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Show A5 WWW.NETXNEWS.NET MONDAY • AUGUST 7 • 2006 Clear communication One Person's Opinion Safe prisons make for safer communities John Ditzler Opinions Writer V According to the Utah Department of Corrections, incidents of sexual assault have fallen during the last year, while incidents of sexual assault in prisons across the country have risen 16 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) for 2005. With 5,220 adult corrections facilities across the country and 6,241 reported allegations of sexual harassment and/or assault that averages out to be 2.8 alleged incidents per 1,000 inmates. Apparently 45 percent of those cases occurred between inmates with 55 percent of those reported cases perpetrated by staff. Human Rights Watch claims the incidence of sexual harassment and assault in U.S. Prisons is much higher in its 2001 report No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons. The recently released BJS study also states that, "Due to fear of reprisal from perpetrators, a code of silence among inmates, personal embarrassment, and lack of trust in staff, victims are often reluctant to report incidents to correctional authorities." The Utah Department of Corrections reported only 14. cases of alleged inmate on inmate sexual harassment or assault for 2005, three of which have been substantiated, and 5 alleged cases of staff on prisoner sexual harassment or assault, none of which have been substantiated. Utah's Department of Corrections should be commended for their diligence. Not only does it go without saying that prisoners deserve to be protected from violent incidents of rape and other sexual assault during their incarceration but safer Utah prisons inevitable leads to safer Utah communities. With the vast majority of prisoners set to be released back into society at some future date we as a society all benefit from assimilating ex-convicts who have been treated fairly rather than trying to reassimilate ex-convicts who after being confined with other violent or socially deviant individuals come [ out of jail meaner and more aggressive ! than they went in. The experience of being victimized or raped within prison likely increases the incidents of rape of ; members of society when "hardened" j criminals are released from jail. According to The National AIDS \ Policy Director, Patricia S. Fleming, the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS within prison as a result of rape is a \ "critical issue." When ex-convicts who i have contracted AIDS as a result of be- I ing raped in prison are later released j back into society this then increases j the spread of HIV/AIDS into our com- j munities. i The treatment of incarcerated per- \ sons should be a matter of concern for j all members of society. By taking care \ of Utah prisons, The Utah Department i of Corrections is helping to care for j Utah communities. i The new degree program that just might save this newspaper A s July came to a close the state's all-Dowerful all-powerful Board of Regents approved two new four-year degrees for UVSCs upcoming academic year. One of those degrees deemed worthy was communication, and we the staff of The College Times would just like to say, "It's about damn time." Until now if you wanted a degree in communication from UVSC you either had to settle for an Associate's or find another emphasis and go the Integrated Studies route. As a result many of our best students transferred to Brigham Young or the University of Utah. We here in the newsroom were often the victims of this brain drain, as many of our best writers and producers went on to finish their degrees elsewhere or got jobs in the industry and never came back. Without a dedicated degree many of our reporters had to learn their craft as they went because specialized classes in the news writing process were not offered. Our broadcast crew has also suffered from a lack of training and equipment. Yet without a degree we have managed to win national awards for both print and broadcast excellence. Many of our team has gone on to work for media companies like KSL, Channel Four News, and The Daily Herald. Some have even started their own businesses. The newsroom has had the good fortune over the years of having earnest students who are willing to work hard, make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. And now, finally, they will have a degree to go along with their experience. The College Times would like to thank the Regents for approving this new program. We would also like to recognize Department of Communication chair Phil Gordon for making this possible. There were others, too many to mention, that saw this degree as a good thing and worked hard to make it happen. There were also those who fought against this program for whatever reason. You know who you are (and so do we). We hope that this new program will receive the respect it deserves and the help that it will surely need. Finally we would like to take this op- portunity to invite everyone, no matter what decree degree they might be interested in, to come visit the newsroom. Swing by SC220 and see if there isn't something for you to do here. There is hardly a job in this economy that doesn't require quality written and oral communication skills. We can give you a place to hone those skills. As technology accelerates the evolution of the news business we can see that many new opportunities are popping up each day. Sure we are always going to need reporters, photographers and editors, but the newsroom of today also needs web producers, graphic artists, camera operators, and bloggers. A four-year communication program is going to greatly enhance what we do here at The College Times. We are excited to see how this new reality will push us forward. And we are very pleased that those students who are serious about this industry can stick around and earn a degree right here. We here in the newsroom were often the victims of this brain drain, as many of our best writers and producers went on to finish their degrees elsewhere or got jobs in the industry and never came back. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly The Good: OutbackSteakhouse [•*•> Sure they grill a mean steak, but they |.;.:., also give back to the community. ftf Outback Steakhouse donated 100 h:' percent of their proceeds at a recent ;"; fundraiser to the Donner-Galbraith (.>;' ; Scholarship fund. A little ironic that p'»;! both students were commited veg\?$ ans...but who cares! The Bad: Rocky Anderson The always controversial SLC Mayor announced that he will not seek a third term. Too bad, Rocky always added much needed spice to Utah politics. The Ugly: Mel Gibson The Passion of The Christ director got arrested last weekend for drunk driving. And just to make sure he hit rock bottom he threw in some anti-semitic remarks. |