VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS, OPINIONS LETTERS TO THE iOlTOH
Survivors’ agony, loss
forgotten in trial hype
■ OUR OPINION: Mt >,»
focus loo much on the
accused and too Mite
on the victims suffenng
"Healing is an individual
mailer and no on® can toll
you whom you should tie.’*
said Oklahoma tkiv Frank
keeling during Iasi Friday's
trihut® for (b« victim* of the
bombing of the Federal
Building But when the
media's < overage primarily
focuses on lha accused, lha
hauling potted is often pro
longed for these victim*.
Observe the focus on
today* most popular mur
der trial* Q,j, Simpson,
Richard Allen D*vi* and
Timothy M» Veigh, who is
scheduled to go to trial this
fall
til these «ases. the media*
lemkncy is to attempt to
enter the mind of dm mad
man and uncover Urn lrod)
•bout dmir aimu
VVimdmr dm accused is
guilty or innocent is of dm
utmost importance — not
dm victims’ pain and suffer
ing
It says quit** a bit id*tut
wham American** kav inter
est# lie and what they look
for In news; entertainment
Violence is at the com of
entertainment in mote
plat es than movie theaters
it t an la» found on the cov
ers of newspapers, in the
reports of am hors and in
the (tages of magazines It
fascinates people.
When an issue fascinates
people, they pay money to
absorb all M|M«1s of it —
and the media make money.
Often what will sell deter
mines the media's focus. It
the*# not tfelerrnine how
responsibly and fairly the
metlia wdl cover the event.
Take the 0.|. Simpson
trial. for example After
Simpson w«« a* (quitted and
th«* (Goldman family »hed
their tom Imo on nattonal
iclniwin, the media no
longer fnaiwd on the v ic
tim* and their progre** in
baling.
Invtfad. the new contro
versial iwiB Mat how
Afri« nft Amfrium and Cau
casian.* responded to the
verdict.
Nowadays, it la very mo*
to hoar about that Brown and
Goldman faroilit**' pending
civil suit again*! Stmpeon
Howitvaf, on® will Intar
the new video Simp
•on made about the afwnirdi
ty of the charge* against
him
year, when K»* hard
Allan Divic cunfftttml to
killing 12-vear-otd Polly
M*u»s and led police to the
body. the media focus
( hanged from the victiBM,
Polly and her pmnti, to the
murderer’s impending trial.
Though one can attribute
this media shift to the hype
surrounding the Simpson
Otoe, the fori remains that
the media appear to care
more about whether the
confessed murderer is given
the death penalty than If the
Maas family has been able
to move on with their live*
We. as consumers of the
media, should stop and
remember that just because
a trial is no longer men
tioned on the front page of
every newspaper nation
wide it does not mean the
victims have finished deal
ing with the pain caused by
the crime
Whether the accused is
found guilty or innocent,
the fact of the matter
remains (wopi# who were
loved very dearly were ruth
lessly murdered,
Emerald
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ISH T iT TRUE, MS. RENO, THAT
You vt>URS6LP Could HAv£ CARR*€X>
A DftuNS of PUEl Oil And A BAG OF
feqjh. /2EC <ntd wr federal office
BuilDiMG, iN YOUR PANTYHOSE,
MAftin£-STVCE ?
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What W€ can look forward to
I
Wt AwAiT KAT0% >
Qtt«,tQ*J ON ' Y
Parental guidance failure harms children
A* I started my seventh mdt year. I
fully espec tmi mv final project in
NCU studios to he the high point W®
w«w to br given * whole month to. got
thi* do WHATEVER we wanted It needed to be
educational in that w* had to loam something
The only other retjuireoMiats were to include an
adult mentor, a journal and a final presentation
I sea* lucky; I knee* enact I y what I wanted to
do.
All l wanted to do wat rats® a sheep
No small task, you might say. twit I had it all
figured out I had found a farmer to mentor me.
a sheep to adopt and I could hardly wait to get
crocking on my journal trairies about Meiska
(my sheep of c ourse).
I confidently presented my idea to my mother.
»nd my eauberam ** wa».«rushed when the firm
reply was No, no no and no "
I couldn't fault her masoning — | was and am
intensely allergic to wool, but I knew it would
base been different.
I tumped from idea to idea in the nest few
weed* — pigs were too much of a ha**le, hang
gliding was too much of a responsibility and
parachuting was fust too mu< h — too much dan
ger too much height. )uat too much, according
to mv mother, that t*.
Though I hated her for it then, I see mv mom s
wisdom now My U year-old mind and body
Were fust OOt roads for the responsibilities I had
net before myself Though l know I was rtsadv to
do it, she knew (letter and said, quite simply.
"No.”
That Is whai made her a mother She knew
when to draw the line and how to stick to n no
rnattet how much 1 whined about the cruelty of
life She would have rather had me whining
than sneering, stuffed up. or worse — dead
It seems like some parent* do not know when
to sav. “No “ Or when to say. “Yes." for that
matter
Cbm of the most publicized stories of late is
about Jessica DubrufT. the 7 year old who died
following “her" dream At an age where most
children get no higher than the tree* they climb,
she was piloting a small plane She “decided" to
lake off in the middle of a thunderstorm, and
the price was three Uvea
H«r statement on the eve before takeoff. “Fly
‘til I die." became tragically true, and the nation
mourns her
What kind of choice could she make thought
The toughest dec ision a 7-yearold should have
to make is for chocolate or raspberry Ice cream,
not if weather conditions are good enough to
attempt a record-breaking flight.
Her room said. “Clearly I would want all my
children to dia in a stale of joy. I mean, what
more could I ask fur? I would prefer it was not at
age seven but, G<xl. she went with her joy and
her passion. and her life was in her hand*."
Bui that** the problem. No 7-year-old. no mat
ter how pm iou*. how brave, how inspired,
should be expected to be completely responsible
for themselves.
It was not Jessica's responsibility or right It
was her parents It was their responsibility to
know when to say, "Yes," and when to say. "No
way.*’
Then then’ are the parents
who have all too easy of a time
staying no. No to dancing. No to
parties No too much needed
treatment for leukemia.
l-«*dv and Christina Hays
made this decision for their 7
vear old son. Anthony, in
t*m. As leukemia rapidly
defeated his body, they say he
didn't want medicine. They
say Antnony jusi wanted prayers.
Hut what he really needed was doc tors, and
modicine, and someone to toil him what to do
In |>ast cenlurie*. children worn perceived not
** * gift and a blessing. but as another pair of
hand* to earn money No longer
Parent* need to realize that children are not
ttny adult* They are children And children
should not be making decision* directly in flu
encing their own live*.
Their parent* should make the choice fur life,
so they can coma to real ire their own goal*,
tlwir own hope* and their own dream* —
instead of living in their parents' shadow*
Without giving children the chance to mature
and grow, parents can steal their live* away
A* for my seventh grade project. I didn't get
an animal, and I lumped from no heights I
learned to decorate cakes. It was the perfect
choice.
I learned a new way to express myself and
was kept safe from harm in the meantime My
mom came up with the cake idea I said I didn't
want to do it But 1 finally gave in. and I even
enjoyed ft.
1 wa* glad then, as 1 am now. that 1 learned
how to decorate those cake*
Now I can learn to skydive, parachute or take
my life in my own hand* by taking on a pet that
would leave me a sniveling, wheeling heap
ft is my turn to lie an adult. I have that chance
only because my mom took her turn at being a
parent.
Kay kmutiuheid. a sophomore mafaring in btalo
gy and psychology, is <> columnist for the Kmer
aid E-mail welcome kaykMgladstone uoregon
edu