OPINION
A4 HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015
EDITORIAL • COMMENTARY • LETTERS
HermistonHerald
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 31
-(66,&$.(//(5
EDITOR
MNHOOHU#KHUPLVWRQKHUDOGFRP
541-564-4533
6$0%$5%((
6($1+$57
.,0/$3/$17
JEANNE JEWETT
SPORTS REPORTER
sbarbee@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4542
OFFICE COORDINATOR
NODSODQW#KHUPLVWRQKHUDOGFRP
541-564-4530
REPORTER
smhart@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4534
MULTI-MEDIA CONSULTANT
jjewett@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4531
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• VWRSE\RXURI¿FHVDW(0DLQ6W
• visit us online at: www.hermistonherald.com
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
'HOLYHUHGE\FDUULHUDQGPDLO:HGQHVGD\VDQG6DWXUGD\V
,QVLGH8PDWLOOD0RUURZFRXQWLHV ......................................................................................... $42.65
2XWVLGH8PDWLOOD0RUURZFRXQWLHV ...................................................................................... $53.90
7KH+HUPLVWRQ+HUDOG8636,661LVSXEOLVKHGWZLFHZHHNO\DW+HUPLVWRQ
+HUDOG(0DLQ6W+HUPLVWRQ25)$;3HULRGLFDO
SRVWDJHSDLGDW+HUPLVWRQ253RVWPDVWHUVHQGDGGUHVVFKDQJHVWR+HUPLVWRQ+HUDOG
(0DLQ6W+HUPLVWRQ25
3ULQWHGRQ
recycled
$PHPEHURIWKH(20HGLD*URXS&RS\ULJKW
newsprint
Smile — You’re
on camera
Coming soon: Letters to the gene editor?
W
hen people are
observed — and
know they’re
being observed — their
behavior improves. This
is called the Hawthorne
Effect, from 1920s
sociological/psychological
experiments at the
Hawthorne factory. I can
FRQ¿UPWKHHIIHFWDV,
sometimes ask offenders,
“Would you have done that
LIWKHUHZDVDSROLFHRI¿FHU
right behind you?” and the
invariable answer is, “No.”
This also demonstrates the
validity of the second leg
of the punishment triad,
“certainty” (the other
two being “speed” and
“severity”). Offenders who
know they will be caught
are more likely to turn into
model citizens.
This is not a call
for everyone to have a
monitor drone with 24/7
audio-video feed to a law
enforcement database.
“Innocent until proven
guilty” is an important part
of the justice system —
although I can see some
interesting gray areas for
monitor drones as part
of a convict’s parole and
probation. But, as happens,
I digress.
This is actually in
regard to and in praise
of the Hermiston Police
Department’s body cam.
As I understand it, it’s
actually a headcam or
a hatcam, and there’s
apparently a “wear it on a
lapel or epaulet” option, as
well. Whatever you want
to call it, though, I’ve had
the opportunity to view the
results of one in action and,
based on an admittedly
small statistical sample, all
I can say is “Wow!”
That’s a technical legal
term, by the way. If I
weren’t being technical I’d
add at least two or three
more exclamation points.
There’s no doubt, though,
that body cams have
EHQH¿WV
7KH¿UVWEHQH¿W
involves “he said/she
said” cases. Whether
criminal, civil, or just
plain parenting, they are
exasperating. A relaxed
DQGWDOHQWHG¿EEHUFDQ
come off far better than
the correct but shy and
retiring honest person.
Judges do their best to
determine credibility, read
between the lines, assess
everything possible and
still on occasion have to
admit that, “Unfortunately
there is no magic camera to
Letters Policy
7+20$6&5($6,1*
OFF THE BENCH
Herald columnist
show us what happened.”
The presence of the body
cam will be making those
decisions a lot easier, at
least sometimes, as it did
in the case where I was
privileged to see the video.
7KHVHFRQGEHQH¿WLV
a future one. Defendants
often complain that an
RI¿FHUZDVUXGHRUDEXVLYH
and while that’s certainly
possible, I suspect that
such complaints are just
professional terseness on
WKHSDUWRIWKHRI¿FHU1RZ
that we have body cams,
though, it seems we may
be seeing the Hawthorne
Effect. One study showed
“an 88 percent decline in
the number of complaints
¿OHGDJDLQVWRI¿FHUV´1HZ
York Times, “Wearing
a Badge, and a Video
Camera” April 6, 2013).
Whether the decline was
related to better police
behavior or better behavior
by individuals is still open
for analysis, but does it
really matter as to the
source of the decline? Or
would the existence of a
continued decline be good
enough reason, regardless
of “why?”
Interestingly, that
article also mentions that
the ACLU agrees with
PHWKDWKDYLQJRI¿FHUV
recording from shift
start to shift end is not
for the best — but that
recording individual
transactions between
RI¿FHUVDQGLQGLYLGXDOVLV
very worthwhile. Given
what we can expect from
both an evidence aspect
and from the Hawthorne
Effect, the decision by
Chief Jason Edmiston and
HPD to introduce body
cams was an excellent
one, and I have no doubt
that Hermiston will be
VHHLQJWKHEHQH¿WV²RQ
video — for a long time to
come.
But that’s just the
“smile, you’re on camera!”
opinion of an opinionated
guy. Share your opinions
in response! Letters to
the editor or by email
to hermistonherald
offthebench@gmail.com.
Names of the terminally
shy will be withheld on
request.
— Thomas Creasing
is Hermiston’s Municipal
Court judge and a Herald
columnist
The Hermiston Herald welcomes original letters for
publication on public issues and public policies. Submitted
letters must be signed by the author and include the city of
residence and a daytime phone number. Phone numbers
will not be published. Letters may be mailed to the
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main, Hermiston, OR, 97838;
or emailed to editor@hermistonherald.com
G
et ready for the
return of all the
cooing and wailing
about “designer babies.”
According to Vox.
com, geneticists at Sun
Yat-sen University in
China recently achieved
a breakthrough by
modifying the DNA of a
nonviable human embryo.
Results were published
in the journal “Protein &
Cell.”
The technique, known
as CRISPR, is faster
and cheaper than other
gene-editing practices,
but it has stirred a
¿UHVWRUPRIFRQWURYHUV\
The prestigious journals
“Science” and “Nature”
refused to print the study,
on ethical grounds. The
director of the National
Institutes of Health
announced on April 29
that he will not pay for
scientists meddling with
DNA in a human zygote.
Even the Chinese
government is squeamish.
$QRI¿FLDOVDLGWKDW
embryos should not
be kept in a laboratory
and subjected to these
manipulations. Instead,
the embryos should be in
Chinese factories cranking
out cheap, junky products
for Americans.
Supporters of CRISPR
'$11<7<5((
TYRADES!
&DJOHFROXPQLVW
see it as the medical
breakthrough of the
century, a potential
way to eradicate AIDS,
OHXNHPLDF\VWLF¿EURVLV
Alzheimer’s disease and
more. Skeptics fear that
doctors curing one ailment
might accidentally cause
another; such mutations
would be passed
down generation after
generation.
CRISPR is being touted
as a way for practically
any scientist to change
practically any cell. I
shudder to think of the
impact on school science
fairs. Instead of displaying
the tried and true baking-
soda-and-vinegar volcano,
D¿UVWJUDGHUZLOOGHFODUH
“’Watch me create a
unibrow for Mrs. Smith’s
unborn baby.”
Some people are tickled
pink at the advances, but
others are disappointed
with the way science
¿FWLRQKDVHYROYHGLQWR
science fact. CRISPR
can be used to cure, say,
scoliosis. All the people
who dreamed of the world
of 2015 having cool stuff
such as personal jet packs
and robots like the one
on “Lost In Space” now
¿QGVFLHQFHEHLQJXVHGWR
HELP YOU STAND UP
STRAIGHT. Move over,
Stephen Hawking; science
has been taken over by
everybody’s grandmother!
Maybe Uncle Sam
won’t contribute to
CRISPR research, but he’ll
SUR¿WIURPLW,I\RXWKLQN
estate taxes on property
and bank accounts are
high, just think about
putting a tax on inherited
attributes. (“Hmm...cleft
chin, wavy hair, blue eyes
to die for...it’s bonus time
at the IRS!”)
Many people are
worried about therapeutic
genetic procedures giving
way to unthinkable
eugenics experiments
aimed at creating a master
race. (“Heil — er, I mean,
I’ll—not dignify that with
an answer.”)
Coincidentally,
people fear a new wave
of “haves” and “have
nots,” with a Seinfeld-
esque Gene Nazi picking
winners and losers. (“No
washboard abs for you!”)
Many people
automatically think “mad
scientist” when gene
editing is mentioned. Of
course they also go into
“pitchforks and torches”
mode when someone
suggests they cover their
mouth while sneezing or
refrain from letting their
dog French kiss them.
Never mind.
Some people just
have misgivings about
editors in general. (“My
TXDOL¿FDWLRQVIRUWKHJUDQW"
I prevented a family from
having sickle cell anemia,
I blocked the development
of hemophilia and I, uh,
rejected the manuscript
for ‘Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone’ 12
times.”)
Given all the unknowns,
I hope many years of
study and debate precede
further steps with CRISPR.
If nothing else, maybe
perfectionism will slow
progress. (“We gave
him incredible stamina,
superhuman vision and a
computer-like mind — but
we can’t get that funky
Six-Million-Dollar-Man-
jumping sound effect! Back
to the drawing board!”)
— ©2015 Danny
Tyree. Danny welcomes
email responses at
tyreetyrades@aol.com and
visits to his Facebook fan
page “Tyree’s Tyrades.”
Danny’s weekly column
is distributed exclusively
by Cagle Cartoons Inc.
newspaper syndicate
SCHOOLING MILLENNIALS
W
elcome to class,
American
millennials. Sit
down and take notes —
because you are in for a rude
awakening.
According to a report
by the Educational
Testing Service, you have
“weak skills in literacy,
numeracy, and problem
solving in technology-
rich environments”
when compared to your
international peers.
Based on data from
the Programme for the
International Assessment
of Adult Competencies,
a survey of adult skills,
American millennials didn’t
perform so well.
Our millennials “scored
lower than 15 of the 22
participating countries” in
literacy. “Only millennials
in Spain and Italy had lower
scores,” the ETS report says.
“In numeracy, they
ranked last, along with Italy
and Spain.”
In problem-solving
in technology-rich
environments, they “also
ranked last, along with the
Slovak Republic, Ireland,
and Poland.”
And “The youngest
segment of the U.S.
millennial cohort (16- to
24-year-olds), who could
be in the labor force for the
720385&(//
&DJOHFROXPQLVW
next 50 years, ranked last
in numeracy along with
Italy and among the bottom
countries in” technological
problem-solving. “In literacy,
they scored higher than their
peers in Italy and Spain.”
Oh, well. At least our
millennials are No. 1 in self-
esteem!
When you consider
that the key area of job
growth in America is in
the technology sector —
where communication,
math and problem-solving
skills are essential — the
future doesn’t bode well for
millions of you millennials.
As the report notes, those
with the proper education
and skills will do better
than prior generations,
whereas those of you with
the lowest level of skills
are in for a world of hurt
— like millions of former
middle-class Americans
who are hurting because
good-paying jobs that do not
require advanced skills are a
thing of the past.
What’s puzzling is that
you American millennials
have had more years of
education than any cohort
in American history — but
far too many of you “are
graduating high school and
completing postsecondary
educational programs
without receiving adequate
skills,” says Irwin Kirsch,
director of the ETS Center
for Global Assessment.
What’s worse is that you
highly educated millennials
have lower literacy and
numeracy skills when
compared with previous
adult surveys. The more you
are schooled, the less you
are learning.
I, for one, am worried
sick over your lack of skills.
Your generation will be in
charge of the economy in
the next 20 years, and I need
you to succeed so that you
can pay my Medicare and
Social Security bills.
But I’m not sure
most of you will pull it
off. Your generation got
A’s for showing up to
class. You didn’t have to
win to get a trophy. You
were discouraged from
competing. You were told
you were smart without
having to accomplish much.
But reality is catching
up and it isn’t going to be
pretty. Millennials in other
countries are hungrier than
you. They have developed
skills and are prepared to
compete for the technology
jobs of the future. In the real
world, you can’t opt out of
competing with them, which
is why I worry.
So, what to do? ETS
recommends that educators
and other stakeholders
must rethink their teaching
processes. Kids need to
develop real, usable skills as
they complete their courses
— not just passing grades.
Fortunately, many
organizations are working
feverishly to help kids
develop STEM (science,
technology, engineering
and mathematics) skills to
fend off a projected shortage
of Americans with these
needed skills.
I hate to be so brash,
American millennials, but
you are not so smart or
skilled as you think. You
need to get cracking.
If you succeed, America
ZLOOÀRXULVK,I\RXIDLO
America will suffer. Our
future is up to you.
— ©2015 Tom Purcell.
Tom Purcell, author of
“Misadventures of a 1970’s
Childhood” and “Comical
Sense: A Lone Humorist
Takes on a World Gone
Nutty!” is a Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review humor
columnist and is nationally
syndicated exclusively by
Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send
comments to Tom at Pur-
cell@caglecartoons.com.