Letters
4________
All signed letters to the editor should be 500 words or less and will
considered for publication if submitted by 1 pm the Friday prior
publication. Letters to the Editor are subject to editing. We reserve
WedNEsdAy, M ay 1, 2002
Waking up from the
nightmare of Nick Barron
'
This letter is in response to the
article, “Waking up from the night
mare of the NBA” by Nick Barron
that appeared in the April 17th edi
tion of The Clackamas Print. Nick
had two opinions within his ar
ticle, the first one being that the
NBA finals are lackadaisical and
sleep-inducing. The other was
that Nick likes baseball more than
basketball. He said nothing to
support his opinions, yet still man
aged to consume half a page with
mindless babble.
When the article was printed
this year’s playoffs had not started,
so Nick must have been upset,
most recently, with last year’s play
offs. I admit the Western Confer
ence games left much to be desired,
unless you’re a Laker fan. The
Eastern Conference, however, had
many games that were close and
exciting. Most of the series were
played out all five or seven games.
One had no idea which team was
going to come out as champion
until Game 7 of the Conference Fi
nals. This streak even carried into
the finals when, in Game 1, Phila
delphia became the only team to
give the Lakers a loss in last year’s
playoffs. How is this lackadaisi
cal or sleep-inducing?
In paragraph five of Nick’s ar
ticle, he implies that baseball is
superior to basketball. He supplies
no evidence to support this com
ment, but he makes many state
ments in attempt to belittle basket
ball.
Let’s apply Nick’s statements
about basketball to baseball to see
if baseball is, in fact, superior. Nick
wrote about NBA players swing
ing punches and throwing basket
balls into the stands. How often
does a batter charge the mound?
How many times have managers
and referees kicked dirt on each
other, yelling so violently that they
are red-faced, spit flying from their
mouths? How many times, through
the years, have we seen whole
teams empty their dugouts, mak
ing the baseball diamond look like
a battlefield that rivals any
"BraveHeart" scene? How is base
ball better?
Nick also stated that profes
sional wrestling is a healthy for
mat for the public to see people
with a grudges work out their dif
ferences. For onCe, Nick and I
share an opinion. A few years ago
Karl Malone and Denis Rodman
got into the “squared-circle” and
battled out an entire season worth
of potential court brawls. Have
two baseball players ever done
this?
Many people share the feeling
that sports figures should elevate
themselves and be examples of
ideal citizenship. Millions of fans
think that athletes Should be
people that children can look up
to and hope to someday emulate.
Nick targeted Allen Iverson as
basketball’s greatest evil-doer. I
have two words for you, Nick:
John Rocker.
The point that I hope to get
across, is that if Nick wants to write
about his opinion, he needs to in
right to not publish any letter.
elude facts that support it. A
sports column should not be some
thing thrown together in ten min
utes. Reading Nick’s article was a
waste of my time, and he wasted
space in an otherwise good news
paper.
Edward S. Phillips
Student
"Gifts" not always legit
The headlining article for today’s
Clackamas Community College
newspaper disclosed the web site
addresses, fundraiser events, and
most recent discovery of human
remains into the disappearance of
Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis.
About half of the story suggested
that people who claim they have a
“gift” may be able to provide as
sistance in the case. The journal
ist of the article, Salena De La Cruz,
chose to include an extremely de
tailed profile of the alleged abduc
tor submitted to this forum by an
anonymous individual who claims
to have “premonitions or visions
of an event.” Although Cruz noted
that it was not illegal to print a
sketch of the suspected monster
(according to the Student Press
Law Center, N.Y.) what was she
thinking?! Did it ever occur to Cruz
that the person who submitted this
profile and sketch could be the
same individual who abducted
Miranda and Ashley? Or better
yet, and maybe less likely, it could
be the sophomoric plot of a jeal
ous lover seeking revenge on her
former significant other.
If this phantom source that pro
duced the suspect’s fantasy pro
file is a true clairvoyant then why
didn’t the profile include informa
tion that could actually be used in
the case? For example, a home ad
dress would be a decent lead in
the investigation. If the only key
witness to this crime exists in an
other reality (not ours), then why
is it necessary to print this in a
newspaper? I agree there are
people in this world who have a
convincing track record of real pre
dictions, etc. Unfortunately, these
are the same people who suffer
from the backlash of unsupported
claims made by quacks and char
latans whose only reputations are
a myriad of decepion.
In other words, if you’re going
to write about a phenomenon, give
it some reference to an empirical
source — not an anonymous sub
scriber of an Internet forum.
Marc Cramer
Instructor
The Print does not meet
mission statement
Dear Clackamas Print:
Thapk you for considering the
opinion of your readers. I am happy
you value the freedom of expression
in your paper. However, the freedom
you claim has been abused in the
April 24th, 2002, article “Famous pom
star salutes Oregon.”
A famous quotation by Eric Hoffer
reminds us, “The basic test of free
dom is perhaps less in what we are
free to do than what we are free not
to do.” I rejoice to say that we have
the freedom of speech in the United
States; however, I shudder when the
press prints biased information to
the student body and promotes por
nography to students, including
minors. Currently, there are hun
dreds of 13-14-15-16 and 17 year olds
enrolled at Clackamas Community
College. The “Pom Star” article is
advertising pornography to these
minors. The majority of students on
this campus agree, even the most
liberal of us, that advertising por
nography to minors is unethical.
Additionally, the “Pom Star” article
is extremely biased because there is
no mention of the opposing view
point. Arguments against pornog
raphy like, broken relationships and
the dehumanizing of the individual,
were completely ignored. The article
used language like “hero” (line four)
to describe the pom star, Ron Jer
emy, and referred to pom shows as
“harmless fun” (last column mid
section). In a biased manner, this use
of language gives a one-sided, posi
tive outlook on pornography to the
students on this campus, especially
influencing the developing minds of
the 13-14-and 15-year-olds. While
the article contained a warning at
the beginning, students should be
free to read their school paper with
out having to flip through an adver
tisement for pornography. Addition
ally, the warning implied in a degrad
ing manner that anyone who dis
agrees with the article does not ap
preciate the freedom of expression.
The Clackamas Print is designed to
serve the students first, not tell us
that if we disagree with their articles
that we are un-American!
Finally, the Print’s article did not
meet the goals nor the mission state
ment of the Clackamas Print. The
Print’s goal of unbiased information,
failed. Additionally, the mission of
giving vital information about the
college failed because the “Pom
star” article was an advertisement
for the pom star and not a balanced,
informative editorial. I regret that The
Clackamas Print’s standard of excel
lence has sunk so low. Please, offi
cially apologize for giving us, your
readers, biased information and
apologize for advertising pornogra
phy to my friends and fellow stu
dents. Take a step toward editorial
excellence by featuring a balanced
article in the next edition of the Print,
which deals with both views of por
nography laws and use in Oregon
and how it relates to the students of
Clackamas Community College.
And/or, please give The Print’s re
sponse to the main arguments of my
letter. If nothing else, keep the Pom
Star in Playgirl or Playboy, not in
The Clackamas Print. I look forward
to reading your next issue.
Paul Southwick
Student
Freedom of speech not for
everything
Dear Clackamas Print:
No more than a half a year ago
America stood by in horror as a
good 5,000 people mindlessly were
murdered in New York and Wash
ington D.C.
We were united, we waved flags,
both Republicans and Democrats
alike sang “God Bless America” on
national television, we had candle
light vigils. We hugged, we cried
but most of all it seemed we turned.
Even now, we see the bumper
stickers “God Bless America.” It
cannot be hidden what this coun
try was based on and the morals
our forefathers stood for. Yet here
we are six months later, once again
perverse, a shame to human de
cency, we make a mockery of our
selves before the world. I read your
article on ‘Tamous pom star sa
lutes Oregon,” and the warning at
the beginning, which hid behind
freedom of expression. Is this what
our forefathers meant when they
wrote of “freedom of speech,” is
this what you as a college, de
signed to serve the community,
teach? It seems to me as if it is time
for this country to get its mind out
of the gutter, and if this article is a
depiction of how your institute in
tends to teach American citizens,
many of whom may be no more
than 16 years old, how to better
themselves, I don’t believe I need
say more. I do not see how an ar
ticle as offensive as this can pos
sibly be what you want known of
your colleges standards. I ask you
to start teaching a level of decency.
If that means starting with your
“freedom of expression,” than
please present yourselves in at
least a respectable manner. As far
as your mission statement, how
does this serve students first?
How does a pom star serve Or bet
ter the surrounding community,
have you any idea what this stuff
can do to homes, is this vital infor
mation? And where is the college
even mentioned, you say The Print
“balances opinion,” in order to
balance an opinion both sides
must be heard, here is another side.
LET IT BE HEARD.
Robert Larson
Student
Content not age appropriate
Pom is not right
Dear Clackamas Community C<
lege:
I was quite disturbed when I re
the "Porn Star" article in Ap
twenty-fourth’s issue in Tl
Clackamas Print. There are su
flaws with it that I have to wonde
why you chose to print it.
First, your paper’s mission stal
ment holds that is purpose is
serve the college student bod
May I humbly remind you th
there is a good portion of the st
dent body younger than age 1
Did you further know that it is
crime to sell or advertise porn
minors? A law I know was esta
lished for the purpose of protect
ing young and developing minds
The second problem I have wi
this article is its style. A newspa
per, by its very nature, is for t
purpose of reporting news. Tl
article fully fits in the category
“infomercial.”
Lastly, you routinely tout fre
dom of speech in the "Pom" i
tide. I have heard it said, “Fre
dom is not the right to do as o
pleases, but the freedom to do what
is right.” I would submit to you that
pom, in general, is not right because
it destroys relationships, ma
riages, and cheapens and dishon
ors people, women especially,
focusing only on their outward
physical appearance and not i
their internal qualities.
I would encourage you to apol
gize for presenting an article tl
was not only biased, but also r
representative of the commi
needs and interests of the whe
college body. News relevant to t
school would be things such
sports, students or buildii
projects. I submit this with utm<
respect and dismay.
Matt Rouse
Student
More journalism classes,
please
Dear Clackamas Print,
A friend of mine brought my
attention to an article in your
newspaper titled “Famous porn
star salutes Oregon.” It is my
opinion that this article has no
place in a college campus,
where it can be read by all,
young and old. The writers and
editors at your newspaper need
to remember the age of their
audience. Many of them are
high school students. For this
reason, it is irresponsible of
your paper to print this type of
article.
Students at Clackamas Com
munity College have no need
for this type of information.
They come here to learn valu
able skills that they will need
in the workplace, not bawdy
humor. There is a plentiful sup
ply of useful news for your pa
per to cover. Please refrain from
printing articles that contain
crass content in the future.
I find Allison Gerfin’s article
The Clackamas Print extremely
poor journalism. One expects
find articles that may be of
interest, articles that one d
agrees with, but not to find su
blatant biased information. O
really expects more from a c<
lege newspaper whose missi
statement reads, “Serves the c<
lege students first, and provides
vital information about the c<
lege.” Whose goals read; “rep<
the news in an unbiased proft
sional manner.”
The warning itself reads as 1
ased and unprofessional. It i
sinuates that people who d
agree with an article about p<
nography, “don’t appreciate
freedom of expression.” This is
sloppy sentimentality.
Colleges are meant to be ins
tutions of higher learning. P<
haps a few more classes in joi
nalism would help.
Darían Pike
Student
Mata Kimmel
Student