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 <letter8@unlinfo.unl.edu: '.~
. must be signed and include a phone number for verification
t
