EDITOR Doug Kouma OPINION EDITOR Anthony Nguyen EDITORIAL BOARD Paula Lavigne Joshua Gillin Jessica Kennedy Jeff Randall Erin Gibson Guest VIEW Not so sweet Contaminations source needs to be determined From The San Diego Union-Tribune Nobody knows yet how strawberries used in student lunch programs became contami nated with the hepatitis A virus. But authori ties need to find out as soon as possible. Not only must we learn how better to pre vent contamination in the future, but we also need to get strawberry growers off the hook. Sales of all strawberries have plummeted be cause of frightened consumers. And Ralphs grocery stores have halted orders of straw berries from Mexico, which is where the tainted fruit originated. No one has proved that the contamina tion took place south of the border. The fruit could have been tainted at a packing plant in San Diego, where it was prepared before be ing sent to schools. If so, Ralphs’ action will have been unwarranted. a &an Luego turn, Andrew & Williamson Sales Co., apparently violated the law when it bought Mexican fruit for use in school lunch programs. Only U.S.-grown berries are al lowed. Federal officials said the company certified that the berries were U.S.-grown. If the law was violated, company officials should be prosecuted vigorously. But strawberries should not be contami nated, no matter where they come from. American supermarket shoppers have been buying fruit from Mexico, Chile and other countries for years. All nations need to have equal quality standards and enforcement, or the global market in food will suffer. However, to blame Mexico prematurely is unjust. If it turns out the viral contamina tion originated in Mexico, then Mexican ag riculture officials and growers are going to have to convince American consumers it won’t happen again. If the contamination occurred on this side of the border, some apologies may be in or der. End Credit From The St Louis Post-Dispatch In one more worthwhile reminder of one of Hollywood’s darkest chapters, the Writers Guild of America has restored proper screen writing credits on 24 movies to authors forced to use pseudonyms because of the blacklist. Besides giving them deserved recognition, the move acknowledges — albeit belatedly — the hysteria of the McCarthy era. During that time of rampant paranoia, writers suspected to have the remotest con nection with communism were ostracized or forced to name names; the colleagues they fingered were put through the same wrench ing treatment. As a result, movies like “Inherit the Wind” or “Bom Free” were credited to fictitious writers so real ones could continue to prac tice their craft and earn a living. Though the list is long gone, its legacy remains. The best way for Hollywood to say, “Never again” is for eveiyone to never for get. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spring 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Univer sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan: policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Edito rial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the edi torial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief let ters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Sub mitted material becomes the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be re turned. Anonymous submissions will not be published Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affilia tion, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln. Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unljnfo.unl.edu. Mehs ling's VIEW Guest VIEW Sugar ‘n’ Spice-less Image portrayed by group is counterproductive for women CHAMPAIGN, 111. (U-WIRE) — The Spice Girls annoy me. It’s not that I’m jealous of them because many men are gaga over them or anything like that — they just really annoy me. They dress in ridiculous clothes, brag about being promiscu ous and contribute to the perpetua tion of gender stereotypes. Just access one of their web sites and you’ll see what I mean. I checked out http:// channel3.vmg.co.uk/spicegirls and connected to a “spill the beans” subject where members of the Spice Girls do a Teenbeat-ish interview where they spill really important information about their shallow selves. When answering the question “How do you meet guys?” Spice Girl Emma answered, “I smile sweetly and play with my pigtails. I’d chat him up with ‘Would you like one of my Bon Bons?”’ Whatever. Spice Girl Victoria’s answers are no better. She answered the question “What do you do before bedtime?” with the following: “I have a full facial routine and put on my silk pajamas.” These women are such great confidence boosters. They have a new authorized book called Girl Power, which I haven’t checked out yet, but they hardly display any power of the sort. Role models are something they are not. I have been informed that one of them is a former exotic dancer and another one is a former pom star. And their lyrics are ridiculous. “If you wanna be my lover, you gottt get with my friends,” they sing. What does that mean? So if you want to be one of their lovers, you have to have sex with all their friends, too? I am sure the guys love that. Why can’t their songs have positive lyrics that talk about the empowerment of women, and women being able to survive in life without a man? Some men who are reading this right now are probably sitting there rolling their eyes thinking, “Who would want to listen to a song with words like that?” A lot of us women would. I am so sick of hearing songs about women crying about the men who dumped them and women begging for their boyfriends back. Womens’ only sole purpose in life is not to be somebody’s girlfriend. Songs like the ones the Spice Girls record don’t help break down social constructions about the roles of genders. They perpetuate them. — Deborah Mora The Daily Illini Aaron Steckelberg/DN » ... .. . ^ 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln, 472-1761, or e-mail