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Still flying high
Ducks heading south to California wanting to
post another big Pac-10 win. Inside supplement
A strong statement
Silent Witness vigil at the Halt Center aims to give
domestic violence victims a voice. PAGE 3A
gon Eugene, Oregon
October 13,2000
Volume 102, Issue 33
Weather
today
RAIN LIKELY
high 60, low 45
Six die in possible terrorist attack on USS Cole
Katie Miller Emerald
Sweatshop debate
seen in new light
■ Some University students argue that
sweatshop labor is beneficial to the workers of
third-world countries rather than exploitative
Sweatshop
ii Working
in a
sweatshop
isn't the
best job, but
it's not the
worst
either...
You can't
say all
sweatshops
are good,
but you
can't say
they're all
bad.
Gabriela
Serrano
sophomore,
business yy
By Beata Mostafavi
Oregon Daily Emerald
Although many students think
they’ve heard the term “sweatshop”
10 times too many, three University
students say it is an issue that
should not go away, and that over
seas factories can improve the way
of life for workers whose only alter
native is poverty and hunger.
While many of the activists who
protested for the University to sign
on with the Worker Rights Consor
tium have never set foot in a third
world country, Rakesh Tolani,
Gabriela Serrano and Mehreen Khan
have each lived in one. Although all
three students support many of the
causes behind the WRC, they say
that sweatshops “have saved many
families in those countries,” and that
negative publicity has drowned out
this reality.
“Because of the situation there,
people live completely differently
from people in the United States,”
said Tolani, a junior business major
from India. “ The poverty is ex
tremely bad and for them to make
even a little bit of money is a big deal
... Sweatshops pay more than beg
ging on the street does, and they pro
vide jobs for many people who
would otherwise be starving.”
Khan, a sophomore business ma
jor from Pakistan, said anti-sweat
shop activists in the United States
portray sweatshops in a much more
negative light than people from
third-world countries do.
“Compared to Pakistan-run fac
tories, sweatshops are not bad at all;
they both have the same condi
Turn to Sweatshops, page 4A
■ Occupants of a small boat apparently detonated
a bomb near the ship after it docked
By Robert Burns
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a sinister slip through Navy security,
suicide bombers in a small boat tore a gaping hole in a U.S.
warship Thursday at a refueling stop in a Yemeni harbor on
the Arabian Peninsula, U.S. officials say. The blast killed six
members of the crew, injured 35 and left
11 missing.
The crippled ship was tilting slightly in
the harbor at Aden, Yemen, but the Navy
said it was not in danger of sinking.
No one has claimed responsibility, De
fense Secretary William Cohen told a Pen
tagon news conference.
President Clinton said the attack on the USS Cole, one of
the world’s most advanced warships, appeared to be an act of
terrorism, the Worst against the U.S. military since the bomb
ing of an Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996 that killed
19 troops.
“We will find out who was responsible and hold them ac
countable,” Clinton pledged.
Inside
University profes
sors weigh in with
their opinions on
the Mideast situa
tion. PAGE 5
He dispatched to Yemen investigative teams from the FBI,
the State Department and the Pentagon. Clinton also ordered a
heightened state of alert for all U.S. military installations
around the world.
After the attack, ambulances rushed to the port, and Ameri
cans working with Yemeni authorities cordoned off the area.
The ship was listing but still afloat. Yemeni police sources
Turn to Bombing page 5A
■Some University students express little
surprise that the conflict reached a violent level
By Emily Gust
Oregon Daily Emerald
As tensions increase halfway across the world and var
ied reactions circle the globe, students in the University
community are voicing sentiments of their own.
With dismay and concern being common responses,
students expressed frustration at the use of violence in
the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“This is not what [Islam] is about,” said Alrazi Al-Bu
Turn to Reaction, page 5A
Dan Brunell Emerald
Suzanne Estes as she looks through her microscope on Thursday. The Evolution lab, one of the many research labs on campus, is exploring the
reasons for genetic mutation.
Genetic mutation actualities revealed
■ A recent scientific discovery
could set a precedent for future
studies and advance medical
technology
By Brooke Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
University biology professor
Michael Lynch and his research staff
recently made a scientific break
through, finding evidence that genetic
mutations occur more often than origi
nally believed.
Lynch reached these results after
three years of studying mitochondrial
DNA in 160 generation lines of worms.
His research staff found 30 genetic mu
tations, which Lynch said is significant
because it is about 100 times higher
than science textbooks generally re
port. He said his discovery could open
doors for future findings in genetic re
search.
“The most enjoyable part of the re
search is the big picture,” said Charlie
Baer, a University post-doctoral stu
dent and member of Lynch’s staff. “1
hope we are making contributions that
people can build on.”
Because worms have no genetic vari
ation, Lynch said they were ideal for
the experiments. The generations were
sequenced, and the worms’ DNA was
analyzed, showing that several illness
es formed among the them.
Lynch is encouraged by the findings
and thinks the number of mutations
will be useful in studying human ge
netic diseases. The possible findings in
the worms could reveal an underesti
mate of what is going on in human mu
tations, Lynch said.
Because humans have a higher meta
bolic rate, which causes the produc
tion of free radicals, Lynch thinks the
genetic mutation rate is higher in hu
mans than previously believed.
But he noted that modern medical
technology may also contribute to the
genetic mutation rates among humans.
Due to new methods of survival, such
as planned pregnancies and prescrip
tion drugs, people with mutations are
living unnaturally long lives and pass
ing along their illnesses.
“Everyone having an equal opportu
nity to survive could become a human
dilemma,” Lynch said.
Suzanne Estes, a University graduate
student participating in the research,
agreed that medical technology is not
always best for the environment.
“Natural selection is being eliminat
ed,” Estes said. “Humans are harming
themselves, especially in well-devel
oped countries.”
Estes, whose work in the mutation
Turn to Research, page 4A