Fiday, May 16f, 1975
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Friday, May 16,1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three
Viet refugees seek
Rescue reaction mixed
American
By ELAINE FLETCHER
Thuy Pham, a local Vietna-
mese student, has been hearing
from a number of old friends
lately; men and women from
her past who are among the
thousand of refugees now reset-
tingsat camps in the United
States.
All of them beg for her help
in finding American sponsors
who will pledge assistance so
they can leave the uncomfor-
table refugee camps.
THE REFUGEES' problem is
simply stated but less easily
overcome. Before any Vietna-
mese person can leave their
camp in California, Florida, Ar-
kansas or Guam, he or she
must. have an American spon-
sor; a charitable figure who
promises adequate food, shelter
and financial assistance until
the refugees can make it on
their own.
But in their understandable
haste to get out of the camps,
says Thuy, many of the refugees
are satisfied if someone simply
signs the proper papers-with-
out any real intention of sup-
port.
"They (the refugees) think
that if they could leave the
camps they could kind work.
But they don't know the Ameri-
can economic situation. They
don't understand how much
thin's cost over here."
THE consequences of a pos-
sible failure in the sponsorship
program may of course, involve
many more people than the
refugees themselves. The gov-
ernment may soon find that it
has trossly underestimated the
ltna-term costs of resettling the
men and women they struggled
to evacuate during the fast-
maced, final days of the war in
Vietnam, according to Thuy.
Also, there exists a sharp,
1ufortunate contrast between
the situation the refugees now
find themselves in and the Viet-
sponsors'
nam orphans of "Operation
Babylift" where every child
was spoken for and demand by
far exceeded the supply.
"An aunt of my friend is in
Guam," says Thuy. "She wrote
begging us to sponsor her. And
if we couldn't she asked us to
find someone just to signtthe
papers, a fake sponsor so they
can get out.
"THEY have been there for
nine days. To them it is as long
as a century. They have to walk
about two miles toathe mess
halls and the foods are not Viet-
namese. Her mother is 86 and
that's too much for the old
lady."
She adds that the woman is a
secretary, a sister with her is
a seamstress. They have less
thn thirty dollars apiece.
Thuy cites other problems of
the same nature. "I know a
girl in tansing whose family of
20 is in California. Thev're look-
ing for a sponsor, real or fake."
SHE o',ickly adds, "And I
have a friend who's a student
at Saigon University who asked
if I could find a fake snonsor
for her. She's at Camp Pendle-
ton in California."
Neither Thuv nor her friend
Nguyen Van-Det, living in a
one-room anartment and both
on scholarships, can themselves
afford to support the refgee
friends who have contacted the
conle.
"It's too mach to ask of any-
nne else, though," adds Thuv.
Van-Det and herself were both
unsuccessful in their attempts
to evacuate their own families.
LAM-BA-LE, a local Vietna-
mese engineer, describes the
same sort of request for a
"naner sponsor" from a family
of five in Fort Chaffee, Ark.
"They asked us if we could
sponsor them just so they could
get out of the camp. But we
really don't know if we should
do that."
By BILL TURQUE
President Ford's decision to forcibly recover
the 39 crewmen of the merchant vessel Maya-
guez drew mixed reaction from political and
academic circles here yesterday.
"He could have waited a few days," said
Political Science Professor A.F.K. Organski.
"For God's sake; we're the United States. It's
nonsense to argue that we have to stand up
to the Cambodians. Anybody over the age of
18 should realize that."
ORGANSKI acknowledged that the President
had "a difficult decision to make, but he could
have acted with more restraint."
Organski said he found the widespread Con-
gressional support for the President's actions
"dispiriting.' He added that he took particular
exception to Sen. Barry Goldwater's remarks
on national television yesterday morning.
Goldwater said he thought the Mayaguez in-
cident would serve as a lesson to "any half-
assed nation" that might be contemplating
similar actions against the U.S.
ORGANSKI called Goldwater's statement
"irresponsible and silly," adding, "I wouldn't
allow people like that to pass my course in
international politics."
Professor Alton Becker, Director of the
Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies,
agreed with Organski's appraisal.
"It reinforces the 0-rong type of tendencies,"
she said.
ORGANSKI also pointed out that the United
States has not been singled out for this kind
of treatment by the Cambodians. He said a
Panamanian merchant ship was seized in a
similar manner just a couple of weeks ago.
Becker said the President acted prematurely
in his use of armed forces. "You'd think that
force was the first thing they thought of
using," she said.
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon,
Rep. Marvin Esch (R-Ann Arbor) said the
President "is to be commended for his handl-
ing of one of the touchiest situations to arise
since he has been in office." Esch added the
President made his decision "with the full
knowledge and general approval of the lead-
ing members of Congress,"
A STATEMENT from the office of Senator
Phillip Hart (D;Mich.) was more tenative.
Hart said "there are many details not known,
which makes Monday morning quarterback-
ing even less desirable than usual."
Residential College History Professor Mari-
lyn Young called the entire American opera-
tion, particularly the bombing of the Cambo-
dian mainland, "disgusting," and an example
"of the mind of the gang rape at work."
"Gil Scott-Heron calls President Ford 'The
Oatmeal Man'," said Young. "Well Oatmeal
Man acted with all the intelligence of a bowl
of oatmeal'
i r ' i r. s+w.r rr s0
Detroit might not
face police layoffs
By GLEN ALLERHAND
The Detroit police layoff crisis
may be close to a settlement,
according to police sources.
Federal Judge Damon Keith
met Wednesday with Detroit
Police Chief Phillip Tannian,
city attorneys, and an attorn-
ey for the laid-off black police
officers in an effort to resolve
the month-long controversy.
Although Keith imposed a
tight press blackout on the pro-
ceedings, Police Lieutenant
Donald Restauri, an aide to Tan-
nian, said. "Everybody seems
to have dome out of the meet-
ing optimistic. Some have read
this to mean lhat a settlement
has been reached."
DETROIT has faced the pos-
sibility of police layoffs since
last month, when Mayor Cole-
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Volume LXXXV, No. s-S
Friday, May 18, 1975
is edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan. News
phone 764-0562. Second class postage.
paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
Puhlished d a i l y Tuesday through
Sunday morning during the Univer-
sity year at 420 Maynard Street, Ann
Arbor, Michigan 4s104. Subscription
rates: $0- by carrier tcampus area);
$ti local mail (Michigan and Ohio);
$i2 non-local mail (other states and
foreign).
Summer session published Tuea-
day through_ Saturday morning.
Subscription rates: $550 by carrier
(campus area); $6.00 local mail
(Migan and Ohio);$&50 non-
local mauilather states and foreign),"
man Young announced that over
1,000 city workers, including 125
police, would be laid off to cut
$8 million from a projected city
budget deficit of $23 million lor
next year.
Since Young's announcement,
several court rulings h a v e
clouded the issue. On March 30,
Keith issued a temporary r e -
straining order preventing t h e
city from laying off black police
officers, a move which wsuld
have been in accord with the
police department's affirmative
action program.
Ten days later, in a decision
which drew a violent pratest
from members of the Detroit
Police Officers Association
(DPOA), Federal Judge Ralph
Freeman ruled that 275 police
personnel salaried with federal
funds could not be 'laid cff,
while 550 other officers not re-
ceiving federal money could be
tet go.
MOST of the officers facing
lay offs are white miles.
The DPOA maintainod Free-
mans ruling is unfair to i t s
members, because it ignores the
"first hired, first fired" class-,
es in the union's contract with
the city. '
Elliott Hall, an attorney re-
presenting black pxice officers,
has argued that ehe police de-
partment's affirmative action
program should aply to layoffs
as well as hiring.
Dail Photo bv PAULINE LUBENS
THE NATIVE American Students Association protested "the treatment they have received from
the University" in a demonstration yesterday on Regents Plaza. Inside the Administration Build-
ing, several of the students addressed the Regents meeting.
Native, Ameiasseek changes
By GEORGE LOBSENZ
Two Native American groups
protested at yesterday's Uni-
versity's Board of Regents
meeting calling for the estab-
lishment of an American Native
Studies program.
The demand was made by
Roz McCoy, a former student
at the University, in the late
afternoon public comments ses-
sion. McCoy preceded the de-
mand with some general com-
ments on the position of Na-
tive American students at the
University.
McCOY declared "you are in-
sensitive to the fact that we are
another nation, another cul-
ture." She further commented
that "the University is a white
institution teaching non-white
people how to be white."
Victoria Barer quoted Vice-
President of Academic Affairs
Frank Rhodes in citing the
University's "moral and legal
obllgation" to increase minor-
ity enrollment. Barner also read
excerpts from the writings of
Black Elk, a noted Native
American author.
A list of eight demands was
read by James Pego including
requests for Native American
staff members in Admissions,
Financial Aids and Housing,
as well as a Native American
cultural center and a hiring
committee composed of Native
American staff members, Na-
tive American students and Na-
tive Americans from the com-
munity.
AN "attitudinal change" on
the part of the University Ad-
ntinistration was also called
for,. and the Administration
was asked to take a "positive
stand in the change of attitudes
of Professors." In addition, the
demands insisted on a "mini-
mum of Native American
courses" in the Schools of Edu-
cation and Social Work "to in-
crease the awareness and sen-
sitivity" of students.
Kevin Hart, the Native Amer-
ican Advocate remarked on the
"high attrition rate" among
Native American students at
the University. He contrasted
the University's program of stu-
dies with the "excellent" pro-
gram offered at the University
of Minnesota.
Hart also referred to the
drummers and singers that pro-
tested all morning in the Re-
gents' Plaza before the meeting,
describing it as "a show of
concern" by the Native Ameri-
can students at the University.