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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1987)
Monday, November 23,1987/The Battalion/Page 5 Icut here* SOoA'I 50 p,a. Thutj :ruii nfels, i 'Teas er wi4 -enter, in 12 for tlit wd Ar nellwi neetinf ifelds, at 8:1 \ ridii )1 Ru nato. 1 single! ,DREN i. in Rudder i Paleoe' udder, reel at i Professor: Americans should realize differences among African countries By Clark Miller Staff Writer It is important to understand Af rica and Africans if a person is to successfully interact with them, a Texas A&M chemistry professor from Cameroon, Africa, said during a Friday night seminar in the MSC. "Africa is not just one country,” Dr. Edmund Ndip said during the event that was co-sponsored by the International Students Association and the African Student Association. Ndip said Africa is so vast and there are so many differences among the 53 countries on the conti nent that people have to realize these differences exist. “Africa has more variety than Eu rope, the Americas or even Asia,” Ndip told the 32 people there. Ndip said Africa has deserts, mountains, tropical forests and sa vannahs, and Africans, Asians and Europeans live there. Vast differences among African countries make cultural and racial conflicts common, he said. Ndip said there are more than 800 different languages on the Afri can continent, as well as numerous religions, traditional occupations and methods of land use. Ndip also said that there may be too much attention being given to African countries like Ethiopia by Americans. Ndip said that because Ethiopia is in the middle of a desert, the peo ple’s problem is that their country does not have enough food and wa ter to support the population. Ndip said that too much is being made of their problem because other coun tries in similar circumstances have learned how to deal with their prob lems on their own. Ndip also said many Americans have the misconception that Egypt, an African country, is part of the Middle East because of their wars with Israel. For the most part, Ndip said, Af rica is a rural continent with few cit ies of more than 30,000 people. He said the people often are unskilled and influenced by their traditional way of life, but this is changing. Although there still are im provements that need to be made, Ndip believes that Africa is advanc ing, both economically and socially. Ndip said that in the past, writers have characterized Africa as “The Land God Made in Anger” and “The Dark Continent.” However, Ndip said that most Africans call their home “The Lost Paradise.” 5 hospitals face fines for ‘patient dumping’ DALLAS (AP) — Five Texas hospitals face possible lawsuits and fines for failing to comply with laws aimed at ending the refusal of medical treatment to patients who are unable to pay or lack insurance, the Dallas Morning News re ported Sunday. The inspector general of the Health and Hu man Services Administration is considering fines of up to $50,000 for three hospitals that violated “patient dumping” rules enacted a year ago. The state is considering fines of up to $ 1,000 per day per violation against three of the five hospitals. The hospitals facing federal fines are Humana Clear Lake in Houston, DeTar Hospital of Victo ria, in southeast Texas, and Charter Community Hospital of Cleveland, north of Houston, sources involved in the investigation told the News. Both state and federal laws prohibit hospitals from transferring or refusing treatment to emer- ?, gency patients because they cannot pay. Emer gency patients may be transferred when more specialized medical treatment is necessary. Be fore any transfer may occur, hospitals are re- uired to stabilize the patient and get approval rom the receiving hospital. The hospitals were investigated by the Health Care Financing Administration, a federal regula tory body that probes and rules on all federal pa tient dumping complaints. The Texas Department of Health, which over sees state dumping violations, asked the Texas at torney general’s office to consider legal action against Humana Clear Lake, Colonial Hospital of Terrell, in Kaufman County, and Winter Garden Medical Center Inc. of Dilley in South Texas. The request was made after complaining hos pitals refused to drop their complaints, said Mau rice Shaw, chief of the health department’s bu reau of licensing and certification. Texas was the first state to enact anti-dumping laws in April 1986 as part of landmark legislation designed to aid nearly 3 million Texans who lacked insurance or money to pay for health care. While Texas leads the nation in the number of reported complaints of patient dumping, author ities said the number filed as of last month — 61 under federal law and 19 under state law — is lower than expected. One case involves the death of Mary Rourke, 46. Officials say she improperly was transferred from Humana Clear Lake to Ben Taub Memo rial Hospital, a charity hospital 30 miles away. Rourke suffered respiratory arrest en route and died at Ben Taub 28 hours later. Doctors at Ben Taub said the woman was in an unstable medical condition when transferred and that the move “expedited” her death. Warped by Scott McCuiiar English issue may boost GOP turnout Waldo by Kevin Thomas try's oil for onl he indi' lf i fraud, t' ibinghi® him/I role for it taxes® sible be® I e inhere [ nee bet* | bat you r’t owe I ent to cd ryou in® me oil It’s the* rent f 0,i en with® States is t was 10 11 and the I plomac) he said minds® ake our ed to * rest 3 p settinf w there ■ own t shod 1 * leniedi < mntryas lis is t0 aid. 1 INI E1957 16 70 ,91436 Joe Transfer by Dan Barlow COPPERAS COVE (AP) — The is sue of making English the official language of Texas and the United States likely will boost turnout at the 1988 Republican primary, state GOP chairman George Strake said. The State Republican Executive Committee Saturday approved put ting a referendum on the issue on the March 8 GOP ballot. State Dem ocratic officials have turned down a request to consider putting the issue on the Democratic primary ballot. “This will bring some people into the primary, both for and against,” Strake said. He noted that two statewide polls this year have shown more than 70 percent of Texans support establishing English as the official state language. The vote on the non-binding referendum, which says that English should be estab lished as the official language of Texas and the United States, will send a signal to state lawmakers to deal with the issue, Strake said. In the 1987 Legislature, a bill to make English the official language of Texas died in a House committee. “It’s a good thing for all young sters to be encouraged to speak the job language. We hope that we will encourage greater participation in the economic mainstream of Amer ica through this resolution,” Strake said. But Norberto Salinas, chairman of the Mexican American Democrats and Hidalgo County commissioner, said he thinks the English First issue will hurt the Republican Party. “As far as I’m concerned, if they keep picking on that, it’s good for us,” Salinas said. “I think it will unite the Hispanics a lot more, and it will unite the Democrats a lot more.” Lou Zaeske of Bryan, a Republi can who heads the American Ethnic Coalition, said he thinks the referen dum will be a growth opportunity. “I’m gratified that the Republican Party of Texas is going to do the right thing,” Zaeske said. Defensive Driving Course Nov, 23, 24 and Nov. 30, Dec. 1 College Station Hilton Pre-register by phone: 693-8178 Ticket deferral and 10% insurance discount P III M CLINICS AM/PM Clinics Minor Emergencies 10% Student Discount with ID card 3820 Texas Ave. Bryan, Texas 846-4756 401 S. Texas Ave. Bryan,Texas 779-4756 8a.m.-11 p.m. 7 days a week Walk-in Family Practice Student Floral Concessions Aggie Mums “Made for Ags By Ags -” Special Beat the hell outta T.U.! Mums FREE DORM DELIVERY Convenient Saturday pick-ups in the MSC BONFIRE Film Developing Special 12 EXPOSURE 15 DISC EXPOSURE 24 EXPOSURE 36 EXPOSURE! C-41 Color Print film only Standard SVzxS Single Prints Offer Good Nov. 25-Dec. 2,1987 PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES AT GOODWIN HALL & TEXAS A&M BOOKSTORE IN THE MSC NOW OPEN ° NATIONAL VIDEO'S SUPER STORE WITH OVER MOVIES 846-9090 TO CHOOSE FROM! No clubs, no memberships ☆ Everyday low prices ☆ Special kids corner with 100s of videos ☆ Video camera & VCR rentals SUPERSTORE MORE COPIES OF THE HITS! SM