Tuesday, March 20, 1934
Pago 4
Daily Nebraskan
Mee5ia sileae
MIL EOT) 'lUiiHG
The Fall River, Mass., rape case has
caught the attention and eyes of the
nation.
It has received play on some cable
television stations in and around New
Bedford, on the national news and in
the papers every day of the triaL
The victim, as she is appropriately
referred to in the media, has told and
retold the story. She was asked when
she last had sex with her boyfriend, if
her grandmother called her a drunk
and if she defrauded welfare.
News reports say soap opera view
ers have switched to watching the
trial. My sister remarked that there
have recently been two rapes on All
My Children in one week; perhaps an
attempt to compete with the grue
some details of this case.
Two men were convicted of aggra
vated rape in the case. They face pos
sible life sentences. I hope they get
them. Few crimes are more heinous
than rape. It is an incredible violation
and should be treated as such.
The defendants' families and com
munity are complaining that the jury
sought vengeance because they were
of Portuguese descent. So was the vic
tim. The convicted rapists would deserve
the same sentence no matter what
nationality they were.
Four other men still are on trial.
That means the victim will be telling
her story and answering irrelevant
questions about her past for at least
another week. She has been victimized
twice. Whether or not she defrauded
welfare, was drunk or promiscuous
should have no effect on the trial. She
was the victim of a violent crime; her
past does not excuse these men for
raping her.
The men who stood around the bar
and watched the victim dragged to a
pool table, and who cheered as she was
brutally raped deserve some time in
prison as well. It's a shame nothing will
happen to them.
The rules of the courtroom should
change. But who can say where the
line is drawn in testimony on the cir
cumstances of a rape case? Judges
should be urged to halt the cruel gril
ling of rape victims when the line ot
questioning is designed to make the
victim crack or to discredit her. Its
almost as brutal as the rape itself.
A secondary effect of the trial is pre
dicted by rape crisis center staff mem
bers. They say victims of rape may be
afraid to press charges knowing that
they might have to endure what the
New Bedford victim is enduring.
Women are alarmed by the lengthy
and brutal questioning, and the treat
ment this trial has received in the
press. The woman's name was used in
many newspapers. And her trial was
televised.
The trial is news. The case is particu
larly newsworthy because of the cheer
ing of the patrons and the number of
rapists.
But this news dissuades victims of
rape from testifying, and that outweighs
the value of that news. The options:
The people's right to know or the sanc
tity of the victim, on which extensive
press reports have a crushing effect.
In this case we could have been
spared the "news" until the men were
convicted. The papers gave some peo
ple what they wanted in trial coverage.
It wasn't the best for all of the people.
Cliris Welsch
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CHICiO TResuHE
Personal pan politic an presented
Reagan: Well, in the first place, I don't agree with
your assessment. Farmers have done well the last
four years, thanks in no small part to my Payment
Unkind Program. Their future looks even brighter,
given my re-election, because we'll get rid of those
Christopher
Burbach
Should Walter Mondale hang on to nab the Demo
cratic presidential nomination, this fall's debates
will be battles between two of America's most gifted
purveyors of truth and insight, Mondale and the
incontinent, excuse me, incumbent candidate
Ronald Reagan.
A debate may very well go like this:
Moderator (someone who looks like Bella Abzug):
Welcome to the League of Women Voters' 1934 pre
sidential candidates' debate. On my right is Walter
Mondale, the Democratic candidate. (Huzzah, Huz
zah!!). And on my left is the incontinent, excuse me,
incumbent Republican candidate President Ronald
Reagan (Huzzah, Huzzah). The first question is from
Brent Musberger of CBS Sports.
Musberger: Mr. Mondale, if elected, do you think
youH have a chance to reach the Final Four?
Mondale: Well, Woodrow Wilson did it, so f think
I'd have a pretty good shot. We both have a lot of
gray hair. '
Moderator President Reagan?
Reagan: Well, I've been playing golf all my life, and
IVe always made the final fore.
Barbara Walters of ABC News: President Rccin,
one group that has not done well under your eco
nomic reform is the American farmer. If re-elected,
what will you do to reverse their fortunes?
silly national forests, which will create more farm
land, which will in turn increase the magnitude and
subsequently the beauty of the Payment Unkind
Program.
Mondale: I have one question..."Where's the beef?"
It's in Canada, that's where it is, and it's coming
south. We've got to keep those cows out!
Sandy Freeman of Freeman Reports:. Mr. Mondale,
your critics claim that, because of your early endor
sement by the AFL-CIO, you may not be able to act
independently as president. Would you please re
spond to that argument?
Mondale: I'll stand up to them, as I've said several
times throughout this campaign. I've confronted
them and avowed my independence, and they said
"Have it your way, Fritz." I assure you, I will be a
president of all the PACs er, people.
Reagan: 111 say the same thing to the unions as I've
been saying to my filthy rich big corporate pals, "You
deserve a break today." For the unions, that's break
as in bust. For my rich pals, that's break as in less
taxes, less regulation more blank checks from the
First Bank of Exploitation.
Campus Quotes, Daily Nebraskan: What do you
think of the weather in Nebraska? Do you approve'
Both candidates: Go Big Red!
Roger Mudd, NBC News: For both Mr. Mondale
and President Reagan. What benefits will your par
ty's platform create for the average American?
Reagan: America, we do it all for you. Well balance
the budget again, well decrease taxes again and
well get your oldest son killed in a meaningless show
of power.
Mondale: 111 be your persopal pan president,
America. Ill solve your myriad of problems in five
minutes or I'm free. That's right, if the arms race
isn t halted, unemployment eradicated and equal
rights realized within five minutes after my inauga
ration, 111 work the rest of my term for free.
The audience: We love politicians, we love 'em'
Simple answer found
for child's broken bank,
but not Commonwealth
My girlfriend and I recently bought a bank for her
little brother's birthday present. His birthday was
Monday, but they're not celebrating it until Friday so
we can be there. They can get away with that
because he's only three and doesn't really know
when his birthday is yet
Bill Allen
Actually, they could skip his birthday entirely and
he'd never know. That's a cruel thing to do though. I
know. I was 16 before I found out about Christmas.
He can't read yet either, of course, so I can write
this column without him finding out we are cele
brating his birthday Friday instead of Monday, or
that we are getting him a bank.
If he was a famous former president we always
would celebrate his birthday on Monday regardless
of the day on which he really was born. Before we
could do that he'd have to grow up, become a politi
. cian, get elected several times, run for president, be
great and die. All that's a long way off. He just got
regular underwear a few days ago.
We told a couple ol friends that we got him a bank
and they all said, "Which one?"
"American Charter," my girlfriend said. ,
"No, Commonwealth Savings," I said. "It was
cheap."
Actually, it's a ceramic bank shaped like a little
boy with a slot in the back of his head for the coins. It
has JON written on the front of a pair of bib overalls.
That's how they spell his name, so we liked it. It's
cute, like the real Jon, but he doesn't have a slot in
the back of his head.
The more I think about it, the story of our bank is
somewhat like the plot of Commonwealth.
You see, we bought that bank a couple of weeks
ago and had it sitting around. Lots of our friends
came in and asked if they could keep change in it.
"Sure," we said, "but if it's stolen, we're not respon
sible. I mean this little savings bank isn't insured or
anything."
"Oh, no problem," they said, laughing. "Well take
our chances."
Sure enough, for no reason, that little Jon bank
fell part. All the coins rolled here and there and we
couldn't find most of them. We even had other peo
ple help us look, but the money was gone.
"But your money wasn't insured," we yelled as our
friends pounded on our door, trying to break it
down.
"We don't care," they yelled. "Why should we be
responsible for ourselves?"
"What do we look like, the Federal Deposit Insu
rance Corporation?" I asked. "Why dont you call
Gov. Kerrey and ask the people of Nebraska to give
you your money back?"
"Would they do that?" they asked in all seriousness.
"Of course not," I said, "that's ridiculous. I was only
joking."
Our friends still are unheppy.
We went to the store and explained the situation
to the manager.
"There's nothing I can do," ha srid. "Nothing.
Nothing at all I can do."
