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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1983)
opinion Cameras in court Oregon has joined other states cautious*? w penmenting with cartas an the courtroom It ts te'mec ar experiment because of the gross abuses cororomec by the media tr the past provoked a pa"; Already the expe*n has hit a mg mac may jeopardize ?t — Put not Certartf pne of the mar* instances that prompted the courtrooan camera par- was the Sar: Shepparc muor case m Oeve<anc r the 1950s Sheppard accused of muroeong his wife was a* Pel toed comricSed and ex ectiled p* ar overoeaibus media. "he case was hearo r a courtroom lit by brilliant white lights, httered w?tr tangles c1 thick cable anc crowded with bulky te*ev:so'- cameras ""he ecu'* •per' became a emeus m the pest Roman tradition Arthougr m deferonce to proaocas’ ioumaltsm, rt •as the Cleveland newspapers that 'Baity prejudiced the Shepparc trial "he newspapers wen! sc tar as to hare direct telephone nes to sequestered jurors, interviewing their, dunng deliberations. "here was a long drought tor the media seeking infor mation concerning ongoing cases fudges didn’t trust the ~*ed'-s and we*e openly antagonistic to joumaitsts All the wh**e the neosa was chastising rtsetf for past excesses "he med«a m Onegoa was no dTfferem. Bat the signs across the country nes that cameras wou*d someday be a*owed Pact into the courtroom. A n&moer c* new cost "bomii m Onager and othef stales we~e Psiiitt wrtr *r»otrtros*ve portals tor video cameras In r»rc* a touch o* '-coy was added to the Ronnie Zamora case Camera. accused o* murder, said he was pras->crash ed «te the act b* the haentua Viewing of the television show "Ao«ar, ' Much cr the Zamcra case was videotaped. Danger s expenment began a tew weeks age whe^ he stale s Supreme Court adopted rotes that permit eev?s*cr anc at** cameras inside the Supreme Court Building courtrooms The hrst session under the camera expertment was aptly enough, the Court of Appeals There are restrictions in the apartment. Only one televisor* camera, stiH camera and recording device are permitted The media will work from a pool Supreme Court Justice Robert Jones sard he expected the Supreme Court to allow cameras in trial courts if there were no hrtenes “The whole thing rests on how well the media behaves Jones said The media has behaved well so far — those or trial have not On the second day cameras were allowed n a courtroom two members of the Revolutionary Commumst Youth Bngade disrupted the appeal hearing of hocy Whitley, convicted of arson in a *981 political protest m the EMU Ballroom The two were cried for contempt and fined $100 Specuiai-on followed the incident that ft was staged for the camera and that fhss might jeopardize the entire camera experiment Chief Justice Berkeley Lent, who heard Whitley’s appert and issued the contempt citings sart that the two probably would have staged a protest of the nearing regardless of the presence of a television camera. -Lent, though, admitted he was womed the inci dent m»gm make other judges leery of cwneras Ties teertnesa by judges would be unfortunate and a disservice to the public. Cameras *n the courtroom are a vakuabie instrument to gathering information and repor ting 9a information accurately to the public The media has tfwougk much soul searching achieved a sett diecipfene in reportage on court caees Of course there are abuses, but more often than not the media ethically mam tams rest raint There wM be snags throughout this period troom w<« prove to be essential for the public ad toe taw emerald -•$ # 4® ■ ft 4> J* * .<■ > ■ debt e Hewlett editor’s note v<« Decisions. made by consensus, are strange things People who normalty shrink ’nyri me -esponsibiiities of making hard-line aectsions by themselves suddenly develop an aura of bravado a false sense of invincibility. Recently i »as pmrvy to a few year-end -©ports from campus committees I began to wonder coutd this be the way the University is rum’ In a fiasr of honor 1 realized that if there are wen over 125 committees on campus, a lot of decisions are only a notice of motion away But what really gets my gavel is the way some reiat'vety minor decisions arc handled on such a grand scale How about this. The Traffic Appeals Board7 This committee decides whether you dese-vec the ticket you received for parking two minutes over your alloted time By some strange fluke of nature, everyone I spoke with had a story about the traffic ap peals board They didn’t believe my meter wasn’t working.” moaned one of my tnends. who is $4 poorer l didn’t either in ail truthfulness, is it necessary to have sur people decide about J4’ That’s about 66 cents a committee member. ''"h* Student Health Service Advisory, which advises the director of the health center on policies and procedures" according to an official *ynop»»s Who hired a department director who can t mane decisions’ Probably a search committee And then there’s 'The Committee on Pa tent Policies " Patent leather? C moo... isn't that the U S. Patent Office’s >ob? How about the ROTC Advisory committee'’ They “advise the President, the faculty and the military department on the ROTC program ’ reads the handy description flyer on University committees — “well actually they advise the department about scholarships/’ says Kappy Eaton, the Bureau of Governmental Affairs librarian and a dedicated committee womai I nominate Chaney Ryan. How about the “Campus Planning Com mittee?” The big decisions they make each year have to do with buildings, landscaping, parking and traffic. Each is given a golden shovel. It is rumored that several of the commit tee members travel around campus with leather bags full of pine seeds Some people will do anything for tenure With well over 130 committees on everything from academic advising to radiation safety, it’s hard to decide which is my favonte But I’ve managed to narrow it down to the one committee that exemplifies the spirit of shared decision making But it is somewhat of a secret It isn't mentioned in our handy committee description paper. Eaton — you remember, the dedicated committee woman — is on this one It is the Committee on Committees. Has a nice nng, don’t you think? But before I take an editorial stwxt that the University should banish all committees. I have to talk to our Editorial Board, but damn it, seven people '■‘an never agree on anything. letters Inadequate Th* Mew Yorti T*mas from papr story on Jan 17. 1963 was "Bartasisy Top* Scholars' jRjartong©Miraoua** Schools ft ts HAacwtting to not* that ouaittr o* libraries at disposal o* tha ackicatonai institution" was pan of ths entsm tor at ttea Uaiearstty. library facilities are inadequate for undergraduate as well as graduate study The physical condition of the obsolescent main library at the University it a date rent to concentrated study The outmoded heating system is adequate in winter but impossible to regulate in the comfort range the rest of the year Ventilation is poor. Acoustics in the mam study area are at least 20 years beyond the current state of the art Ambiant lighting is disastarous to the eyesight. There is a lack of facilities ex* caberated by increasing thatt of personal belongings in study areas There are no coin operated lockers tor coats and umbrellas and bulky packages and bags, nor check room for a few hours storage Copy machines are In constant disrepair For researchers, there we no targe site copy wCMwts for targe journal ar ticles Ho typing room to ae commodate students and researchers {the two typing stalls available are always in uses The library collection is inadequate and outdated — if you visit the “stacks" frequently, \ Last summer I visited the University of Nevada and saw their new library facility, privately endowed. It is not on ly an architectural gem but provides a real incentive to study, In the environment of Reno. On the other hand, at the University there is no assurance for corporate and alumni benevolence beyond the range of athletic facili ties Will the University ever meet minimum standards for university library facilities, for graduate students and undergraduates7 The question It moot without funding — which we cannot expect from the present legislative ses sion However, at least priorities should be arranged to give any money for building rehabilitation to the library lather than 6rb Memorial Union | HmHMMl J ton
