$A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 22, 1998 NATION/WORLD Nigerian death tolls nse JESSE, Nigeria (AP) - A bell- ringing town crier was sent to Jesse yesterday to call for the injured to return to hospitals, while state radio announced that the death toll from the fireball that tore through this south- ern Nigerian town has risen to 700. "We cannot force them to stay in hospitals," said the region's nursing supervisor, D. Omamor. She said she knew of 10 patients who had gone home against their doctors' advice, fearing they would be arrested for gasoline theft if they stayed. She said she believed there were many more. "They left on their own volition," said Omamor, who ordered the bell ringer, a man who lives nearby, to head to Jesse. Saturday's explosion occurred, while as many as 1,000 people - using buckets, pots, any recipient they could get their hands on -- were trying to scoop up gasoline pouring from holes in the pipeline. As well as state radio, the Nigerian newspaper Daily Express reported at least 700 deaths, about 200 more than the count the day before. The newspaper, based in the capital andals familiar mericans Lucky Okurume describes how he lost his brothers Monday, as flames leap from a still burning oil pipeline in Jes near Ward in Nigeria's oil rich Delta State yesterday, 72 hours after it exploded. I ~ss X~k~Times TYORK - Te world econo- ring on the brink, vhile vio- s around the globe. At home, ncorous partisanship and a p inik of moral leadership. But l y e in the newspapers is sex, sndal and endless gossip. Don't people have more important t igs to worry about? The scenario may be familiar, yet the time was 1919 and the place was Paris. Although you'd expect people to focus on te Versailles Peace Conference, which was redrawing the map of a dev- astated postwar Europe, Parisians couldn't get enough of Henri Desire Larutu, a swindler on trial for murder- ing 10 women and scattering their h arred remains on country roads. "The newspapers, bewildered at the sudden absence of a war communique, flung t hemselves on this," wrote histo- rian Wlliam 3olitho. "The mob in cry a t er their murderer did not notice, or re delghted to notice, the concomi- ant shorness ofnews about the Peace Confrence." Then i now, scandal has played a cental role in modern culture, and Amerncans who think sensational sto- ries began with Monica Lewinsky and OJ. Simpson need a history lesson. indeed, salacious tales of sex, murder ad o r ruption date back to the found- ing of the republic. What is new, how- ever, are the scope and intensity of these mredia spectacles. America has entered what some observers are call- S m anAge of Permanent Scandal an era when marathon stories like Clinton-Lewinsky and the Simpson murder case are beamed into homes 2 hours a day, for months and even ye at a time, To be sure, the Simpson and Clinton stories have touched raw nerves in American life, dealing with race, fame and murder in one case and the presi- dent's sexual behavior in another. Yet these scandals take over your home like house guests who initially seem amusing, and then stubbornly re fuse to leave. "The stories go on forever and th have a numbing effect ... They invaW your life and you really can't get away from them," says columnist Molly Ivins. "This is the same blockbuster mentality that you see in publishing, in Hollywood and other entertainment arenas." It's an unprecedented development, and some experts believe there are dan- gerous consequences to this quantum leap in media saturation. While earl* spectacles may have told grand tales o good and evil - - allowing audiences to gossip over celebrities and reaffirm a common sense of right and wrong - today's permanent scandals may be dri- ving Americans apart - and creating the world's first "scandal immune" culture. "We all want a grand narrative, a less on underneath these stories, but America is a fractured society, with so many divisions, and it's hard to tell one tale that everybody can agree with* says Herman Gray, a University of California, Santa Cruz, sociologist. Lagos, cited police who attributed the increase to the many injured who have since died. The toll could reach 1,000, said J.1. Ogude, the village chief of Jesse, a scattered, dirt-poor town of about 12,000 people, most either cassava farmers or small traders. Counting the dead as well as the injured remained a frustratingly diffi- cult task. Some residents were said to be secretly burying their dead out of the same fear of prosecution that has prompted many of those initially hos- pitalized to return to their mud shacks and concrete houses where, without painkillers and medicine, their chances of recovery were slimmer. "People are running away," said Jacob Emogho, one of few residents who would speak to a reporter yes- terday. "People are afraid to talk to any strangers." Authorities have not said whether they intend to press charges for the gasoline theft or the fire, but no arrests have been made and none are immediately expected. While author- ities have prosecuted some pipeline saboteurs in the past, the reactions in Jesse appeared to be rooted in a small-town fear of authority. To overcome those fears, the town crier was to promise people they will not be prosecuted and will be ireatdi free of charge, eliminating yet an er reason many don't want to say i hospitals. His services were necesa because the phone service in the area is abysmal and many people don' even have radios. But even for those who remained under medical care, treatment was often hard to come by. Hospitals were overwhelmed by the disaster and were short on medicine and doctors. Local officials said, though, that extra supplies had begun arrivIng from the United Nations and Israi doctors were also flying in. B R I A R W OOD M A L L U of M and Eastern Michigan, students and employees. Show us your "M" card or "Eagle" card. *Not valid on Kiddie Car Classics or Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments 3 94fa J4aebwt& - Briarwood Mall %Z GEO Continued from Page 1A Plaza, the bulk of those attending escorted the GEO Bargaining Committee to the negotiating room in the LSA Building. In March of 1996, the last time a contract was finalized, bargaining was not enough to produce a contract. State intervention became necessary following a two-day walkout, after which the contract was resolved in "less than a day," Dirnbach said. Dirnbach was a bargaining committee, member during the last negotiations, and some people from the administrative team also have returned. Interim Director of Academic Human Resources Dan Gamble will serve as the chair of the adminis- tration's bargaining committee, and was also a member during the last contract negotiation with the GEO. Gamble said yesterday's meeting was "a good constructive discussion," and said that the onset of this contract's negotiations have a more positive tone than the 1995-% proceedings. "We did agree on some ground rules, and we will be keeping the proceedings close to the vest" Gamble said. The rally stressed the need for an organized effort with diverse support, and a consistent show- ing of numbers to emphaize the seriousness of GEO's needs. "Our arguments are going to mean squat unless we have real support" Odicri ink said. "We need to explain to students why our struggle is important for a better education." "We are a union, and the University cannot ignore us," Dirnbach said. "They must negotiate. The University expects GE) to ask, but not to fight. We areo o ed, and this University cannot function wthout us If the rally was an indicator, GEO has already begun to muster support. In attendance was a mix of GEO members and undergraduate students. "We value graduate instructors very highly" LSA firstvyear student Camille Brown said. "Teaching is one of the most valuable professione and we treat them so poorly." "It's important for them to get better pay," Kinesiology first-year student Jason Shand said. "I have to rely on my GSIs more than my professors." About 50 members of the group Detroit Locked- Out Newspaper Workers, who are still on strike from The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press after more than three years, also attended the GEO rally. "GEO people have been chained up and arrested for us," said Detroit Locked-Out Newspaper Workers representative Kate DeSmett said. "I lo@ around here and I see the next generation of union activists." 1 DOCUMENT BINDINGS I Any style, size or color I WIN 530 E Libey Ann Arbor 761-4539 2609 nymouth Rd., Ann Arbor 996-00501 Bring this coupon to the Kinko's listed and receive document bindings (any .style, size or color) for just $1 each. I SSubject to availability. Does not include copies. Offer is limited to one coupon per person. Coupon must be presented at r ti medof purchase and is not valid with other offers or dicounts.ffr valinatd attime of purchase only and may not be discounted or credited toward past or future purchases. Offer valid at inko's le)lcations only. Coupon void where prohibited by law. No cash 5 value. 02)998 Kinko's, Inc. Ail rights reserved. Kinko's is a ristered Traemrk of Kinko's Ventures, Inc. and is used by permission. Kinko's requires written permission from the copyrght oLde1 in order to reproduce any copyrighted materials. AA 32 MOSTLOCATIONS DE 24 HOURS A DAY EXP1130l98 SUNDAY SPECIAL Wolverines Score YOU SAVE! 5% off for every touchdown upto2 5%off MUDBOWL Continued from Page 1A cancel the event. "All the sorority presidents agreed they want to cancel their social events our of respect for Courtney and her f ily," Panhel President Mary Gray "We definitely need to have a little time to reflect and see where we need to improve our social environment." Planned exchanges between fraterni- ties and sororities will be canceled, but pre-parties before Saturday's football game may continue as scheduled. A victory party for Mudbowl partici- pants is traditionally held after the bowl but that has been canceled, Krywko said. The National Chi Omega Presi t Mary Ann Fruge announced in a wn statement yesterday that social activities will be suspended at the campus chapter for at least one month. "During this time, the chapter will intensify its education on the dangers of alcohol consumption" Fruge said. The Greek Social Environment Task Force was founded by IFC and Panhel in September to examine a number of fac- tors in the Greek Community, inclug underage drinking, party size, defini- tions of parties and the current joint IFC/Panhel Alcohol Policy. =i w .