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.