Sunday, April 11, 1976
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
FEATURI
ES
Screening for birth defects: Path
(Continued from page 3)
When amniocentesis can't of-
fer certainty, genetic counse-
lors must resort to telling the
parents the probability that a
child will be born defective.
This raises chilling questions
about the role the counselor
should play. At what point
should acounselor tell a cou-
ple the risk is too high? Is so-
ciety hurt, or the parents, if
the counselor tells them the risk
is an acceptable one?
TO DR. KELCH, "THE role
of genetic counseling is to
help people make informed de-
cisions." But that's not as easy
as it sounds. Interpreting the
information is difficult for those
not trained in science, . ands
studies have shown that even
if a couple understands data1
presented to them at the time
of a decision, that knowledge
wanes quickly.
"Seldom is there a right or
wrong in genetic counseling"
remarked Dr. Kelch, when ask-
ed how he helps couples reach| take hours helping the family,"°
a difficult decision. Exposure to Kelch says, "It's a yery trying
the prospective parents helps. process."
"When you meet a couple you As Kelch pointed out, the
get a feel for how much they decision on whether to abort a{
could handle." To him, the job fetus depends on a variety of
is not one of passing judgments factors; the risk involved, the
about a couple's choice, but to seriousness of the defect, and
help them make that choice, other intangible emotional rea-
and then providing support. sons. For most, however, the
When a pair wants a child decision must not be made. The
badly, the pain of learning that overwhelming majority of wo-
the risk is high can be intense. men who undergo amniocente-
"Sometimes if the family de- sis find that their children will9
cides for an abortion, it may be healthy.!
THE CONDITIONS for which
positive tests exist do pro-
vide the counselors and par-
ents with relatively easy choic-
es; for so many of the other
known genetic disorders, coun-
selors must still resort to deal-
ing in likelihoods.
For conditions as common as
cystic fibrosis, an incurable dis-
order caused by ,a pancreatic
problem, there is no known
test. The condition affects 1 out
of every 2,000 white children
to a better uture?
born, and it usually ends its vic- biological machinery of human genes each cell carries and
tims lives by mid-teens. beings. argue that changing a minute
That prospect, implanting fraction of them won't alter a
The new research in the field created fetuses with character- person's character so totally.
of genetics is centered on cor- istics from an outside source, Personality is a blend of many
recting defects, once detected, is what scares so many people. factors; and genes are just one
before birth. To this end, scien- If people could select the char- element. Environment plays an
tists have begun to try gene acteristics they decide are important role.
transplants between organisms worth preserving, and eradi-: So much for the master race,
grown in laboratories. Applica- cate others, a despot could turn at least for now. In the mean-
tion of such techniques to hu- such a procedure into a ration- time, the work continues, try-
mans is still far distant, how- ale for genocide, or the crea- ing to end some of the misery
ever. This work continues on tion of a master race. encountered when unhappy par-
the simplest of living matter, a QCIENTISTS FIND this no- ents discover to their horror
long step from the complicated tion a trifle simplistic. They that their child has a birth de-
point to the more than 100,000 fect.
Programmers defend
use of
alcohol
on
TV
(Continued from page 3) sage just before
both the ban on hard liquor, time?"
advertising and the de-emphasis THE TELEVISION
of drinking. Says Christian Sci- however, don't
ence Monitor reporter, John that way. "I have
Dillin, who has done consider-i that TV is sort of
able research on TV and al- scapegoat for the
cohol, "I was watching Perry ills," says Frank S
Mason - or maybe it was Iron- tion manager of M
side - anyway, it was some Detroit. And Rich Gi
Raymond Burr show. It was just tor of ABC's Departm
before Christmas, I remember. gram Standards an
They (the characters) had just adds: "We object to
finished solving a crime and portrayal of alcoho
they all went back to the of- solve problems, orr
fice. Burr said he thought it sions, and we avo
would be a good idea to cele- brands."
brate with a bottle of scotch Little statistical
some nice person had given exists to bolster the
him for the holidays. Now was- television's represent
n't that convenient for the li- cohol use and abus
quor industry to plant that mes- much impact on ho'
Christmas'
executives,
see it quite
the feeling
made the
country's
Sisson, sta-'
WWJ-TV in'
tter, Direc-
nent of Pro-
d Practicesi
... graphic
o used to
relieve ten-
Did naming
evidence
claim that
ation of al-
e has had
w the pub-i
lic perceives drinking. At the successful people using alcohol
same time, though, there is as though it would solve their
dearth of information support- problems or make them rich,
ing the opposing point of view, beautiful or famous."
either.
Prompted in part by this lack COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Sen.'
of data, a U.S. Senate subcom- William Hathaway (D-Maine)
mittee began hearings last was moved to remark, "If al-
month on television and its pos- cohol is the most heavily abused
sible connection with alcoholism drug in America, then televis-
- which afflicts more than 9 ion is our number one pusher."
million Americans. The firstj
witness was former Dodger But, again, the television
pitcher Don Newcombe, an al- brass takes issue with such
coholic who has successfully charges. ABC's Gitter counters
stopped drinking. He told the "TV is only a mirror. After
committee members in no un-' all, people do go to cocktail
certain terms that it would be parties and they do go to bars
nearly impossible to "counter- and drink." Other industry mo-
act the thousands of hours of guls suggest that often alcohol
programming and advertising in is presented in an unfavorable
which viewers see attractive and light. That is, it is not pre-
1,
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,z,
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sented as a cure-all or problem to get ... TV writers and net-
solver. works to be more sensitive to
What survey data is available the problems of liquor usage.
suggests that television's por- There are, of course, several
trayal of alcohol use does not major weaknesses in this type
truly "mirror" real world drink- of research. First, it is not sci-
ing habits. For example, one entific and thus drawing any
survey found that the average| broad-based conclusions is dan-
American consumes some 182.5 gerous and quite probably un-
gallons of liquids a year. Com- fair. In addition, the survey only:
mon tap water headed the list, quantifies - not qualifies. Some
accounting for 55.6 gallons. It incidents of alcohol use cited in
was follpwed in order by cof- the survey may be perfectly ac-
fee, soft drinks, and milk. The ceptable even by straight-laced
per capita consumption of dis-:standards. For example, one
tilled (hard) liquor ranked McCloud segment shows the E
eighth on the list with 1.97 gal- sheriff dining with a woman'
lons. ! friend. He orders champagne
A non-scientific study done by' with the meal and neither he
the Christian Science Monitor of nor his guest are shown drink-
*NOTICE*
POSITIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR
WORK STUDY STUDENTS
Please see Beth or Cassie
420 MAYNARD-764-0560
MI RTALA/CAPPS
Bronze sculptures/photographs
APRIL 6-30
opening: April 6, 7-9 p.m.
i
LOOKING
THE WEEK IN REVIEW'
BACK
I prime television programs found ing to excess. Yet the scene
that "scenes involving hard li-' is counted in the Monitor's U
quor (were shown) 10 times study.
more frequently than (those in- Herminio Traviesas, NBC vice First flop
volving) soft drinks ... in spite president for Program Prac-
of the fact that in real life, tices, comments: "I think we
soft drinks are consumed 16 reflect what's going on out
times more frequently than 1i- there. I don't like statistics
quor. The TV survey showed because they're out of context. FR I.-SAT
liquor being used one and a It's like those violence studies.
"half times more often than cof- !One of them even concluded that
fee; yet coffee, in real life, I Dream of Jeannie was vio-M iC
outsells liquor by nearly 16 to lent because Jeannie kept forc-
1 ... In real life, people drinkIing her master to do things."
Imilk 12 times more often than co l
liquor, but in the survey liquor But Traviesas adds by way
was shown as the 'drink' of of explaining TV programming:
choice ten times more often than "As a friend of mine used toE
milk." say, 'You take the booze and
gals away and you have noth-
THE MONITOR'S STUDY also ing left.'"'
N ION GALLERY
r, Mich. Union T-F 10-6, S, S 12-6
.-SUN. $
HAEL
ONEY
2.50 "
Election results
0NCE AGAIN BENEFIT-
ING from low turnout and
the vote-splitting effect of the
moribund Socialist Human
Rights Party (SHRP), the Re-
publicans regained a City
Council majority in last week's
municipal election with an up-
set victory in the First Ward.
By winning the traditionally
liberal First Ward, the Repub-'
licans now hold a 6-S vote edge
over the Democrats on the new
council, which will be sworn in
tomorrow. For the first time'
since 1972, the SHRP will not
be represented on Council -
But the GOP is not in com-
plete control. Mayor Albert
Wheeler, a Democrat, retains
veto power over any measure
passed by council. Thus, a
council deadlocked with contin-
ual vetos of conservative, GOP-
backed legislation stands as a
distinct possibility.}
Moreover, the city budget,
drafted by City Administrator
Sylvester Murray, can only be
changed if at least seven coun-
cil members agree on the alter-
ations. And whether one or
more of the Democrats will
side with the GOP on certain
budget issues is also a big ques-'
tion mark.
Songer of old songs
on
1 2 string, 6 string, banjo, fretless
determined that alcoholic
beverages were seen or men-
tioned during prime time shows
once every 17 minutes on the
average. CBS's M*A*S*H and
Gunsmoke (now defunct) lead
the way as the hardest drink-
ing programs. Even the teato-
taling Waltons had something
to do with the hard stuff once
every two shows.
The Monitor concluded "All'
5A SSENTIALLY, then, the de-
bate continues over whether
television and its portrayal of
liquor is a major factor con-
tributing to alcohol abuse in the
real world. One faction says
yes. A second says no. Neither,
side can cite data or experts
to conclusively refute the oppo-
sition.
The question remains unan-
b a n j o, concertina, tinwhistie,
jawharp, harmonica
TUES.--April 6th-BIFF ROSF4!
1421 HILL
8:30
761-1451
the functional end of the radical In the long run, the SHRP's Kenworthy
third party. demise may be the most signi-
In the First Ward contest, Re- ficant result of the 1976 elec- fuzzy at best. And it just may
publican Wendell Allen bested tion. In the past 12 months, the be that he might break ranks:
Democrat Ezra Rowry by a party has done a slow burn- with the usually monolithic Re-
mere 117 votes. Voter turnout first closing its office, then dis- publicans on some issues.
in the area was considerably owning electoral politics, and Apparently .the Democrats
lower than in previous years. finally running an almost non- do not relish the thought of
That, coupled with the 381 votes' existent campaign. courting his vote. As Councilwo-
siphoned off by SHRP, proved Shortly after its birth in 1972, man Liz Keogh (D-First Ward)
the difference in the race. the party publicized significant remarked on election night,
The Democrats, however, radical issues and wielded con- "The first chance I get, I'm go-i
won handily in the student-dom-- siderable clout by holding the ing to throw up on him."
inated Second Ward, as Earl swing votes on a divided coun- Keogh will get plenty of oppor-
Greene outdistanced GOP mem- cil. As a result, SHRP pushed tunities - she and Allen will
ber James Reynolds and SHRP the Democrats to the left - sit next to one another at the
candidate Diane Kohn. For the both in terms of the candidates council table.
past two years that council seat they ran and the policies they With the exception of the
has been held by SHRP memn- advocated. First Ward, the elections went
ber Kathy Kozachenko. OSSIBLY THOUGH certain pretty much as expected. But,
Incumbent Councilmen James O I ' T ta of course, that was enough to'
Kenworthy (D-Fourth Ward), ly not necessarily, the local dash the Democrats' hopes of
Roger Bertoia (R-Third Ward), Democratic Party may retrench an outright council majority
and Louis Belcher (R-Fifth to the right, for the first time in five years.
Ward) all coasted to comfort- But this year's election wasT
able victories in their respec-' marked by a lack of issues pr TsE RERD three
tive wards. and distinct stands among the ' proposals were alsoaon
Wheeler
site plan used during former!
Mayor James Stephenson's ten-
ure.
Voters repealed the city's pre-
ferential voting City Charter
Amendment. The measure al-
lowed residents to vote for first
and second choice candidates
for mayor. If no candidate won
a majority, the second choices
of the persons who voted for
the last place candidate were
be counted, insuring the win-
ning candidate a majority of
the first and second place votes.
The controversial amendment,
approved in November, 1974,
was pivotal in electing. Wheeler
last year. The Republicans have
viciously opposed PV since its
inception and those feelings
were only intensified when it
helped elect a Democrat.
The impact of repeal is neg-
ligible ,since the city no long-
er has a viable third party.
Voters also nixed a property
tax increase, earmarked spe-
cifically for improvement of the
city's roads and bike paths.
--GORDON ATCHESON j
three networks (are) continuing swered. And as is typical of
to put emphasis on liquor to such knotty problems, the truth
portray humor, sophistication, I probably lies somewhere be-
and tension - despite a quietI tween what the combatants pass
campaign by federal officials off as gospel.
- - . .
The Magic of Bergman
-, The Magnificence of Mozart.
Carmen F. Zollo presents
. Ingmar Bergman's
ProduoWd and Dumected and Witten by ingmar Bergman " Directr of PbOtcgphy Sven Nykvist
s Eric Ericson Conducti ng The Swediah State Bodatn Network Symphony
A Sveige rea dio A.B. Production " A SUR2/ROGAT E RELEASEfjmetui]
SnowTWIMEs: Mon.-Ifri. 7;00 & 9:40
Saturday & Sunday 4:20-7:00-9:40
J *
123
Ann
313
baobab
folk art gallery
W. Washington GALLERY HOURS
n Arbor, Michigan Tuesday-Friday
-662-3681 12-9
Saturdav
10-6
Jewelry
and other distinctive
gifts from distant
cultures
THE IMMEDIATE impact of
the election was, of course,
to return a Republican majority
to City Hall after a year's ab-
sence. Since the 1975 election,
council had been split 5-5-1
among the Democrats, Republi-
cans, and SHRP.
candidates. Allen,, for instance,
billed himself as someone any-
one could vote for. "If you're a
revolutionary, vote for me be-
cause I'm a black Republican.
What could be more revolution-
ary that that," went one of his
advertisements.
His politics, however, remain
last Monday's ballot Residents
narrowly approved continuation'
of the city's door-to-door voter
registration policy. Last year,
council substituted theadoor-to-
door registration for the fixed
"LAST GRAVE AT DIMBAZA"
-a film smuggled out of South Africa
documenting conditions in that country---
WILL BE SHOWN ON
MONDAY, APRIL 10-8 P.M.
AT THE
Ecumenical Campus Center
921 CHURCH
DISCUSSION followina film will be led by
FRANCIS OSAGIE of Nigeria
IN THE NATION THIS WEEK
THE AMERICAN MERCENARIES
Today post war recession, inflation and unemployment
have set adrift a small army of veterans of Vietnam who
must sell their skills. . . It has become clear that there is
indeed a community of "fighting men" imbued with right-
wino ideoloav who are for sale in the United States.
A network reporte~r who spoke to the "mercs" reports,
"that as many as 5 out of 6 mercenaries who went to
Angola were killed."
"They do not vet make up a coherent political movement
but their special weaponry, special skills and special dis-
enchantment ore very real. They rather ominously number
in the thousands, they are for hire and they will bear
watchinq."
From an article in this week's Nation
The Nation, 333 Sixth Av., NYC 10014
Special rates for students
- I
- II
Textile art from three continents - South American an-
tiguities - Contemporary and traditional African sculpture
- Jewelry fashioned from imported beads and silver -
Afghani Rugs - Hand-Carved gourd boxes from Peru -
Basketrv.
tea ann abr il copraiv
I
John Simon
Drama Critic
The Hudson Review
The New Leader
Film Critic
New York Magazine
Author of
SINGULARITIES:
Essay on the Theater,
The'
Hopwood
Awards for
1976
Will be announced
Coming on TUESDAY, APRIL 13
IN PARIS
-LA5ST T AN(0ti
.
I
3',