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Show A4 Signpost Tuesday, September 27, 1983 EQSTQRSA Welcome Cackl School Year Could Be a Challenge by Lisa Wright-Largent Editor in Chief It has happened again. The summer has sped by bringing us to the end of September and the beginning of classes. For many of you, it is the start of new and challenging opportunities. For those who are returning, the routine may not be new, but experiences are always challenging. The Signpost welcomes the incoming freshmen and others new to the campus and hopes that you will take full advantage of your experiences here. We also welcome back all of the returnees. This year looks to be a tough one for the State's higher education system. Most of you are aware that money will be tight. This was made painfully clear in early September when the University of Utah stopped accepting new students for the first time in its history due to lack of funds to support them. Fortunately Weber has not had to make such a drastic move, but there is still evidence that the money is tight at WSC. The bottom line seems to be that if changes are not made relative to the State Legislature's attitude toward higher education, a college education could become a very precious commodity. That is one reason we as students should get everything out of our education that we can. Learn skills, set goals, gain knowledge, so that you can be marketable in securing a job when you have graduated. We at the Signpost have set some goals for the year. The primary aim of the staff is to produce a quality newspaper that supplies news and information to the WSC community. We hope to do this by providing more indepth and accurate reporting, series articles, interesting features and thought-provoking editorials. Returning this year in the editorial section will be Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mike Peters. New this year will be Steve Bensen from the Washington Post Writer's Group. Bensen, 27, is the staff editorial cartoonist for the Arizona Republic. His cartoons are of a conservative bend while Peters are more to the political left. Along with my editorials, each of the section editors will supply their opinions regularly on this page. For you sports fans, the Gridiron and Slam Dunk games will be returning with weekly predictions and bigger and better prizes for the winners. Keep you eyes open for our special sports supplements that will be published for home football and basketball games. The first one will be available for Homecoming. The Signature section has been given a face- lift. Each Tuesday it will be produced on quality white book paper that is not as fragile as news paper. There are other areas of the paper that will also see changes, and we are excited about the year. The most important thing for you to remember about the Signpost, however, is that it is your newspaper. We want your input, letters to the editor or, if you feel inclined, your help producing the paper. We can always use new people on our staff. Get involved this year and make it one to remember full of learning, growth and challenge. And have fun. Ui NBC . ' ' " "ZERO PLOT, LIMP CHARACTERS, SEX (WCE"'"BY GEQRSE, GENTLEMEN, I THINK Questions Surround 'Mistake' Perpetrated by Soviets by Brian Siaugh Signature Editor It was a mistake that the Korean Boeing 747 had flown into Soviet airspace. It may have also been a mistake that it was shot down in the manner that it was. But there can be no mistaking that the facts surrounding what has become a heated issue worldwide are unclear and contradictory at best. For the last few weeks, questions, rather than answers, have been surrounding the events leading up to the destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 which resulted in the loss of 269 lives. For instance, how did Flight 007 stray into Soviet airspace in the first place? The theories at this point are purely conjecture. They range from the introduction of incorrect data into the navigational system to a plot to murder Rep. Larry McDonald. Without the plane's "black boxes," which contain the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, we may never know the truth. The Soviets have not been able to offer any satisfactory explanations, either. At first they denied any involvement. But as pressure from world leaders mounted, the Soviets televised, via satellite, their side of the story. Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov, Soviet Chief of Staff, finally admitted that two air-to-air missiles were involved.Further explanations from Ogarkov suggested that the Soviet ground controllers had confused the Korean flight with a U.S. reconnaissance plane which had been in the area, but at the same time they insinuated that the 747 was carrying spies for the U.S. (Further investigation went on to prove that the reconnaissance plane in question had landed in Alaska by the time the incident occurred.) Ogarkov argued that the Soviets had made serious efforts to warn the KAL flight that it was no longer in international airspace, but transcripts from the Soviet pilot's plane suggest otherwise. If that is the case, the flight was not given any time to correct its course. The Soviet action on Flight 007 was not simply a case of "trigger-happiness," however. According to Article 36 of the Soviet border law, the pilot who fired upon KAL 007 acted in a precise, if not catastrophic, manner within the rigid structure of that law. This Article states, in part, that there was to be necessary use of weapons and military technology "against the violators of the state border of the USSR on land, water and in the air....". The brutal precision in which the Soviets acted has resulted in the deaths of 269 civilians. Can we afford to deal with a government whose actions are dictated by such ruthlessness and that is unwilling to own up to a mistake? It would be hard for me to come up with a definite answer of yes or no, but consideration of the Soviet mentality should take a larger role in any decisions made. Our main concern now is to see to it that these mistakes are eradicated before further incidents occur. There is no middle ground to the action that must be taken. Either we take action which may ruin efforts at detent, or lay back and risk such events again. A recent Gallup poll shows that the majority of Americans polled shortly after Flight 007 was shot down thought that President Reagan hasn't been tough enough with the Soviets. However, with the capability of pushbutton warfare on both sides, the importance of maintaining peace between the nations in power could not be greater. Letters to the Editor Policy The Signpostwelcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be typed, double spaced and not exceed 250 words. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel, and the right to refuse to print any letter deemed inappropriate. Each letter must include the name and address of the writter. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Letters many be submitted at the Signpost office, UB 267. |