Des Moines Register
07-01-06
Olympics section goof sends paper running
An Iowa State Daily publication for visitors to the event will be reprinted without
the headline 'Ames for Dummies.'
LISA ROSSI
REGISTER AMES BUREAU
The campus newspaper for Iowa State University students will distribute 1,500
corrected versions of its Special Olympics special section next week without the
headline "Ames for Dummies'' on the second page of the section.
The 14-page, full-color publication focusing on the Special Olympics will be
reprinted with a new headline, said Mark Witherspoon, the paper's editorial
adviser.
Witherspoon said copies of the section distributed with the Iowa State Daily
newspaper on campus were being removed.
The Special Olympics in Ames will be the first national event for the competition
that features people with intellectual disabilities.
Advocates for the disabled have said a major goal of the event, which begins
Sunday, is to dispel stereotypes and improve treatment for people with
intellectual disabilities.
The reprint will cost between $800 and $1,000, Witherspoon said.
"The students need to know how much this will cost," he said. "Some mistakes
are costlier than others."
Iowa State Daily Editor in Chief Chris Sigmund said the headline, published
Thursday, was "something that slipped by. It was a reference to the popular book
series and in no way meant to demean anybody.
"It is something that is well-known and not derogatory to members of our
generation," he said. "We're not trying in any way to be insensitive or to hurt
anyone's feelings - to show that we don't recognize everything that goes into this
with the volunteers and the athletes."
The person who wrote the headline will not be disciplined, Sigmund said.
Elaine Hieber, chairwoman of the 2006 Special Olympics USA National Games,
said she believes the newspaper made an "innocent mistake in a headline."
"They took immediate action to correct it," she said. "I appreciate the student
newspaper's quick and appropriate reaction to the error."
Campus was quiet Friday afternoon, and several students said they hadn't
noticed the headline but found it in poor taste.
"It's a silly mistake, but they should have been thinking about it," said Sheila
Onzere, a sociology graduate student.
The ISU Government of the Student Body gives the Iowa State Daily an annual
appropriation of about $90,000, which is taken from student fees, said Stephanie
Fox, the university controller.
The newspaper's annual budget is $1.6 million; $1.4 million comes from
advertising, Witherspoon said.