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Show --~ '!'HEUNIVBRSJ'!'Y JOUl]lAL 3, 1994 - •SOt.11.'HEllN U1'Aff UNIVERSITY ,• MONDAY, OCTOBER . . . PAUL HARVEY OPERATOR? COMMENTARY GET ME AA AMBULAKCE. .... AND ~BERT SHWIRO. No new frontiers for misfit artists We all want to be where we aren't. Historically, restless humans have sought to flee their problems by moving on, inevitably traveling form east to west. The migration called them across Asia and Europe, the Atlantic to the Americas and the Americas to California. Then, the people who didn't fit in back home, confronted by the Pacific Ocean, were unable to go beyond California. And many didn't fit there, eit her. The misfits have found a new frontier: Alaska. Alaska's remote outposts have become magnets for these "endof-the-roaders." Some of the oddballs adapt, while others drift on. But when escapist fantasies prove illusory, the result is always frustration and sometimes violence. The Wall Street fourn al sent Bill Richards to the "tall and uncut" last year. If he expected to find towns like the fictitious one in "Northern Exposure," he found instead mostly would-be pioneers, lacking the basic skills for pioneering and ending up drunks. Alaska's towns are less tolerant of those we call " homeless people," and a hateful, belligerent freeloader is soon "encouraged on his way ." The weather is not hospitable to vagrants. Fifty degrees below zero plus wind chill is enough to hospitalize many, thus multiplying the economic burden for home folks. My own visits to Alaska, plus my longtime liaison with Gov. Wally Hickel, engendered mostly awe and admiration, and any essay dealing with those who cannot adapt to life in a pioneering country must not ignore the many more who can and do. Having acknowledged these people, Alaska is still an irresistible magnet for the social dropouts. And sociopaths who can't make it elsewhere and are unlikely to make it anywhere. In the lower forty-eight, you and I have seen these or similar escapists flock to such places as Taos, Sedona and other hippie havens - to contribute little beyond pollution and problems. In Alaska, they make little pretense of being displaced "artists." They are admittedly escapists. The postmaster in Central Alaska, James Carson, calls them "scum of the world." Dixie Spencer, Alaska State Trooper, says he is "snowed under with calls for help from towns beset by violence." Because he can't be everywhere, most such towns have to cope with the problems as bes t they can. One refugee from Chicago, Michael Silks, who settled in Manley, called himself a " mountain man" and shot to death seven residents and a state trooper before he was gunned down. More and more Alaskans are traveling armed. Some recent adventure books about Alaska lie. And "Northern Exposure" hasn' t helped. Paul Harvey is a syndicated col umnist now living in Illinois. PROFESSIONAL STAFF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Editor Larry Baker 586-7750 Campus Editor Jim Robinson 586- 1997 Consulting Sports Editors Neil Gardner 586-7753 Brett Jewkes 586-7752 Busi ness Manager Lynn Dennett 586-7748 Assistant to the Editor Jennifer Morley 586-7759 STUDENT STAPF AND DESK PHONE NUMBERS: Associate Editors Carma Niemann 865-8226, Kasie Salmon 586-7750 Opinion Director Heather G reen 586-7757 AP Wire Editor JoAnn Lundgreen 865-8225 Copy Editor Micki Sellers 586-7757 Photo Editor Lonnie Behunin 586-7757 Sports Editor John McClos key 586-5488 Arts Editor Michelle Clegg 586-5488 Ass' t Opinion Director Curry Edwards 586-7757 Assistan t Photo Editor Eric Roderick 586-7757 Advert ising Manager Jackilyn Christiansen 586-7758 Ad Representative Lesa Rindlisbacher 586-7758 Institutional Ad Rep Jason White 586-7758 Classified Ad Ass' t Harmony Cunis 586-7759 Circ.u lation J\1anagcr D• vc Meanc.i 865-8225 Business Aide Cheyenne Lytl e 586-7748 Ad Product.ion Facilitators Jeff Martin 586-7757 Stacey Berry 586-7757 a, The Univus1ty Journal Is published every Monchy, WcdnCML.y and Friday of the academic year a publication of Southern Uuh University, Its d~ c n t of communication and the SUU Student Associln l~n. The views and opinions uprcncd in the /oumal ,re those of individual writer, and do not necessarily rcfltct the opmion of the Journal or any cnmy of the university. Len ers to the editor must be typed and include the name and phone number. Only the name wil.l be printed. N1mcs will not be whhhdd under any c.ircums unccs and the editor reserv~ editing privileges. Letters must be submitted by noon Friday, for Monday editions, Tuesdays for Wednesday editions and Thursdays for Friday editions, Gricv1nce1: Any i ndividual with a grievance again st the /ournal should direct such problem first 10 the editor. If unresolved, th.a1 grievance should then be dlrec1cd to the foumal Steering Com.miuee, which is chaired by Dr. Frain C. PCM><H\, 586-71>71. The secn:wy I., Lois BuUoch, 586-7710. UDl...ir,-foumold)ffica in 5W Tochnology lluildmgtm. Maiht SUV b9384, c;.daracy, Ut.ah84720. FAX 0 li.Jl)S86-5487. PRINTED ON t00% RECYCLED PA PER. PL EA SE RECYCLE THIS COPY. LARRY BAKER I COMMENTARY This is your newspaper, too Well, we've been putting this newspaper out for a couple of weeks now and, let m e tell you, it's a lot of work. We're waiting for someone to acknowledge this hard work, pat us on the back and say, "Well done! " Yeah, sure. Just kidding. We have, jus t th e same, received a few comments back from people and for the most part, they're gratifying. Kay Cook of the language and literature faculty made a special call just to say "thanks" for running the Mo lly Ivins column on this page on Wednesday. She had been afraid, she said, that we'd run only "conservatives." Molly will be here every week and we hope that Kay will pick up the paper on Mondays and Fridays as well. Eric Houle called to say he thought the cross country coverage was good. That figures, since he's the cross country coach. But he also said the paper as a whole was "awesome." Now, we don't do what we do over here for the compliments, although they' re nice to hear. We take them right along with the complaints. However, we do, in fact, do what we do here to serve the readers. That's you. Are we serving you? Let us know. We believe we're holding up our end of the barga in t hat's s uch an integra l pa rt o f the journalistic process- that is, giving you the news and other things we feel you want and need. Are you fulfilling your responsibility? The one-time publi sh er of The New York Times, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, correctly said that respons ible readers are as important as respon sible editors. But what is a responsible reader? If you are reading this, then, of course, you're taking t he firs t s t ep in t hat responsibili ty. However, there is more to it than that. Your responsibility is to tell us what you want to see in this paper. Your r espon sibility is to be a partner in the journalistic process. So, do you know why I'm writing all this? Because something has to go in this spot on the page, in the Opinion section. It can't be news. It's got to be opinion. Whose? How about yours? Perhaps you don't like what Mr. Harvey has to say next door. Maybe you think Danny Stewart, above, can't draw. It could be th at it's Nat Hentoff over there that you think is cracked. Maybe you think we should cover a particular story on campus, or run a crossword puzzle. Perhaps you think that the coverage, on page 12 today, of the LOS General Conference is inappropriate, or really ni ce. Maybe you think that we should have had a rodeo picture on the front page today instead of a bunch of sheep that have nothing to do with the campus. (If you ask, we' ll t e ll you that we are very angry and disappointed that contaminated chemicals in the darkroom ruined our shots of SUU's rodeo team that we drove to St. George for.) Then again, yo u might not like gettin g squirted by the sprinklers as you walk to class, or you feel that fraternities and sororities are the greatest, or the worst thing in the world. You may feel that the U.S. has no business in Haiti, or that Merrill Cook is a buffoon. If you have an y of t hese or other fee lings, validate them by taking part in the journalistic process. Writ e le tte rs. That 's us ually what goes here ...when we have them. Otherwise, you might have to read what I have to say on a Sunday night because we don't want to run white space here. More important than that, though, you'll be missing out on a chance to use this newspaper to its fullest; to make it yours. To m e, having the access to a public forum is among the most precious gifts that we can have in this life. Use it. |