1986_11 The Daily Collegian November 1986

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■Friday, Nov. 7.1986■
Purpose lost in rhetorical fluffery
The role of the Media Council at CSU F
is not clearly defined, and the group is
inherently ineffective without a clear
problem brought before it such as the Erik
Pappa incident in Spring 1986.
However, some will say the council is
unnecessary no matter the climate of
crisis. There has been no such cut-and-
dried crisis this semester, and the council
has functioned merely as a gripe session
every two weeks, with the majority of
gripes coming from one very vocal Asso¬
ciated Students senator. \
Given, the Media Council is an.
advisory board created to examine the
operation of A.S.-funded campus pub¬
lications. But it has lately become an
almost laughable operation dominated
by the overly vocal participation of Arts
and Humanities Senator Paula Perrin.
We do not advocate the silencing of any
voice on the council. Rather, we feel more
input by other council members, and a less
vocal Perrin, would create a more effective
council operation.
Witness recent Media Council meetings:
Following reports on the status of the
minority editions, Perrin customarily
stresses prompt revision and adherence to
policies and procedures. She also seems
quite eager to champion such supposedly
urgent alterations.
But we do not fed engaging in heated
discussion of rules and regulations with an
overly vocal opportunist contributes
to the current running of a newspaper
f^
I Reader
Response
to Daily Collegian articles and opinion are
welcome. Send letters no longer than 250
words in length to Daily Collegian. Keats
Campus Bldg.. CSUF, Fresno. CA 93^40.
Letters must be signed and include the
writer's name, address and telephone
number.
Hang em high
Dear Daily Collegian,
After reading the article "Senator
defends big posters" that appeared in
the Nov. 6 Collegian, I was shocked to
see such a minor detail made into ;m
issue. Just because a poster is a couple
inches too large is no reason to discipline
a senator. This policy retards some
fundamental aspects of representative
democracy, ridicules our own AS
government, and creates quite a para-.,
doxjn CSUF functions.
As Senator-at-Large Scott Vick said.
"The students have a right to know |
who their student representatives are
and when they meet." One of the
principles of democracy taught in any
Poly Sci class is access. A politician
can't represent you if you don't have
access to him. In order to do this you
must know when they meet, where, and
who they are in order for them to work
for you. Does our ovyn school forget
the mass bureaucracy nationwide that
runs our government? It takes form
from opinion leaders, to the assembly,
" to state senators, etc. etc. All of them
are accessible and no 14x22-poster obli¬
gation is going to ignore that.
Vick is more than justified in his
cause. How many students can you
name that serve on our AS government?,
I've seen the poster questioned and I
still can't name them all. Maybe we
need more. The AS government has to
be accessible; it is done best by inform¬
ing the students. If the best medium is
an oversized poster...then so be it.
Reprimanding Vick will demoralize
our own AS government. President
Bob Whalen himself gave Vick the OK.
If Vick is reprimanded, not only do you
reprimand access, you reprimand
Whalen, the students, and a serious
attempt to inform them just because of
a slightly larger poster.
This effffrt by Vick was one of the
best ones I Ve seen in three years. Many
students have been here longer, but I\J
doubt that any can say they'd quarrel
with a couple of inches.
It's sad that a poster about the
members of government is criticized
for being "big." Someone can post
several hundred posters around the
campus promoting the Olympic lavepi
or the absurd, like a 90% income tax
increase. It is justified if it is on/ctter-
size paper. If Vick were to take a
thousand of his posters, let us say
under 14x22. then it would post them
all on the side of the CU?
I believe that there should be restric¬
tions on campaign air time, expend¬
itures and contributions, but a couple
inches of paper is a weak item to
enforce.
Finally, the Starship poster measures,
roughly, 16x23 and yet they were all
over campus. The concert ended up to
be a flop. Maybe thc posters would
have been more effective if .they were
bigger. There have been more than this
that were issued outside this 14x22
.barrier. No effort is madeto justify that
poster, yet when the senator tries to
enhance thc presence of the AS govern¬
ment, they talk of discipline. It seems
the oolicv itself needs to be disciplined.
More needs to be done to correct
student apathy. One way to do it is by
publicizing the government, this way
the students know who they are. Not all
students will look. Why don't we aid
this by making our student government
more cohesive with the students; by
letting them pass this information on?
Let's get rid of a silly rule that says a
poster is too big. If the poster only
takes up two more inches on the bulletin
board and it isni't painted on the book-
store.'who could it hurt?
Jeff D. Pribble
Wake-up call sent
Editor.
I wish to extend my admiration to
Steve Bruhn on his perception of the
problems in El Salvador. It would seem
after many hours of deep study on the
^country and a two-week tour, Mssr.
Bruhn has accomplished a great feat of
intellectual insight. I must side with
j Mssr. Bruhn on this babble we hear
from Senior Ruelas. Surely nobody of
Hispanic descent who speaks fluent
Spanish, and lived in the country in
question for four years could POSS¬
IBLY have the faintest notion of what's
going on. I do have one question of
representing students first now. and se¬
condly next year. Certainly, thinking ahead
to policy revisions for tomorrow is nece¬
ssary, but they do not concern the daily
running of papers now, and hashing ove.r
changes and ramifications should not
concern the day to day running of news.
She suggested st the Wednesday meeting
that the council assist in recruitment of
staff members for minority editions La
Voz de Aztlan and 1'huru Na I moja, and
was met with a council response that the
group could advise editors on how to
function more effectively, but active par¬
ticipation in press operations was not the
council's role.
Although Perrin has said she means to
'step on no one's toes," such tirades do
little to foster goodwill within the council,
much less create productive relationships
with editors.
We think the Media Council is a very
necessary watchdog organization over A.S.
publications, a constructive group to draft
recommended changes in existing policies,
and a forum for solving problems encoun¬
tered in producing the papers.
But Perrin s overbearing stance creates
an unbalance, defeating whatever effec¬
tiveness the council mav demonstrate.
We urge prompt correction of this
urgent problem, before more harm than
good is done.
th. "D^Uj Collegia*
Mssr. Bruhn though. If he can accom¬
plish such a feat of understanding in
two weeks, why does it take him ten
years to graduate from our fine
institution of higher learning? When
will he leave this hallowed land of
academia and let us finally struggle out
of the 1960s and make that great leap'
into the 1980s?
Henry Cole Stage 111
Sports blasted
Dear Editor,.
Regarding an article written by Jon
Matsune on Nov. 5, 1986 "Watch the
ball, not the bods," we have some
helpful hints.
First of all, wc as contributing writers
and photographers for your paper
usually look at other people's work to
see what they're doing.
We're the first to admit there are
some good reporters on your staff,'Jon.
especially, is one of your better ones.
But his parody of two sexists watch¬
ing a volleyball game thc other day tops
the what-not-to-do-in-journalism list.
Good idea. Wrong approach.
Our only question is why? Why print
something that did no good for the,
reader or the writer? I'm sure hell get a
pat on the back- from somebody .—
probably a life-time subscriber to MAD
magazine.
Not only was it stupid, but tasteless
for any publication, school or profes¬
sional.
Is he writing for his buddies in the
dormitory, or doe^ he think he actually
has a flair for humor?
For a while there, we thought he did.
Until this.
And please tell us why the need to
use the words "hell" and "damn" in
your writing? Do you think it appeals
to the college audience more, or arc
you just trying to capture the essence of
the person you're writing about? We
don't know, and frankly, unless you're
quoting somebody or you've been
around in the business for a while, the
use of these words in your writing make
you look like an insecure student journ¬
alist who's afraid to talk to anybody in
person.
All right, enough of the badgering.
We understand you only have a day to
put things out. Mike Butwell and tfc
rest are just as responsible as Matsune.
But when we go to conferences and
functions where we meet other student
journalists from different school papers.
See SPORTS, page 3
Personals
ToTJF,
Roses are red. Violets are blue. Just wanted to wish
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"(Pretty original,
huh?)
Happy 22nd!
JMJ
wonderful day in the zoo, and n<
love you.
:r forget 111 always
Bit J.srtid
days. If I could pack you in my suitcase and sneak you
on my trip. I would. Don't worry — 111 come back in
one piece safe and sound.
Thanks for being there when I needed you and for
being my friend. Ill keep on hanging in there.
PS. Dont Lose The Edge.
To My Silly Monkey. Paul,
The next time you sun to feel btue. think of our I'm going to miss you very much these next few
P.S. Turtle kisses and cat licks.
Stephanie,
Thank you for last weekend. I had a marvelous
time. I love being with you. I can hardly wait for
Thanksgiving. Smile.
John
Brother, of D.I ..
Thanks a million for your concern. I should have
known you really cared for a bummed knee jock.
Sorry for not informing you guys about my where¬
abouts. I needed a lot of rest and relaxation
Thanks again for the award you gave me this past
monday (11-3-86). Good luck in the bed push. I want
to sit next to Hillary for the bed push. PRETTY
PLEASE!!! Caeolnrf
Din..
Your a very special person in my life. May God
bless you. I thank God for giving me c BStST like you.
I love you.
Diana Trejo
See Personals, page 5