| OCR Text |
Show THE A D I L UTAH Y THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW CHRONICLE IrrT1'"'"1"'" sCP&X S MM LA """ -- Rf TO VBG I I'fA IN ,. U Could Use More of a f-T- he I University of Utah already, has satellite cam- puses scattered through-cu- t the state and is again looking to stretch its reach. This time, however, the expansion would be more symbolic than UteraL With the Hansen Planetarium scheduled to vacate its longtime home in a historic building located in downtown Salt Lake City in order to move into the Gateway - Project, the U sees an opportunity to put the edifice to good use. In his efforts to give the university more of a presence in the downtown area, U President J. Bernard Machen has proposed that the university take over the planetarium's existing site. As a result, the U's new proposed area of influence would be limited to a single building. However, the size of the proposal docs not adequately reflect its scope or the potential benefits involved. Under Machen's plan, the U would implement several programs in the building, including using the bottom floor to bring in rotating exhibits from the U's J. Willard Marriott Library and fine arts museum, offering Department of Continuing 'Education busicourses to Salt Lake-are- a ness executives, hosting kiosks selling tickets to U sporting events and art programs, and housing a booth that would both f? provide information about the U as well as offer employment opportunities and applications for student admissions. ' Salt Lake City Mayor Ross Anderson has supported the plan, and with good reason, as it offers myriad benefits for both the U and the downtown Salt I 1 HAVE. TO MAKG" A change: ot- - j 1T, I TSSW f TMr.v-Alf- (iv I WE.T i ( CNg (J I I Lake area. With the Hansen Planetarium moving, the downtown area would stili be able to offer a cul- with the experience exhibits .brought in; the U's struggling business school would be able to develop a better relationship with businesses in the locale; and the residents of the area would simply be given an opportunity to learn about their neighbors on the U campus. While .this plan is still a long way from coming to fruitionas the Gateway Project needs to be completed, the planetarium needs to be moved, and the City Council needs to approve the U's proposed takeover of the buitd-in- g all relevant parties ought to keep this issus at the forefront cf their minds. For when the time comes to decide the fate of Machen's quest to give the U a larger downtown presence, everyone would do well to remember that tills plan should prov-dthe rarest of all situation for scenarios: a win-wi- n tural e all involved."- - J 7 LETTER fS.'Si TO e THE EDITOR N ot Exactly Fair Competition Editor: With the headline "KUER Doesn't Need The Legislature's Help" in The Chronicle's View April 20, 1 agree. KUER doesn't need the Legislature's help in its daily business. It doesn't need its state subsidy nor its status. KUER doesn't need its shiny, new, property-tax-fre- e studio. It also doesn't need its unfair advantage of a network of transmitters in taking on KCPW, a privately funded station whose concerns really do reflect the public it serves, not the arrogant dreams of misguided station management. candidate for a Salt Recently, I ran as a minor-part- y Lake County public office. KCPW was very helpful and tax-exem- pt state-support- ed accommodating to all parties, while KUER ignored all major-part- y candidates. This egregious public disservice led mc to persuade listeners not to contribute to KUER in its pledge dri- but the ves. support the legislative review, and if called upon, I will explain that KUER should not be censored, but value of the should be expected to pay transmitter space, studio rent, property taxes, and for other unfair advantages it enjoys. In short, privatization. Then we'll sec how "little" and "friendly" (The Chronicle's words) KUER's competition will pose. I fair-mark- et CABOT NELSON U Alumnus ace to if ace wtm & viaence o j rroressionai sSTflfis sleepy every time you looked at Buckmiller's droopy eyes. My face? Well, I was relieved, to tell you the truth. And kind of excited it was like seat on "COPS." But I also having a front-roa spent lot of the evening with egg on that same face. SHANE MCCAMMON Chronicle w Editor in Chief on the suspect's face almost made it all worth it. He was indignant at first, asking loudly and panicky who had let the police into his home. Then his face quickly turned to fear you know, the whole thing. Finally, around 2:30 in the morning 45 minutes after he had been arrested on charges he burglarized Trie Daily Utah Chronicle his face showed the kind of resignation that comes when you've been caught with your hand in the cookie jar. The look on Walter Deutsch's and Brad Buckmiller's faces were quite different. Deutsch, a detective with the University of Utah Police Department, and Euckmiller, a sergeant, were tired. Saturday night was supposed to be their night off. They were supposed to be with their families. They were supposed to be T Jhe look asleep. Instead, they stood in a sweltering house, shaking down suspects and searching through every drawer and underneath every pillow looking for evidence. Yes, their faces did demonstrate a kind of giddy relief that the case they had been working on so hard for the last month was finally starting to materialize, but you couldn't help but feel That's because earlier this year I wrote a column that was critical of the UUPD. No, let me rephrase that it was unnecessarily critical of the UUPD. The column was about the controversy surrounding the Gary Thompson case, in which a UUPD officer was accused of entering Thompson's apartment and taking documents related to his sexual assault case. Many people, myself included, wanted to know why the UUPD was in Thompson's apartment to begin with. After all, Thompson was out of town and there had been no reports of anybody entering the apartment. The UUPD and the Utah Attorney General's office finally determined the officer entered the apartment because of a 911 call that had been inaccurately identified as coming from Thompson's residence. I wrote that, regardless of the reason, the controversy was disturbing and showed cracks in the competency of the UUPD. I still stick by that argument, even though I've d how truly competent since seen our officers are. But where I'm wrong is how I went about writing that column. I equated the UUPD with Barney Fife of "The Andy Griffith Show." I pompously sat in my office and, without calling the officers themselves, demanded the UUPD be held accountable for CHRONICLE first-han- OPINION EDITOR SCOTT LEWIS something it was eventually cleared of doing. What I said was wrong, not only because it was inaccurate but because it wasn't fair. And hey, it's hard for me to say that because I don't like apologizing and because the worst two words any journalist can hear are "inaccurate" and "unfair." It hurts even more when you're the person calling yourself those things. But if there is one thing I've learned this year as editor in chief of The Chronicle, it's that I'm still learning. And with that, when I screw up, I've got to own up to it. And, a few months ago, I screwed up. Police officers don't make a lot of money. They definitely don't get a lot of glory. But they do get a lot of unnecessary crap. Lucky for me and everybody on this campus, the UUPD doesn't screw up very often. Sure, every officer has his or her occasional bad day. Everybody gets a few mulligans, regardless of their position or standing in life. Thing is, we're fortunate to have a police department that doesn't need very many These men and women arc not only bona fide police officers they receive the same training as the officers downtown but they're damn good ones at that. So many people on campus sec the UUPD e as a kind of police department. I've heard it myself "Oh, they're not real cops," "glorified security guards" and "meter maids with pistols." That last crack was printed last week in The Chronicle. Detective Deutsch mentioned it to mc as we stood in the suspect's basement, trying to find evidence and property I could identify as ours. You can probably imagine how I felt. And you can probably imagine how Deutsch felt when he read that, especially considering he was spending most of his waking hours trying to serve the very paper that insulted him. Police officers don't make a lot of money. They definitely don't get a lot of glory. But they do get a lot of unnecessary crap, even when they're just doing their jobs. They know that going into the job, but they still sign the dotted line and arc willing to literally put their lives on the line every time they suit up in the morning. They're still willing to spend their Saturday night off trying to catch a thief. And for that, I'm grateful. Not just because it involves mc personally, but because I know that if the UUPD can do such a great job for a group of people who have given them so much grief over the years, I know they'll do it for anymake-believ- body. Shane welcomes feedback at: or send a letter to the editor to: lctterschronicle.utah.edu. LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU 581-704- 1 |
