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 |
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