1990_08 The Daily Collegian August 1990

              The Dally Collegian
Monday, August 27,1990
New Collegian direction
Editor details policy for fall semester
Christopher heredia
The Daily Collegian Staff
»   ■""■ ■ ■■■■■;■• . /
Christopher Heredia
AnnaDaza
Sabrina Kelley
Kari Cooper
Jason Carroll
Chris Branam
Anasiasia Hendrix
Robert Blancas
Sandy Hergenroeder
Wendy Naytor
Ron Mann
Editor In Chief
Copy Editor
News Editor
Graphics Editor
Photo Editor
Sports Editor*
Entertainment Editor
Staff Artist ,
Business Manager
Ad Production Manage^
Advertising Manager
Staff Writers
Krista Lemos, Chia Neng Vang, Beth Corbo, DeAna Rogers, Todd Heth. Sam Diaz,
Abraham Edouard Stout, Victor Des Roches.
Sports Writers: Doug McLeod, Chris Cocotes, John Welsh, Damn Jones
Photographers: Hector Amezcua, Brian Davies, Luke Sheppard
Advertising Representatives
Brenda Whitla, Chris Hadyn-Myer, Brynda Thompson, Shelby Stark, Ken Huber,
Jennifer Whiteley.
Something that is very important
to me as editor in chief of The Daily
Collegian this semester is making
sure The Collegian's coverage is
broader than it has .been in the past.
The Collegian, during my tenure at
CSUF, has, in its coverage, joined the
mainstream media in' ignoring people
of color, women, lesbians andgays
and people with disabilities.
• •     •
The fact that the media shapes so¬
ciety's views is clear as we are served
daily helpings of the coverage of the
"Middle East crisis.'' Wars are fueled
largely by public opinion. If the
media swallows the Bush administra¬
tion's bait — today it only has the
worm on its tongue — and is success¬
ful in convincing Americans the
situation in the Persian Gulf ifTone
that warrants full U.S. involvement,
then racism against Arabs in the
United States will be set in motion
and Americans will unite in support
of tfte'gli^tornment's decisions. Five
U.S. presidents could not convince
three generations of Americans that a
U.S. "police action" in Vietnam was
viable.
Our world has seen large improve¬
ments in regards to human-rights
since the first struggles for equality.
Racism and sexism are becoming less
chic as..the/90s trudge ahead. Homor ;_
phobia and. discrimination against .
people with disabilities, however, are
still accepted in most circles.
Because they are excluded from
coverage in the media, lesbians and
gays and people with disablities are
subject to indifference by outside
groups. Ignorance is dissolved with
education and the media plays a large
part in educating society. The recent,
gay bashings that have happened in
Fresno's Tower District are brutal acts
of ignorance directly resulting from
lesbians and gays being excluded
from coverage in the local media.
Until stories about lesbians and
gays appear on the front pages of our
newspapers and in the first five
minutes of news broadcasts, igno¬
rance will persist and lesbians and
gays will be subject to attacks like
these. This rule holds true for soci¬
ety's perception of people of color
whose coverage in the media is rarely
positive.
Like the articles which break down
the composition of jail populations —
the statistics may be accurate, but
they don't tell the whole story
because they don't delve into the
sociological aspects that bring about
these unfortunate statistics.
• •     ■
This is where The Collegian can
make a difference. This fall, the
newspaper alms to educate its
readers about events on campus and
those off campus that relate to the
people at the university. The staff will
cover not only news that we as a
society know it, but other existing
news that is often overlooked in
mainstream media^ The Collegian
staff will not create news or advocate
its opinions in the news section of the
paper.
In addition to having reporters as¬
signed to cover each of the univer¬
sity's schools, one of our reporters
has, as part of her duties, a women's
and ethnic studies beat. She will keep
us abreast of the news in those areas.
•.    •£'■-.!
In all our copy, we will adhere to
"The Nonsexist Word Finder: A Dic¬
tionary of Gender-free Usage" by lin¬
guist Rosalie Maggio. This word
finder provides substitutes to sexist
language including journeyman,
mankind, man on the street and
countryman. We will also use the
plural generic reference rather than
he or the he/she combination in copy.
The plural is being used "more and is
gender-frcc. Maggio says the gender-
free substitutes will be met with
resistance, but reminds her readers
that the more people put them into
practice, the sooner they will become
. thanorm-:;   Ir^'".^.-—^ t
. ^We.witluse "peopipof cttJor;' over
the term minorities. As FelixGutier-
rez and Clint C. Wilson write in their
book on people of color and the
media, "minority" is a misleading
label. It gives the impression that
individuals labeled minority" or
"minorities" as a group, are small in
number and importance. "Minority"
also gives the impression that these
groups' interests and issues are less
meaningful than those of the major¬
ity. Numerically, whites can be the
minority. In cities like Los Angeles,
Chicago, Detroit and Washington,
D.C., so-called minorities are, in fact}
the majority. Peopie.of cqlQriar^ also
becoming'a numerical majoiltyin thp
San Joaquin Valley.
• •       a
The Collegian this semester will
maintain an advertising policy of not
selling ads to agencies that discrimi¬
nate against people on the basis of
race, gender, sexual orientation, age,
physical disability or religion.
• •     •
Above are the policies. This editor¬
ship is unique in that there is always
room for editorial and graphic
growth in the newspaper — growth
that will come in the first and second
week and throughout the semesters
as events shape The Collegian.
J&UttiS
by F^yD'llmgpley
ARTSPEAK
BeginningFriday, The
Collegian will bring back
Its art and entertainment
section, ArtSpeak. This
Friday, we will feature the
billboard section and the
following week, the fall
entertainment section.
ARTSPEAK