• • . Sly Fox -page 6 VOL XVI, NO. 122 the imkpendent student newspaper serving notre dame and saint rna. y's WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1982 Mexico students criticize alloted funds By ED KONRADY The main question the students News Staff ask in the letter is "why was and cur­ rently is our money kept in pesos, Twelve students in the Notre when every Mexican knows the in­ Dame - Mexico Foreign Study stability of their currency?" Program wrote a letter claiming that The letter says that "Senora Leon they are facing an immediate finan­ answered our queries by stating that cial crisis caused by the devaluation she was instructed by Notre Dame of the Mexican peso, due to im­ to drop her dollar account here be­ proper management of the Notre cause it was too complicated, with Dame Foriegn Studies Program. all the conversions from dollars to The letter was mailed to Mike Ber­ pesos, to be worth the trouble of rigan, the brother of one of the stu­ maintaining it." dents, who delivered copies of the "Can it possibly be that because of letter to Professor Charles Parnell, a few more entries in a bookkeeper's director of the foreign studies ledger, the security, not to mention program, Fr. David Tyson, director the health, of a dozen students has of sophomores, and The Observer. been jeapordized?" In the letter, the students wrote, Parnell would not officially com­ " ...we receive a bi-weekly al­ ment on why the dollar account was lowance for food. All of the money not kept, but did say that "the stu­ we receive from our director, Sra. dents don't have any idea how com­ The south dining ball employees are taking tally will be made at the end of the week. (photo Manuela Santacruz de Leon, is in plicated it is to keep these records." by Rudy Perez) purl in a survey offood waste at Notre Dame. All pesos, even though our parents paid The allowance is not given out in leftovers from lunch will be collected and a final Notre Dame in dollars .... Through dollars, Parnell says, because of the no fault of our own, we are now get­ possibility of Mexico putting a halt ting a little more than half of what to the exchange of money - which Israeli ambassador we were at the beijinning of the year, could leave the students without and it is now extr.emely difficult to money - and the "temptation" of exist on the present stipend." the black market. In a circular to prospective stu­ After Berrigan had confronted Rafael promotes Mideast peace dents, Notre Dame agrees to pay for Parnell with his brother's letter, Ber­ the student's tuition, housing, food, rigan commented that Parnell was By SONYA STINSON Rafael said that Soviet military in· The ambassador said that the transportation to and from the unresponsive to the letter, and had Staff Reporter volvement in the Middle East is a Palestinian Uberation Organization country, and transportation to and called the students "bastards". threat to stability and that the United is under the "remote control" of from their Mexican residence and Parnell told The Observer that he The resolution of Middle East con- . States should enact a clear policy to Moscow through its purchase of the Universidad Anahuac. didn't remember calling the stu­ flict will depend upon resisting reduce that threat. arms from the Soviet Union. Parnell claims that he has been dents "bastards", but if he did, he Soviet influence, reducing the arms The answer to Soviet expansion is Rafael charged that the PLO does aware ofthe devaluation of the peso, was referring to the tone of the let­ build-up, and strengthening the more American military presence, not truly represent Palestinian inter­ and in correspondence with Sra. ter. peace between Israel and Egypt, for­ Rafael said. "What we need is not ests. Its leader, Yassar Arafat, is Leon, has taken action on the Berrigan acknowledged that the mer Israeli Ambassador Gideon more shady arms deals, but more "trusted by none, despised by many, problem by twice increasing the stu­ students "are probably not starv­ Rafael said in a lecture last night in visible American punch,': he and feared by quite a few," Rafael dents' allowances. ing," but that they feel that Parnell is the Ubrary Auditorium. declared. said. "Arafat can be as much a Also, Parnell said that he had not a "senile, old incompetant" who partner for peace as Kadafi can be a heard any direct word on the "only cares about Angers or ln­ candidate for the Nobel Peace problem from the students. "The nsbruck (foreign studies Prize," he stated. students are fully aware which office programs)." The arms race is an enormous ·has responsibility for them. Yet, I The issue, said Berrigan, is that have not had the courtesy of a direct "the students don't feel they are get­ See RAFAEL, page 4 letter." ting their S8000 worth." Adjusting well Handicapped overcome problems By CHRIS FRASER To help alleviate the problems of ing independently. Bryan suggests News Staff the handicapped Notre Dame main­ that the biggest problem for hand­ tains an Office of Handicapped Stu­ icapped people here at Notre Dame Remember how slippery the dent Affairs, directed by Sister is "getting from place to place" on sidewalks of Notre Dame were this Evelyn Booms, C.S.C. our somewhat widespread campus. winter? The piles of snow and This Office serves as an informa­ Walking long distances between patches of ice made walking to class tion center for the handicapped stu­ buildings with a heavy load of books a somewhat treacherous task. dents, aiding them in the practical can become a daily challenge for the necessities of college life and handicapped. New occupants named informing them about various Students with visual handicaps or WE.DNESDAV- programs and scholarships which hearing difficulties might also find are available. communication to be an obstacle. In The Committee for the Hand­ this case, every class and every as­ for WNDU building QCUS· icapped, headed by professor Step­ signment is filled with additional hen Rogers, also represents the problems on top of the normal ByVIC SCIULLI Or think of a professor you had handicaped in various places around workload, which often becomes Nigbt News Editor volunteer services, located in who spoke with an accent or even campus. overbearing to any student. LaFortune, will become class office one who wrote on the board with Sister Evelyn notes that most Therefore, the independence ac­ The Observer has learned that the SP'!Ce. illegible handwriting. Many a stu- ·handicapped people are "fiercely in­ hieved by Bryan Graham and others Center For Experiential Learning Progress on the new WNDU dent has been known to complain ., dependent" and adjust to the rigors is an accomplishment of notable sig­ and Voluntary Services will occupy building is reportedly going well about such a teacher. of college life rather well. nificance. the WNDU building after the and a completion date has been tar­ Situations like these, which Specific difficulties encountered On a different plane, a larger present facility is evacuated by its geted for May. become bothersome to some stu- by handicapped students are often problem for handicapped people present occupants. The move to the new building will dents, are magnified 100 times for resolved by the individuals them­ may be the ignorance ofthe average The final decision on the issue is occur in phases. FM studio and handicapped students here at Notre selves, who demonstrate the in­ person. "People are afraid," Graham pending a meeting to be held today. broadcasting facilities are currently Dame. dependence observed by Sister points out, and their attitudes are of­ Changes in the building are to in­ operating in the new building. Working with various handicaps, Evelyn. ten based on insufficient and inac­ clude a new auditorium where the Henry Kevorkian, Director of these students are perhaps most Second-year law student Bryan curate information. present newsroom is located, and a Telecommunications at WNDU, notable for their ability to stay in the Graham, handicapped with two ar­ "Educating people" is the key to coffee shop. Architects have been hopes to have AM facilities operat­ mainstream of life here at Notre tificial arms, is a good example of a eliminating social barriers in chosen for the project. The present ing at the new building shortly. Dame - both academically and so- student who has adjusted to the cially. demands of school while function- See FOCUS, page 4 NeWS Briep wectnesday,March3t, 19s2- pagez By The Observer and The Associated Press Framed by purple mountainsand a brilliant blue sky, America's space shuttle sliced through the desert breezes The Shuttle Shuffle of White Sands, N.M. yesterday to crown its longest, toughest and most ambitious test flight. Three down, one to go and Columbia flies One of the most widely-utilized links between the for hire. Weight on wheels came at 9:05a.m. MST on an unfamilar Notre Dame and Saint Mary'l! campuses- the shuttle runway, 22 hours past due. The landing ended an eight-day mission system- is also a link that is very often taken for that demonstrated Columbia's versatility and stamina in space. The granted. Few people realize the financial burden of the weather was as kind to astronauts Jack R Lousma and C. Gordon system, and fewer yet stop to consider what the ND­ SMC Executive Editor Fullerton as it was inhospitable the day before. Skies were relatively SMC community would be like without the shuttle. calm - a stiff headwind instead of the cant:.nkerous sandstorm that The shuttle was started in the late 1960s.