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14-n:ECAT.:USA TIKES SAT.. APRIL 4,1 SS1,: JOE ABE A L0T0FHUN0&Y CHlDREff, , 4 ... ... MR. PRESIDENT INftSDVCM 7HEAIDT0 THE NEW, 70 AP peasz THBmMMmrTHEPfiEswgfirmy W HfrftEADtM TUB filSCTlOU RETURNS, Spectacles: A Closer Look . - Teen Sexual "Activity A. Case .-For yirginity. , , V ,: By Ada M. Fisher, M.D IQ)0tii0i0J Fear of U.S. Policy At The United Nations By Curtis T. Perkins Dr. Jeanne J. Kirkpatrick is the new United States Ambassador to the United Nations. With her coming to this world body joining , with some 154 nations, a .certain apprehension has set in among many of her fellow diplomats. Mrs. Kirkpatrick, a former Georgetown University professor of political science, is being perceived as a hardliner, an unadulterated disciple of an intolerant Reagan policy toward the underdeveloped nations. As I have talked to individual representatives of the Third World and.. groom: from treaty which will govern the resources oT the oceans and seas of the earth. The United States has been a major part of these deliberations beginning with Presi dent Lyndon Johnson's years in the White House. Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter continued these talks. Elliott Richardson, a Republican with impec cable credentials as U.S. Attorney General, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce served as Chief representative of both Ford and Carter in hammering out a charter. But as the Conference got underway If the latest statistics on teenage sexual behavior from the Alan Guttmacher In , stitute and Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health are, to be believed (and I do believe them), teenagers today are more sexually active and likely to;' .become, pregnant despite the use of con traceptives. By the age of 19, 80 of males ;and 66.67 of females have had sexual inters ; course with the average age of their first sex-' ual experience being 16. If the current trend is hot reversed, 40V of the females now aged 14 will become pregnant at least once during their teenage years (this means four out of ten teenagers). The disruption which is occurring in our ' children's young lives, venereal diseases (VD), and potential health problems are not ; being adequately dealt with. The pressure Iput on teenagers by peers and lovers to engage in sexual intercourse is tremendous. Though their bodies often signal adulthood, ;the mental responsibility for their actions is often not apparent. Wish as.we may or lec turing until we're blue in the face have not deterred the upshoot in premarital sexual ac ; tivity. We have too often failed to adequate ly prepare our kids for the "real facts of life. . Medically, if for no other reasons, we need to tell our children to slow down for early unprepared sexual activity may be hazardous to their health in ways other than : thoSe involving pregnancy. The rise in the in- -cidence of venereal disease, in particular gonorrhea and nonspecific infections due to an organism called chlymidia, among this gr ', is no joke. Unfortunately many kids arte adults, male and female, are asymp tomatic carriers, i.e., they have the disease -but none of the usual symptoms of discharge or discomfort. This then means that VD is being passed from person to person without . its victims noticing it. This is particularly alarming in view of the multiple partners often, involved and the potential long term consequences, notably sterility, arthritis, and genital infections, which can result if they remain untreated. Already we know that the cell structure of the young .teenager's genital tract may not ' necessarily be the same as that for adults. More and more scientific, literature points to . early coitus and multiple partners as risk fac- " tors in the development of cervical cancer. When you've seen teenagers start losing their uterus and cervix to pelvic infections secon dary to VD, its time for us all to deal with this problem of society. The fact remains that pregnancies in those under 18 are con sidered high risk necessitating many . Caesarcan sections and unwanted complica tions. In 1978, 1.1 million teenagers were pregnant with 38V aborting, 22Vt having out-of-wedlock births, 10 of the births in ducing early manages, and 30 miscarry ing. This is a heavy "head trip" for the young psyche, to say nothing of the effect On : the families so involved. The strain of these pregnancies on a society now unwilling to ex pand its programs of Aid to Families with , Dependent Children or those' on medical , assistance must not be viewed lightly. It's time we all-dealt honestly and realistically with the issue of teenage sexuali-. ty. Locking up the young isn't the answer ; and talking is good only to a point. What we need is a dose of reality. One reality is that most of these sexual encounters are not for the most part in the back seats of cars or in motels, but place in the home of the female or her male partner. Further, first in tercourse in males is seasonal, usually with a peak in the summer. (One must wonder whether the lack of youth employment op tions contributes to this phenomenon). In ; addition, first coitus tends to occur with so meonc they have known for a while. . Rather than employ the negative strategies utilized in previous years, maybe we need to focus on the positive benefits to virginity and delayed sexual activity. Personally, I believe that sexual intercourse under the age 18 ! should not. be. condoned or encouraged for health reasons. There are still too many unanswered questions in dealing with teenage sexuality. Parents and children , would do well to resist pressures to follow ithe current trend. "Steady dating" and un supervised social affairs below the age of 16 'shoufd fce jdiscouraged. Children under 16 should aotJbcleft at home alone and those who are; should be discouraged from having company in the house. Youth training and employment opportunities should be developed .for summers or times of non jcompulsory school activity. Quality time, love, and, frank discussions of family issues need to be held with the involvement of children. Teenagers must learn impulse con trol and to cope with life's frustrations sexual and otherwise. If teenagers cannot or will not appreciate the virtues and benefits of sexual abstinence. 'then we must equip them to minimize their risk of pregnancy and disease. Condoms or j "rubbers'! should be widely encouraged ! among sexually active people, especially those with more than one partner, as it is the only method found to help prevent, the spread of VD. This also means males must he willing to assume their share of the responsibility for pregnancy and VD. As an ; aside, males ' should appreciate the law which state that sexual intercourse with a female under the age of majority (usually I defined as 15) with or without her consent is J Statutory Rape. Given the shift in the na lion's moral mood, we should be concerned 'lest these old statutes be invoked against those expressing their sexuality. When 1 hear 'of young teenagers deliberately stating that they wanted a baby and then see them im pose on their parents to raise these children, ' I am saddened. Are our egos so fragile and our world so narrow that the only way we . can prove our manhood or womanhood is to make babies we reallv don't want? Black people, Wake Up! Our children arc our future. Out children are "out there" and many are misguided. If we don't take our heads from the sand and deal with our sex ually active teenagers, we will continue to destroy their lives and the children they con . ccive. How long will we not accept our role in the sexual maturity of our young? It's alright for us to .say 'no to them and it's about time they learned to say 'no' to their I peers. Youth Subminimum Wage Ignores Reality , By Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins merence goi unaerway, - ... . - c - 7 - . - with -wrtilm' from these lest ' affluent I, too, see us losing again. ministration here in the hallowed halls of the U.N. and in the capitals of our fellow states the good will engendered by former Am- haccsirforc Andrew Yniins anH IVtnatH McHeriry: ';)': Chief delegate Kirkpatrick was ap pointed by "President Reagan after he read an article by her in a magazine. She espoused Jhen and now that America must show its strength and stand up to its adversaries. She had scorn for the ac tions of the Carter Presidency. Prior to her confirmation, Mrs. Kirkpatrick spoke to the B'nai B'rith, frightening the moderate Arab leaders. After taking on her job, she spoke to the American Legion, in patriotic terms, that the U.S. would restore its influence and posture with a respected military capacity and a clarity in foreign policy matters. Naturally this 'pleased the Legion, but not those nations fighting for disarmament and development of their poorer colleagues. f j . ' For the past several weeks, I have carefully examined the reports of the United Nations on current deliberations. I have discussed in depth the U.S. at titude to date on these matters. I am listing these several fears now Duname un at tne ij.in. nasea on Mrs. Kirkpatrick' pronouncements and the overall, unfolding Reagan foreign policy: INDEPENDENCE FOR NAMIBIA - This huge territory also known as South West Africa is governed by South Africa under U.N, mandate. It is of great interest to the West and the Soviet Union because of it s vast mineral deposits; especially- uranium. At a special session recently of the U.N. General Assembly, South Africa wax ex pelled by a majority of the membership for foot dragging in Namibia. The United, States, some ten western and South American states sided with South Africa , against expulsion. Am bassador Kirkpatrick cited Articles 5 and 6 of the U.N. Charter stating that only the U.N. Security Council could re ject a member. ; V? ' Although I subscribe to her views, the Third World sees this as a part of the Reagan strategy to work closer with South Africa. Mr.. Reagan said only a few days ago that South Africa had been always a stalwart ally. However, most members of ihe U.N. are uncompromising in their objectives for. ; Namibian -, independence. Am bassador Paul Lusaka of Zambia, Presi dent of the Council For Namibia, said at the session that it was time for the U.N. to slop wailing for South Africa to make up its mind on the issue and , for the organization to implement its resolu tions for independence of the area. Most of the U.N. delegates feel they arc compelled to await South Africa's elections in the summer before pressing this last remaining U.N. mandate in ; Ai.ica to statehood. , , LAW OF. THE SEA TREATY For over ten years the Law'of the U.N. Sea Conference has been negotiating a ment. It was felt by all that the Treaty could have been concluded and ready for signing after a brief period of discus sion at the U.N. , The action of the United States has .cast the session in gloom. Two of the, U.S. officials have been re-instated, but the Reagan people have insisted for thrightly that they want to "study" the agreements for an indefinite period. Spokesmen, among other objections, depict the concern of American mining corporations as the principle reason for their rejection at this time. Former Ambassador Richardson is chagrined and dumbfounded. The new Conference President, Am bassador T.T.B. (Tommy) Koh of Singapore, and a leader of the Third World, said that the Reagan Ad ministration in "expressing serious pro blems," with the draft treaty had created "distress" for his government and most others. Ambassador Richardson has repeated that he felt the U.S. had gotten the best possible deal and had shown a spirit of cooperation in a willingness to work with its fellow countries in equitably sharing the riches of the seas. Such an insensitivity to the need of a new economic order for ihe world on the part of Mr. Reagan and his aides seems a lack of reality of events of this day. The 1 rcaly should be immediately accepted bv America. AID TO REFUGEES The ax of David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and budget, has reached up to U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldhelm and U.N. High Commis sioner For Refugees, Poul Martling, the former Prime Minister of Sweden. Both Mr. Waldheim and Commissioner Harding are alarmed at the proposed reduced contributions for refugees by the United States. Mr. Hartling has been meeting with Deputy Secretary of State, William P. Clark, Vice President George Bush and W.R. Smyser, acting director of the Staic Department Bureau of Refugees lo get funds for 1.7 million refugees from Afghanistan which is a new development. Further, money is needed for drought stricken Somalia and refugees fleeing the war between them and Ethiopia. Refugees from Uganda and Chad are posing problems for the economy of the Sudan and Kenya. There is still the Vietnamese and Cambodia refugee situation which seems to. be - abating. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency For Palestine which administers - close to two million Palestine refugees-' faces cuts from Mr, Stockman.. It seems , some American Zionists and officials of ' Israel arc urging thcJRcagan Administra tion to cut- U.S. donations to U.N.R.W.A. - This, in my opinion, ; would be the .wrong thing to do since Israel receives close lo fifty per cent of our foreign aid budget. . v I feel it's fair for Mr. Waldheim and High Commissioner Hartling to seek tv. Mr. Reagan also wants to lower tne ; minimum., wage for youth. Under this 'Republican proposal employers would be allowed to pay youth, age 19 or under, a wage equal to roughly 73 per cent of the .prevailing minimum wage, or S2.S0 an hour. . The theory behind thi$, proposed youth subminimum wage is predicated on the misconceived notion that a, lower minimum wage would give teenagers a better chance in 'the job market. 'V'-:.:; Backers of the youth? subminimum say that teenagers simply because they are teenagers are less productive than adults, and that the current uniform minimum wage contributes to youth unemployment, par ticularly among blacks and, Hispanics. They igo on to argue that since employers tend to vicw youth as less productive and more unstable than adult workers, a subminimum would enable youth workers to gain a more "equal access" to the labor market. According to the Administration, and its minions, youth, even those who have adult responsibilities, would be willing to trade off a wage differential now for work experience youth subminimum ignore the entire body of experience, expert opinion, and statistical data which, without a doubt, indicate that a youth subminimum has at best, dubious merit . Those who support such notions ignore the simple fact that a subminimum for youth would not increase the demand for labor. They ignore the fact that whatever gains are made by youthful workers in the job market (who are paying the price of lower wages) will come at the expense of older .workers, blacks, Hispanics, and women who will be displaced. And when you consider, that seven out of ten workers who now receive the minimum wage are adults, with :five out of ten being women, it becomes .clear that employers will be tempted lo Substitute teenagers for adult workers, so" that they could reap the benefits of cheap labor. They ignore the fact that to the extent that a wage differential will produce job oppor tunities for youth (by displacing older workers) the youth who obtain the jobs will probably be secondary wage earners in white hidQctaK0)f0rpilres, wilethosehoi')faee'i idjsfrfacSmenfc arei likely 0 be low income) . minority adults, and as such the displace ment will only result in increases in costs of ! programs such as unemployment compensa-' , tion and welfare. As pointed out recently by Sol C. Chaikin, president of the International Ladies' Gar- jmcnt Workers' Union, the inner-city areas, where large numbers of low wage adults live and work, the effects of a youth sub minimum could be devastating. For as employers substitute teenagers for adult workers local purchasing power would drop, further eroding the economic base of the in-. net cities and thus 'creating even more', joblessness. The beneficiaries of a youth subminimum will not be the unemployed vouth of our. cities; rather it will be employers par ticularly the "Kid Mill" -industries who would -receive a large windfall for hiring youth they would have hired anyway. Lvcn more alarming, a subminimum wage for youth will violate a basic principle of . equal pay for equal work, while reinforcing stereotyped altitudes toward young workers. F To Be Equal National Concern Over Atlanta Killings By Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. . -The special horror of child killings is one that all people can understand, and the way ! green ribbons have sprouted on people's lapels all over the nation is a vivid and mean ingful indication of nat ional concern and of solidarity with the people in Atlanta. The Reagan Administration has recogniz ed that this is more than a local police issue. It has assigned the FBI to the case. It relcas- cd almost $2.5 million to help the city pursue the investigation and to help meet the heeds of the city's black children, including sup port services such as mental health pro grams. The visit made lo Atlanta by Vice Presi dent Bush did more than symbolize ihe Ad ministration's concern; it reflected the na tion's interest in ending the terror. The ultimate solution to the plague of fear in Atlanta is to capture the killer or killers. The massive police investigation now taking place may be the most concentrated such ef fort ever made. ' - But; as professional crime fighters know, catching the kind of crazed pci ..that com mits crimes like mass child-killing is extraor dinarily difficult'.! Willi ;Tcw clues and with little evidence to link victims and killers, police are often in a bind. ' , F.ven considering such difficulties, it is im portant to keep up the pressure and to solve these terrible murders. The safety of Atlan ta's black children is at stake, and so too is the fragile state of race relations. The longer the case drags' on, the more it will become a flash point for people's worst fears and imaginings." It, has already been . said that had the victims been white, or even middle class blacks, the authorities would have moved sooner and would have conclud-, ed that the killings were linked at an earlier .date. I can understand the frustration behind : 1 such claims, but the evidence docYnol point . in thai direction. The city administration .and its police leadership arc highly compe tent and committed bluck people. Factors in the individual cases of ihe earliest murders suggested no common origins. When linkages were made a special j investigatory unit was set up. In fact, it was many months before the pace of the murders quickened 10 the point where it could be reasonably assumed 1 hat they were linked. It appears then, that the relatively slow pace of the early disappearances and the fac tors in each case, not the race of the victims, were the reasons for the delayed recognition that the murders were linked. Even now, it ; seems that several killers may be Involved,' . including one responsible for most rof the deaths. ' t ? It should be remembered that there have. ' been 01 her mass killings i hat look the police " years to solve, and the Victims in those cases : were whites. New York's "Soii ofSam" ler- ' rorized t lie city for years before he was caught. Other cities took years to capture. - nass killers. Police in England only recently arrested a man charged with killing many women, who was dubbed the "modern Jack the Ripper." The original Jack the Ripper. t never was caught. - All of this suggests that we should be cautious about racial and class explanations of why the killer has not yet been caught .. In today's tindcrbox racial atmosphere, such suggest ioiw may be damgerous. . , Thai is especially true since we do not know who the killer is or why he kills. , (Com inucd On Page 15) ' ' (USPS 091-380) L.E.AUSTIN Editor-Publisher 1927-1971 Published every Thursday (dated Saturday) at" jDurham N.C. by United Publishers, Incor porated. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3825, Durham. N.C. 27702. Office located at 923 Fayetteville Street, Durham, N.C. 27701. Second Class Postage paid at Durham North Carolina 27702. POSTMASTER: Send address change to THE CAROLINA TIMES, P.O. 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The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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April 4, 1981, edition 1
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