The Opelika-Auburn News from Opelika, Alabama • 4

A4 Wednesday May 26 1999 Opelika Auburn News Opinion Perry Ballard Editorial page editor Opelika Auburn News ftTHE NEWSPAPER EAST ALABAMA Editorial Board Perry Ballard Interim Managing Editor Greg Markley Assistant City Editor H'1 AM Lawsuit surprise AU fans The soap opera continues We shouldn't have been too surprised Monday when Auburn found itself back in the spotlight thanks to a lawsuit filed by former assistant football coach Bill "Brother" Oliver against Trustee Bobby Lowder Athletic Director David Housel and Auburn University Rare is the occasion when more than a few weeks pass before there is big news out of the university's football program Sadly very little of the news has been very good lately The latest saga smacks of high stakes back room dealings family in fighting and allega tions of fraud and deceit At least that's how the story is portrayed in Oliver's lawsuit Although a lot of the charges make for compelling reading the case at this point boils down to a large extent to a he said they said scenario Like some of the other high profile news stories Auburn has found itself involved in lately the truth is wrapped up in unsubstantiated charges Getting at the truth may be next to impossible The one intriguing aspect of this case is that it could and could is the key word wind up in a court of law one day If that ever does happen expect the trial of the year with conspiracy theorists lining up to hear what the parties have to say under oath It's a more likely bet however that the case will never make it to trial Auburn has the resources to drag out this case for a long long time but would it really be in the university's best interests to do so? It depends on how vigorously Auburn chooses to defend itself against Oliver's accusations Regardless of what happens it's difficult to say Auburn will come out a winner Even before the Oliver lawsuit the school's reputa tion had taken some big hits This lawsuit only adds to the national perception that Auburn is controlled by an all powerful trustee directing a football program which teeters out of control every so often There are a lot of Auburn fans who would like to stop this insanity Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be an end in sight Wynnsong sent wrong message Shame on You Wynnsong Theater! I think it is safe to say that 100 perct nt of the AtiburnOpelika population are elated to have a new state of the art cinema plex opening in the area or film buffs such as myself it's a dream come true Auburn is finally on the map! Yeah! And yet as I opened my A News Wednesday morning and examined the front page picture of the Star I Vars fans camped out and anxiously waiting for tickets I thought to myself "How sadly ironic 95 percent of the people in the picture never got in" 1 was there: row sev en number 14 in line When I opened the paper this morning (Thursday May 20) and read the comments of Randy Boleman Southern Division Manager for Carmike Cinemas who said "we never promised that we would have a cer tain number of tickets available" I became incensed and felt com pelled to write my first editorial I grew up with Star Wars In fact I have been to the premier showings of Star Wars Empire and Return of the Jedi We're talking a 22 year history here! Camping in line for the premier of Phantom Menace was not an option we are a Star Wars family Heck my 27 year old brother in law even drove out from Atlanta for the event! We're seri ous fans My 15 year old son was in line at 3:30 pm after school and I joined him at 5:15 pm I camped in line through lightening and constant rain soaking wet and cold until just before 9 pm I was 14th in line a shoo in! It was an ordeal to be sure but a worthwhile cause we're talking 16 years since Jedi And my son had to see his first premier Tradition! At that point to our elation the first group of people (mostly college students with some high school students) were led to the ticket office myself included amid cheers and high fives from the crowd It was sw'eet At 9 pm the ticket booths opened as promised amid much fanfare It was exciting and my heart was pound ing After approximately two to three people in each line had purchased tickets a theater official walked out of the doors and announced "the mid night showing is sold out" Dumb founded bewil dering looks all around What? This can't be true! You must be joking! Please explain! No response was given As I found out later the Wynnsong Theater had allowed the (I use that term loosely) at the 7 pm VIP party to buy 10 tickets each before the 9 pm ticket sale Yes Mr Boleman before 9 pm the time clearly advertised in the A News Please take a look at your own ad This pre sale was completely unan nounced to the poor folks in line at the back of the building who had stood in the rain for the last 5 plus hours 1 was there Do you actually believe that hundreds of people would camp out all day if they were told that no tickets would be available Give me a break! To add insult to injury as I found out later many of the VIP's purchasing tick ets simply scalped the tickets to others as they left the theater How sad Why does this all bother me so? Truly it is about more than just Star Wars To my mind there was a matter of principle here which was clearly violated A matter of fairness A matter of fairness to impressionable young peo ple That angers me Did Wynnsong have the legal right to sell their tickets to whomever they wanted at whatever time they wanted? Absolutely I'm a professor at Auburn and a youth minister to high school students I work with young people and interact with them on a daily basis In this instance they played strictly by the rules They were exceedingly well behaved I commend the college student volunteers who organized and over saw the ticket waiting lines They did a great job! And yet the young people (and us old Star Wars geeks) who played by the rules who endured the pain and waited in line through thick and thin were in the end tak en advantage of I can think of less sanitized words! What kind of mes sage does this send to our young I was one of the lucky ones I and my 10 ninth grade charges did get into the 2:30 am show ing In fairness the the ater did after a 30 minute deliberation decide to show a 2:30 am screen ing but to my mind the injury was already done and to pretend that this made things "all is to miss the point I came home to the sunrise Many of those in line with me weren't able to get into the 2:30 showing The movie was great! However I am left with a bitter feeling of the mes sage that was sent to the youth of Auburn that playing by the rules gets you nowhere Shame on you Wynnsong theater! John Cressler Auburn ans should have been warned I would like to voice my extreme displeasure at the callous manner in which Carmike Cinemas treated the hundreds of Star Wars fans Tuesday who lined up to see The Phantom Menace Being the most anticipated movie of all time you would expect Carmike to go out of their way to accommodate the legions of loyal fans who would undoubtedly show up especially on the day of the grand opening of a new theater Instead they showed nothing but con tempt for the very people they should seek to endear to them die hard movie lovers irst no one was allowed to line up for tickets in advance People were not even allowed on the property until after the VIP Grand Opening gala was over later in the evening When approached about allowing a line to be formed across the street at the Colonial Mall they refused even though the mall had approved the use of their parking lot and property It finally took police intervention to obtain per mission for a line to be formed behind the theater on a public street which the police graciously blocked off for us Second after waiting in line for over 13 hours through sunburns and thunderstorms we were escorted up to the ticket windows in eight single file lines prepared to buy our tickets Imagine the outcry that arose howev er when the very first people in line were informed the midnight showing they had waited all day for was sold out! Sold How is such a thing even possible? It turns out Carmike allowed the hundreds of VIPs to not only watch any movie they wanted to earlier in the evening for free but to also purchase hundreds of tickets to Star Wars in advance of the fans who hail given a day's worth of time and energy Thus only a very few people in about half of the eight lines obtained any tickets at all They did open a later showing at 2:30 am but that quickly sold out and hundreds of fans were left hanging with either no tickets or the option of staying up until 5:00 am to see the movie I cannot believe how horrendously Carmike han dled both the opening of the theater and the pre miere of The Phantom Menace Could they not have at least warned the hundreds of fans waiting in line that tickets were going to be first offered to VIPs? Could they not have scheduled the VIP celebration for another day? After months of anticipation of both the movie and the theater days of planning and assurances and double checks as to movie specifics it was shocking to see how little Carmike cared for those they should want to please first and foremost movie fans Kent McCorkle Background checks a good idea Last week I scolded Republicans for displaying a lack of intelli gence for leading the effort to make it easier to purchase firearms without back ground checks I said that their use of old habits and customs would not work on today's gun con trol problem I asked who would emerge with new ideas to deal with the problems fac ing America today Could it be I louse Speaker Dennis Hastert? Speaker Hastert finally entered the debate on gun control by suggesting the age of legal handgun possession be raised from 18 to 21 and that background checks be required on all sales at gun shows These state ments would be expected from a Democrat but for a Republican to disagree with the National Rifle Association and risk being accused of hampering business is truly a break with old habits and customs In the wake of the latest school shooting in Conyers Ga the Republican Senate broke new ground by approving a juvenile crime bill and a gun control amendment They voted 51 50 in favor of an amendment that would require background checks on all gun buyers at gun shows and pawn shops as Speaker Hastert suggested (Vice President Gore cast the decid ing vote) Hastert is reportedly planning to open hearings in the House of Representatives on a juve nile justice bill and possibly gun control amendments next week Juvenile crime bills are gaining momentum across America In Birmingham civic leader Kamatt Larry Sankey Jwb Afrika proposed a parental responsi bility measure to the Birmingham City Council's Public Safety Committee The law would hold parents accountable for their minor children's actions The proposal based on a model from Silverton Ore would allow parents to be fined up to $1000 for failing to supervise a minor (Parents who attend parenting classes would not be required to pay) Efforts like these represent new ideas concern ing parental responsibility I know that punishing parents for their minor children's actions may seem extreme to some But considering the extreme behavior of some teens this may be a necessary option to force parents to be responsible moms and dads In last column I suggested that a high profile leader might not emerge to lead America out of her current crisis I stated that maybe we will all have to do our part Speaker Hastert and Kamayu Afrika are trying to do their part by com ing up with new ways of handling problems We will have to wait on Congress and the Birmingham City Council to see if they are success ful Last week I identified two of my favorite philosophers American Pragmatist James and Dewey The philosopher I didn't like as a col lege student in 1969 was Englishman Thomas Hobbes (1588 1679) Hobbes believed that men are selfish and motivated by their desire for power and fear or oth ers Therefore without a powerful sovereign to rule them live would be nasty brutish and short" In 1999 Hobbes ideas don't seem so bad What a difference 30 years can make Larry Sankey writes a weekly col umn for the Opelika Auburn News Switch to Mayberry USA to cleanse your computer Tf at first you don't suc I ceed try and try again" Lor that's how I remember the old exhortation My last sub mission to the Opelika Auburn News was rejected because it con tained some words and abbrevia tions the editor deemed inappropriate for inclusion in a newspaper" The rejected submission dealt with a music" rendition a copy of the lyrics to which had been obtained over the Internet and was being circulated among some 11 and 12 year old female students at a school in Lee County The stu dents' teacher had confiscated the copy and knowing of my con cern about the pervasiveness of pornography and violence in our society gave it to me The teacher said "Bob I believe ignorance may be one of the reasons for our problem It could be that many adults are unaware of how readily available trash like this is and how vulgar it really is" I agree with the teacher and I also believe that many of those who are unaware have their heads in the sand they realize there is a problem but they are reluctant to confront it head on They just wish it would just go away of its own accord or that someone else would deal with it the old George do mentality That w'ould be an easy way out if there were enough around There are not and the few we do have are overwhelmed and badly need reinforcement Anyway in the piece I submit ted I tried to sanitize the word ing as best I could without resorting to a pap and pablum commentary that would have little or no impact I will tty again adding a bit more white wash and hope it is acceptable to the editor this time around The who rendered Bob the rap song were Tt ick Daddy Dollars Taterhead and Mount Trona The name of the song is unacceptable for printing because it contains a corruption of one of the no no words The song is all about sex dope violence and threats of violence It's about 516 words in length 63 of which collectively are unprintables One word a slang version of which is repeated 18 times is considered by many nowadays to be the most offensive and politically incorrect word in the English lan guage In short I find it difficult to believe that the lyricist ho wrote this musical masterpiece could be outdone by any other in terms of the number of objection able words he or she crammed into it One of my colleagues ho is younger and more worldly wise than I said you can hear stuff as bad as this on I have viewed MTV only once about 20 years ago It was bad then and I can only assume gotten worse The ACLU and other irst Amendment rights extremists con tend that we can turn off our TVs and install filters on our computers to protect our children from the filth and garbage gener ated andor transmitted by pornographers violence advocates and hate groups Yeah and let's monitor our children's activities 24 hours each day and screen all the music they listen to That's nonsense On the other hand parents can take advantage of a service designed to keep objectionable material from entering their homes via the Internet It is pro vided by Mayberry USA is a fil tering Internet server that continually monitors World Wide Web material and eliminates pornography drug advocacy pedophilia and hate group propa ganda before it reaches our PCs PC owners are relieved of the task of constantly updating any end use screening device they may have installed in an attempt to make their PCs safe for their children to use The service is available to PC users in the Opelika Auburn local calling are and costs $2195 per month which is about average for Internet service providers The company claims its filtering sys tems is 99 percent effective and includes a unique feature that allows the user to notify the serv er immediately of an objection able page or site that slipped through the filter Mayberry USA is the brainchild of Richie Martin of Metairi La who became upset with the unconstrained access that web page originators have to the Internet Martin said he once found a web page containing detailed instructions on how to cook a human carcass Persons interested in Mayberry USA's ser vice may receive additional infor mation by calling 800 383 5854 Bob Mount writes a weekly col umn for the Opelika Auburn News Vi 4.