Journalists risking their, lives

Her interpreter was murdered, but her driver escaped. •

MELISSASTEVEN

PERSPECTIVES EDITOR MS727@CABRINI.EDU

The war in Iraq has affected so many lives in the United States and has caused so much controversy in this society and around the world. Now we can add the story of Jill Carroll to our list of affected people.

Carroll is a freelance journalist who went over to Iraq on assignment for the Christian Science Monitor. On Jan. 7, while in Baghdad, Carroll, her Iraqi interpreter and car driver were stopped in their car and Carroll was abducted.

Since then the public has yet to find out Carroll's fate. Her captors made one announcement saying that they will kill her if the United States does not release all Iraqi women prisoners. They gave the United States a 72-hour deadline to meet, which it has not, and we still do not know whether or not she is alive.

Carroll is one of 3l journalists who has been abducted since the beginning of the war. As a woman and a reporter, I feel so much sympathy for Carroll. She has been over in Iraq since 2003 to help us understand that not everyone in Iraq hates America. She was respecting the Iraqis and wanted to share their story with the world.

Her family, the Christian Science Monitor, Iraqi and Muslim leaders have all made pleas to free Carroll, saying that they have kidnapped the wrong person.

The Iraq Justice Ministry released five women detainees on Jan. 26, but deny that is connected with Carroll's kidnapping because they do not negotiate with kidnappers.

That scares me that the United States will not negotiate with kidnappers or terrorists. I'm not saying to give them what they want, but it is the fact that your own country would not try to save you.

The one instance that sticks in my mind was the journalist, Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2002 while doing work in Pakistan. It's just frightening how these journalists go over there knowing that they tnight get kidnapped and murdered for being an American basically. They go over there to do good work and to tell the other side of the story but put their lives at risk to do it. What makes a great journalist is having that passion for your job, but knowing that the United States won't negotiate with kidnappers does not sit well with me.

I feel that this war has cost the United States some amazing journalists. Since the beginning of the war, 61 journalists have been killed. We have these people who are willing to risk life and limb to do their job, which they do not have to do, to tell the full story of what is going on in Iraq. I just wish that the United States would care more about them and try to rescue them, especially Carroll.

As a journalist for a college newspaper and who has thought about making this my career once or twice, I know that I would never go into a war zone. That's probably why I have decided not to be a journalist when I graduate because I just do not have that passion the way these journalists do.

For the sake of all journalists and Carroll's family, I pray that she gets released unharmed and will be able to tell her story to the rest of us once again.

Antics for a recovering TV-aholic: MTV equals no music

NIKKI SABELLA ASST. SPORTS EDITOR NS722@CABRJNI.EDU

MTV. Most used to think MTV stood for Music Television. Now, I just honestly believe is should stand for Most Terrible Vision. I know that's really lame, but I couldn't think of any words that started with a V. I truthfully can say that I do not remember the last time I saw music on MTV. Let me begin with when it all started. I don't know much about the history of MTV except for the fact that the first music video to be played was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggies and that Dire Straits helped get MTV's image out by having the words "I want my MTV" in their '80s hit song "Money for Nothing." This seemed to be a protnising beginning for a teen-targeted, musically-inspired station. The music video opened the aperture of music to a visual creativeness, while at the same time helped audiences pair an artist with a face.

I think that whoever has the profession of creating and directing a music video is a very lucky person. On the other hand, is this job vanishing? MTV does not seem to share the feelings of passion for the artistic qualities in a music video as they have in the past. What boggles my mind is the fact that dating shows are overshadowing the music altogether.

Shows like "Next," "My Own," "Room Raiders" and "Date My Mom" are so outrageously staged that it is amusing to watch the awful acting. Do these people believe that they will find their soul mates by the way that they dust their rooms or by their impersonation of Dave Grohl? I think not.

Homeiswheretheheartis

returning to my humble abode in the Bronx.

ANNMARJECHACKO ASST. NEWS EDITOR Ac729@CABRJNI.EDU

The first word that ran through my head like wildfire on the eve of leaving Cabrini for Christmas break was no. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to go back to the crime-infested streets of The Bronx, N.Y. I didn't want to return to the restricted life I lead whenever I am home; the 6 p.m. curfew, the limited jail-like phone calls with "appropriate" friends, the constant looking-over-the-shoulder walks to the library and ~f course, the worst thing of all about coming home, the endless talk about how I should be spending my time and money.

As you can _probably tell, I was not at all excited about

The neighborhood I had grown up in was getting more dangerous as the days went by. The kids were acting as if they owned the place, always getting into trouble with the local cops and business owners. The parents rolled their eyes and kept moving on to their destination of the day.

The MTA, our form of public transportation, and its workers were fighting over pensions and salaries. When they couldn't agree on anything, the union members went on strike, causing New York City to completely shut down. People couldn't get to work, kids to school, tourists to the Empire State Building.

I turned on the news to find a story about a little girl who was abused and murdered by her own parents. In my"rnind,I wanted to scream and get back to the safe haven that is Cabrini College.

However, after hiding in my room for the first two weeks of break, I decided I had to face the outside world at some point if I was going to regain my sanity. Just as I got out of bed, my friend called to invite me to go to a club and to bring some friends. I did ,and we all met up the following night. It was at this moment that my vacation took a drastic turn for the better.

My parents removed the curfew and became suspiciously lenient. I came home at 6 a.m. and was welcomed with smiles

VHl and MTV2 were solely made for more music yes, I did say MORE. There seems to be a trend in here, people! Yet again, VHI, which used to contain shows compact with tons of music now is loaded with shows! Ridiculous shows nonetheless. "The Surreal Life" does not give me access to my favorite songs. The same tragedy happened with MTV2. Now shows like "Team Sanchez" and "Video Mods" are infesting precious music spots.

All in all, I do not go to any of these stations to get my daily fill of new music. I only watch these channels if I am in the mood to waste time watching pathetic people make fools of themselves. The only true way and curious questions as to what went on in the club. After the initial shock wore off, I started going out more and more.

My fears went away, and I started to appreciate the good things about my neighborhood that I had forgotten. I looked around and for the first time since I arrived, I smiled. I had freedom, the kind of freedom I thought I would only be able to have while at school. But now, everything was going my way. I had reunited with my friends, I had the best parents in the world to get the same quality music video exposure as MTV once had is to either get digital cable or stay up till all hours of the night. Yes, believe it or not, in the way-up-there 300-something channels of digital cable there are versions of MTV that actually play music, although you still have to pay for it. The other solution is to wait until about 3 a.m. and turn on MTV. Here you can catch the music videos that they should be playing .µl day long. I recommend getting your dosage of music while it lasts before they turn into obnoxious ''Love Connection" wannabes. and I was able to go into the city almost every day.

I always thought that when I got to college that I would have crazy experiences, an unlimited amount of freedom and great friends. But what I hadn't realized was that everything I wanted was right at home.

By the end of break, the same thought that I had prior to leaving Cabrini came back. No! I didn't want to go back. I wanted to stay home.