Newspapers / Gaston College Student Newspaper / Feb. 3, 1978, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE 2-GASUGHT-FEBRUAKY 3, 1978 / Pony VeO > Sivt yj 5o^j When the day comes that the news floating around Gaston College begins to fly in on the Gaslight tele-type machine, then we as reporters will no longer be needed. Time and time again during the month before the next issue is schedule to be printed, we, the staff have tried to the best of our ability to gather the news. It is not always easy trying to get news when a certain group of individuals tell you, “well, we just can’t let you know that just now,” or “when I find out, I will let you know.” Such is the case of the Gaston College Beauty pageant. For weeks the staff tried to find out enough material to put out a paper on the pageant but no cooperation was given at all in handing out any material. The problem was, the individuals in charge of the pageant did not know enough about the pageant themselves let alone give us any material for a paper. If the students of Gaston College wish for us to continue putting out a paper, then some one or some group is going to have to be willing to cooperate. We can not be expected to try and track down news and people at the last minute. My God, we have classes, we work, we try to put out a paper and we do not get any type of compensation at all for the job we do. If we continue to get the type of responses we have been getting then we are afraid that the Gaslight will have to be discontinued. Then let some other group put up with complaints and trying to put out a paper with no help at all. The staff would like to see the paper continue, so for our sake and the sake of the school; help us, after all, you pay for the paper out of your activity fee. Roger Lindsey Ron Green Wanda Warren Sarah Cantrell Tim Setzer Sandi Merkel Club News On January 3, refreshments were served during winter registration by the Gamma Beta Phi Society. Other projects planned for the year include a fund raising activity by its Fall Initiates. Please note—from now on Gamma Beta Phi will be sending out invitations for membership. The winter induction invitations will be going out within the next month. If you do not receive an invitation and would like to join and have 12 quarter hours completed and are in the top 20% of your class, please contact O.J. Davis in C-101. Marta Davis The Foreign Language Society of Gaston College held its monthly meeting on December 18, 1977, in the reserved dining room of the Myers Center. International food—French, Spanish, Mexican, Persion, and Arabian—was enjoyed by the thirty-five members and guests present along with the colorful Christmas decorations and French and Spanish Christmas Carols. On January 15. 1978, members of the Foreign Language Society heard the topic “Cuba—Then and Now” given by Mrs. Ylia Walsh, Head of the General Studies Program at Gaston College. Mrs. Walsh who was reared in Havana, Cuba, also showed many interesting slides of her native country. Sara Dixon The B.S.U. is sponsoring the Eastern N.C. District Choir in concern at Gaston College Myers Center Auditorium, Monday February 13, at 7 PM. Those of you that like gospel and spiritual singing at it’s best, don’t miss this event. Tickets are now in the hands of all B.S.U. members and advisors, Mr. James Rogers and Mrs. Mamie Stokes. A $1.00 donation, you can hear some of the most renowned singing, that will liven the spirit of your heart. Mr. James Rogers is conducting the play “Amen Corner,” try outs for the play will be during the last of January or during the first week of February, look for further publication. Rodney Montgomery Letters to the Editors TOO MUCH VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION? In recent months much as been reported, announced and written about violence on T.V. shows. Such groups as the American Medical Association, the Parent-Teacher Associa tion, the National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting and the Church of God have been campaigning to have “violent” and "offensive” shows removed from the air. Before we all join the bandwagon against violent shows, there are several important questions that have to be asked. What violence are we, as citizens and/or parents, opposed to? There is emotional violence, physical violence and sensational violence. Do we want to eliminate violence completely from the T.V. screen? Is television to paint a bland or false picture of the American scene? The Church of God congregation of Cleveland, Tennessee wants to remove from the T.V. screen such shows as “Baretta,” "Kojak,” “Charlie’s Angles,” “M.A.S.H.,” etc. In their place this religious group wants more programs such as “Little House on the Prairie,” “Waltons,” and “Grizzly Adams.” We are about to enter the 21st century. Since the end of the 19th century, the U.S. has been an urban-industrialized society with different values. Is television to portray an American society grounded on rural-conservative values or offer a balanced plctore? Another question to be raised is, who will decide which programs are violent or inoffensive or immoral or degrading? Should such organizations as the AMA and PTA, which are pressure groups representing the minority not the majority of Americans, make the decision for us? David Gerber, executive producer of NBC’s “Police Woman” was quoted in the Charlotte Observer’s October 17th issue; “A chilling thing has happened...The pressure groups are taking the viewing decisions away from the public. Away from the parents. They’re making great inroads and it could be detrimental to the entire country.” No pressure group is the self-appointed guardian of the public’s air waves. Let the public decide for itself, not pressure groups, which programs are to be seen on the tube. Before the American public reacts to the emotional cry of “too much violence on the T.V. screen,” we must investigate such an allegation. During the 1977 Summer Quarter my American History (His. 202) class conducted a pilot study to determine if there was too much violence on the tube. We limited our study to the question of physical violence and to the time period from 7-11 P.M. Physical violence was defined as any physical harm done to an individual as a result of beatings, shootings, knifings, rapes, etc. We went through the T.V. guide and identified those programs as violent which had at least one act of violence committed. We then randomly selected several shows to view and to determine the amount of violence they exhibited. The NOW,HAaay>^ you Know hovvj VIOUENCC ScPiae^ THR CAT' " class concluded that the 7-11 P.M. viewing time could be broken down into two time segments. The 7-9 P.M. segment is the family viewing time. During the week only Tuesday and Saturday nights had four or more programs that were identified as violent. The other five nights had only two or three violent programs between the hours of 7 and 9 P.M. Considering the number of channels, including cable T.V. and public broadcasting stations, the class concluded that there was not much violence during the family viewing time. In addition the class decided that T.V. should portray the real American scene; therefore, some violence had to be presented. In concentrating on the 9-11 P.M. time segment, the class concluded that there was too much violence and it was in the form of sensationalism. The reason for these conclusions is that the major networks, during the 9-11 segment, show many movies. A good proportion of them show violence sensationa lized. Good examples are “The Godfather” and “Dirty Harry.” The class, which consisted of all adults (21 yrs. of age and over) did not believe that this type of movie should be removed from the T.V. screen. They felt that as adults they had the right to watch anything they desired but that parents should supervise the T.V. habits of their children. In fairness to television, all the programs should be viewed before the accusation “too much violence on T.V.” is made. A recent study conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors concluded that police shows portray violence in an antiseptic manner with littie “blood and guts.” John Gunther, executive director of the conference said, “Television characters usually die quickly or out of camera range.” Dr. WUllam T. Manikas 1 Pageant Features Special Entertainmeiit
Gaston College Student Newspaper
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Feb. 3, 1978, edition 1
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