University of Houston - Houstonian Yearbook (Houston, TX)

Page 32 text:

As the many conflicts surrounding Iran. Iraq. Kuwait, the Soviet Union, the United States, and many others. are constantly in the news. Americans are willing to forget their troubles at home, but the U.S. government fails to take a well guided approach to world problems. As the Soviet Union is willing to support countries in need, such as Nicaragua, with food and medical supplies, the U.S. reacts with arms and ammunition. Americans remain fearful of the communist plot. At War Around The World As Anti-American Sentiments Are Up The U.S. Continues To Meddle In Foreign Affairs I don't recall seeing Oliver North on TV. I don't deny watching the Iran-Contra Hearings. But I do understand that Oliver North diverted funds to the Contras from profits raised by selling arms to Iran. And that Oliver North was responsible for coordinating the Grenada invasion, the bombing of Tripoli and ran the Contra War from the White House with the belief that his superior Admiral Poindexter had the approval of President Reagan. Amidst growing concern over military actions, the United States continues to defend the free world against communism with military might. De- mocracy around the world is symbolized by the U.S. Marine Corps, war jets flying overhead and destroyers stationed on the coast. And hatred for Americans continues to spread throughout the world. But here at home, the government perceives our role to be the world police. Many scare} plots arc handed down from righteous leaders, dating back to Manifest Destiny. One of these is the Strategic Defense Initiative (a contradition in terms), which is designed to give the U.S. first strike in the event of communist aggression, by means such as Star Wars.' And more popular is the Domino Theory in which, one by one. the Latin countries will fall to communism and eventually so will the U.S. unless we take steps to prevent it. These righteous leaders believe that Nicaragua is the key to preventing the spread of communism to North America. The government and the media have made Americans more fearful of communism than ever. In our homes, on the evening news, Americans hear about the death squads in El 1 Salvador and car bombs in the 28

Page 31 text:

Poppy, once native to regions of southeast Asia, is now being harvested in Mexico and processed in remote shacks before being smuggled across the border into the U.S. Driving that train, high on cocaine. Casey Jones you better watch your speed. Trouble ahead, trouble behind ...” Maybe I should've paid more attention to the lyrics, or maybe 1 just should have paid more attention. I knew I hadn't seen that guy around the apartment before, but I was more intent on catching a buzz than finding out who he was. What did I care. I'd scored and that was all that mattered. Now it was time to crank up the stereo, take a few tokes and get my head together. All I could think about as I turned up the Dead was that this rock better be worth the trouble I had gone through to get it. As I began the ritual of carefully loading my pipe, I prepared myself for the first blast. It had been almost a day since I had scored any coke. The first hit scorched my throat and burned all the way to the bottom of my lungs, but I didn't care because I knew that by the second or third toke, my throat would be too numb to feel the pain, and besides. I was getting used to it. I held that first hit in my lungs as long as I could, the buzz began about the same time. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back enjoying the spinning sensation in my head and the tingling feeling in my fingers and toes. It was like all the troubles in the world had been lifted off my shoulders, as if by magic. I didn't have a care in the world, and I sure didn't feel like dealing with reality, so I took another toke. I was just about finished with that bowl when I thought I heard someone at the door. Come on in, the door's open,” (and the party's just getting started. I thought). The door didn't move. 1 thought it's probably just someone walking down the hall. My friends haven't been around in a while. So I load up another bowl and, I'm lighting up when, WHAM! The door comes crashing open, and in walks the guy I saw in the hall, and two cops. What the hell?” Shut up and get your hands up.” You can't come in here! 'You're under arrest.” You can't do that! You've gotta have a warrant or something! I know my rights! We’ve got a warrant and you're under arrest. Put your hands behind you and shut up. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to ... Cuffed, they take me downtown and book me. Then they put me in a holding tank with this worthless drunk who smells like he hasn't had a bath in a month. What the hell am I going to do? I've got one call, but I can't afford bail. I spent my last dime on coke. How am I going to explain this to my ole man? He thinks I'm spending all my money at the frat house. Dad's going to hit the roof when he finds out, and what if he finds out this isn't the first time. As the DEA kept a firm hold on drug trafficking in Florida, drug trade over the 2.000 mile border between the U.S. and Mexico increased. And that means the drug supply in Houston was never greater. The Houston Police Dept, routinely raids crack houses where crack or rock”, a potentially deadly form of cocaine is manufactured from poppy. After a raid on a crack house in the vicinity of UH, the police spray painted Go ahead, make my day across the front as a warning to others waiting to be busted. All of these things, even happening less than a mile from campus, seem distant until it happens to someone close to you. The hazards of cocaine become real when a friend drops out of school or can't cope with everyday life because of a love I really will, say no-to-drugs, says Jim Mclngvale. a local advertiser. Local news personalities are in on it too. MTV, with their R.A.D. (Rock Against Drugs) campaign, is a part of the effort. They are all part of a massive anti-drug campaign. First Lady Nancy Reagan, in her War on Drugs, uses the slogan, Say no to drugs, which was developed by the UH Social Psychology Bchavioral Medicine Research Group. Directed by Professor Richard Evans, the group originally developed the say no strategy to use against cigarette smoking among teenagers. Realizing the similarities that make teens sue-ceptable to peer pressure, the strategy was expanded to fight hate relationship with the drug. And it gets worse — that person stands a good chance of dying. Yet. the drug industry is thriving. Media attention soared when twenty-two year old I.en Bias, a basketball player at the University of Maryland with a promising future, died of cocaine intoxication in June '86. He was just one in a long line of stars that have been victims of its deadly pleasure. Ex-football star Mercury Morris now does public service commercials encouraging kids to not wreck their lives with drugs the way he did. New York Mets' pitcher Dwight Gooden checked into a chemical dependencies rehabilitation center. Two Rockets players. Mitchell Wiggins and Lewis Lloyd were banned from the NBA for using cocaine. And when celebrities die from an overdose like John Belushi, books about their problematic lives become best sellers. But as actors and athletes continue to ruin their careers and their lives, they continue to glamourize the use of drugs — making profits for dealers better than ever. drug and alcohol addiction. Richard Evans, however, feels that this is not enough. And so, for the group, which is supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, a huge task lies ahead. 77

Page 33 text:

Middle Fast. From a safe distance, Americans speculate that the communists are behind the problems of the world, but would be appalled and refuse to think that the U.S. promotes this kind of senseless killing by its actions in places like Nicaragua, FI Salvador and South Africa. Many Americans continue to believe it is up to us to make the world safe for democracy, and at the same time, they become immune to the realities in the world and even fail to take notice of our problems at home. While the U.S. holds on to the old idea that a strong military that is visible throughout the world will protect our homeland, other countries have found another defense — economics. The Japanese receive 50% of their oil through the Persian Gulf, Western Europe 26% and the U.S. 6%. But when Iran threatened the transporting of oil through the gulf, the U.S. was quick to send in the mili-tary. While the Japanese are concerned because they need the oil for plastic products, they have an economic strength greater than military might. The U.S. on the other hand, continues to spend millions on a military that is nearly obsolete. We have a massive unemployment rate in our own oilfields. And our policies at home have made the traditional American farmer nearly extinct. The U.S. government is primarily concerned with big business and by this we have stretched capito-lism to new limits — in the constant struggle for bigger profits and more productivity, big businesses have taken manufacturing out of American hands and into inferior countries where labor is cheap and regulations are few. While the economic growth of those countries is stifled, corporate leaders see it as more of a business deal than a human rights issue. In short, we import goods that American corporations produce at low costs in foreign countries and then sell them to American people in a country where inflation and unemployment is up and the usefulness of a high standard of luxuries is down. But as long as upper class Americans continue to see profits, they will remain blind to the sinking foundation of the middle class. With unemployment and the lower class expanding in the U.S., the military industry has reached its highest point since World War II. The ever present threat of communism keeps funding of the military on the increase. So, while countries like Japan and West Germany surpass the U.S. in technology exports, the U.S. remains the world leader in missile exports. And the U.S. continues to come into conflict with other countries' business in every part of the world. — Mark Lacy Three old men squabble over a cheap bottle of liquor in ihe heart of our nation's capttol. Photot by Mark Lacy. 29