The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, May 29,1996
Opinion
—*—I B I ■■■
Letter to the Editor Moshing the night away
2
Editor’s Note: (The following
letter has been printed as writ
ten upon the writer’s request.)
I would like to comment on
the Wednesday, May 22, ‘96
Clackamas print article on “A
night in the life of a public safety
officer”.
After reading this article I
became VERY angry at Tom
Steigleders decision on letting
the Noninsured motorist go.
That was a very poor decision
on his part. There is absolutely
NO excuse for his actions!!! I
was hit by a non insured motor
ist in January of ‘96, and paid out
of my own pocket for the dam
ages. They never caught the
guy who did it!
From my understanding, the
law is to have the non-insured
car towed on the spot. But it’s
people like officer Steigleder who
let things go, not understanding
the consequence that comes to
others like my self. I’m sure he’s
a good person ,(Tom)but that’s
no excuse!! Maybe being a Cam-
. pus cop is different than a real
one, and the laws are different—
NOT!
Probably most people
wouldn’t catch this, but I did, and
I think he should be interviewed,
and questioned as to why an er
ror like this was made, and does
he under stand that it was an
ignorant play on his part...........
Second on the “out break of
car stereo thefts”, I would like to
comment on that article, or rather
Lieutenant Dexheimers unedu
cated back ground on car stereo
thefts.
First off, when a window is
broken out, by a “professional”,
they use a screwdriver, and the
most noise heard is a muffled
‘FOOOP’. A noise that can not
be heard two cars away?^-Pro
fessionals” don’t use bricks
anymore, or pipes, but by sim
ply inserting a screw driver be
tween the rubber of the win
dow frame and the window, then
twisting. That will web the glass,
only left to poke out the parts
for an arm to fit throughout and
unlock the door. Or even throw
ing a broken spark plug at the
window will do the quiet trick,
(porcelain is very very dense,
like a diamond, therefore, when
hitting glass, the glass will give,
not the porcelain).
Where were the alarms of
these cars broken in to??? Or is
the Lieutenant just keeping that
off the record to protect him
self?? If alarms were to go off,
that attracts attention, and pos
sible a police OOPS, campus se
curity car. I guess I wouldn’t
mention that either if I were
working for the campus secu
rity.
It seems that the security
cars are always at the Criminal
justice building. I, myself, and
others rarely see the two cars
away from the CJ building. Is it
because they are there for
show? Or out of gas? You
would think so, when all day
long when rest of the students
can spot at least one security
car in front of the Criminal jus
tice office. The student tuition
is high enough, you would think
it could support fuel, time, and
energy for the campus security
to actually patrol the campus.
The “quality” stereos are
actually Alpine, Kenwood,
Sony, in that order, according to
the “CAR AUDIO”, and “CAR
STEREO REVIEW” magazines.
Thank you for your time,
an honest driver
David Hansen!
(Editor’s Note: The Print spoke with Officer Steigleder, who
clarified information about the student who ran the stop sign.
Steigleder said that the student’s vehicle was registered, but the
proof of registration was not in the vehicle. The student also had
insurance; his proof of insurance card was expired by one month.)
The Clackamas Print Staffs
Editor-in-Chief: Chad Patteson (Ext. 2576)
Managing Editor: Amy K. Hanson (Ext. 2576)
News Editor: Pamela Sirianni (Ext. 2576)
Feature/Assistant Sports Editor: Jon Roberts (Ext. 2578)
Sports Editor: Lora Wahrgren (Ext. 2309)
Photography Editor: Paul Ulmen (Ext. 2578)
Copy Editor: Laney Fouse (Ext. 2309)
Opinion Editor: Brendon Neal (Ext. 2309)
Business Manager: Cori Kargel (Ext. 2578)
Assistant Opinion Editor: Karin Redston (Ext. 2309)
Assistant Feature Editor: Brad Zimmerman (Ext. 2309)
Cartoonist: Brian Ray
♦ ♦♦♦
Staff Writers/Photographers:
Eric Eatherton, Andrew Beck,
Brian Ray, Jessica Dvorak, Jack Evans, Joel Shempert
Secretary: Joanne Gale (Ext. 2309)
Advisor : Linda Vogt (Ext. 2310)
The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased,
professional manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do
not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its
faculty or The Clackamas Print's advertisers. Products and services
advertised in The Clackamas Print are not necessarily endorsed by any
one associated with The Clackamas Print. The Clackamas Print is a
weekly publication distributed every Wednesday except for finals week. The
advertising rate is $4.50 per column inch.
All signed letters to the editor will be considered for publication and
must be submitted by 1 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. Letters con
taining libelous material shall not be printed.
Clackamas Community College, 19600 S. Molalla Avenue, Oregon
City, Oregon, 97045; Barlow 104; (503) 657-6958, ext. 2309.'
E-mail: cccprint@dackamas.cc.or.us
Brian Ray
Staff Writer
There’s nothing like the sen
sation one gets when stuck in the
middle of a crowd of people, lis
tening to loud rock music, with
barely enough room to breathe,
much less move. It is frightening,
yet somehow fun and exhilarating,
knowing that one wrong move can
easily get you trampled by hun
dreds of people, some much big
ger than you. It is called
“moshing.”
What started as an under
ground movement in East Coast
punk and metal clubs has spread
throughout the country. In the
rock music scene, moshing is as
common as clouds in the sky.
Chances are, if you’re at a rock
concert, there will be moshing
going on.
No longer confined to the
punk rock scene at shows by
bands like Bad Religion orNOFX.
or hardcore metal bands like
Pantera and Rage Against the
Machine, moshing has been spot
ted at concerts for such diverse
acts as The Grateful Dead, Smash
ing Pumpkins, and even Sheryl
Crow.
While the movement has be
come more widespread, the effects
of moshing have also become more
apparent. Last week, at a Smash
ing Pumpkins show in Germany, a
16-year-old fan from Berlin was
killed when she was “crowd surf
ing” (where a person “surfs” on
top of the crowd, laid out, being
pushed along on top of a sea of
hands, over the crowd’s head) and
was dropped on her head. She
died almost instantly of severe
head trauma and neck injuries.
The band, which had taken
an anti-moshing stance in the
past, is now supporting an ordi
nance in their hometown of Chi
cago, Illinois, that will outlaw
moshing within the city’s many
rock clubs.
Closer to home, the most no
torious incident in Portland was
at a 1994 Metallica concert at Port
land Meadows where a 24-year-
old concert-goer was crowd surf
ing (I sense a pattern here), and
was also dropped on his head,
breaking a vertebrate in his neck
and suffering a bad concussion.^
I have attended many differ
ent concerts, with groups ranging
from Pearl Jam or
,
to more extreme acts like Slayer
and Pantera, and the majority of
my time was spent right in the
roughest part of the “pit.”
The worst thing that has ever
happened to me was at a Sweaty
Nipples concert last year when I
was struck in the head by the heel
of a over-zealous crowd surfer’s
Doc Marten.™
My eye was blackened, I had
blood pouring down my face, and
I still had a great time. I’m not a
pain freak or anything. I just love
the feeling of moshing.
I think the problem with
moshing is that many concert
goers don’t use common sense.
For example, if you’re a five-foot-
five, one-hundred-and-fifty-
pound male, chances are, you will
get trampled by the six-foot, two-
hundred-thirty-pound gorillas
that usually populate the pit.
Sometimes size and weight
are irrelevant, because I’ve seen
some of the most weak looking
people get into the pit and hold
their own against the crowd. There
will always be a few people who
mosh just to hurt other people, and
there’s nothing anybody can do
about that.
I am totally pro-moshing, be
cause it’s something I think can
be used positively as a release or
a tension breaker. I think it’s very
sad that a few people can ruin it
for everybody because of their
thoughtless and careless behav
ior.
If people would look out for
their own actions, I wouldn’t feel
obligated to write this piece. There
wouldn’t be any debate about
moshing.
Drinking and driving:
a crime not an accident
Karin Redston
Assistant Opinion Editor
June is graduation for Clacka
mas students, as well as for most
schools in Oregon. June is also a
high point in the year for car acci
dents involving alcohol.
The media reminds us at
Christmas time and New Year’s
Eve not to drink and drive. In
Alaska, we had far more intoxi
cated drivers out during the
Superbowl and on St. Patrick’s
Day.
Whether it is Christmas,
Superbowl Sunday or Memorial
Day, it seems that drinking and
dri ving has become an acceptable
thing do for any holiday or event.
I have a problem with the us
age of the word “accident” when
it is referring to an alcohol - or drug
- related car wreck. An accident is
something that is unforseen and
can’t be prevented. Drinking and
driving is not an accident. It can
be prevented.
Driving under the influence
is considered a crime in every coun
try. Penalties are probably the least
serious here in the U.S., where you
can lose your license and/or pay
fines. However, some countries
have penalties that include long
prison sentences and even the
death penalty.
Though it has been deter
mined that drinking and driving is
a crime, we still treat offenders like
they are the victims.
The “Oh, they just need
help” or “They just used bad judg
ment” lines don’t cut it with the
families of those who are killed or
badly hurt by drivers under the in
fluence.
During the last ten years,
there has been an intense surge
of media and educational focus
against drunk driving. It seems to
be working, but not fast enough.
This term, a CCC student lost his
life in an alcohol-related “acci
dent.” What part of not drinking
and driving don’t people under
stand? What happened to taking
a cab or having a designated
driver?
Despite best efforts by the
police, schools and the media,
people still continue to drive un
der the influence of whatever sub
stance. So let’s rewrite the laws
and make them tougher.
For the first offense, let’s
send these folks to jail for a week
and suspend their license for a
year. Let them miss work and learn
to deal without the privilege of
driving. If anyone has bothered
to read a driving manual lately, one
of the first things stated is that
driving is a privilege, not a right.
A second offense deserves
permanent revocation of their li
cense, stiffer fines and more jail
time. Since offenders would have
no further use for a license, they
would forfeit the car they’re driv
ing. This would also be a good
time for that experimental boot
camp experience.
There should be no third of
fense.