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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1992)
——- JANA PEDERSEN News appeal starts with Calvin Last semester, a Daily Nebras kan columnist tempted fate and tested my nerves by submitting a column about the dangers of read ing the student newspaper. “You probably arc being duped,” the column read. “If you arc reading the Daily Nebraskan uncritically, you arc being duped.” I was upset because newspapers throughout the country arc suffering for readership anyway. We didn’t need any more bad publicity. But the columnist had a point, which was that students who use the DN as their only source of campus informa tion aren’t getting the whole picture. Journalists, no matter what ideals they hold, cannot be completely objec tive, he wrote. Ever since that column, I’ve been watching the newspaper-reading habits of students in my classes. For curios ity’s sake, I wanted to find out what students were learning from the monopoly that is the DN. I haven’t learned much, and ap parently neither have the students I’ve been watching. Generally, the best part of the newspaper in students’ eyes is the back few pages: the per sonals, the crossword, the comics. in an age wnen garnering iniorma tion is difficult and time-consuming, the DN monopoly even suffers from lack of attention. So, as a four-year veteran of the Daily Nebraskan, I no longer can be deceived about its influence on the university. By now, I’ve interviewed too many potential columnists, read loo many letters to the editor, fielded too many phone-call complaints to let the de ception continue. See, this really is not a newspaper. Actually, it’s just the thing that carries Calvin. I guess I’m just as guilty as the students who turn straight to Calvin and Hobbes. I read Calvin, loo. Only I’m worse. I read tomorrow’s comic today. That means that, while I’m writing this column on Wednesday, I already know that Calvin makes his escape from Suzic by hopping on the school bus today. It’s one of few perks this DN position gives me. Other than that, I’m just like any other Calvin fan. And there arc many of us. It’s not lough to figure out what’s so appealing about Calvin. He’s a kid with an adult-sized mind. He gets the best of both kid and grown-up worlds. 1—""" .. ——' Yen, Calvin is more. than snips and snails and puppy dof (lifer?) tails. He’s g counter-con science. In the lone of a familiar beer commercial, Calvin fans think, “Wouldn’t it be great if I, too, could make mud pics and snow goons and talk to a stuffed tiger without people thinking my brilliant social commen tary was bananas?” I’ve particularly enjoyed the most recent set of Calvins, in which the boy wonder is slaking his fate on his horoscope. This belief, he said, is based on the 1_t-J___ miwvv ivai^ uiai, i iiv> iivwapapvi couldn’t print it if it weren’t true!” If only that were so, kiddo. We all laugh at these Calvins be cause we know that having a free press leaves room for having a phony press, like horoscopes and the Na tional Enquirer. But Calvin points out that even the smartest of us read our horoscopes once in a while, just in case. Pretty sophisticated stuff for an elementary-school kid. Yep, Calvin is more than snips and snails and puppy-dog (tiger?) tails. He’s a counter-conscience. He plays in m ud pudd les but won ’ t take baths. He’s the smartest kid in school but won’t do homework. His imagination is so great it can make a stuffed tiger grow twice its size to be his playmate, but he just can’t figure out little girls. Naturally, all of this nonsense about Calvin is far more important to DN readers than what’s on Page 1. Sure, it makes sense. Human na ture cries out for ongoing drama, or soap operas never could be so popu lar. And Calvin is filled with drama — even sex and violence. Will Suzie succumb to the stars’ desires and throw herself upon Calvin? Will Calvin’s recent tussle with Hobbes permanently harm the duo’s relation ship? Tunc in tomorrow, same time, same page. Sec, it is dramatic. And in some people’s eyes it’s far more dramatic than anything happening at UNL. Perhaps that’s a sad comment on student apathy. But I choose to dis agree. Maybe I’m just glad students read the DN for something. Or maybe I just like Calvin, too. But seeing the little grin a student gets when looking at the strip makes me realize there’s much more to the news than what’s on the front page. It’s pretty easy for journalists to adopt an air of self-importance. After all, we’re the public’s designates. When California executed a murderer this week, journalists were called in to be witnesses — for the public. During wartime, the press becomes the people’s eyes and cars. In politics, journalists arc supposed to be watch dogs for the public, hounding out corruption. But when it comes right down to it, the press has very little public appeal. In a time-conscious society, newspa pers arc viewed by many as too time consuming. Today, it’s belter to turn on Head line News and get a 15-minute news r- .1 _l .1 L. __ i«,!. «« i/v 11A lilt'll d^A/IIU lilt/ IIUUI SJ i vsj II UUVV/O iv; read a good-sized daily newspaper. Newspaper journalists nationwide arc trying to figure out how to attract readers. One newspaper in Florida has completely revamped its formal in an effort to draw Yuppie reader ship. USA Today was bom to be reader-friendly. Lucky for us, attracting student readers to the Daily Nebraskan is not a tough chore. All we need, I discov ered, is Calvin. And I’ve noticed that students typically don’t pul down the DN after reading Calvin and Hobbes. Instead, they check out the personals, the crossword puzzle, or even the sports page. Eventually, most get back to Page 1 and at least give the headlines a scan. So maybe we arc a monopoly, and maybe students arc being duped. But if Calvin gets students even to open the newspaper, mdre power to him. Pedersen is a senior news-editorial and advertising major and editor of the Daily Ne braskan. Affirmative Action unwarranted target Well — here we go again! An other young white man opposed to affirmative action (“Affirmative ac . lion hypocritical,” DN, April 21). I certainly will let my opinions be formed by the content of your column, Brian. You have said a great deal about yourself. “To my knowledge, I have never been denied employment because of my gender or because of affirmative action.” So what is the problem? Who arc all of these while males suffering from “reverse discrimination?” Where are the jobs filled with Blacks, His panics. Native Americans and women who got their jobs at the expense of white men, not because they were qualified for the job but because of affirmative action? Let’s slop ihis false perception that jobs arc going 10 unqualified people due to affirmative action. Brian, have you read an af firmative action plan? Have you stud ied affirmative action goals? Is it possible that some white men arc really no more qualified for a job than others when performance-based se lection criteria must be used? I have been involved in numerous selection committees and have re viewed hiring procedures of many companies. My experience has been that if there is prejudice or bias in the process, it lends to be expressed by people looking for ways to restrict access to those who have been under represented in the past and to find ways to hire the people they want (read that “white male”). When white males no longer have the vast major ity of high-paying, high-status and managerial jobs, you may have some reason to complain. In most places where affirmative action is being applied, there arc still several times the job openings being filled by white males than arc being filled by non white males and females. I challenge you to find those jobs where non while males and females are over represented. Do you really believe that the problems of “less-than-perfectly qualified personnel” is a result of affirmative action? Look around you at professors, police, surgeons, con struction workers and even students. There have been lcss-than-qualmcd people filling jobs for a long time, and it has nothing to do with affirma tive action. Affirmative action can be misused to hire unqualified people just as employment practices in the past have not focused on hiring the most qualified people. There is cer tainly enough evidence to suggest that qualifications have not been the reason that white males have histori cally been given and continue to re ceive most of the quality jobs. That evidence also shows that employment criteria developed by white males often ends up favoring white males. Surprised? An old saying may be appropriate here. There arc some people who arc bom on third base and think they have hit a triple. In the same way, it seems that some people who arc unable to hit a home run arc not considering their own baiting capabilities but arc blaming others for moving the fence. Jim Burrow associate professor human resource development -LETTER POLICY The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publi cation on the basis of clarity, origi nality, timeliness and space avail able. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers also arc welcome to sub mit material as guest opinions. Whether material should run as a let ter or guest opinion is left to the editor’s discretion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be relumed. Anonymous submissions will not be considered for publication. Let ters should include the author’s name, year in school, major and a affiliation, if any. Requests to old names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 14(X) R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. flpc Aslan American Committee The Last Emperor unedited Rated PG-13 Date: April 23,1992 1:30 pm Douglas Theatre 1300 P St. Cost: Students w/ID FREE Non-students $1.00 Tickets at the door Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci 1 You may lx watching et try penny t/te.x day, hut should you .uicrtfur on .kunething as imptxtant your family's cLuon? VL-it Eye Huy. Pearie s new cn/ue •partment featuring great-linking gla.kxs at one low price, omplete with leiuxs and a free one-year breakage guarantee. And with the quality you \<e come to expect from Pearie. 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