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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1981)
opinion SKONO'SON TIRSTW Tasteless humor I remember well the time Ronda P. from across the street called me a “dirty mudpie.’’ I was six years old at the time and considered the statement to be offensive and a mortal sin against god above Well time went on and I discovered words like s—, f—, d—, and h— were cool, oh ever so cool man! Yes, I remember the first time I ever heard my mother say f—. Suddenly I realized that this wasn't just some old hag who who cast spells on people and made them eat spinach with too much vinegar and made them clean up their bedrooms. Here was a real live person just like you and I, and was she cool, oh ever so cool! I became enamored with the multi various uses of trash words; they were oh so entertaining. A high school teacher would say h— throwing the classroom into uproarious laughter. Soon he would be the talk of the school. In a week or two he would most likely be unemployed. I came to college and the professors used even better words, and kept their jobs to boot Boy were they cool man, ever so cool Lately strange things have happened to my thinking processes due to lack of proper drugs, but all of the sudden like I realized most of these people (my mother excepted) were just jerks playing up to little idiots like me who thought thier language was cool. I found the epitomy of Jerkdom while reading the Daily Im morald Come on folks, give me a f break! You could have substituted some little amount of humor in between your vulgarity for those of us who no longer giggle over every blatant use of f—, s—, d—, and h—. I realize you probably gave a few freshmen and various greeks men tal orgasms. But most of us were proba bly just offended. We realize that you folks have reallv Door tasteless senses of ItMWrtM/MM mans, mr. 'm-mm ms mn ww! ftfMJMEMStfm sie- WMouk mm wa mrnrm mnsMvm mm&s... / vours humor and you worked long and hard to find some substitute for humor in your paper. But really, next year save it for the bathroom walls and just print the regular Emerald. After all, you guys are usually funniest when you try to be serious. Phillip Seder 751 E. 14th, No. 9 Sensationalism Here we go again with another assas sination or assassination attempt. Immediately, the news reporters wait for the suspect’s name, age and address. Then, they scramble for a photograph, usually an old high school one, and print it with any others they can find. Like hounds on a hunt they swarm the suspect’s home. They film his parents and friends. They get accounts from old acquaintances, all who say that the su spect was a wanderer but not the type to shoot anyone. Finally, they track down the gun shop. The clerk invariably recounts, ‘ Yeah, he seemed a little spacy." They show maps following the su spect’s route and plans. They construct how he followed his victim, waited, then pounced. They give it all in incredibly minute detail. What the media doesn't realize, or what it chooses to ignore, is that all this detail is giving potential assassinations the information they need to carry out a successful hit of their own. The modus operandi is spelled out in blazing clarity. A step-by-step course on assassination wouldn’t be clearer if it were on a black board. And what is also convenienty ignored is the fact that such coverage is in viola tion of the voluntary press-bar guidelines meant to prevent biasing, pre-trial in formation The guidelines discourage "opinions about an arrested person's character." Last, the media people are so near sighted that they can’t see that their coverage of these suspects becomes the very publicity sought by the attention sick assassin. The headlines, pictures and biographies are exactly what he or she had in mind when the trigger was pulled. The suspect is an immediate national figure. The media will retort "Who are we to dictate what to print?” or "Restrictions are an imposition on our First Amend ment rights.” But their responses, unlike the bullets fired by Oswald, Sirhan, Chapman and now Hinckley, miss the point. The media coverage is not mo tivated by any philosophic or political principle. It’s a strictly economical mo tive — nothing else — as the media strives to ensnare more viewers or readers through reckless sensationalism. Timothy J. Talevich Graduate, journalism Fowl but remarkable Bird fanciers everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to the Immorald for the prominent display given to the West Coast bird (digitus vulgaris) in your April 1 edition. That your photographer was able to capture this robust specimen on film during its molting phase is remarka ble indeed. My question: is Rich Brooks the photographer or the bird? Your cap tion is not clear May I suggest a follow-up to your triumph of April 1 ? A similar shot (dare we hope?) of the East Coast bird (da finguh) would be an unprecedented coup in avian photography. The East Coast bird differs from its West Coast cousin primarily in the retracted lateral digits which gives the central digit a more conspicuous apprearance This species is rarely seen in these climes, but may often be Drovoked into revealina itself bv a tirade of invective against its maternal progenitors. Even though neither of these species is in any danger of extinction (indeed their numbers seem to be on the in crease), bird shots of this type are es sential if history is to have an accurate record of our times. Thanks again. Our daughter, Jenny Stoik, was a junior music student at the University and died Feb. 23. So many of her friends and teachers have written that we want to publicly thank them. We want to thank all who gave their help, concern, contributions and just plain human consideration to us during the passing of our sunny daughter, Jenny. She will be deeply missed and we feel her one wish to all would be to “keep smiling" and "hear the music.” Sincere thanks to all. The Emerald will accept and try to print all letters containing fair comment on ideas and topics of interest to the Univer sity community. Letters must be typewritten and no longer than 250 words. Letters must be signed, the author's field of study or faculty status noted and must include address and phone number for verification. Russell Becker Graduate, ornithology Grateful Ed and Donna Stoik Watsonville, Calif.
