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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2005)
6 e thfcLACKAMASprint June 1, 2005 Newsweek dumps credibility down the tube Shannon Armstead Commentary Editor A news article in the May 9 edition of Newsweek, which falsely reported that the Koran had been desecrated by U.S. soldiers, outraging Iraqis and leading to even more murder and mayhem in Iraq, should cause us to question whose side the publication is on. While the media’s desire for news that will grab attention is expected and acceptable, Newsweek’s publi cation of a Koran being flushed down the toilet was a ridiculous means to gain the wrong kind of attention. The report caused violent protests throughout the Muslim world. In Afghanistan, 16 were killed and more than 100 injured. In the past week it was con demned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League. Government and UN buildings, as well as mosques, were burned. Now Afghan Muslim clerics are threatening to call for yet anoth er holy war against the United dumped the Koran into the toilet States. and in one case flushed it down All this destruction was the toilet to intimidate prison ers who were Muslim, but also caused by a story that con tained no facts. While anyone unnamed. who has used a toilet would After the know that a book cannot story’s valid be flushed down ity was the commode, a questioned, reporter some Newsweek’s edi how fell captive to tor Mark Whitake the suggestion decided to add insult to injury that this was not only a possi when he first bility but a claimed that the significant article story. To make the was not suffi story valid, ciently Newsweek proven claimed that false, so it it had sources would not be without names, taken back. who in turn had their sources “We’re not retract without names, ing anything. who were Illustration courtesy of capmag.com We don’t investigators know what for the govern ment that had learned from their the ultimate facts are,” he said. sources, also unnamed, that in Whitake ate his words the a report, unnamed interrogators next day. “Based on what we Commentary Editor Tuition is on the rise, as usual, but don’t stress, stu dents; it’s not that bad. While it’s easy to throw up your hands and start blaming the Republicans for not fund ing your education by keeping taxes low, there is no reason to get worked up about this year’s tuition increase. As poor college students, or perhaps not so poor, it is easy to squirm at the idea of having to give up more of the small amount of cash that passes through our fingertips. No worries, colleagues; the tuition increase for Clackamas Community College is only $2 per credit, and we ought to be grateful. It could be worse. According to the College Board, last year’s students across the country paid between $167 and $1,132 more than in 2003, which means tuition is not increas ing at the ghastly rate it has in years past. The College Board also reports that there is more financial aid to go around than ever before—over $122 billion. With the prospect of nearly endless scholarship opportu nities, students can take their minds off the worries of rising tuition costs and employ their brains to find the best schol arships to make their college experience much cheaper. Students skeptical about the need for a tuition raise should also keep in mind that the school has, within the-past year-and-a-half, added the new the, CLACKAMASp^^ 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 (503) 657-6958 ex. 2309 The C lackamas Print is a weekly student publication and is distributed every Wednesday except finals week. Roger Rook and Niemeyer buildings to the campus and is currently remodeling the PE building, Randall. The school is consistently upgrading for the benefit of the students and staff alike, with new technol ogy and equipment. A couple of dollars is noth ing when you take into con sideration the cost of all the school’s ongoing upgrades. Even with its new buildings and updates, Clackamas is still the cheapest community college in the area. While Clackamas contin ues to upgrade, the tuition hike this year has more to do with inflation. Most schools have a tuition increase every year due to inflation and stu dents should fully understand and accept this fact. Since many of us aspire to further our education, we should get used to the fact that our tuition costs will only increase when we attend at a four-year school. While rising tuition may seem daunting, students should see the money they put into college as an investment. According to the College Board, over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a B.A. (or higher) is more than $1,000,000. What this boils down to is that whatever sacrifices- you <make for your educa tion at Clackamas—or any other school—will pay off in the long term, and when your sought-after career is in full swing, the two extra dollars you pay this term will seem just as they are: insignificant. Sam Krause The Clackamas Print Tensions between toe United States and Russia have been ambig uous to say toe least First, toe Russians have been vehement supporters of toe War on Terror mostly due to their own struggles with Chechen separatists. After 9/11, Russia was subject to a string of terrorist attacks including toe siege of a movie theater and toe taking of hostages at a school Beslin which resulted in the deaths of 350 people, 156 of which were children. These actions by Chechen rebels only strengthened toe resolve of toe Russian people to win toe War on Terror and strengthened relations between toe United States and Russia. Second, George W. Bush and other U.S. officials have chastised toe Russian government, specifi cally Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not upholding toe values Ml fill X Photo courtesy Randy Thrall S taff W riters : Frank Jordan, P hotographers : Brie Daykin C opy E ditor : James Tombe Joe Piazzisi, Jadon Triplett, Katie Wilson, Laura Cameron, Mike Guidice, Kyle Slate, Elizabeth Tobey Norma Martinez, ÇJ Ciaramella, Sam Krause, Jimi McDonnell, Jenna Johnk P roduction A ssistants : Jesse Arguello, Joanne Bergstrom, Norma Martinez, Jadon Triplett, C ommentary E ditor : Shannon F eature E ditor : Karlin Johnson S ports E ditor : Michael McCormack A&E E ditor : Hilliary Ferguson P hoto E ditor : Jeff Sorensen A d M anager : Ben Holm In Russia, there are 46,000ns pers and magazines.” He w to say, “Even if the authorities federal or toe regional level? to control all this mass me would be simply and prac impossible.” The war in Iraq has also a matter of contention betwe United States and Russia. Pe still opposed to toe war. I this time, he believes it wot a mistake to withdraw from essentially leaving its citizens in a quagmire created, in pa toe United States. Bush and though, had frank discussions ing up to the war and still do. Russo-U.S. relations ma ambiguous, but there alsoi to be a concerted effort to up for past dealings the Uf with toe former communist Russia is making strides to democracy and has shown dt tion to its allies, even when th: many issues that could have p extremely divisive in the past, ■ s D esign E ditor : Michaele Cooper Armstead Mark Falling CGC Student of democracy. Governors are no longer elected by toe public, but instead are appointed by Putin him self. In a recent interview with CBS’ Mike Wallace, Putin addressed Bush’s allegations of toe restric tions on democracy that Putin has imposed on toe people of Russia. Putin says toe manner in which governors are chosen is not unlike how toe president is chosen in toe United States: members of local parliaments act as electors in this situation and choose toe governors acting on behalf of their constitu ency. Additionally, it is alleged Putin’s friends, who have control of toe media, have censored many journal ists, if not fired them. Opposition, it is accused, is not given the amount of air time, newspaper outlets nor other means of communication to the public that state-run media is given. Putin denies such allegations, saying, “[There are] 3,200 TV and radio companies, and only 10 per cent of them are state companies. E ditor - in -C hief : Michaele Cooper N ews E ditor : Ben Maras In last week’s article, “North Kom nuclear threat,” Sam Krause asks # questions, “Why in the world would# United States redeploy troops station at toe demilitarized zone on the 38* pa allel to Iraq?” and “Why does the Bu administration downplay any probien that might be occurring within Na Korea?” The reason we are sending troops | Iraq instead of North Korea and trying ignore toe problem that exists is becau North Korea poses no real threat to ot ally: Israel. Apparently, giving Israel a military technology and weaponry aW with our government donating $5 billk annually is not enough uncondition support for them. Now we must use our military mig to subdue toe Muslim world and tin secure peace in toe Middle East fi Israel. With the ever-rising animosi against toe U.S. from toe Muslim wo# we can expect our death toll from In and the 9/11 strikes to rise exponential! Sam is right, that “toe priorities of q country aren’t completely skewed”H priorities are #1 : Israel and#2: Amena Russian affairs remain sketchy Students can rest easy with new tuition hike Shannon Armstead know now,” he said, “we are retracting our original story that an internal military inves tigation had uncovered Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay.” Mark found out the real facts after the story had been printed, taken for fact and sufficiently enraged thousands of Muslims across the globe to destruction. Not only were the publica tion’s allegations completely false, but they failed to take in all aspects of the after-effects of their reporting. Lest we have forgotten, we are, at this moment, at war. We are at war with a people whose ideology causes them to care little for innocent people. At times like these, extra care should be taken in the media. Newsweek’s feeding into this illogical, ignorant hatred not only risks their reputation, it costs lives. The media should seek to serve the people with news and care enough to real ize that stories like toe “Koran desecration” are only fuel for a fire of hate. Letter to the Edito D epartment A dvisor : Linda Vogt D epartment A ssistant : Pat Lichen G oals : The C lackamas Print ass to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the st dent body college administratio its faculty or The Print. E-mail comments to chiefed@clackama edu.
