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Friday, February 18, 1983
Daily Nebraskan
Editor a
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The "Mjuoal rule" has been temporal i!y
squared .
The rule, nicknamed In its opponents,
would hae tattled on teens who sock
contraceptives from federally funded
health elinies. Parents of gii Is 17 and under
would have been notified by the elinies
within 10 days after their daughter re
eeied a prescription for binh control
pills or other contraceptive devices.
Loitunaiely. someone with both
common sense and authority spoke out
against the regulation. This week. U.S.
District Court Judge Henry Worker stopped
the government from enforcing the rule.
If Worker had not acted, the rule,
initiated by the Depaitnient of Health
and Human Services, would have taken
effect Feb. 25. Health and Human Services
Secretary Richard Schweiker had
promoted the regulation on the grounds
that "family participation" in such
decisions was advisable.
Schweiker was quoted in Newsweek as
saying.. "The government should not
construct a Berlin wall between parents
and children."
His replacement, Margaret Heckler,
opposed the regulation, or at least said she
did before her nomination to the position,
as did others in the Congressional
Women's Caucus.
If parents and children have not estab
lished a strong, trustful means of communi
cation, it is unlikely that the regulation
would have encouraged such a relationship
to develop. If anything, it would cause
more fear, more unwanted pregnancies,
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more abortions and more resentment.
It would only discourage teen-agets
from using but!) control when the figures
show that they are sexually active. It
would penalize giils who try to seek
medical help, while thou boy Tiiends would
be fiee from worry about their parents'
reaction.
Hie regulation could still go into effect .
I he final decision w ill not be made until
a tiial is held, and there is always the
chance for an appeal.
If it does take effect, about 5,000
family planning clinics would be required
to issue information to parents of their
clients. More than 400,000 girls are said to
be affected.
The American Public Health Association
opposed the regulation because of health
hazards to both teens and their children.
It argues that for those under 15, the
maternal death rate is twice that for
women 20 to 24, and that using birth
control pills is far less risky for teens than
pregnancy and childbirth. It also agrees
that the rule would lead to increased
abortion and infant-mortality rates.
All of these factors should be weighed
before the rule comes up for further
consideration. The government, if it is
really concerned with the welfare of its
constituents, should see that the dangers
of the ''squeal rule" far outweigh the
benefits.
As Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of
the subcommittee on family planning
programs said, "The proposed rule is bad
law and bad policy."
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Letter
Policy
Non-whites struggle for rights
What does it mean to be black, brown able to shake off oppression.
t
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or yellow in this world? If you live in the
Third World, it means to be ruled by a
repressive, often genocidal, dictatorship
supported by the white countries. It
means, sometimes, having to seek refuge
in those white countries themselves and
then having to listen to the white man
proclaim how humane his society is. If
you are a Chicano, Afro or Native
American, it means being, in a real if not
legal sense, a second-class citizen in the
country you helped create.
That is the basic reality of what it
means to be not while in this world. It
wasn't Third World people who created
this reality, but the white man who did.
It would be foolish and dangerous for us to
ignore the existence of this ever-present
reality.
The essence, therefore, of being yellow,
brown or black is not a celebration of the
harmless aspects of one's individual
culture, although these are important. The
essence of not being white is to stand up
for the rights of non-white peoples
throughout the woild. Unless oppressed
people stand together, they will never be
Tl 111 i i
mere are many niacK, Drown and
yellow people who cooperate with the
white man in oppressing their own people.
These Uncle Toms have black skins and
white minds. As such, they must be
opposed.
Conversely, many white people are
also oppressed by the white man's system
to the extent that they recognize this and
enter into alliances with non-white people,
they must be welcomed as friends. Third
World people should even take the
initiative and independently stand up for
the rights of oppressed white people, even
it the latter do not reciprocate.
However, the black, brown or yellow
person cannot afford to be "nice" or
"tolerant" and cannot afford to idly
fraternize with those non-white or while
people who explicitly or implicitly support
continued oppression and refuse to
examine their convictions or lack thereof.
That's part of the hard reality of struggling
lor one's rights in the white man's world.
Krishna Madan
graduate student, teachers college
Clnaimge dbh day-care law coyld sparfc spamilki
mist
iremo
Column potpourri II. It's February 1983, and today I
will look at two issues that are surprising to see, even in
the newspapers. They are issues of immediate interest, but
somehow they seem out of place.
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Brian
Stonecipher
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The first topic deals with some interesting discussions
taking place before our state government. Monday night,
child spankers and non-spankers squared off before the
state Welfare Department. The public hearing was called
to discuss possible changes in the day-care center laws
which prohibit spanking (I told you that this issue seemed
out of place).
1 really hadn't thought much about spanking rules be
fore. Then the future consequences came to me: it could
start a new trend - spanking everyone for disciplinary
reasons. I mean, why stop at day-care centers? Why not
permit spanking through high school and even colleges?
There's nothing like a good child spanking to get the point
across. I can see it now - when the six-week progress re
ports come out, there is a small note on the side" '"Your
progress is less than satisfactory - please report to the Ad
ministration Building tomorrow morning for your spank
ing." That would certainly give a new meaning to the
phrase "Go Big Red."
One important campus issue right now is move of the
Culture Center. Much has already been said for and
against the move, so I'll try not to be redundant.
The Culture Center currently is housed in a terrible
facility away from the heart of campus, and an alternate
(Terrace Hall) became available. The proposed site does
need some work, but generally seems to fit all the require
ments of the group wanting to move there. The story
should end right here, but it doesn't. Some very irrational
and unfair arguments enter in.
Opposition throughout the decision process came from
Greek residents living near Terrace Hall and from other
students involved in approving the move and the budget.
The arguments used are blatantly racist, only with the
name-calling lett out. (Stereotypes are the basis lor argu
ment: increased problems with burglaries, loud music,
wild parties, rapes and a need for extra security.
Come on. this is 1983! A society should not have to
put up with any group that prejudges on irrelevant
heresay. What makes it unfortunate is that this group
happens to be Greek and happens to have the political
pull and resources to prevent such a move.
I'm hoping that those neighboring residences can come
to their senses and put an end to this senseless racism.
And I'm hoping that the people who are in charge of the
move at this point will discount these biased arguments
from their decision. Some specific things to watch for:
1. The proposal is now being considered by Admini
stration. Let's see if Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs Richard Armstrong and UNL Chancellor
Martin Massengale can hold up under the Greek
alumni pressure.
2. The move is included in CFA's budget. Watch for
Massengale to "pull" this single line from the bud
get to consider it at a later time (like after school is
out and all the students are at home). It's happen
ed before with the student president's salary, it
could happen again.
3. Watch for comments from NU Board of Regents
who have the final say in this matter.