Show Page 2 November 16 1995 Viewpoint Newspaper ratings: a new set of guidelines? This article was well advertised prior to its writing In the "Features" section of the first issue this year on page ft there is a great article for general readers Miranda Odendahfs Volunteerism service and family surround Gcri Petersen's life contains nothing offensive to any reader and is just plain old good writing and a very good description of the woman who stands behind our college's president If you haven't read this one find an old paper and do so According to "popular opinion" there isn’t much writing like this The Last Dance by Sharlene Sanchez (Vol 20 No 2 pg 5) covered the final I lomccoming dance held in the Old Gym and is a prime example of an article holding a “PG" rating This article should he read to the family around the hearth on a cold winter night The warmth and memories that come from this piece of journalistic excellence can be shared for by Michael Clayton staff writer About a month ago I wrote an article about the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and how we arc able to better judge what we view (The Eagle Vol 20 No 2 Movie review ratings: a new set of guidelines pg 3) A point that was brought up towards the end of the article was that "nowadays everything is being rated" Soon this paper may even be rated "Popular opinion" already states that articles and views I often d printed in The Eagle arc biased and very hear comments such as “why are you guys always ripping on the ASCEU” or “come on give the basketball teams a break" Sure the newspaper might be a battleground foi certain grudges that on through the years but this docs not necessarily Eagle staff is not the to be this way Ider-- e our-sho- u look i There arc a lot of different things that the newspaper docs cover about student life paper “popularopin-an- d the various happenings 0n makes US Out 10 be one-side- con-lin- uc f jhc ng-over- -y aroundcampusTluliswhy the paper is divided into its respective sections so that the reader can find out what they want to know and skip the rest What do you want us to do to make your life and reading this paper easier? Do you want us to rate the articles for your convenience? Okay then here it goes First we'll need some letter ratings for the different audiences Let's use these: “G" fur General readers “PG" for Pretty Good “NF-- 1 7" Not for Freshmen under seventeen years of age “R" for Restricted (or Really good since these are the ones that you'll probably read the most of) and "F" which means Faculty only Let's not forget “NR" for those that have no need of a rating Most ratings also contain reasons for the rating given We'll need these too "O” may mean certain material may be Offcnsi ve "I I" could be there are traces of I lumor "SS" could stand for Student Situations (you figure it out) A simple "SN for Sarcasm enough said "B" would be conno-la- ti ve of Boring or something only the faculty could understand We might add others as needed Now that we' ve established a rating system we can look for examples For instance take the last issue (Vol 20 No 3) of The Eagle front page in the long box on the side second article ASSET offers alternative to SAT and ACT an informative article on a replacement test for the standard college tests would dearly receive a “NR" for it's plainness and nonoffensive material although it would have a "B" as an underlying warning I've been "booby trapped" by Dani Weigand (which appears in Vol 20 No 2 pg 2) would by most be given an "R' rating It's obviously offensive contains student situations sarcasm is prevalent and there is excessive humor 1 generations to conic Nothing offensive can he found only light hearted student situations If you turn the page Randy Chandler's experience of reuniting with an old classmate Mary Bowers is as equally moving Because of the nature an “F' rating has to have no article yet written fits this category This a good move The Eagle is supposed to be a student paper showing student views telling the students side and doing student things! Anything else wouldn't make it our paper! (Even though the cover story last issue 1993 enrollment decrease may cut CEll budget comes real close to this rating) The "Sports" page thus far has consistently held a "G" rating but with basketball season looming overhead it seems the cloud cover may get darker Kellie Butler has been doing an excellent job as the sole writer for sports this quarter Her stories tell the plain truth and she calls it as she secs it Key you can't argue with stats A college paper should bring a school together not tear it apart We try to make things happen we just don't sit back and watch you guy s have al I the fun We try to keep you aware of what's going on We're not trying to make enemies (heaven knows we have our fair share already) In short we here at The Eagle try to make life easier We are not the paper "popular opinion" makes us out to be Believe it or not we are your friends! If rating various articles would make you feel better then let us know We are not saying we'll actually do it we're just trying to make things easier like I've said a hundred times before If in fact we don't rale these articles you can distinguish whether or not you want to read it by looking at the headlines That's what they are for! (NOTE: This article has been rated “R" since it contains student situations Offensive material heavy doses of sarcasm light humor and you all are reading it anyway) OUT ON A LIMB by GARY KOPERVAS Jusf So feu wc w LoutCE-rv- c Gotten in touch umu CUluCUW ug WMW tdlKTCNPO Let your voice be heard 4 'V Eagle encourages students faculty and members of the community to submit letters to the editor guest view- - The points and political cartoons’ Write: The Eagle CEU451 E 400 N Price UT 84501 Letters and guest viewpoints must be typed (300 ' words or less) r address: SPOLSTERACCEUEDU All works must have the author's full name and a phone number where they can be reached Editor will grant anonymity of opinions only under special circumstances! The Eagle reserves the right to edit any letter or ' article Cartoons must be in ink and are not returnable e-m-ail : j ' Letters to the editor Dear Editor: It has been fifty years since the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japanese cities Earlier this year there was much controversy about the Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian The reason for the controversy is that documentation has been discovered by historians that indicates the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki after knowing that the Japanese were willing to surrender Further evidence is that this was done to intimidate the Russians and show them the terrible destruction wrought by nuclear weapons There is nothing surprising about this to me It corresponds nicely with the fact that the United States and every other capitalist nation on earth invaded Russia after the Bolshevik revolution to destroy the incipient rise pr socialism and the threat that posed to the wealth and power of the ruling class in every capitalist country Also it corresponds with the atrocities committed by the United States cither directly or through proxies in Vietnam Guatemala El Salvador Angola Mozambique Chile Indonesia and East Timor This tremendous carnage involving the violent deaths of millions of people and the starvation deaths of millions more was done to stop the spread of socialism and ensure corporate access to cheap labor and natural resources The idea of several hundred thousand Japanese dying and thousands of others suffering from radiation poisoning for the same reason is very consistent with history both before and after World War II Gary Sudborough Bellflower CA PS This letter should in no way be considered a condemnation of the sacrifices of American soldiers who fought against fascism in World War II I have the greatest respect and admiration for them The same is true for those forgotten American soldiers who fought against fascism with (he International Brigades in Spain They are heroes to me This letter simply questions the morality and the reasons for the use of the atom bomb t f9 999 9 9 999 V Thanksgivirigholiddylibraryhours :: fevy : Nov: 20-2- 2 Nov 23:25 Nov: 26 am to 5 pm '8closed ? i I ‘i v : ‘:5toi6pni:v a |