Drummer … punctured. Daily … whacked. ethos … slashed.

It was the Night of the Long Knives for campus publications at the GSB meeting Wednesday night.

I missed the Daily’s execution, but I was witness to the votes for the Drummer and ethos.

It wasn’t pretty.

First, there was the senator who had read one issue of The Drummer and who dismissed it as “of even lower quality than the Daily.”

Or should I say the prize-winning, nationally recognized Daily?

This senator, it transpires, is an architecture major who has been on campus for “about a semester.”

If one may quote Proverbs (XVII), “Even a fool, when he holdeth his tongue, is counted wise.”

Second were the group of senators who insisted that ethos — another award-winning publication — was squandering money because it used color on the cover (and even inside). I can only surmise that these gentle folks still watch MTV in black and white.

Finally, and most disconcerting, was the behavior of a group of senators during the ethos discussion. They amused themselves by talking with one another while ethos staff members were presenting a petition and trying to explain the impact of the proposed 15 percent ($14,000) cut.

From this single slice of GSB in action, I offer this small suggestion:

Walk taller.

If you do, you will see more, hear more and learn more. You will even earn respect for your efforts.

J. Thomas Emmerson

Professor

Journalism & Mass

Communication