2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Opinion
Pavan comments taken out of context, information inaccurate
I was recently quoted in the article "Pavan interview upsets NU volleyball coach" (Daily Nebraskan 2/25). While the quote from me is correct, it was taken out of context with the rest of what I said.
My other comments said that I feel bad for both Sarah and the rest of the team. I was not at all saying "who really cares about her." I talked about how Sarah could still have contributed to the team as they prepare for the 2008 season. I also commented how the team could help her as she prepares for her professional career in Italy. I was also told at the time of the interview that Sarah had been kicked off the team, and it turns out that is not correct. Not only is the article taking my quote out of context, but the interviewer misrepresented the facts to me.
Knowing my comment was taken out of context and misused, I fear the first article and the follow-up were examples of journalism at its worst. An agenda was developed, and quotes were used to support this agenda. The first article almost single-handedly did something no one else has been able to do and that is shut down Sarah Pavan. This article destroyed her relationship with her former teammates and coaches and made it basically impossible for her to go back in the gym with them. It has cast a shadow on her entire illustrious and extraordinary career. It has damaged team chemistry and potentially damaged future recruiting efforts. I know how badly my comment was misused, so I am convinced much of what Sarah said was also slanted and turned into something ugly by a reporter out for glory.
It's a sad thing that the university school of journalism would allow one reporter to so abuse power that so much has been destroyed. It is sad that so many were so quick to believe it. It is sad one unchecked reporter was making a reputation at the expense of a great program that brilliantly promotes the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Rich kern
UNL MATCH CLUB
Campus alcohol ban is inefficient, inconvenient, unfair
I understand that a UNL student spent the weekend in a hospital after falling from a third story window at his fraternity house, an incident which involved the consumption of alcohol. Incidents like this demonstrate the pointlessness of the university's on-campus alcohol ban.
The theory behind rules such as these is that if we as a society sacrifice one of our personal freedoms to a central authority, then that authority will work to ensure our safety from others who might otherwise abuse that particular freedom. It is clear from the beer cans and empty boxes of Keystone Light that one routinely sees littered about the lawns of certain fraternities on campus that the university is not making much of an attempt to enforce this rule.
It is also clear from this recent incident, which landed a student in the hospital, that the alcohol ban as it is currently enforced is not keeping students safe. I'm not suggesting the drunken fool did not deserve what happened to him, but as long as I am obeying the rules and not drinking on campus, I feel entitled to being kept safe from the stupid behavior of others. Drunks can endanger innocent people in addition to themselves - ask anyone who has had a relative killed by a drunk driver.
The dry campus policy is failing to keep us safe and succeeds only in limiting the personal freedom of a few responsible students, and that's an injustice. I demand that UNL either enforce its alcohol policy with more efficiency or abolish it all together.
IAN SPOHN
SOPHOMORE BIOLOGY MAJOR
I was recently quoted in the article "Pavan interview upsets NU volleyball coach" (Daily Nebraskan 2/25). While the quote from me is correct, it was taken out of context with the rest of what I said.
My other comments said that I feel bad for both Sarah and the rest of the team. I was not at all saying "who really cares about her." I talked about how Sarah could still have contributed to the team as they prepare for the 2008 season. I also commented how the team could help her as she prepares for her professional career in Italy. I was also told at the time of the interview that Sarah had been kicked off the team, and it turns out that is not correct. Not only is the article taking my quote out of context, but the interviewer misrepresented the facts to me.
Knowing my comment was taken out of context and misused, I fear the first article and the follow-up were examples of journalism at its worst. An agenda was developed, and quotes were used to support this agenda. The first article almost single-handedly did something no one else has been able to do and that is shut down Sarah Pavan. This article destroyed her relationship with her former teammates and coaches and made it basically impossible for her to go back in the gym with them. It has cast a shadow on her entire illustrious and extraordinary career. It has damaged team chemistry and potentially damaged future recruiting efforts. I know how badly my comment was misused, so I am convinced much of what Sarah said was also slanted and turned into something ugly by a reporter out for glory.
It's a sad thing that the university school of journalism would allow one reporter to so abuse power that so much has been destroyed. It is sad that so many were so quick to believe it. It is sad one unchecked reporter was making a reputation at the expense of a great program that brilliantly promotes the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Rich kern
UNL MATCH CLUB
Campus alcohol ban is inefficient, inconvenient, unfair
I understand that a UNL student spent the weekend in a hospital after falling from a third story window at his fraternity house, an incident which involved the consumption of alcohol. Incidents like this demonstrate the pointlessness of the university's on-campus alcohol ban.
The theory behind rules such as these is that if we as a society sacrifice one of our personal freedoms to a central authority, then that authority will work to ensure our safety from others who might otherwise abuse that particular freedom. It is clear from the beer cans and empty boxes of Keystone Light that one routinely sees littered about the lawns of certain fraternities on campus that the university is not making much of an attempt to enforce this rule.
It is also clear from this recent incident, which landed a student in the hospital, that the alcohol ban as it is currently enforced is not keeping students safe. I'm not suggesting the drunken fool did not deserve what happened to him, but as long as I am obeying the rules and not drinking on campus, I feel entitled to being kept safe from the stupid behavior of others. Drunks can endanger innocent people in addition to themselves - ask anyone who has had a relative killed by a drunk driver.
The dry campus policy is failing to keep us safe and succeeds only in limiting the personal freedom of a few responsible students, and that's an injustice. I demand that UNL either enforce its alcohol policy with more efficiency or abolish it all together.
IAN SPOHN
SOPHOMORE BIOLOGY MAJOR
Be the first to comment on this story