can cure writer’s block

Writing a column—like almost everything else in the world—has its good and bad points.

One of the good points is that you get the chance to write just about anything you want. That’s especially nice when something happens to really get you riled.

But nine times out of ten you sit at a terminal and stare at an empty screen after paging through magazines, newspapers and press releases trying to find a subject to write about.

This is one of those times.

And I have decided to give everyone a dose of America’s three favorite subjects: sex, politics and religion.

SEX

I received a press release this week that is probably one of the worst written releases I have ever seen in my years here at the Star.

It didn’t surprise me though.

It was from Frank Trebusak’s company, which puts out the DeKalb Nite Weekly and the Coed Calendar.

Yes, for those of you not already aware of it, the Coed Calendar is back—featuring bad photgraphs of nude and semi-nude women from universities and colleges across the state.

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to fork over almost eight bucks for the thing, but apparently people (men) do. Otherwise, Trebusak would have gone out of business years ago.

Trebusak not only lacks a good photographer, he also lacks good judgment. OTTO’S—that place where everyone yells “get l— get f—–” during the song ‘Mone Mone’—has been running an ad in Trebusak’s tabloid which publicizes that “women get mugged” on Wednesday’s.

In a community battling sexual assaults on and off campus, such a play on words not only insults women—it’s irresponsible.

POLITICS

In last week’s column I made the mistake of refering to the SA’s respectability.

Well, the SA really blew away that notion when they had their weekly meeting at J.P. Hannigan’s and decided to drink before, during and probably even after their meeting.

There’s no reason that can justify this.

The SA allocates student fees. And even though the average NIU student spends a sizeable portion of his funds on alcohol, I don’t think the students on this campus want senators deciding how their fees are spent while the senators are drinking.

It doen’t matter if the senators were drunk or not.

Their actions this week reflect very poorly not only on themselves but on the university as a whole. At a time when the SA and administration are trying to get the state legislators to give us money we say we need desperately, the students of this university can ill afford to have its representatives appear to take their responsibilities so lightly.

The SA owes the students an apology and a pledge that this will never happen again.

ELIGION

Jerry Falwell stepped down as the head of the Moral Majority this week, saying he wants to go back to “preaching and saving souls.”

This move seems a little strange.

When Falwell started the Moral Majority, he and his constituents wanted to make religious conservatives a powerful force to be reckoned with—not that they weren’t already—in the political workings of this country. And now that Rev. Pat Robertson is running for president on the Republican ticket, you’d think that Falwell and his people would put their full support behind one of their own.

Some analysts are claiming Falwell’s people are doing just that, and as a result Falwell’s ministry is losing revenue and that’s why he’s gone back to preaching. If this is true, all I can say is it’s pretty pathetic that a man who wants to save is motivated by money.

But we all know that isn’t true. God told Falwell to step down.