Not for debate
Public has right to choose interests

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, William Kennard, scolded executives at FOX and NBC on Tuesday for not showing all four of the presidential and vice presidential debates.

FOX showed the premiere of its drama, “Dark Angel,” in place of Tuesday night’s debate between Vice President Al Gore and Gov. George W. Bush. NBC gave its local stations the option of showing the debate or the first playoff game between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.

“In the future, the networks should remember that the public interest is far more important than their financial interest,” he wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times.

Kennard argues that FOX executive Rupert Murdoch has forgotten about the public interest and is solely concerned with the $130,000 his station will receive for each 30-second advertisement during the airing of “Dark Angel.” However, it may be Kennard who has forgotten about the public interest.

Although the public should be most interested in the presidential debate, it is certainly not out the question that some people are interested in the baseball playoffs or even “Dark Angel.”

Neither the FCC nor the major broadcast executives have the right to mandate a single topic of interest for the public. Instead, each individual has the right to choose his or her own interests.

The debate was shown on ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN FOX News Channel and MSNBC. Even if FOX and all of NBC’s stations had shown the debate, it probably wouldn’t have turned people away from magazines, movies or other forms of entertainment.

In the end, the only topic which is in every member of the public’s interest is the right to choose their own interest.

Tribune Media Services

Let’s get something out in the open right away: I am proud of being a white, Catholic, upper-middle class female.

Chances are, you wonder why I am telling you this, and I can answer that openly as well. Admitting pride can be a difficult thing, especially when race and social status come into play.

Once, I was watching a TV program called the Circus of Soul; it was a black circus. I don’t just mean that there were no other races in attendance — I mean that it openly proclaimed itself as an all-black troupe in celebration of ethnic pride.

Upon seeing this, I began to consider what would happen if the tables were turned; what would happen if there were an all-white circus and everyone there proclaimed white pride?

Honestly, I think those people would be accused of racism. Most likely they would be identified with the Ku Klux Klan and labeled as white supremacists, simply because they are proud of their race.

This realization upset me. When did majoritarian pride suddenly equate with sovereignty?

Just because I was born to a majority does not mean I should be stripped of my ability to express pride, and just because people of my race committed racial crimes in the past does not mean I should be punished on account of my “whiteness.”

In a country where there is a Black History Month and a Hispanic Heritage Month, why does no White Pride Day exist? Why must it be negatively construed?

One might argue against me, saying that days set aside for Irish or German pride should qualify as recognition for the majority. I disagree, because I am not Irish or German or any other foreign nationality. My family may have come from those places, but I am nothing other than American and should be able to celebrate that without being accused of racism. I should not be forced to merely praise what my ancestors were.

In truth, reverse discrimination is, to some degree, at hand.

Another fact I must point out: I believe that the time for affirmative action has passed. When it was begun, the program had its place in combating old ways in order to help achieve equality.

Now, however, it limits so many things for people outside its boundaries.

The purpose of equality is to hold equal ground, not to push the majority under the minority.

I remember hunting for scholarships during my junior year in high school and finding no scholarship that fit my description. No scholarship existed for someone of my race and social standing. There is no Scholarship for the Education of Whites.

There is no White Entertainment Television. There is no White Pride Day. It is as if having an expression of pride or support is too taboo. It is just unheard of.

Where is the equality in that?

I am a white, Catholic, upper-middle class female. I am an American. I am proud of who I am, where I come from and where I am going. I am not a white supremacist, and my ancestors did not enslave anyone’s people. I have my hardships and triumphs just as people of every other race and socio-economic standing do.

I believe in equality and the restoration of my right to proclaim that.

Miranda Nesler is a freshman English major from Houston.
She can be reached at (m.g.nesler@student.tcu.edu).

I don’t think I will ever be able to muster enough courage to get on a plane again.

No, I have never had a fear of flying before, and I really don’t have any anxiety about crashing. I’m not afraid of terrorists and I don’t have any other kind of phobia related to heights, planes or even stereotyped foreigners for that matter. However, I am absolutely terrified of the average passenger on an airplane, even the nice old lady that sits next to you and tells you why you would be a perfect match for one of her grandchildren.

After hearing about an incident on a Southwest Airlines flight, in which Jonathan Burton, 19, was killed by other passengers on the plane, I have developed a newfound paranoia about flying.

It all started when Burton got up from his seat during the flight and began pacing back and forth in a state of hysteria and commanding everyone else to sit down. He calmed down and returned to his seat, but he again returned to the aisle as the plane began to descend. Burton then dashed for the cockpit and grabbed at the pilots before he was forced back into the cabin. Several passengers held Burton down before he again lost it, broke free and struck an off-duty police officer in the face. This caused blood to splatter in the cabin and a general frenzy among the passengers ensued.

At this point, the flight took a turn into the bizarre and tragic. It took eight men to wrestle the 6-foot, 190-pound Burton to the floor. Passenger Dean Harvey said a burly man jumped repeatedly on Burton’s chest, apparently to ensure he was fully subdued. Harvey says he told the man, who he said jumped twice more before finally stopping, “You’ve got the guy subdued, what more do you want?”

When the plane landed, Burton was unconscious. He died later at the hospital.

“He was essentially beaten from the top of his head down to his ankles,” says Kent Spence, his mother’s attorney. “He died of positional and compressional asphyxia.”

The reason for Burton’s outburst was inconclusive, but he had a fear of flying and both marijuana and cocaine were detected in his system at the time of the incident.

Now, there are two aspects of this occurrence that truly horrify me. First of all, if I ever step foot on a plane again, I will be scared that some deranged and drugged mental case will go nuts and knock out the pilots. Yes, even the nice old lady with the grandchildren could be hyped up on enough amphetamines to single-handedly take a plane down. You just never know what people could be on these days. Or maybe some kid could take a few extra puffs off his asthmatic inhaler and go nuts and force a crash landing.

Even more frightening is the thought of someone being crushed to death for loosing control. With my new fear of flying I could potentially have a breakdown on a flight, and instead of being calmed down, someone comes up with the ingenious idea of repeatedly jumping on my chest. Even that deceitful nice old lady could be the one to pummel me to death while I’m being restrained.

Just knowing any one of those other travelers scurrying about could be waiting for just the right opportunity to kill someone for the slightest hint of odd behavior would be too much for me to handle.

Although I’m sure by now you are too terrified to ever fly again, if you do feel some strange compulsion to ignore my advice and get on a plane, at least be sure to keep an eye on that weird old lady sitting next to you.

Jordan Blum is a sophomore broadcast journalism major from New Orleans, La.
He can be reached at (j.d.blum@student.tcu.edu).

TCU provides atmosphere where religious expression is welcomed

Last week I saw something very special happen here at TCU. This was the week I recognized that it was possible to be a Jew at Texas Christian University, show pride in your identity and still be welcomed with open arms. This wasn’t just a result of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel speaking to a crowd of thousands at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. There were many things that day that represented the efforts made at this institution to be open and inclusive toward other ethnicities.

As director of the Regional Hillel of North Texas, an international organization for Jewish students, I am devoted to getting Jewish students at several area universities involved on campus. It is here at TCU that I have found the community support to be among the strongest.

Diane Cooper at the Brite Divinity School was gracious enough to provide tickets for Jewish students at the other universities to hear Wiesel. This made it possible for almost 50 Hillel participants from Dallas, Arlington and Denton to benefit from hearing Wiesel. I can’t emphasize enough the significance of bringing these students to campus for the annual Gates of Chai lecture.

Equally deserving of our gratitude, and another reason Hillel feels so at home on campus, is Brian Young and the Wesley Foundation of TCU. They opened their doors (and kitchen) to us, providing the facilities to prepare and serve dinner for all those students.

Perhaps the most telling example of religious inclusiveness happened that morning. I had the opportunity to visit Robert Carr Chapel and participate in a traditional Mincha service led by Rabbi Zeilicovich. This was one of the most phenomenal moments that I have been a part of in my time with Hillel. It was at this service that I truly recognized TCU as a place where people of varied religions and cultures can feel comfortable expressing their ethnicity.

Thank you all for making Hillel feel so included here on campus.

— Joel Schwitzer,
director of Regional Hillel of North Texas