"NorthStar" paper still afloat at UMM, it seems

(image from Facebook)

I had the pleasure of attending the Chamber Music concert at UMM on Tuesday, March 4. It goes without saying the music was terrific (but I'll say it anyway). I especially liked the jazz portion. UMM has a drummer that reminds me of Tony Inzalaco when he played with the Maynard Ferguson Sextet in the 1960s.

After the concert, as I am wont to do, I strolled over to the Student Center. I was curious, for one thing, about whether there was still a "NorthStar" libertarian publication put out by UMM students. It has been wild and controversial this year. I personally wish it would just get shut down, because I consider it to be mostly unserious.

There is a lot of what I would call "absurdist journalism," written by people who come across as at least being faux scholarly. They don't use their intelligence for constructive ends. They're "pulling our chain," in my view.

In the main hallway I spotted a newspaper display stand that had the usual University Register on top. The Register is a quite fine student publication. On the bottom is where you'd find the oddball "NorthStar." I saw a stack there but they were old issues. Very puzzling.

Then I stepped into the computer-study lounge which is normally open to students only, so I risked being picked off by a sniper or something. I saw several copies of what appeared to be the current NorthStar, stamped "February" on the front. I assume this issue has not been inserted with the Morris Sun Tribune as was the case last fall, but I don't buy the Morris paper. There was a ruckus last fall.

The back page mocks UMM on its "renewable and sustainable" commitment. The editors would call this "satire" but so what? There must have been some serious attempt to mock. Where else would this assertion spring from? At the top of the page is written: "No wonder this campus has such a strange stench."

Can't campus publications at least be civil?

What's really offensive is a two-page spread that appears to extol the greatness of Benito Mussolini. Mussolini is likened to UMM faculty member PZ Myers. The headline is: "Mussolini: over-rated or under-rated?" What the heck does that mean? It's basically gibberish which, if it were online, we could easily dismiss.

If it were online I could dismiss it as your typical Internet garbage. But it's in a publication that to an extent has UMM's imprimatur on it. It's beyond comprehension. Then again, I have never existed on the same wavelength as the University of Minnesota-Morris. I just have to shrug.

Thank goodness we have UMM Music as a place where we can retreat from the political garbage.

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com