OPINION & EDITORIAL
ABC NEWS or: How We Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Nuclear Reactor
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
- A security fee-for-all (December 11, 2007)
- Farewell, Chancellor (December 10, 2007)
- $$FC (December 6, 2007)
- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Sloppy reporting promotes hatred (January 28, 2005)
- U.S. has no right to regulate nukes (February 7, 2007)
- Weapons of mass destruction forgotten; Israel ignored (September 1, 2004)
- Justification for Iraq in North Korea (April 28, 2003)
- Bush's diplomacy admirable (February 15, 2007)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Leave it to ABC News to make a mountain out of a molehill. Or a nuclear reactor, for that matter.
The news organization's report on the University of Wisconsin's nuclear facility — as well as those of several other schools — appears to be little more than a hyperbolic abuse of scare-tactic journalism by those looking to spoon with Nielsen households. While UW is admonished by the network news operation for lackadaisical security, the report fails to demonstrate so much as a single concrete vulnerability to Madison's water-submerged uranium.
Still, the reality is that a moderately-sized hunk of nuclear material is sitting at the heart of the UW campus — in the neighborhood of a stadium that seats some 80,000 people and a short walk from the Capitol. ABC News's revelation that security for the site is lacking — an observation highlighted by an apparent lack of guards, magnetometers and daytime locks — is disturbing, even if one is left to ponder just how much harm could be done without raising more red flags than a New Year's celebration in Tiananmen Square. For one, we are led to believe that saboteurs may be ultimately deterred by the toxic nature of the water standing between them and the coveted uranium — not to mention the many other inherent security measures seemingly conquerable by only Daniel Ocean.
Yet, with Wisconsin receiving far more Homeland Security-earmarked funding than could be possibly applied to the mass-protection of dairy cows, we are left to contemplate if this site wouldn't be an optimal place for some preventative spending. Surely Milwaukee's skyline can benefit from a piece of such federal pork — as can Lambeau Field, given its tremendously symbolic nature and heavy capacity — but we also feel that a slab of uranium beneath a major university in a mid-sized city should not go unnoticed. Heavier security can never hurt and so long as Congress stubbornly insists upon dispersing Homeland Security money based on state size — not likely vulnerability to an attack — Wisconsin ought to at least put its funds to good use. Greater physical barriers as well as an entourage of armed guards not battling insomnia would seem wise.
And, for the mean time, we would strongly recommend that professors cease giving attractive tote-bag-bearing graduate students free tours of the reactor without appropriate background checks.
Anonymous (October 17, 2005 @ 1:46am):
whine, whine, whine. the herald has never been a gracious loser.
Anonymous (October 17, 2005 @ 11:50am):
Have you ever noticed that whenever anyone makes a decision that the BH editorial board disagrees with, they reflexively call the decision idiotic?
Anonymous (October 17, 2005 @ 12:40pm):
I love it...shakin' things up!
Anonymous (October 18, 2005 @ 7:03am):
What does this editorial have to do with the reactor?
Anonymous (October 18, 2005 @ 8:41am):
Like an ignorant child? Wow. I assume all those students who voted for the ref are also ignorant children?
Anonymous (October 18, 2005 @ 1:35pm):
Even though the link to this story is incorrect, I read the print version, so my comments are in fact about the Reactor story.
During my 4.5 years on this campus I've seen some fairly shody reporting by both of this university's student papers. I've seen reporters like the Herald's Benjamin Robinson (from 3-4 years ago) become more and more scarce. At this point I rarely even bother to pick up a student paper, but I did today - lucky me.
The editorial response to ABC News' report on the UW nuclear reactor starts out admirably. Berating ABC for employing "hyperbolic ... scare-tactic journalism". However, after two short paragraphs the editorial team choses to reverse directions and cuddle up to ABC's message in a less (?) "hyperbolic ... scare-tactic" way.
The editors actually advocate the placement of armed guards in a campus building and "recommend that professors cease giving ... graduate students ... tours"!? I understand that W. & Co. have brain-washed a good percentage of the population of this country (something like 51%), but I've been (foolishly?) believing that remains a hold-out of intellectuals residing in Madison that feel that freedom (absence of armed guards) and education (tours of reactor) are worth a little risk.
Brandon Clark
UW Senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering
