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.