Editorial: Fanciful is the best attribute of survey

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2000 | 9:41 a.m.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., is dismayed about the questions being asked by a UNLV economics professor, who is conducting an opinion poll on public attitudes regarding possible storage of nuclear waste in Nevada. Those polled have been asked if, in light of the perceived health risks, they would leave the state if the federal government paid them a relocation fee or whether they would stay in Nevada if they received a tax rebate.

No one has suggested such outlandish benefits, however, which has prompted Bryan's apprehension. Academic freedom -- including unconventional thinking -- is a hallmark of higher education, but a survey posing questions beyond the realm of possibility is whimsical, at best.

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