The Michigan Daily-Saturday, .une6, 1981-Page 11
CHANGING ROLES AND ERODING STEREOTYPES
Women on the medical campus
(Continued from Page 3)
husband who does more than half of the
homemaking."
Other women, like Payne, are able to take time off
or work part-time. Payne took eight years off to raise
her family after receiving her Ph.D.
"I came back (to academics) in the sixties," she
said, "which in the sixties was possible. I think it may
be impossible in the eighties because of the tight
financial situation."
The increase of women in the medical field
provides more role models for women now than there
were in the past. "There weren't that many women
around" when she was in medical school, Paluszny
said.
FEMALE ROLE models are an important factor
for women. "Positive role models make all the dif-
ference in the world," Payne said.
Another change for women in the medical field is
access to all specialty areas, such as surgery and in-
ternal medicine. "Strangely, there was a long time
Inf laton
Jobless
rate is up
that women didn't even get into obstetrics and
gynecology," Schultz said.
"There are some who treat women as
"equal colleagues, and then there are
some who never forget you 're a
woman. "
-Miriam Meisler,
associate professor
human genetics
Medical student Rocio Huet is a past president of
the American Medical Students Association. "I think
what has happened in the past is that women were
funneled-into pediatrics, for instance-and not such
WASHINGTON (UPI)-The first wave of cheaper
fuel in more than three years knocked inflation at the
producer level down to an annual rate of 4.6 percent
in May, while unemployment edged up for the month,
the government reported yesterday.
A world oil glut and gas-pump shy Americans,
which have forced fuel retailers to trim prices to stay
competitive, combined to cut wholesale fuel prices
for the first time since February 1978.
MAY'S 1.8 PERCENT drop in gasoline prices was
long-awaited confirmation that more than a few
weeks of competitive pressure is at work in
moderating America's cost of living. Fuel oil got 1.2
percent cheaper.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate, which had
held steady at 7.3 percent for three months, rose to 7.6
percent, matching the level of October 1980, the peak
for that year. It was the highest since January's 7.4
things as surgery," she said.
SUSAN RASMUSSEN, a research assistant at the
University's Affirmative Action office, agreed. She
pointed out that the distribution of women in the
medical school departments may reflect the past
"funneling" trend. She said there is one female
faculty member out of 83 in surgery, and 8 percent of
boththe human genetics and internal medicine
faculty members are women.
In contrast, women account for 25 percent of the
pediatrics staff, and 43 percent of the family practice
staff.
Rasmussen said that for women to constitute a
total of 13 percent of the medical school faculty is
"not ' too bad," when compared to the national
average of 15 percent.
Beverly Mitchell, an assistant professor of internal
medicine, said one change brought about by the in-
flux of women to medicine is that "you're not singled
out as being unusual. I think by and large it's easier
(for women) now."
percent.
The number of unemployed rose by 425,000 on a
seasonally adjusted basis to 8.2 million in May. Forty
percent had been out of work less than five weeks.
BUT WHILE FUEL prices decreased, the Girard
Bank of Philadelphia, the nation's 45th largest in-
stitution, hiked it's prime interest rate yesterday one
percentage-point to 21 percent, the first major bank
to react to a sharp upturn in money market rates.
Girard's action came after the cost of overnight
money rose past 20 percent and no one knew if the
higher cost represented Federal Reserve policy.
"It's too early to tell if the higher funds represent
the Fed's policy wishes or if the higher rates reflect
technical factors," said William Sullivan Jr., senior
vice president at Bank of New York. "We could see
most banks ride the prime.out until after Friday's
money figures come in.
'For colored girls .. .
opens at Mendelssohn
(Continued from Page 6)
next to inspiringly believable perfor-
mances like Pat Vereen's child-like in-
nocence in "toussaint" and Stephanie
McIntosh's gut-wrenching agony in "no
assistance," they are found to be
somewhat lacking.
But this inconsistency between per-
formers only seems to matter in the fir-
st act. By the second, the ensemble is
a cohesive acting unit making what at
first seem to be discrepancies in talent,
now only seem to be differences in
style.
It's a shame that the second act,
which generally contains the stronger
material, also contains the only vignet-
te of questionable value. A long scene
called "a nite with beau willie brown"
manages to almost completely stymie
the increasing personal power and
collective momentum of the second set
with its contrived, melodramatic air.
THANKFULLY, it did not seem to
significantly hinder the revelatory
gospel sing-along that closes the
production, "I found God in myself, and
I loved her fiercely."
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of
this show is that it avoids weightiness
like an agile dancer, bowing to the
pathos of a situation without ever
stooping to wallow in pity. Dealing with
such serious issues, it could easily have
been a draining, helpless experience.
Instead, it is a richly moving and em-
powering experience, even for those
who aren't necessarily black and/or
female.
Part of the involvement we feel as an
audience comes from the actresses,
whose performances are so real that we
can't avoid identifying with their joys
and pains. But a large part of our
emotional rapture also stems from the
fact that in touching on growing up
female and growing up black, Shange
also speaks to the pains and joys of
growing up (period). Fearing a lover's
power to walk away with your heart at
any given moment, and the feeling of
being too alone to even ask for com-
panionship are clearly not emotions
peculiar to black women.
BUT EVEN THOUGH it speaks to all
of us, "for colored girls . . . " is just
that. It is written for black women to
help them recognize and develop their
common heritage. In many ways,
Shange seems to have answered her
own call (in the words of one of her
characters) for "someone ... anybody
(to) sing a black girl's song." The New
Common Ground Theatre Ensemble is
singing Ntozake Shange's song, and
we'reinvited to join in.
OPEN HEARING
for
Review of the Department of
Geograpy
Monday, June 8, 1981
Regents' Room
First Floor, Fleming Administration Building
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Those wishing to make a public statement should
call Edward Dougherty, 764-9254.