The Michigan Daily - Friday, July 29, 1988 - Page 3 PRCESE WOD Two worlds collide BY AMY HARMON Kristin sits with her legs crossed and her arms crossed and her eyes glued to the floor. She does not trust me. She does not want to be here. She has come to Ozone House, she says, because her only other option is the street. She can not go home. Even if her mother would take her back, she wouldn't go. Something about her mother's boyfriend. She doesn't want to talk about it. "I want a place of my own," she says, her eyes meeting mine for the first time, and the tone of her voice, and the look on her face, burn into my mind. She wants to drop out of school and get a waitress job, but she has nowhere to stay while she is saving money, and even if she does save up enough for a security deposit, she can't sign a lease because she is 17. I tell her we can find a place for her to stay for a few nights, on somebody's couch, and that tomorrow she can fill out an application for Ozone's Independent Living Program. I make the necessary phone calls, and tell her where to go. I walk through the living room full with teens smoking, thinking, talking, trying to sleep. A room full of young people returning from jobs or job-hunts, from AA meetings or drug deals. They are always waiting - waiting for counseling appointments, or to get something to eat, or to find out where they will be sleeping tonight. Briefly, I greet the ones I know. Then I get on my bike and ride away. To my home. To my own place. It is so easy, once away from Ozone House, to melt back into the University landscape, into this life of classes, studying, seeing friends, working. I am busy. In this life there is no waiting, there is only constant movement, fulfilling obligations, making lists of things to do and checking them off. Then, when the two worlds collide, I realize how separate they are, and how convenient that separation is for me. Seeing Kristin on the Diag is like the shock of feeling a bruise that does not hurt unless it is touched. I did not realize how scrupulously I have avoided thinking about her until she appears, out of context, intruding on my clean, clear college world. We say hello. She explains that she is on her way to Taco Bell, to fill out a job application. I am relieved. She is just passing through, then; she is not attempting to join me here. We agree to meet at Ozone tomorrow and I continue on to class, angry and confused at my reaction. Yet it is not surprising, given the invisible status to which our society' relegates the homeless, that I should react that way. We are socialized to ignore them, to walk by without turning our heads, to pretend they do not exist. If we do not acknowledge them, then they must not be real. And despite the recent increase in press coverage of the issue, nothing significant has been done on either a national or local level to assure the growing numbers of homeless of their basic right to shelter. Though the Ann Arbor community has so far failed to acknowledge the needs of homeless teens, the teens themselves may force us to confront the problem we try so hard to avoid. Because of their age and their anger, they constitute a undeniable force, a force which refuses to be ignored, and refuses to be silent. Several young Ozone House clients met last week with Mayor Gerald Jernigan to express their frustration with the city's non-response to their plight. Jernigan's initial reaction- surprise at the scope of the problem - is representative of the community's lack of awareness. It is easy to live in separate worlds: The world of endless waiting. The world of busy obligations. The bruises that only hurt when you touch them. Forum finds Dems differ BY ANNA SENKEVITCH Michigan's second district Demo-t cratic Congressional candidates LanaI Pollack and Dean Baker differed on the issues of Israel and gay rights in_ a forum at Ann Arbor's Church of the Good Shepherd, eight days prior to the Aug. 2 primary. Pollack twice evoked hisses from audience members who disagreed with her stand on U.S.-Israeli rela- tions. "We need to continue our com- mitment to Israel, to its security and to its well being," she said. "I have a lifelong commitment to human rights for all people." But Baker strongly opposed to U.S. funding for Israel, which he said1 perpetuates oppressive Israeli poli- cies. Correction An article in the July 22, 1988 issue of the Daily concerning the search for a new University Affirmat- ive Action director incorreetiy report- ed that the Michigan Student Assem- bly had not yet named a student representative to the committee. The article should have stated that the committee had named two candid- ates for the spot, but that the final representative had not yet been chosen. I oe The Business offices of The Michigan Daily will be closed on Friday , July 29 (today). "I'd say we have a responsibility Both candidates, however, sup- to force (the Israelis) to respect ported social programs such as rais- Palestinian rights," he said. ing the minimum wage and develop- Pollack also said, as she has pre- ing national health care coverage. In the first of the two five-minute Both c andidates sup- opening statements, State Sen. Pol- ported similar social pro- lack (D-Ann Arbor) emphasized that grams such as raising the main issue of her campaign is the minimum Wage, but "the future of our children, ...our parents, ...ourselves, ...the planet." differed on human rights She supported expanding social issues. and environmental programs, which she said congressional incumbent viously to a group of University Carl Pursell (R-2nd District) has students, that although she supports hindered. gay rights, she would not prime- Baker in his statement told the sponsor or co-sponsor gay rights audience the agenda of the Reagan legislation. administration must be reversed, and Baker reiterated that he would be endorsed eliminating proportional tax willing to sponsor civil rights legis- breaks and reducing the military bud- lation for lesbians and gay men. get. PGARDEN RestaurantI Specializing in Szechuan,Hunan.& Peking Cuisine CARRY OUT and DELIVERY DINING AND COCKTAILS Mon - Thurs 11:30 a.m.- 10:00 p.m. Open 7 days Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. a week Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Sun 12:00p.m.-10:00 p.m. 3035 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor 971-0970 Subjects Needed for Study of New Asthma Medication at University Hospital Patient Requirements: Age 18-70 who use inhaled or oral medications for wheezing or shortness of breath. We Must Exclude: Time: Women of child bearing potential and people taking Corticosteriods (Prednisone) 1/2-1 hour visit every 2 weeks for 18 weeks $100.00 at completeion of study All medications, equipment, visits are paid for. Call Dr. Chauncey or Rose Willcome 936-5245 LOOK YOUR BESTI If your hair isn't becom- ing to you-You should be coming to usI DASCOLA STYLISTS Subscribe to The Michigan Daily! The Michigan Daily will be publishing September through April (Fall & Winter terms) Subscriptions Rates: Fail & Winter terms In-town.........$25.00 Out-of-town ............$35.00 Fall term only In-town .....................$15.00 Out-of-town ..............$20.00 Send prepayment to: The Michigan Daily 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 * Free Pregnancy Testing- Free Counseling ~ " Gyrnecology * Birth Control ,. " Abortion Health Care Clinic of Ann Arbor 2512 Carpenter 9 971-1970 -r Compensation: If Interested: