EDITOR
DougKouma
OPINION
EDITOR
Anne Hjersman
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Doug Peters
Matt Waite
Paula Lavigne
Mitch Sherman
Anthony Nguyen
TV troubles
Parental guidance
rwxjmmendedbyAMA
From The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento,
Calif.
Statistics about the pernicious effect of
young Americans* addiction to television and
other entertainments are hardly news. The
litany of ills associated with exposure to TV
and other media, although sometimes over
blown, is real enough. Most troubling of all
are the links between media violence and
violence in eveiyday life.
Small wonder, says die American Medi
cal Association. New guidelines issued to
60,000 physicians nationwide recently note
that by age 18 the average American child
will have seen thousands of acts of televised
violence and that more than half our kids now
have a television set in their bedrooms.
The AMA guidelines, designed to help
physicians educate parents and families about
media violence, mainly focus on what they
call “media literacy”—ways to manage and
regulate die kind and amount of TV and en
tertainment kids receive.
Backed by a nationwide survey that
shows widespread support for more inclu
sive, tighter rating systems, the AMA pro
posals center on individual and family re
sponsibility.
For example, 77 percent of registered
voters surveyed in the AMA poll want a rat
ing system for television programs, and 65
percent said the rating system for movies
should be stricter. The same sentiments ap
plied by lopsided maigins to music and com
puter games, as well.
Perhaps most encouraging was the find
ing that 66 percent of adults say they have
turned off a television program or left a the
ater because the program was too violent—
but. the younger the .viewer, the less likely
the decision to turn it off. Most patents* like
wise, say fiiey have rules at home about when
children can watch television — but the
younger the parent, the less likely there are
to be rules.
Messages froom the bully pulpit by the
likes of President Clinton and former Edu
cation Secretary Bill Bennett can help pro
voke changes in the media climate. Inven
tions such as the V-chip will add some au
thority to parental restrictions, and rating
systems supply information on which to
make decisions. But with all that said and
done, it is fundamentally true, as the AMA
guidelines make plain, that “media literacy”
is mainly about common-sense restrictions
and constant attention at the family level.
That prescription still offers the best rem
edy.
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LETTERS
Mistaken identity
Dear Stacey Range: Thursday’s
article about the use of HuskerVision
to run public service announcements
1 raised the issue of abuse, and was a
great article.
I have no complaint with the
article, but with the name of the guy
used as the example of beating the
crap out ofhis<£irlffifnd.
The probleWi,sy6a'^dd,1ssthat my
name is very close to the ^me you
used in the newspaper. Vou used
“Greg Niel,” and my name is Greg
Neill.
I had several friends ask me if I
% beat my girlfriend. Others told me
that I had my name in the DN.
I really don’t want to be looked at
as a woman abuser to the general
public who does not know me, nor to
my friends who know me.
I am one of the last persons who
would condone physical abuse
toward a woman. If you could, please
use the old standard, John Doe.
Please inform me as to how you
plan to prevent this situation from
occurring again in the future.
It is my feeling that I am taking a
light-hearted look on your mistake of
using a name that is very similar to
mine.
I just ask you to check the SIS
system to make sure that your
example is not closely related to a
student attending the university.
Greg Neill
criminal justice
EDITOR'S NOTE: The name
“Greg Niel” was selected by the
' creators of the domestic violence
ads, not by the editors or staff of
the Daily Nebraskan.
Touch guys?
Dear Steve Willey: Loved your
• column, “Carnal confusion,” in
Friday’s Daily Nebraskan—with
one exception: pain.
When my husband, say, stubs his
toe (sometimes during daylight
hours), he has to swear and whine.
Jim Mehsung/DN
Then he sits down in front of the
TV for 10-15 hours to recoup.
I, on the other hand, usually stub
my toe about 3 a.m. on my way to
soothe my 4-year-old’s nightmares.
I “suck it up” and tell her
everything’s OK, tuck her in and
finally feel my way back to bed —
all the while, my husband never even
notices I’m gone.
And don’t forget childbirth. If
men had to do it, we (as humans)
would have died out centuries ago.
But then again, I might just be
sensitive to the whole thing because
of that “women’s problem.”
Jana Bartels
senior
secondary education
Solutions, not
SYMRtTHY
In response to Cliff Hicks’
column, “No more prejudice, please”
(Oct. 1), I would first like to say that
if you did have a diverse color range
of friends, then I don’t see how you
would feel ashamed of anything, let
alone being white.
k>^iAJiiuiy, wiiai uu yuu lining u
that is making you feel ashamed to
be white? Who is it that you are
addressing this column to, and who
do you want held accountable for
racism and a high rape rate?
Are the schools that taught you
about the history of slavery and the
Native Americans to blame? Is it the
media, for showing educational,
truthful movies like “Malcolm X”?
Ultimately it will be yourself,
• myself and those close to us—each
■ individual, regardless of race.
The question is not did you
perpetuate racism, but did you help
to destroy it?
Who would make you want to go
around and apologize to every black
person for injustice, besides your
self? %
I think you should research the
subject of white male paranoia.
Try to come up with a solution for
yourself as to why white American
men feel the way they do toward
themselves, other ethnicities and
women.
Try to learn the history of
America through someone outside
your vantage point. It will change
how you see others, yourself and the
world and why you feel attacked.
Finding an answer will only be
attainable through the truth. You took
an elementary step toward that in
watching “Malcolm X,” but that may
have been too much for you. ,
, No one wants your sympathy or
apologies, and don’t feel singled out
because, through collective action,
everyone is attempting to gain self
respect and cultural pride.
What will be your next step?
Will you keep trying to find
someone to blame, or continue to
look like a hypocrite who makes
politically correct statements yet only
needs to look in the mirror for
answers to debased questions.
You will stop being ashamed
when you take action to end the
injustice you say exists in America.
' J. Vinnie Murphy
junior
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