Attention students of NIU, take caution when reading the editorials of The Northern Star. For once again, the Star’s editorial board has shown its ignorance and stupidity.

Regarding the editorial “SCOPA by any other name…”, printed on Nov. 4, the board said “Contrary to the belief of Gary Stittgen (that’s me)… a name change is not ‘the only change left’ needed to resurrect the Student Committee on Political Action’s repectability and accountability.” They couldn’t be more wrong!

The only item left on the agenda regarding SCOPA was the name change. If the editorial board would read its own newspaper, it would realize that the “firm set of guidelines (regarding) the committee’s purpose and function” they called for in the editorial are already in place. They have been put in place over the last several weeks.

What does the board think reporters have been writing about, chopped liver? No, they have been writing about these newly implemented guidelines, some of which include senate approval of the committee chair and its members. These two guidelines alone have already made the committee accountable by the mere fact that it is now answerable to the senate.

Maybe, if the editorial board put away its petty grievances with the senate and stopped attacking senators personally (myself and Senator Joe Annunzio for example), then they could concentrate on the real problems of NIU such as a new board of regents and rising tuition.

On second thought, I doubt if they can.

Gary Stittgen

SA Senator