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Protest targets soldiers’ school
Blasts training,
civilian deaths
BY INDIA AUTRY
STAFF WRITER
COLUMBUS, Ga. Thirty-one
Triangle community members,
including 10 UNC students, trav
eled to Fort Benning on Sunday to
participate in the annual School of
the Americas protest.
The group, organized by
Students United for a Responsible
Global Environment, joined more
than 16,000 demonstrators for the
second day of the protest.
Now called the Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security
Cooperation, the school trains
soldiers from nearly every coun
try in the western hemisphere
and educates some civilians and
law enforcement officers. In Latin
America, some who received
instruction in the United States
went on to abuse and kill hun
dreds of thousands of people.
Protesters occupying the one
Cancer survivors, researchers share views
BY LILY KUO
STAFF WRITER
In her mind, Marlye Gelin-
Adams has a list of things she can
control. Cancer is not one of them,
but her life and attitude are.
“I thought, ‘I have cancer, and
I can’t control that,’” Gelin-Adams
said. “This is my battle; I have a
2-year-old, and I have to build a
life for him.”
Gelin-Adams, a breast cancer
survivor who has worked as an
international development con
sultant, spoke Monday night at the
Kappa Cancer Awareness forum
hosted by the Theta Omicron chap
ter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Inc.
Cancer researchers, educa
tors and survivors discussed their
experiences and involvement in
the field of prostate and breast
cancer.
“People think that cancer has
to kill you —but it doesn’t,” said
senior Adhanom Yohannes, service
chairman of the organization. The
program focused on preventative
measures against cancer, namely
awareness.
“We know about (cancer), but
we don’t know enough, like what
it stems from and how it evolves
into such a problem,” said senior
management and society major
Courtney Crawford.
“You could be walking around
with (cancer) and not know it
; —and that’s a problem.”
Routine doctor visits and self
FDA augments abortion drug’s safety label
BY JULIANA HANSON
STAFF WRITER
The Food and Drug
Administration decided last week
to update the medication guide
and safety label for mifepristone,
an abortion drug suspected to have
caused the death of three women
since its legalization in 2000.
The FDA added new informa
tion for physicians about the symp
toms and treatment of these rare
but serious complications.
Mifepristone already carried a
black box warning, which warns of
the risks associated with any form
of abortion. These risks include
serious bacterial infections, sepsis,
bleeding and death.
The FDA has received about 600
adverse health reports concerning
mifepristone since the drug was
approved.
But these adverse medical
reports don’t indicate that the drug
is the cause of the problem, only
that the drug was taken.
Dr. Steven Galson, acting direc
tor of the FDA’s Center for Drug
Evaluation and Research, stressed
during a conference call that although
the FDA investigated these reports,
it did not find conclusive scientific
evidence determining mifepristone
as the cause of death.
“We feel the safety profile of the
drug along with the steps taken
today are adequate for the drug to
be used safely,” Galson said.
Vicki Saporta, president and CEO
of the National Abortion Federation,
voiced her support for the FDA’s
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mile stretch of road leading to the
fort’s gates expressed their vehement
distaste for the school, often calling
it the “School of the Assassins” or a
“terrorist training camp.”
Catholics made their usual
large showing, and the tone of the
day was highly spiritual. Speakers
often aligned their cause with the
righteousness of God.
A singer crooned to the SOA
and its opponents, “The evil that
you’re fighting for, God condemn
your holy war.”
Four UNC students from the
Presbyterian Campus Ministry
also traveled to the event.
The turnout was diverse. Before
her performance, Indigo Girls
singer Amy Ray boasted that the
protesters, many decked out in
anti-SOA gear, ranged from “punk
rockers to folksies to priests.”
Actor Martin Sheen voiced his
deep commitment to the school’s
closing. “I think you know what I
do for a living, but this is what I do
to stay alive.”
He immediately made a play
on his “West Wing” TV role. “As
examination are key to prevention,
the speakers said.
“The black community hasn’t
been known to go to the doc
tor,” said senior business major
Brandon Neal. “My grandfather
was diagnosed with cancer five
years after it had been growing.”
Panelist Jane Schroeder, a
professor in the Department of
Epidemiology at UNC, said the
instance and mortality rate of can
cer in black males is higher than in
Caucasians.
“Historically, the health care
system has not been friendly to
the African-American community,”
Schroeder said.
Although Caucasians and black
males might be diagnosed in the
same stage of cancer, the mortality
rate is still higher for blacks.
“It may be that treatment is dif
ferent due to race or financial rea
sons,” Schroeder said.
“If you don’t have insurance,
maybe they won’t give you the
‘Cadillac treatment.’”
The speakers said that organiza
tions such as Blue Cross Blue Shield
of North Carolina offer affordable
individual health coverage, and
that the YWCA of The Greater
Triangle Inc. provides free breast
cancer screening and treatment.
Schroeder said age and race
are the top influencing factors for
prostate cancer. She explained that
breast cancer depends on the time
of hormonal changes caused by the
onset of a woman’s menstrual cycle
warning label, saying that it includes
scientific evidence and has suffi
ciently addressed the situation.
“Women should feel confident in
choosing this as a safe and effective
way to end a pregnancy,” she said.
Although there is not yet a con
crete scientific link, John Jansen,
co-director for the Generations for
Life branch of the Pro Life Action
League, said he believes the strong
suspicion surrounding the drug is
sufficient for it to be removed from
the market.
“After even one documented
instance of someone dying, it
should be taken off the market
immediately and researched more,”
he said, adding that the FDAs label
doesn’t go nearly far enough.
Jansen said he has been leery of
the drug since its approval in 2000,
after a process, he said, was rushed
and failed to take serious health
concerns into account.
But David Grimes, clinical pro
fessor at the UNC Medical School’s
Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, maintains that mife
pristone is extremely safe, and
that complications from taking it
are extremely rare.
He said the risk of death is .8
per 100,000 users for mifepris
tone, compared to 2 per 100,000
for penicillin.
“This drug has been used around
the world by millions and millions
of women,” he said.
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the acting president of the United
States, I came to issue the follow
ing directive: The School of the
Americas shall cease and desist,
effective immediately. ... Jed
Bartlett, November 21, 2004.”
As he stepped down from the
stage, several in the crowd shouted
with laughter, “Four more years,
four more years.”
Sheen’s declaration embodied
the optimism that was central to
the protest. With chants such as
“Si, se puede” (Yes, we can) and “No
mas, no more,” the crowd members
showed that they weren’t there to
complain but to demand change.
The three-hour symbolic funer
al procession was the day’s main
event. Most participants brought
white crosses bearing the names of
the SOAs indirect victims. A stage
ensemble soulfolly sang the names
and ages of just a portion of those
they called martyrs, many of whom
were civilians or unarmed activists.
UNC senior lan Kibbe talked
about the impact the string of
names had on him. “It hits you that,
Wow, oh, there were a lot of people
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DTH/PAT LAPADULA
Kacey Hanson speaks at the Kappa Cancer Awareness forum Monday
night in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.
or the birth of a baby.
“Basically, it’s not something
you can prevent,” she said.
Cancer research is another
method of prevention. The panel
ists emphasized the need for par
ticipants for research.
“We don’t know the answers
to these questions,” said panel
ist Kacey Hanson of the N.C.
BEAUTY and Health Project.
“That’s why research is so
important.”
“You’ve got prostate cancer, and
we can’t prevent your case, but
maybe we can prevent someone
Elliott Sogol, director of aca
demic affairs for clinical research
at Campbell University’s School of
Pharmacy, said that no medicine is
100 percent safe and that any drug
can potentially have side effects.
He added that in addition to
the label and medication guide, a
woman has to sign a patient agree
ment form with her doctor before
she can even receive the drug.
Still, some say the danger is being
downplayed and point to the deaths
as irrefutable evidence against the
use of mifepristone.
“We renew our call for the fed
eral government to ban this deadly
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killed,’” he said. “But then it sort of
drowns into the background, but
then an hour and a half later, you
realize they’re still reading names.”
Afterward, the mood changed
from somber to celebratory, with
folk dancing, a comedy routine by
“the world’s only singing CIA agent”
Dave Lippman and anticipation of
the justice they hope will come.
People who crossed the tempo
rary fences at the entrance of the
fort received shouts of encour
agement from the crowd but a
less supportive response from a
recorded voice transmitted over a
loudspeaker: “It’s the policy of this
installation that no partisan politi
cal demonstrations be held here.”
UNC graduate Dan Schwankl
was one of at least 16 trespassing
protesters. Dennis Kyne, a member
of Veterans for Peace, announced
that later in the afternoon, he
planned to climb over the fence and
leave his “dirty old rag” of a uniform
at the entrance.
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
else’s,” Schroeder said, describing
her approach to cancer patients for
research.
One in nine women have breast
cancer, said Gelin-Adams.
“I was misdiagnosed by two
doctors,” she said.
“I want young women to know
that they are never too young to
have breast cancer.”
“I learned the hard way that it’s
a myth that doctors know best; we
know our bodies best.”
Contact the Features Editor
atfeatures@unc.edu.
abortion drug, which is fatal to pre
born babies and highly dangerous
for their mothers,” states Judie
Brown, president of the American
Life League, in a Wednesday press
release.
For now, mifepristone will
remain on the market, and efforts
have been made on all parts to edu
cate women of the risks involved.
“When you get it, you understand
the risks, and you proceed,” said
Alissa Schulman, spokeswoman for
NARAL Pro Choice America.
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2004
Spending bill
brings key cuts
Abortion provision also raises ire
BY MARK PUENTE
STAFF WRITER
U.S. legislators have attached
two provisions to a S3BB billion,
must-pass spending bill that pits
civil libertarians against social
conservatives while hitting stu
dents in their pockets.
Congress passed the llth-hour
stopgap measure, which funds
agencies such as the FBI and the
Environmental Protection Agency,
to avoid a partial shutdown —but
not before a war of words broke out
between differing groups.
Both sides are in disagreement
on whether the bill is a payback for
the social conservatives who turned
out en masse on Election Day or
democracy at its best.
“It’s trying to spin the forces of
democracy,” said Eric Scheidler,
communications director for Pro-
Life Action League. “People should
be glad that their representatives
are responding.”
Hidden clause
House and Senate negotiators
attached to the bill an abortion
provision that will ban federal,
state and local agencies from
withholding taxpayer funds from
health care providers that refuse
to provide or pay for abortions.
The bill also would allow doc
tors to decide if they want to offer
abortion counseling or referrals to
women.
Supporters say the bill is a
welcome restriction to abortion
rights.
“It’s unjust to force people to
pay for the destruction of human
life,” Scheidler said.
“At least half of Americans are
opposed to abortion.”
But opponents are concerned
that the Bush administration is
attempting to strip away a wom
an’s right to choose and wipe out
Roe v. Wade.
“This is bad public policy,” said
Brian Lewis, director of public
policy for Planned Parenthood
Health Systems in Raleigh.
“This is just the beginning of this
administration’s compassionate
conservatism.”
Some politicians, including
California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a
Democrat, had threatened to block
the bill’s progress, but Congress’
Republican majority drowned her
out.
If Boxer had delayed the bill’s pas
sage, it would have resulted in what
essentially would have been a partial
government shutdown, idling thou
sands of federal workers.
“Washington is all about people
in politics playing their best hand,”
said Mike Briggs, press secretary
for Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.
“Senator Edwards does not sup
port this provision.”
Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s office did
not return phone calls by press
time.
Dividing the pie
The other controversial provi
sion in the bill is likely to signifi
cantly alter the formula that cal
culates funding for Pell Grants, the
nation’s primary federal scholar
ship program.
The cut will shave S3OO mil
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lion from a program that spends
$12.5 billion a year and, many say,
is already underfunded.
The cuts would go into effect
July 1, 2005 the beginning of
the new academic year.
The U.S. Department of
Education attempted to change
the way it distributes financial aid
last year, but Congress blocked the
measure.
In 2003, the department changed
the formula on its own, which
angered members of Congress who
contended that it was a backdoor
way of cutting funding without fac
ing the public.
In response, Sen. John Corzine,
D-N. J., introduced legislation that
suspended the new formula for a
year. He introduced similar legisla
tion this year, but it did not survive
the conference committee.
The education department is sup
posed to update yearly the tax tables
that determine the payouts.
“It ought to be re-looked at
every year, said Steven Brooks,
executive director of the N.C. State
Education Assistance Authority. “It
should be sensitive to all income
levels.”
The Advisory Committee on
Student Financial Assistance, an
arm of Congress that advises it on
student aid, estimated that S3OO
million will be saved by the recal
culation.
About 1.2 million students will
lose an estimated S2OO to S3OO a
year. But nationwide, 85,000 to
90,000 will lose total eligibility.
The hardest hit students, who
will lose their Pell Grants, will
come from households that earn
$35,500 to $40,000 a year.
“This is not the lowest income
levels for dependent students,” said
Brian Fitzgerald, staff director of
the ACSFA.
“But it does have a trickle
down effect on state and campus
funding.”
Higher education officials
expected the legislation to be
included in the reauthorization of
the Higher Education Act, which
is up for renewal when Congress
reconvenes in January.
“We are not happy,” said Melanie
Corrigan, associate director of the
American Council on Education’s
Center for Policy Analysis. “Quite
frankly, it’s a grave concern.”
UNC officials say prelimi
nary estimates determined that
between 300 and 400 students
will be affected by the cut to finan
cial aid.
The University is running
focus reports that will determine
the exact amount, said Shirley
Ort, associate provost and direc
tor of scholarships and student
aid.
“I don’t think it will be huge,”
she said. “But it will impact some.
It’s not a happy thought.”
Ort said it is difficult for officials
to plan for cuts when state budgets
are being cut and resources are
being rationed.
“We can probably weather this
limited change,” she said.
“But we have to watch our
reserves that can be used as a con
tingency.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdsk@unc.edu.
7