WHITBY FREE PRESS,WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18,1987, PAGE 5 As many as two and a half dozen infants die in a Toronto hospital. Poisoning is suspected; unprescribed drugs are found In the bodies of the dead infants. Police eventually arrest a nurse on the nursing team on duty when most of deaths took place. Over the next few weeks, newspapers and television stations saturate us with information about the nurse charged. Is this fair? Is it just? A nursing student at a local college is found murdered with her eight-year-old son. Another nursing student is arrested shortly after. A local daily newspaper carries stories detailing the relationship between the victim and the person arrested, as well as many details about the life and military service of the accused. Is this fair? Is justice served? Until recently I would have answered that as most jour- nalists would: any restriction of freedom of press is to be fought tooth and nail. In a free press in a free society ser- ves to keep us ail free; To support such press freedom, journalists cal on the 'Secret Police' argument. That is, in a free society the public must have access to the names of those arrested by police, and details of the charges. The news media must be free to publish those names. Any country without such freedom sooner or later loses almost al other freedoms. Usually sooner. The accoun- tability of police is crucial to a free society. Thus, goes the journalists argument, if a person is arrested his/her name must be published. From there, the media make a grand leap - and leading readers to jump to unwarranted conclusions. For if the name can be published, then by all means any background on the individual should also be publishable, should it not? And according to the rules currently being used, almost WITH OUR FEET UP by Bill Swan Branded by media anything goes - as long as the newspaper or newscast avoids saying that the person who has been charged is guilty of the crime. It is one thing to name the person charged; another to provide details of that persons life; but to connect the person charged directly with the crime is contempt of court. In Britain, the press may report the details of a crime - and British tabloids invented sensationalism. But once a person has been charged with a crime the law prohibits publication of anything more than the name of the person charged, the name of the crime he/she has been charged with; and the incident the charge is connected with. Perhaps a total of three paragraphs there. Within niy memory, a similar procedure had been followed in Canadian courts. Publishing the photograph of the person charged with a crime, for instance, was once strictly prohibited. In many crimes, it was argued, ie defence may often revolve on fheidentity of the person charged. But if the accused person's picture has been carried on television and in newspapers, any possible wit- ness may have been contaminated. The stricture no longer exists. Arrested people are shown alpnost nightly, being hustled into the back of police .cars or paddy wagons, fiands shackled. And in ail this, the press, like a pack of hyenas, howl for the best camera angle. Our society, and our courts, deserve better. I detect two motives for the type of coverage we get. The first - plain greed - is understandable in a society gone mad. The news media want an audience, and they know how to get it. Forget truth. Forget fairness. Forget justice. Just bring in the readers - the advertising dollars will follow. The other motive is the longing for instant gratification in a society gone beserk. A crime has happened? It little matters unless the media makes it so. And when the front pages are full of it, then the public wants instant solutions. Someone charged? Let's hear all about. The media argue they are being.fair and are not attem- pting to convict anyone simply because he has been charged. But journalists forget that most readers will forget the subtleties. If someone has been charged the police must have had something on them, eh? Where there's smoke, there's fire. Tell that to the nurse who was charged in connection with the infant deaths. She has been branded in a way which will follow her for the rest of her life. And ail because of police mistake. Restraint in pre-trial publicity would have avoided a great deal of heartache. Panzica gives message on drug abuse By JANET BROWNE Students and parents from four schools in the Whitby area were last week offered a large dose of preventative med ieaine, in the form of potent words against drug abuse. Norm Panzica, senior consultant to the Council on Drug Abuse, discussed everything from the history of drug use and identifying users, to the importance of a sup- portive family for prevention. Several Anderson students had asked Panzica to clear up some of the myths about "How to tell a drug user." He was happy to oblige during discussion with parents Tuesday night. "You can't tell a damn thing by looking in their eyes,' he said ol identification of users. "It means nothing if your son wears sunglasses on a cloudy day or if your daughter wears longsleeves in the summer." Panzica said that changes in per- sonality are better indicators, as drug users often become egocen- NORM PANZICA talks to parents about drug abuse at Anderson CVI last Tuesday night. Free Press photo ,(Ow0 t>£ N ~c/Vad 3 NAIL TECHNICIANS, 12 YRS EXPERIENCE ACRYLIC NAILS, OVERLAY TIPS, GEL COATINGS, FIBREGLASS NAILS NEWNAILS $35.00 NAILFILLS $18.00 WE GUARANTEE OUR WORK!! SLIMTRONICS (EFFORTLESS EXCERCISE) WAXING & PEDICURES SUNTANNING....11 SESSIONS $49.00 NAIL JEWELLERY, NAIL ART NEWNAIL SPECIAL WITH LISA $25.00 (till March 21) 209 DUNDAS ST. E., WHITBY tacross from oost office) 668-7446 tric, lack adequate self esteem and have a narrowing range of interests. Panzica said, "it is up to' parents to build confidence and self-respect in teens.. "You gave them a name, use it. When you cheat them out of achievement, boy do you cheat 'em."- Panzica also recommended that 'dopers' be turned over to the authorities, as this action will probably help them in the long run. "If you catch a kid with dope, you call the police - no exceptions. If it's the law, it's for all of us." Panzica was open to private discussions with students during the day at the schools. The evening sessions concluded with a question- and-answer period for the parents who wished to discuss more per- sonal problems. Arend Dekker, principal of An- derson CVI said he got-nothing but favorable reactions frorn the parents toward Panzica's lecture. "I think they appreciated his non- DRAPERY Give your windows a new look with custom window treatments by VALEO FABRICS. Ail drapes are custom made on the premises. Hundreds of samples Io choose from. featuring: 20 - 30% OFF ON ALL CUSTOM DRAPERY FABRIC ORDERS. 25 - 50% OFF WIDE SELECTION OF WINDOW SHADES, PLEATED SHADES, WOVEN WOODS, AND VERICAL BUNDS. SALE ENDS APRIL 30/87 Did you know we have one of the largest in-stock supply of drapery hardware and accessories in the Durham Region? VALEO FABRICS 1415 King St. East, Oshawa 576-1930 Ample Free Parkmgq preaching style of delivery'. He has a frank nature, and he doesn't pull punches. He tells it like it is." Despite the implications of the recent drug bust in Durham, Bill Smith, substance abuse counsellor for the Durham Board of Education, said that in this region, "the majority of kids are. not using drugs." "All schools have their drug users," said Smith. "That's just the way it is. According to Smith, alcohol is used most heavily by teens followed by hash oil and marijuana. Panzica stated that "Anderson is in the lower half in Canada," as far as a drug problem is concerned. A graduate from McMaster University, Panzica has been in- Volved in drug abuse since 1960. Besides being widely published and writing the book "Your Teen and Drugs: A Parents' Handbook", Panzica has spoken for ap- SEE PAGE 15 LevolorC KIRSCH* FREE Consultation and In-Home Estlmates HOUAS:z Mon. - Wed. 9-30 - 6:00 Thurs. Fri 9:30 - 9:00 Sat. 930 -5:00 COME SEE USAT THE METRO EAST SPRING HOME SHOW MARCH 2526.27,28,1987 1 4