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Show 4 Signpost Friday, May 16, 1986 Bestselling expose inspires backbiting FRENCH TOAST.,. ffiMpnl I A jrrr iiii a hi m i by Rae Dawn Olbert Editor-in-Chief Anyone looking at the list of books topping our nation's best-seller list will be able to pick out a number of "personal" tales, Lee Iaccoca and Joan Collins included. And exposes are always a popular item, especially if they reveal personal tidbits about public figures. At the top of the revealing tales are the lives and loves of J. Paul Getty, and a relative newcomer to the scene, David Stockman's pointed tale of the Reagan Administration. The book, titled "The Triumphs of Politics, Why the Reagan Revolution Failed," spares almost no one in the White House from Stockman's blistering scrutiny. Stockman, former budget director under President Reagan, is himself receiving some well-deserved flack for penning sharp criticisms of his colleagues. Stockman attacked Donald Regan, portraying him as a yes-man . . . someone who "put his finger in the air to see where the president was and he was always there, regardless of whether the arguments were overwhelming on the other side." Regan, treasury secretary during Reagan's first term, is currently serving as White House chief-of-staff. Jim Baker, treasury secretary; Edwin Meese, presidential counselor; and Mike Deaver, chief of staff, were all accused of never reading anything and "living off the tube." Stockman maintains that they knew nothing of the substance of domestic government.T.H. Bell, education secretary, also fell prey to Stockman's pen. He was portrayed as submitting "the largest education budget in history, which must have been the Dubious Achievement of the Year, given that the president had vowed to dismantle the department a little while back." Stockman says Reagan is kindhearted and visionary but unable to grasp economic complexities. He further stated that Reagan ignores all relevant, palpable facts, and often wanders in circles. Stockman's style, or rather lack of, was putln writing because he was frustrated in his attempts to cut the size of government. So, instead of remaining in his position and fighting for his ideas and beliefs, he took the coward's way out. He quit, gave up, and then had the nerve to blame all the problems on those he could not negotiate with. Stockman attributes all the economy's problems to Reagan and his staff, never mind that Stockman himself was the budget director, a part of Reagan's staff, and helped to create the very situation he blames on others. And it appears that Stockman's "expose" on the Reagan administration has inspired some Weber State students as well. Rumor has it that one of the current, second-term ASWSC senators is gathering support for a proposal to eliminate student government at WSC. Not having spoken with the perpetrator of this idea, it cannot be determined whether this foolish proposal is meant only in jest or not. We can only hope it is. Any senator worth his title is surely aware of the importance of student government the students' only voice in administrative matters. Anyone not aware of the necessity of our student leaders is not aware of his role on campus. This suggestion, coming from a senator who has served two years in office, smacks of the same type of sour grapes Stockman reveals in his book. If government is so bad, why not use your power, while in office, to change some of the problems? FRENCH FOREIGN ij"HTirmiiiiri , hi m))MMnriiWirtim itim, rt MiHm9 ! FREMCH WHINE Local paper makes mountain out of molehi t , . track championships which are coming up. hv fhris I Millar i. . II by Chris J. Miller Managing Editor You'd have ought it was "Webergate." The Ogden Standard Examiner ran a story in their sports section recently alleging that the Weber State althletic department was in violation of NCAA rules. While most of the information in the story was basically true, the manner in which the information was presented was disproportionate to the importance of the facts. The triple-decker headline was, needless to say, a little over-done. It was a bigger headline than the one the Standard ran announcing that the U.S. government had bombed Libya. The story itself covered half of the front page of the section and then some, although it really could have been explained in about 10 paragraphs. The basic facts of the story dealt with an addition to the NCAA "tryout" rule. Weber State officials chose to obey the rule and not give out awards they had previously purchased. The awards were taken by another high school coach and given to some of the winners a later track meet. In talking with WSC men's track coach Chick Hislop, he thought the entire situation had been blown out of proportion. He said he would just like to forget it and get on with the men's conference I agree. Obviously, Weber State had no direct in volvement in the episode, although the article hinted at just the opposite. It continually promoted the idea that somehow, Weber was involved with the awards presentation in a large way. It has been reported that the entire investigation was done by phone, that no personal interviews were ever completed. One coach involved later said, "I was a college AU-American at Weber, have won two state high school track championships, and many other things, and was quoted more in this one article than in all those other things combined." The NCAA tryout rule, with its new additions, is not that popular, yet it is still a rule. WSC Athletic Director Gary Crompton said "we respect the rule and abide by it." The facts prove Weber was not involved in anything wrong. So why the big story? Why the big fuss? The day after the story ran this same newspaper ran an editorial criticizing the rule for hurting smaller schools. Then, no other news about the "big deal." This seems to indicate that there wasn't enough information about the incident to begin with. In which case, the first story should never have appeared.This isn't even a case of making a mountain out of a molehill. It's a case of making a mountain out of nothing. Letter Policy The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be typed and should not exceed 400 words in length. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and reserves the right to refuse to print any letter deemed inappropriate. Letters must include name, address and signature of writer. Deadlines for letters to the editor are Wednesdays at noon for Friday's editition and Fridays at noon for Tuesday's edition. |