The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, October 21, 1980-Page 7

Grad finds reporter's life tough

By ANN MARIE FAZIO
If you are ever in Nicaragua and
happen to hear a band of guerrillas
singing the Michigan fight song, you
can blame Beth Nissen.
As a reporter covering the 1979
revolution in Nicaragua, Nissen was
travelling with a group of Sandanista
guerrillas when they asked her to teach
them some American revolution war
songs. Since she didn't know any, she
instead taught them "Hail to the Vic-
tors" which, she said, they gustily
belted out each time they loaded their
rusted howitzers.
NOW A NEWSWEEK bureau chief in
charge of Mexico, Central America,
and the Carribbean, Nissen, a 26-year-
old University graduate, said the life of
a foreign correspondent is lonely,
tiring, and exhausting, but she said the
excitement of being in a developing
country makes it all worthwhile.
Reporting in the U.S. is uninspiring
because "you can have a crisis. .as
serious as Watergate, and the system is
so established that the system takes

care of it," said Nissen, who was in
town recently visiting her parents.
Nissen's first reporting opportunity
in Central America arose while she was

THE REPORTER, who also worked
on The Bergen Record and travelled in
England before joining Newsweek, said
being a young woman has been both a

'I am more interested in what goes on (in
CentralA merica) than Iam afraid of it.
-Beth Nissen,
Newsweek bureau chief

very hard for qualified women jour-
nalists. They still have too few, and
they know it," she said.
"It has not, however, helped me keep
every job, nor has it helped me at all do
well in it," she said, adding that her
sources sometimes refuse to take heir
seriously as a reporter because she is-a
young woman.
Nissen, who has had what might be
called a meteoric rise in her field, said
her best advice to aspiring journalisist
is simply to keep writing. "You can't
study to be a writer-all you can do:is
write."
"Self-confidence is just the ability.o
be more interested than afraid. And2
am more interested in what goes on (i
Central America) than I am afraid:of
it," she said.

working for The Wall Street Journal.
With the Nicaraguan revolution
breaking, the Journal editors, who were
reluctant to send a woman to the em-
battled area, gave Nissen the nod
because she was their only available
reporter, she said.
Thrust in the middle of the San-
danista-Somoza conflict, Nissen was
faced with guerilla war conditions of
constant danger, bad communication,
and language barriers, "It was
terrible-I loved it," she said.

boon and a bane to her career.
"Being female has helped me get
every job I ever got, and I know that,"
she said. "Shortly after graduation I
had been contacted by The Wall Street
Journal, which at that point was looking

m


Daily Photo by JOHN HAGEN
UNIVERSITY GRADUATE Beth Nissen, now Newsweek bureau chief in
Mexico, was in Ann Arbor recently. She discussed her job as a reporter in
Central America.
'U says Tisch wil

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imperil edt
(Continued from Page 1)
would still fall short by $621 million,
Brazer said.
Higher education, natural resources,
agriculture, commerce, transportation,
and labor portions of the budget would
lose all funding, according to the
analysis.
Also yesterday, a University official
delivered $7,800 in faculty and staff con-
tributions to the Lansing-based
Citizens/Save Our State, an anti-Tisch
group.
MORE THAN $8,000 in funds to sup-
port anti-Tisch efforts had been
received by the University by yester-
day afternoon, University Vice-
President for State Relations Richard
Kennedy reported.
But, Kennedy added, "we have no
way of actually knowing how much
people are sending directly (to the anti-
Tisch group). There's also no way we'll
be able to tell how many alumni mail in
contributions."
Tisch supporters and some Univer-
sity faculty members have questioned
* the propriety of the University using
state revenues to promote an anti-Tisch
vote.
Tisch asked Secretary of State
Richard Austin last Friday to file a suit
against Wayne State University for
alleged misuse of public funds.
Tisch wants a report that spells out
"the amount of money spent in public
employee staff time, public facilities,
postage, printing, state-owned vehicles,
office equipment, travel, and other ex-
*penses which have already been and
Students
try out
* for theatre
careers
(Continued from Page 1)
actors. Now, it's so expensive to
produce shows, they only take
people who can dance, act, and
sing."
"In programs at other colleges
and universities, the weakest link is
to provide training in American
musical theatre," Patterson said.
"In our program we have prac-
titioners of jazz. We have voice
faculty members who have ex-
perience in American musical
theatre, and we have a strong dance
department with a strong modern
dance background-the main
ingredient in American musical
theatre."
The musical theatre students
spoke highly of their instructors,
who they said were very en-
couraging and helpful. All of the
students agreed, however, that the
greatest responsibility for the
program's success rests with them-
selves.
"It's all up to you," said musical
theatre student Patrice MacGriff.
"You must have the dedication, you
must put in the effort."
Patterson said that no performan-
ces stemming from the new
program are scheduled for this
term, but performances will
probably begin during the winter
term, or during the next academic
year.
Patterson also said entertainment

industry professionals interested in
the program who have offered their
assistane tn the music sehnol in-

acation
are continuing to be illegally diverted to
the campaign opposing the Tisch tax
cut," according to Tisch spokesman
Bill McMaster.
Tisch aides would not comment on
any plans to file a similar suit against
the University of Michigan.

Beginning October 13, 1980
The LSA Internship Program
Will Be Accepting Applications
for Summer and Fall Internships, 1981
October 13-Applications available in 460 Lorch Hall
November 3-Final deadline for applying
APPLICATIONS and INFORMATION available in 460 LORCH HALL

P SPGHETI N/GM
Tonight order a spaghetti
dinner including a garden
salad & garlic bread & get
another for 14.

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