread in Africa - does not
merit his attention.
The same psychology exists
among those who condemn Uni-
versity holdings on corporate in-
vestments in Southern Africa. In
ordler to be totally consistent,
shouldn't the same standards of
protest be applied to those areas
of black Africa lacking a clean
human rights record? After a
recent visit to South Africa, Ver-
non Jordan noted the ameliorat-
ing influence of American corpor-
ations there, ,and.stated that
"to a person," the nation's
black leaders were "firm
in their conviction" that these
companies should not withdraw.
Why is it then that nowhere does
-one hear voices pressing for this.
type of influence to effect change
in much of black Africa's human -
rights policy? If it is because the
corporate influence in black
Africa is not great enough (which
is questionable since these inter-
ests appear to be substantial),
then whatsof the influence Qf the
U.S. government which has ex-
tended substantial aid through-
out the continent? If it is because
South Africa deserves a special
status since it discriminates on
the "basis of race," then what
does this say about the views of
that nation's critics on human
rights in general?
THIS IS NOT meant to defend
South Africa's present system. It
is a country badly in need of
change. Yet, observers traveling
there testify that shifts in policy
are taking place. During a recent
trip throughout the continent, col-
umnists Rowland Evans and
Robert Novak noted that many'
racial barriers are breaking
down. However, the process is
not one that will take place over-
night, and the answer is not as
simple as Vice President Mon-
dale's proposal of "one man, one
vote." By pushing for deadlines
or extreme solutions the Carter
administration heightens the ex-
isting tensions of both blacks and
whites and encourages immedi-
ate violence. A great percentage
of whites in South Africa have
come to recognize that civil.
peace. depends on blacks getting.
a greater share of economic and
political power. The form that
this power will take can be better
decided upon in Johannesberg
than Washington.,
A sudden shift to majority rule
in South Africa could bring to
power a leader with the same
human rights outlook as Oluse-
gan Obasanjo, or the less benevo-
lent of his black African
colleagues. This is merely oiie of
many considerations that Presi-
dent Carter should confront next
time he dines with an African
leader. It is time that the Presi-
dent starts applying uniform
standards to all nations on the
African continent. If he fails to do
so his hypocrisy will. not make
him a champion of human rights,
but a catalyst to further viblence
and tragedy.
"
Rod Kosann is Sales Man-
ager of the Daily business
staff.
NIGERIAN HEAD OF STATE Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasando with
President Carter during his visit to Washington on Oct. 11. Olu-
segun was praised by the White House for his country's promotion
of "human rights."
Health Service
By SYLVIA HACKER
and NANCY PALCHIK
QUESTION: Would you please do a column
on sickle cell anemia. What is it? How do you
get it? How do I know if I have it?
ANSWER: Sickle cell anemia is an in-
herited disease -- the only way you can get it
is to be born with it.
All red blood cells contain a substance
called hemoglobin which carries oxygen from
the lungs to all parts of the body. Normally,
these red cells are round, and when the con-
tained hemoglobin releases the oxygen it car-
ries, the cells retain their round shape. These
cells are also soft, permitting them to easily
flow through small blood vessels. In some in-
dividuals, however, red cells contain what is
known as sickle hemoglobin. When sickle
hemoglobin releases its oxygen the cell's
shape can change to the shape of a farmer's
sickle. Thus these cells are called sickle cells
and the disease produced by them, sickle cell
anemia. Although sickle hemoglobin carries
just as much oxygen as normal hemoglobin,
there are two main differences between nor-
mal round and sickle cells. Sickle cells tend to
be hard and thus can jam up in the small
blood vessels of the body, retarding the flow
of blood. They also do not live as long as nor-
mal cells. Normal red cells live for about 120
days whereas sickle cells live for less than 60
days; thus sickle cells are broken down faster
than the body can make new cells. As a result,
the body has fewer red cells and less hemo-
globin, a condition known as anemia.
ESSENTIALLY, the medical problems
associated with sickle cell anemia are a result
of either of these two situations. The plugged
blood vessels can lead to pain, of varying in-
tensity and duration, in different parts of the
body (called sickle cell pain crises).
Sometimes the pain may be so mild as to be
treatable with aspirin while at other times it
may require hospitalization. The ai
cause individuals to tire very easil
tion, some individuals with sickle c
may have a shortened life span.;
anemia is usually diagnose
childhood, and thus persons of c
usually already know if they have t
Unfortunately, there is no cure for
anemia at this time. However, ti
use of such things as pain medic
blood transfusions, physicians hav
to increase longevity, prolong cri:
tervals, and in general, make life
fortable for persons with this diseas
Some individuals who do not h
cell anemia have a condition know
cell trait. Although about half1
globin in cells of persons with sickl
is sickle hemoglobin (practically
hemoglobin in cells of persons with
anemia is sickle hemoglobin), their
cells are round and not sickled. Thu
ally do not have any of the probl
ciated with sickle cell disease. 0c
symptoms may occur in individual
le cell trait due to some sickling o
cells at high altitudes or when rec
eral anesthesia for surgical opera
in general, because of the relative;
symptoms, sickle cell trait may
tected unless an individual has a sp
test to determine.if this condition is
As we mentioned above, both
anemia and trait are inherited
The type of hemoglobin that we h
red blood cells is genetically detern
from our mother's and half from o
genes for hemoglobin type. Whethe
sickle cell anemia or sickle cell tr
pend upon whether your parents
. sperm or eggs which carried genes
hemoglobin. If both have sickle ce
their children will have sickle cell;
both have normal hemoglobin, the
will have normal hemoglobin. If, t
child receives one gene for norm
Handbook
emia may gene for sickle hemoglibin, half of the child's
yell anemia hemoglobin will be normal and half will be
Sickle cell sickle. This child will have sickle cell trait.
d during IF BOTH PARENTS have sickle cell trait
ollege age half of their sperm and eggs will carry genes
she disease for normal, and half for sickle hemoglobin.
sickle cell Thus when a sperm and egg conmbine there is
hrough the a 25 per cent chance that each child will have
ations and sickle cell anemia, a 25 per cent chance that
e been able each child will have normal hemoglobin, and
sis-free in- a 50 per cent chance that each child will have
more com- sickle cell trait.
ave sickle Sickle cell anemia is more likely to be found
lavesicke inpeople whose ancestors came from Africa.
n as sickle In the United States, about 1 out of, 10 black
the hemo- Americans has sickle cell trait and 1 out of 400
le cell trait has sickle cell anemia. It is also found in
all of the l hf h d
sicle cellh people whose ancestors camne from the Medi-
sickle cell terranean area; the Middle East and parts of
r red blood India. If you are a member of one of these
s they usu- high risk groups you may want to find out if
lems asso- you have sickle cell trait. This can be done by
wi ionaly a simple blood test and can prepare you for
Swth sick- the possibility of having a child with sickle
f the blood cell anemia should you marry a person who
eiving gen- also has sickle cell trait, or what is more
tions. But, likely, put your mind at ease. It may also aid
absence of in your own health care should, for example,
ecial blood you need surgery or be traveling in places of
ecil bood high altitude.
present. One final point. Although sickle cell anemia
sickle cell has always been a disadvantage, there can be
conditions. advantages to having sickle cell trait in those
ave in our parts of the world where malaria is a prob-
mined, half lem. Individuals with sickle cell trait appear
ur father's to be resistant to malaria: they do not get it as
r you have frequently and if they do get it they usually
ait will de- have a milder case.
produced
s for sickle Please send all health related questions to:
ell anemia, Health Educators
anemia; if University Health Service
ir children Division of Office of Student Services
however, a 207 Fletcher
al and one Ann Arbor,,.MI 48109
Letters to
The Daily
office space
To The Daily:
We strongly oppose the
decision of the Student Organiza-
tion's Board to deny office space
to campus organizations which
represent ethnic minorities
and/or political ideologies. This
discriminatory decision was pur-
nortedlv made an the assumntion
fact they are going to allocate
space for some organizations, but
not for all organizations, they are
not representing the students."
All recognized student organi-
zations have a right to office
space for carrying out their activ-
ities. Recognizing the limited
amount of office space, the equit-
able solution in this situation.
This action against ethnic and
political groups follows a general
policy of restricting the freedom
of activity and the freedom of.
speech of these groups. The Uni-
versity has initiated a policy over
the course of the summer pro-
hibiting all sales on the diag. Not
only has the fishbowl been lim-
iart tn ran rrnnnc. nor A 1 -h
a lull, administrative policies
seek to jeopardize hard-won
student rights of freedom of ex-
pression. All groups and individu-
als opposed to this recent deci-
sion are urged to contact us at:
665-8021 or 663-8306.
- Young Socialist Alliance
E' 59":..