VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS OPIMIOHS LITTERS TO TMf EDITOR
Death metal had part
in murderers’ actions
■ OUR OPINION: Though
the lawsuit may not wm,
the killers wifi still pay
tor their crimes
Two years ago on a late
April night, 20-year-old
Michael Hayward listened
to some doath moral musk,
with three of hit friend* and
then walked into a Kugene
I>*ri Marl, whore he vicious
ly boat Fran Wall, a 28-year
old (tore clerk and mother
of four, with a metal bar.
As Wall lay dying of her
injuries. Hayward, apparent
ly high on 1-SI), tKigali beat
ing Wall's co-worker. Donna
Ream. with the help of hi*
friend lason Brum well
Ream survived the attack.
Now. as Hayward looks at
the short end of a long wait
on death row, with a 20-year
prison term lacked on by a
judge trying to make a point,
Roam is left with the diffi
cult task of beginning to put
the pieces of her lifts back
together.
And now. she's fighting
back
Two week* ago, Ream
filed an $11 million lawsuit
tliat namm her attacker*,
their parents, two death
metal tiands and record
companies as defendants.
Ream filed the lawsuit in a
move to hold producers of
death metal musk responsi
ble for inciting murder
among young men with ten
dent ten toward violence
Unfortunately for Ream,
ihe lawsuit doe* not have a
very good chance of suc
ceeding because of previous
court ruling* that protect
First Amendment free
speech rights If Ream's
tawyerfs) can prove that the
hands intended to incite
people to commit violence
or murder, then the case
could very well have an
internet mg ouiumw
Wo understand whwr
Hnam is coming from with
this lawsuit, Hot outrage,
loss and pain must I* an
incrediblv h«savv burden to
bear. Wo hope she can
somehow move on with her
life
We have a hard time
understanding why people
would even want to listen to
the kind of "death metal*'
crap that some would have
us accept as music, Probably
the only way consumers
learn the lyrics of this kind
of ear rupturing trash is by
following along with the
"song’s" (Hinted words. But
how does anyone "follow
along" with a grinding,
crashing assault of instru
ments and unintelligibly
screaming singers*
I n« lour convicted killers
shared an interest In lh«
death metal bund* Dnicid#
and Cannibal Corpse. whose
lyrics graphically describe
•<1* of murder. mulilation
and torture So tho four lis
tened lo their "music" |u«t
before heading over to (be
Dari Mart, wharf they pro
tended lo ar t out the very
garbage they had fust filled
their minds with
Yea. the music did play a
part in the actions of the
killers, lust as television
violence has a detrimental
effect on children (as recent
ly reported by the Associat
ed Press), violent musk can
flit a mind with violent
thoughts — allowing unsta
ble or drug-twisted minds to
commit a crime
Even if Donna Ream's
lawsuit does not come out
the way she would like,
Michael Hayward's warped
mind will rot with the real
of his worthless hide in
prison for a long, long lime.
\\/\\'v' ///
you
T6 8t rw»t
k
Jiai
Theory of evolution based on science
There appear to bo I wo main ramp* cm
tba evofuiton/t meticmt»rn issue. why
no* present berth sides’ After *11. they
am only theories Berth perspectives on
I ha iMiw have beam represented in recent open
km column* (ODE. March 12. April 16). But
than* am mom than two theories W» mutt
(Jackie which ones we believe
Them am at Inert *» many creation stories
(that fat, theories) aa religions. and at lari count,
them were (ar mom than two religions (even if
you don't count science).
The ''equal time" argument. if practiced fairly,
would probably mault in not mure than a few
minute* par religion over the entim courw of
secondary education The resulting curriculum
would certainly be of value from a comparative
culture pamper live, aa wail at being amt het teat
ly pleating and »ptrilual!y fulfilling But it
could hardly be viewed a* science.
Them i* no apparent reason to atop at rwlk
gton To push the idea further, consider the ere
at ton myth featured in Dougin* Adam*’ Hitch*
hiker'* Guide to the Galaxy.
In Adam*' umveme. tab mice am the creator* of
the Earth and everything on it Of coune. this i*
silly and no one. with the possible exception of
Adam* himself. would suggest that thl* parttcu
lar treat ton theory be taught Yet, in the formal
aen*e. Adams' explanation of the Earth i* a theo
ry It is not. aside from rta obvious entertainment
charms, a very good theory. but It is a theory
In fact anyone with a mind could come up
with an alternative theory fur the existence of
the Earth and things like lab mice and people
| You could hardly do worse than Adams Of
enure*, the trick i* persuading other* into con
ridering your theory
Them am a variety of way* of persuading —
money and coercion come lo mind These am
•till widely used but am not considered the best
methods fee deciding what it to be taught The
methods that have been settled on am loosely
bundled Inlo something called, imaginatively,
"the sc ientific method * The basic ides of the
scientific method i* to juxtapose theories against
each other and pick the one that manages to be
most predictive When the prediction criterion
is used, not all theories am equal.
No other theory makes specific predictions as
well as evolution does
The evolution theory is supported by decades
of observations, countless selection experiments.
COMMENTARY
Oautd I. Butcher
^hn,tUNnnnn '
• wel I develo| red not of conceptual snd mathemat •
H*1 models and convincing predictive suumi
Creation theory is supported by discredited
science. specious arguments, wishful thinking
•ntl no specific prediction*. There is no support
for creationism as an explanatory theory When
treat ion goe* head to head with evolution, a
patchwork theory, something resembling
Frankenstein's monster is formed
This so-called (realIon Science combines the
least attractive features of religion and science:
the exclusiveness of religion and the tedious jar
gon of science When creationism atxepts the
predictive i nterion required of science, it fails
to persuade
There is no reason few creationism io accept
the pre.ii, live criterion Without the predictive
criterion, however, creationism has no claim to
science But religion need not be science and
need not serve the purpose of science likewise,
religion should not pretend to be science,
should not be taught as sc ience and should nut
receive ’equal time "
With treat ton science's strident calls for
equality, we are distracted from the fad that it is
one religious theory out of many Haiti's “dosed
minds reject creationism" is an echo of this call
Narrowing ibe field of competing theories to a
paltry two further bolsters the apparent case for
('resttun Science by neglecting lire evidence
l Inder this scheme. Scientific Creationism goes
from one in a billion implausible explanations
to sole competitor in an opinion poll
Rhetoric aside. Creation Science is not
demonstrably better than other religions' cre
ation myths Further, evolution is itself s collec
tion of alternative theories
Finally, selecting among these alternatives it a
matter of evidence and prediction, not opinion
(relation Science's invitation to ignore the alter
natives and the evidence conceals and reveals
an agenda that has nothing to do with scientific
inquiry.
David I Butcher and Botmrl Mannar an gntidu
ata student* in the biology department
mrfRS •
1 would like to compliment
«nd thank the iewiah Student
Union end their coordinating
iponaor* of Holocaust Remem
branoe Week lor providing a very
well planned end eunr uled edu
cal tonal experience. which wu
carried out with great can
It wa» a great feeling to b« >o
warmly welcomed to an event*
Thank you
KA Motto
Russian Department
CORRECTION
Tha mgrmtun block on Bom*
» lo Ih« odMcM
(ODE Apnl 22) thookS h*w
f**0 *8oon» K«n(«K Wom«fl •
C*nww inter tm OuacKK *ry} m#
Wom*ti| Center *«ff* The
CmeraAJ regrets ihe error