ysday, June 19, 2001
o PINION
Page 5
THE BATTALION
—Radio edit
rs
attens, Cats, &
Occasional
iers. Brazos k
fCC oversteps rights by fining radio station for playing Eminem
L '
ast week, the
Federal Commu-
kittens for ao:** nications Com-
shots. de-,v minion (FCC) fined
t's Cradle ; , ,, , .
k Colorado radio
oming a professj^don K.KLjVIG-I' 1 Ad
rown Acader, {7,000 for playing a
Bio-edited version of
edification p
ad in greatei
i Academy«
lining and
ie world.
:ounseling,
olacement i
ners.com
graduates
e industry.
ek old female
Enunem’s controver
sial song, “The Real Slim Shady.” The
FCC apparently has decided it has the
authority to tell people what they can lis
ten to on the radio. It does not have that
mthority — the FCC serves as a “watch-
” and regulates the use of profanity
53
pies
d masked
3.
spay 5s an the radio; however, it should not con
trol content. The FCC has stepped over
white gra, its bounds and the constitutional rights
Df American citizens. The First Amend-
akc, ment protects the freedom of speech.
Even with Supreme Court rulings on the
—Hiits of the free speech clause, censor-
ne black ra; .^fP> because of “objectionable lyrics,” is
not acceptable.
have our first piece of evidence
MATES that the new (FCC) Chairman Michael
Powell may consider anti-indecency
ills Rick2i6->!nrorcement as part of his mandate,”
said Harry Jessell, editor in chief of
ad.
4-bdmv
from cai
needed
The First Amendment
is supposed to protect
the citizens from this
type of censorship.
roadcasting & Cable. Yet, whose def-
/rno +utiiities frition of indecency is being used?
Not all people consider the lyrics in
——TtTminem’s songs to be offensive or in-
room in a 4-Dt.
) campus decent.
■‘We have a policy prohibiting the
ist monthTpIaying of indecent material,” said
2i4-9C:Bfenda Goodrich, general manager of
nergy.com ^ ra( ]j 0 station cited by the FCC. The
for new hoT penalization of radio stations has
move-in ASi>-3p Lnec ] the door for the continued
fesDC regulation of song material. With
3bdrm/2btiT;hat ability, the FCC can take away
S300 month, jintrers’ rights of free speech and listen-
30-8952. Jr • i i- u • i
;rs right to listen to the music they
ded, nonsVant to hear.
ifmove-in. tSI did not cite any specific
yrics that discuss “impermissible sexual
!ded 1 for . )r excretory functions,” as defined under
DO. +Utliltl6S, / • , I -r. 1
nfo call Josh83:he agency s indecency rules. But the
73.
FCC did say that the song has "unmis
takable offensive sexual references.”
Offensive to whom? Many people do
find Eminem and his rap style offensive,
but there is a minority who see noth
ing wrong with his songs. This rul
ing implies that those people
who enjoy his music do not
hqve the right to listen to
him on the radio.
Hundreds of radio sta
tions have played the same
version of this song since it
became popular in the spring
of 2000. This means that all of
those radio stations eventually
iould be fined by the FCC.
If a listener finds a song offen
sive, he can turn off the radio or
find another radio station. It is not
the job of the government to pro
tect the public from potentially of
fensive content. Eminem writes
about what he has lived and
what he knows. If people do
not like it, they should not
listen to it. T here is also a
startling amount of truth in
what he says for some
people. Others just like
the music.
It is not the FCC’s
right to intrude on
free speech. The First
Amendment is sup
posed to protect the
citizens from this type
of censorship. It is
“Big Brother” telling
the public what they
have to listen to, and
the public cannot let this
slide without a protest.
Whether one is a fan does
not matter.
This is not about a song —
it is about the rights of citizens
to have a choice in the music
they listen to on the radio. The
FCC already regulates profanity, but
it cannot be allowed to cross the line
and regulate content. Once that happens,
there will be no freedom of music and no
choice in what is on the air waves.
Brieanne Porter is a junior
political science major.
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
Ventura's stint as governor pitiful, as expected
VICES
sive Driving. l®|
lot!!
discount. M'
m-9pm), Fit
&Sat(10am-2»;
Inside BankofAift- j
$25/cash. Ltf
law - 111 ^*s elected gover
nor of Minnesota
in 1998, he said he
would not be the
w
mw W
hen
Jesse
Ventura
Show-up l
HT LOSS
NTED
• sell lawn buste ^ politician,
ire. Call J D. h Credit must be
given where it is due — Ventura is
lot an average politician. Where av
erage politicians have the intelligence
a/eight? and skill to hide the fact that they are
iht, an NaturaU se [f_ serV ri n nr frauds, Ventura is vocal
Call Mary W , • T u l l u
about it. In the process, he has shown
— his reform platform to be as fake as
the job that made him famous.
B The Minnesota Legislature and
Ventura are currently grappling with
I each other over a new budget. Nei-
njl ther has been able to put its foe in a
ZARTOON OF THE DAY
submission hold, so Ventura has de
cided to do what he did in the
WWF: Grab a microphone, and talk
trash about his opponent. Last week
on his radio show, Ventura claimed
that he would allow the state govern
ment to shut down. This would cause
the electricity to be shut off, undeliv
ered paychecks, unguarded jails —
total chaos.
It also is totally false.
But Ventura was not willing to let
something like the truth derail his
crusade for whatever it was he was
crusading for. When confronted by
the local media about his attempts to
create a public panic with a bunch of
lies, Ventura was indignant.
“Like, you’ve got room to talk,”
he said. “You people do this all the
time.”
The man almost would have a
point, if not for a small problem.
The comparison to what Ventura
said would be Dan Rather on the air
insisting that the wlbrld was made of
snow, and it was all President
George W. Bush’s fault. No reporter
would do that. It would be tanta
mount to putting a “kick me” sign
on one’s own back.
Maybe that is why Ventura is so
cranky, because people have been
kicking away at his expense. Unfortu
nately for “The Body,” the abuse is
warranted.
Since he has become Gov. Ventura,
he has done more than annoy us with
his radio show. He has written two
books, gone on national tours to pro
mote those books, given two inter
views to Playboy in which he insulted
everyone from God to Ghandi and
was a color commentator for Vince
McMahon’s Xtreme Football League.
His commentary went something
like this: “Wow, that was a great hit
by, you know, that guy whatshis-
name, No. 37. He just popped that
guy. It reminded me, you know, of
that hit I put on Hogan back in
Wrestlemania ...”
Some people run for public office
claiming they will restore honor
and dignity to the position if elect
ed. Ventura may as well claim that
he will take the position to Mardi
Gras on the constituent’s tab. He
certainly cannot expect to have any
one’s respect.
Ventura has always said he was dif
ferent, and he is completely correct.
When someone has the courage to
call him on the carpet, he blames
someone else. Other politicians have
done the same thing, but few have
done it out in the open with a big
smile on their face.
Ventura ran on a platform of re
form and has proven to be even worse
than what he claimed to be reform
ing. He found the lure of a quick
buck to be more enticing dian mak
ing history as someone who proved
politics does not have to corrupt
everyone involved in it.
Ventura wants to run for re-elec
tion next year. If he does, the people
of the state may as well hand over
their wallets. After all, why make
“The Body” sweat?
Mark Passwaters is a senior
electrical engineering major
N
News in Brief
ied custom^
customers
y to buy.
YELLOW
BATTALION
3.0569
TUv DRchRtftONAsf'C:
Criticism of emergency
certification is unfair
In response to ].J. Trevino's
June 7 8 column.
As a state certified and experi
enced teacher, but former emer
gency certified teacher, I am sad
to see J.J. Trevino write such a bi
ased article about teachers.
I lacked student teaching be
fore I entered a classroom, and
some other alternative and emer
gency certified teachers lacked
more. However, many of them
were 20-year, business profession
als eager to share their real world
knowledge with today's youth.
Yes, a handful of emergency and
alternatively certified teachers are
questionable. Find me a profession
devoid of undesirables. I under
stand that lack of certification caus
es alarm, but all of my certification
coursework taught me nothing
about teaching. I learned because I
wanted to be a good teacher.
Statistics will show that 70 per
cent of teachers leave teaching
within three years. No wonder we
have such a shortage.
Have you ever met a teacher hap
py with their pay, content with the
feedback from supervisors, ecstatic
about the curriculum changes,
thrilled about the parents' phone
calls they are going to receive blam
ing the teacherfor their child's failing
grade, energized by the overpopu
lated and undermanned school, mo
tivated at the technology in the class
room or eager to put in extra hours
on schooldays and weekends to
meet the requirements for paper
work, grades and student activities?
Before you criticize those indi
viduals eager to become teachers
despite all the danger and thankless
days, I suggest you go substitute
one week at a local high school. See
what kind of students we deal with,
and ask yourself again why there is
such a shortage. Maybe then you
will understand that there is no rea
son schools should not allow those
who want to teach to do so.
Aleisha Force
Battalion subscriber