<<

' FLASH B A C • • • COLLEGE ; IIAMBIENCE" •- MEN • WOMEN • EXTRACURRICULUM • - • - CMC ~ Ih~ school on • all-American boys • • conservative college ... e rink of • with long hair; • • CMC men are aggressive, social consciousness -• future corporate men • • everyone hangs around • SCRIPPS : a lot of hard, demanding • NONE • social hurricane • Tuesday afternoon teas stud)'!ng; not as much • • sexually becalmed : give way to navy shirts • time for thinking •. • daughters of doctors : and Levis . and alumnae - HMC ~ study, study, study • few HMC'ers can can hardly survive • computer programming brainpower is • transcend the stereo~e • substituting for • of butterin~ their ro s social growth • with theirs 'de-rules POMONA pot and Plato/ • sun-tanned revolutionary : miss grind • Pomona men rarely sometimes can do • who cuts his hair • • date Pomona women . without the other • before he visits home • Frat parties at the four colleges • • mountain cabin are funnier • • • • than fun. t.g.'s • • • • PIT.lER a philoso~hy of freedom (now I ask you what swing freedom : bare feet to class. tliat can e more theory kind of a guy would fighter and freedom : Mead Hall parties are than practice if you apply to a sChool where is open-ended : a blast don't push hard enough hedbe • open faculty meetings outnumbered 8-1?) are blastier

CGS ; confused about its role Stanford education maJor SDS meetings : with the undernaduate reject who adhors ldds bull sessions : schools -would 'ke to : be protector and teacher, : b~t usually ends up being : disgusted IA glimpse of the Pitzer cotologue, dated 1967, the first year Pitzer became co-ed. Written by Pitzer students. The•...... •...... •.•••.••...... ••••.. Other•••...... •...... ••••...•...... ••...... Side...... FEBRUARY 26, 1991 VoWME xvn, ISSUE 2

4 EDITOR'S DESK • DAVID GLICKMAN • Where Does The Administration Fit? 5 REFLECTlONS FROM OUR READERS • Controversy Surrounds "Send In - The Clowns" Article From 2/12/91 Issue. 6 IDEA, PROCESS, RESULT • DAVID GLICKMAN & JENNIFER HOFFMAN • Report On The Evolution Of Pitzer's Newest Facility. 8 OUR ENVIRONMENT • KRISTIN KAsPER • OK - You Know You Should Turn Out The Lights - So Just Do It! 9 RECYCUNG REBIRTH • JuuET HENDERSON • The Latest Plan In Improving Pitzer's Recycling Program.

10 BREAKING THE BARRIERS • ToM MILLS • Pitzer People Are Not All As Liberal As You Think.

11 INTERVIEW: TAYLOR GILBERT • TIM AHEARN • One Guy Who Voices His Beliefs. 12 RETRACING BUSH'S STEPS TO THE WAR • JAYSON SPRING • An Investigation Of When The War Really Started.

14 BUGS BUNNY ON BROADWAY • Bill fOREMAN • A Forty Carrot Music Review.

15 SPORTS SHORTS • DAVID STOlBER •Sugar Ray Leonard, Basketball Action and An Introduction to America's Pastime For '91. 16 KNOW AND lEU • BRETT SPEER AND SARA SHEPPERD • Some Hip Trivia --- And Cool Facts ... Stuff We Bet You Never Knew

IN RECOGNIT ION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH 18 ROBERT JOHNSON & THE BLUES • NTONGHA MAs! LELA • A Tribute To One Of The Founders Of The Blues 20 A NEW RENAISSANCE • JASON SINGER •The State Of Black Art, Literature, And Criticism. 22 GREY • Bill I

23 TAKING SIDES • CHRIS DAVIS • Mastering The Evasion Of Reality. 24 THE VAULT IN ROOM FOUR • PAUl Au • 1st Place Poe Contest Winner. 28 THE FLEXIBLE VOICE • AMIE GREENBERG • Overcoming Homophobia. 29 THE FLEXIBLE VOICE • EMILY GLASSMAN • Feelings About The War. Cover photo by When finished reading Pauline Yao THE OTHER SIDE, please recycle

The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 3 FROM Where Does The The Other Side T H E Administration Fit At EDITOR'S ~ EJitor David Glickman from our readers DESK Pitzer? ~ Extcutivt EJitors Jennifer Hoffman aving engaged in numerous non-academic endeavors at this institution - Sara Shepperd am a member of the Pomona-Pitzer Jason Singer men's basketball program. Although I namely, participation in student government, various standing, ad-hoc, and '90 Graduate No Clowns do not play on the junior varsity (the ~ Strtior Editor I H other committees, and this newsmagazine - I have noticed a consistent subject of Mr. Starbin and Mr. Stewart's Kristin Kasper pattern in regards to Pitzer's policy toward the role of the administration. In short, Around recent article), I nonetheless feel it is my Speaks Out the administration is not included in the official decision making bodies of the col­ responsibility to present an alternative, ~ Productio" Ma"~" s a statistidan for the men's varsi­ perhaps more educated, viewpoint. n response to the Uuliet's) article on lege; most notably, College Council, Faculty Executive Committee, and the Presi­ Brett Speer ty and J.V. basketball teams for As a varsity player, I assure you that I the Yurt, I would like to make a clari­ dential Search Committee. Before certain members of this community scoff at my fication: we DID intend to leave the ~ Pbolo!Jrapby Editor A three years, I can only assume am not •required• to go watch the JVs I ugliest structure possible as a cruel joke observations, hear me out. Pauline Yao that John Stewart and Andrew Starbin play. I choose to do so because it is I have had countless conversations with several administrators who express ani­ were in the middle of some sort of iden­ good basketball played by a great bunch on the underclassmen when we left. ~ Opmio"s &Iitor mosity toward the college for lack of administrative representation. In essence, they tity crisis when they penned ·send in of guys. Personally, I would be hard­ Chris Davis pressed to name a more gifted point Christopher Fey have no official vote for the majority of policy matters at the college. But, in many the Clowns: lt's unfortunate that you ·decided to get off your asses and at­ guard than Leonard Plick, or a post Pitzer'90 cases, these are the people who must enforce the policies and laws passed by Col­ ~ RtvittDS Editor Jenny Spitz tend.. : two of the only three losses that player with a finer shooting touch than lege Council, FEC, etc. the JV has recorded this season. If you Paul Hewitt. Several other members of Case in point: The Presidential Search Committee. Obviously, the President ~ Sports Editor had any wish whatsoever to write any­ the JV are also quite talented, with David Stoiber works closely with the Board of Trustees, faculty, and students. Thus, these con­ thing near a well-informed article, you bright futures at the varsity level. To­ Spitz Thanks should have done a little research and gether, they have combined to become stituents are represented on the Search Committee. However, even more apparent ~ Ad!Jtrtisi~ ~tt DougChun found (SURPRISEu) that this team is 15- an exciting group who has climbed to in my mind, is the close relationship the President must establish with the adminis­ 3. Perhaps I should explain. This means, first place in its league. Readers for tration to further enhance the success of the college. Logically, one would conclude ~ Copy Editor John and Andrew, that the team has I do not wish to attack the authors on that an administrator would also sit on the Search Committee. I guess logic doesn't Gretchen Sigler WON 15 games while losing only 3. a personal level. My sole purpose in Support prevail in aJI situations. Perhaps changing the makeup of the Search Committee That happens to be a winning percent­ writing this letter is to allow people to ~ Wriltrs age of 83%. hear the truth from someone who has would like to thank everyone for the from five Board of Trustees, three faculty, and one student to five Board of Trustees, Tim Ahearn How can you two, who by your own attended 14 or 15 games, not 3 or 4. Af­ wonderful support I've gotten since two faculty, one administrator, and one student would accurately represent the con­ Bill Foreman admission were •two students previously ter seeing all these games, practicing writing my editorial on sexual harass­ Amie I stituents directly involved with the President's role. Greenberg unaware of our college sports teams ..: against them all year, and comparing ment. When I subm•tted it I never Juliet Henderson Historical case in point: Looking back at the 1968 Student Handbook, I was in­ even remotely feel qualified to write an them to other players I have watched thought I would get the kind of re­ Bill Kramer article on any part of the Pomona-Pitzer throughout my 13 years of basketball terested to discover the existence of a Community Council, on which the adminis­ sponse that I began receiving from both Katie Marble sports scene? What hypocrisy you two experience, it is my conclusion that our letters and people tclling me positive tration was formally represented. In addition, the administration had representation Thomas Mill exemplify in your references to your junior varsity team should be placed far things in person. Those responses really on the, then, newly formed six committees, "established to oversee the various areas Andrew Starbin claim to Pomona-Pitzer's lack of spirit above the ignorance of those who have helped me get through a difficult time. of concern to the community." While I am obviously a relative new comer to the John Stewart for their athletics! I'm sure your article attacked them. Again, thank you, Ken Weisbart Pitzer organizational structure, l question why this representation has ceased to ex­ shows GREAT •spirit: Malicious, igno­ Sincerely, Jenny Spitz Travis Wright rant, self-serving spirit.As for your help­ Brian Christiansen ist in our current system. Reviews Editor ~ Pbofo!Jrapbtr ful hints, thank you, I'm sure our team Pitzer '93 My main goal in writing this editorial is to encourage community discussions John Kim could really use your •expert advice,· es­ concerning this issue. As our college enters a new era of leadership, it is an appro­ pecially when you take note of the fol­ 01lT task was simply to IDritt aboSLt 0111 spt­ ~ Artist priate time to evaluate the role of our administrators. I encourage administrators, lowing facts. The JV team out scores its dfic txpttimet, a"-11 "ot to attadt tbt playm mt CORRECTION Christopher Michno opponents by approximately 18 points students, and faculty to engage in debate, both written and verbal. 11K Otbtr SiJt a pmmtallnJtL Wt JtSt.d orm-txagdtratio" a"-11 per game and out-rebounds them by 15 barsb sarCAsm based mt obsnvatio", "ot ·,gPW­ looks forward to publishing your editorials. ~ FaCility Advisor In O.ther Side Poll ap­ ...••.•.•.••.•.••.•..••.....•••••.••.••••...... Jackie Levering Sullivan a game, and, oh, they are also managing rai!Ct," to promote our opi"io"s. Wt wtlc0111e ne a few distance shots: they average about your critids111 of owr critidsm, altbougb tfJtry­ pearing jn tne 2/1 2/91 t is with regret that I must inform the reader that Seth Leibsohn wiJI no longer 6 3-pointers per game. ont bas a Jiffamt mtcrprttaticm of wbat ccmsti­ regularly submit his column, "The Right Side." In the future, Seth will be submit­ tlltts tbt ·uutb." issue· the percentage of I I'm sure Coach wishes he'd had your AIIJrtlD Star bin ting articles and editorials on a periodical basis. advice earlier to •make winning a possi­ 1o1m Sttwart "thbse with family in the In addition, would like to acknowledge the journalistic excellence Tbt Other Sidt bility: Gosh, HOW DID the JV team 1 of Harmo11y: A Multi01ltural PllbliCJJtiofl by StuJtflts of Tbt ClartmOI'It Colltgts. With each is­ manage to win SCIAC championships Gulf' who were ,lfunde­ sue, this publication continues to maintain a critical voice essential to any college these past two years and be 15-3 this cidedu shoud have read community. We wish you continued success. year? Andrew? John? ' Antoinette Picon 19%, instead of 30%:.. , ~~C:-~.~~ Pomona '92 4 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 5 The Evolmiion of Our Yurt

WHat£ DID THE IDEA OF A YURT GENERATE? would be surrounded by a sea of mud. There would be a party The actual concept for the yurt was originally proposed by for three days then it would be wrecked." Professor Lourdes Arguelles at a faculty retreat during the According to David Mauer, Director of Maintenance, seri­ spring of last year. Having had past experience with yurts - ous consideration had been given to the placement of the including a month in Oregon in which Arguelles lived in one yurt. It was chosen to be constructed in the academic quad for - she felt the yurt was a good solution for Pitzer. The relative several reasons. First, since a purpose of the yurt is understood low cost, portability, and environmental soundness of a yurt as an alternative classroom, it would be appropriate to put it were all positive factors, according to Arguelles. 1 guess 1 am amidst the other academic buildings as convenience is crucial responsible for bringing up the idea of the yurt .... It seems to for students and farulty. Second, the location would hopefully me to follow the philosophical concerns of the school.... I make the academic quad more attractive for ~anging out• and think there is tremendous use value [for the yurt).• socializing. Third, a cement path would not have to be laid According to AI Bloom, Dean of Faculty, the decision to down for handicap access1bility because one already exists in pursue the yurt "reflect[ed] the college's excitement about ex­ this location. lastly, there was discussion to place the yun in ploring other cultures• in addition to the realization that there front of Scott Hall, but this idea was rejected rather quickly. was •a dire need for more classroom space: With these factors Eventually, the yurt's permanent home will be in the East in mind, Bloom reflects that there was an •immediate acclaim Mesa. The yurt was built in a specific way so that it would be from the farulty• involved in the retreat. portable. In fact, Pitzer paid an additional ten percent over Since the senior class gift did not specifically cite the idea the price of the deck to insure its transportability and the of a yurt, the farulty determined that the -raculty Exeartive deck was constructed with screws rather than nails to faolitate BY DAVID GLICKMAN AND jENNIFER HOFFMAN Commjttee [FEC] had the right to interpret the wish of the disassembling the yurt. senior class ...with regard to whether it [the yurt] would be an appropriate use of the gift; Bloom remembered. WHo PAID FoR THE YuRn t seems to be a virtual impossibility to go through could cause problems in the future, Devor and Bar­ At the beginning of last semester, FEC approved the forma­ The class of 1990 donated approximately $3000 for an "out­ a day on campus without someone striking. up dis­ bara Jefferson, Development Officer/Alumni Fund, tion of the yurt committee, which was to be responsible for door classroom.· The Board ofTrustees then had to allocate a Icussion on the yurt, Pitzer's newest facility. As informaUy agreed to take responsibility for oversee­ researching the cost, placement, and construction of the yurt. budget that would cover all expenses toward their interpreta­ last issue's (2112191) editorial by Juliet Henderson, ing the formulation of the project. tion of this outdoor classroom which culminated with the idea as well as the recent vandalism, illustrate, there has In a memo dated August 16, 1990 President THE YuRT AND STI.IDE.NT I.JFE CoMMITTI:ES of the yurt. According to Vick.e Sdk, the amount decided up­ been much discontent surrounding the yurt. Fre­ Ellsworth informed Devor of the plans to build a The inception of the committee occurred at the beginning on was roughly $10,000, which did not include the $3000 quent informal debates have surfaced in which stu­ yurt ·as soon as possible on the East Mesa: This of the semester. According to a Dean of Farulty memo dated, from the class gift, and was taken from the operating surplus dents, faculty, and staff have contemplated the es­ was the first occasion Devor and Jefferson had heard October 16, 1990, the members of the committee are as fol­ budget. thetic merits, usefulness, and placement of the yurt. of any plans for the senior's gift. Initially, Devor ex­ lows: Professors Lourdes Arguelles, Alan Jones, and John Rod­ This budget is typically reserved for various projects around However, one aspect of this controversy, which pressed enthusiasm about the project. "It felt good manj Administrator Chris Freeberg (who later resigned); Stu­ campus, like the future renovation of the pit and the develop­ has been ambiguous until now, revolves around the that something was being done right away; com­ dents Jennifer Ader, Gail Horwitz, and John Sax. ment of the East Mesa, according to Vicke Sdk, Pitzer's Trea­ actual decision-making processes entertained in the mented Devor. According to President Ellsworth, the Yurt Committee was surer and Vice President of Administrative Services. development of the yurt. Who's idea was the yurt] According to Devor and Jefferson, they felt they charged with forming several recommendations concerning The yurt itself, including the options (extra doors,wind­ Who gave final approval~ Why has the structure were left out of communications concerning the de­ the yurt's design and placement. From there, the committee's proofing, etc.) was $8560. However to install the deck was an cost nearly twenty thousand dollars? Were the stu­ velopment of the yurt. The women stressed that recommendations were forwarded to FEC. Upon receiving ap­ additional $9000 which is more than the initial cost of the dents consulted in the decision making process? An they were not blaming anyone individually as they proval of the final proposal, the yurt committee began the yurt. -we could have just poured cement to make a ramp, ·ex­ investigative team of The Other Side set out to an­ •didn't know who was in charge of the project_- Jef­ construction process. plained Mauer. "It would have been cheaper but it wouldn't swer these and other questions. Our findings com­ ferson believed •there was a gap in communication The Student ufe Committee, a newly formed body which have looked very good. The style of the deck now compli­ prise this report. [from] the end of the semester [to] the very end of membership includes Board of Trustee members and students, ments the yun: late summer." also discussed the plans for the yurt. Realizing the positive as­ The committee was looking for ways to keep the cost of the IN THE BEGINNING In retrospect, Devor and Jefferson are upset be­ pects of the structure, this committee was influential in per­ yurt down. Freeberg stated ·my goal was to have an outside The concept for an alternative classroom fa61ity cause they feel they let down the senior class com­ suading the Board of Trustees to allocate additional funds to contractor do it [the deck], not the physical plant. In general I originated in discussions involving the senior class mittee. On the other hand, due to the lack of com­ the project. think if you can nail them down, they can do it cheaper and committee of 1990. Traditionally, every graduating munication between those involved with the yurt quicker and we were just worried about the time frame, be­ senior class raises money in order to leave a gift be­ and Devor and Jefferson, the women were also frus­ THE PuCEMENT OF THE YURT cause based on past experience physical plant has not been trated with the breakdown of the communication the quickest ..: hind for the Pitzer community. AccQrd.ing to min­ Aside from what to actually purchase with the money do­ system. -rhere needs to be a system so that no one • As with so many things, it could have been done smoother utes from a senior class committee in February 1990, nated by the class of 1990, one of the first problems was feels disenfranchised; summarized Jefferson. and maybe cheaper but I've never seen that be an integral part one idea for a gift was an "outdoor classroom, per­ where to put Pitzels newest acqu1sition. Originally it was de­ David Straus, a member of the senior committee, of our proces.s,• states Freeberg. As a rule of thumb, continued haps incorporated into the new development [of cided by the members of the yurt committee to put it on the had similar sentiments to those of Devor and Jeffer­ Freeberg, 1 take it as a given that things at Pitzer are going to college fadlities]." As the year came to an end, the East Mesa. It was agreed that the environment seemed to son. •Jt was stipulated that at least three students be messy and that's okay." committee finalized the decision to allocate their compliment the philosophy behind the yurt. Yet with nothing from the senior committee were to be contacted by As of February 15, 1991 , the cost of the yurt has reached gift money towards an •outdoor classroom: else up there, the committee felt it best to find a temporary the development office with details of the plan [for $19,289.84 (this figure does not include the $637.50 billed to However, as Melissa Devor, Director of Alumni space for the yurt. the money]. But the development office didn't even Harvey Mudd College for the recent vandalism). However, Programs, pointed out, •they [the committee] never Chris Freeberg, a member of the yurt committee comment­ know a decision had been made: portions of this figure were not foreseeable .... really formulated the concept of what it [the out­ ed, •it seemed cra:z.y to put it up there [on the East Mesa]; door classroom] would be: Realizing this ambiguity there are no lights, no security, no sidewalk, no nothing. It See YURT, page 27 6 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 7 Our Environment ------

CoNSERVATION Is THE Buzz WoRD ToDAY Consavc in times of war, after all, some say we're going into a re:cess1on. Conserve wata, we're going into our fifth year of drought ll~ (~ Y (~ I~ I And now it's conserve rncrgy again. Something so simple many people forget about it. What Goes Around Comes Around

her living through the 1970's energy crisis we should gently tum off the lights when they're not in use. For tn­ lthough off to a slow start, recycling in the donn.s Due to the irregularity of pickup, the bins were over­ all be familiar with the sensible: home economics and stance, in rooms or class rooms the lights can be: kept off most isn't dead. The program has been overhauled, is flowing and making the areas around them unsanitary Agood foreign policy of saving energy. Many people: of the: day, because thc:rc: 1S enough sunlight to laght them Aunder new management, and hopefully will be ef­ and a health hazard In Mead the bins were overflow­ simply conserve: to save money on utihty bills, but many take But a less obvious--and more effecttve-melhod is to fective throughout the semester. ing, restricting access in the hallways. The fact that the attitude that if they don't pay the bill, why bother? Others choose: and use light bulbs with energy conservauon 1n mmd. At the beginning of the fall semester recycling bins people were placing garbage into the recycling bins don't take into account that conservation can help save the Just what Pitzer chose to do in the last year, says L1 nda had been placed in every hall and people were encour­ added to the overflow problem. Signs were put up ask­ eanh. Oliphant of Pitzer Maintenance. The fluorescent light bulbs aged to recycle all their paper, cans, and bottles. The ing people to not place their garbage in the bins, but no Did you know7 Water heating is generally the: second Pitzer uses are long· life and energy clficic:nt However the system seemed to be working for the first weeks of attention was paid. cost for these energy effident light bulbs IS approx1mately largest energy user in the: home. lighting accounts for 1/5 of school and then started to deteriorate. The bins began The decision that recycling should be cancelled in all the dectridty consumed in the: U.S. $4.65 - a high cost but wonh it because they save energy, to overflow, garbage became mixed in with piles meant Mead was made by Tessfer, David Mauer, Director of The more dectridty we: use, the more mdustrial emissions lasting longer and save on the mamtenance of repladng them. for recycling and the areas for recycling became un­ maintenance and facili~;cs, and Benny Trapp, Director of we generate, contributing heavily to problems like the "green· Fluorescent light bulbs, low-flow shower heads, and ener· house effect" and add rain. gy-effident appliances are all valuable efforts to conserve en­ sightly. At the end of the semester recycling had Custodial Service~ All three had concerns about The: most obvious way to conserve energy is simply to dili- ergy and to reduce the impact that we have on the planet. stopped in Mead Hall and continued rather poorly in health and safety hazards, as well as the fire marshall of Holden and Sanborn. Claremont having justified concerns of his own. Recycling at Pitzer started roughly a year and a half This semester the: recycling program has begun anew. ago by students without an advisor or funds. The orga­ Maintenance has now taken charge of it and is better or­ nization was "strictly volunteer and student based,• ac­ ganized. "It should be part of (the maintenance) pro­ UPDATE cording to Dean of Residential Life, Michael Tessier. In gram," commented Steen. "(Students) felt that (volun­ the development of the program, hall directors were teering to pick up the recyclable) was above the call of ,Kuwait looks like what Hell would look like, asked to help and work-study wages were provided duty for an environmentally concerned student." -a U.S. Air Force Commander, commenting on burning oil fields. This year, like last, the recycling prognm was partial­ Now that maintenance is in charge of picking up the ly student run. Separate bins were placed for the recy­ bins the system should be very effective. Extra funds arc cling of cans, bottles and paper products. The main being sought in order to find a custodian to work 20 Friday, February 22nd, vast plumes of mitting that they are not prepared to check problem that arose was that pick-up of the recyclable ar­ hours a week and be responsible for the pickup of recy­ greasy, black smoke blanketed a quarter of much of its devastating progress southward ticles was done on an irregular basis. The pick-ups were cling during t}t(: week and recycling and trash during the the occupied nation with smoke, as at least along the Saudi coastline. Problems have E supposed to be: done: by student volunteers. "I don't weekends. v 150 of Kuwait's 950 oil wells were set ablaze arisen with the funds needed to continue think it was student apathy; stated Michael Tessier, "it's The emphasis now in being put on student awareness. by Iraqi troops as part of Hussein's clean-up and organizational problems with­ not a glamorous job: Karen Steen, a senior fonncrly in Educating people to recycle is the biggest step. Now "scorched policy". Electricity and wa­ in the Saudi government. charge of recycling in Mead Hall agreed with Tessier, "It that the recycling at Pitzer is better organized and more I R efficient the program should be successful. ter have also been cut off due to the fires. Saudi Arabian experts have raised their es­ was a really big job. It wasn't student apathy, we're here to study, not to take out the garbage." R Pushed by high winds, wisps from noxious timates of the size of the oil slick. Meteo­ pale drifted as far as Riyadh -the Saudi capi­ rology and Environmental Protection Ad­ R 0 tol 250 miles to the south. The smoke from ministrators from Saudi Arabia report tht't the fires contains high concentrations of hy­ more than 138 million gallons of oil are IT [RECYCLING] WAS A REALLY BIG N drogen sulfide, which could pose a threat to fouling the Gulf's waters. However, earlier Allied and Iraqi troops both physically as Saudi estimates had only ranged from 21 0 well as tacitly. Not to mention the belt of million to 126 million gallons. '­ JOB. IT WASN'T STUDENT APATHY, M pollution which could be pushed by wind to Diplomats and oil-spill experts say that c: Japan, the Pacific and to the American Saudi Arabia successfully moved quickly to R .... E coast. protect critical water desalination and hy­ There are also reports that the Allied droelectric plants along the coast but has N X WE'RE HERE TO STUDY, NOT TO forces are using napalm -a jellied gasoline not had enough resources left to prevent I .. used in incendiary bombs -one of the most widespread damage to the environment. T controversial weapons of the Vietnam War. No matter what the devastating harm to The battle against the world's largest oil the waters, damage to marine lives and the s A spill in the Persian Gulf has become the lat­ livelihood of fisherman will be immeasur­ est causality. Environmental officials are ad- able. L Portions tak.en from 50 Simple Things You C11n Do To S11ve The E11rth by The Earth Work.s Group and The Lo:r Angele:r r~me:r. ComfJIJed by Kristin Ka:rper. M 8 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 The Other S«Je, February 26, 1991 • 9 An Interview With Taylor Gilbert Rebel With A Cause

•SLLtl-l • ''SioN~ HER. ' ., claiming to be a community in CCEducation is the key to all our problems. llhDLf. A.~ ( .f...CLi. 7 .: ~" which a free exchange of ideas can -:~~E. c..~ 'J} · · f~ \ ~V be expres~d openly, Pitzer College . ~.:-~·~w·:t; ~ff..\'» <'l~ is often stereotypically represented as a school The more that you know the less you will fear. ' O. ~- · ' of left-winged radicals. This stereotype tends to )~ ... ~ isolate those who do not conform to the main- Education is a tool by which we can rid our . ~ ~' ~ stream political views of most Pitzer students, portray- :'\ \ ing them as political minorities. Despite what Pitzer's society of ignorance.H- Taylor Gilbert ~_ J( 0 stereotype may illustrate, political minorities do exist on ~ · "' campus. -~~tH ~'J A small group of students organized two years ago to create the BY TIM AHEARN ~ Young Republicans Oub. The Young Republicans were recognized ' ou may have seen h im traipsing around campus, speak­ flag; It symbolizes hope and change for me .~ He is as Ameri­ last year by Pitzer as well as the state chapter of Republican campus or- 0 can as apple pie, baseball and George Bush. ~"-. ganizations. ing his mind about the war or throwing napkins at some unfortunate soul in McConnell dining hall. I am speak­ Taylor is a "complete padfist~ who abhors violence of any ~ According to senior Zander Sprague, to be a Young Republican is to have Y ing of Taylor Gilbert, junior at Pitzer College from Ventura, sort. He says that he would even have trouble defending him­ .M. "sat down and made an informed political choice that represents one's views r «,; Ca. He is a tall 6"4", conscientious young man with brown self in a violent manner. Taylor's goal in aiJ of his protesting is u·: ...1...V and for the most part one's ideals." Sprague is quick to point out that he does not ha ir, brown eyes, a well kept beard. and a capacity for fun not to create an atmosphere of tension- he wants to be posi­

12 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 13 BY DAVID 5TOLBER PORT§ ugar Ray Leonard learned the hard way that aU good Sports Illustrated's prediction of America's 1992 Olympic things must come to an end. When Leonard entered starting five is Charles Baridey, Patrick Ewing, Kart Malone, Sthe Ring on February 9th, against previously unknown and Michael Jordan. Is that a scary team or champion Terry Norris, I could not help noticing how what7 Do you think the Yugoslavian's and the Italian's are young and fresh Ray looked. But as the fight wore on, I ob- feeling a little inferior now7 I bet they are already having served a mnsformation. It almost seemed that Leonard be- nightmares about playing these guys. Wouldn't you7 gan to age right before my eyes. I kept waiting for Leonard W ill UNLV ever lose7 Maybe not, but one should re­ to shake off the brutal pounding he was absorbing, but he memoo that the team ranked It in the Nation usually gets never did. Leonard's mind seemed willing but when his bumped off come tournament time. To be successful in the body received the wake up call, no one was home. Perhaps tournament you need a great deal of emot1on and the high­ Leonard should have called it quits when he shocked Mar- ly important impact player. When I say impact player I vin Hagler back in 1987, but of course hind-sight is 20-20. mean Kenny Anderson (Georgia Tech) or Shaquille O 'Neal What made Leonard the best was that the word quit never {l5U). Anderson and "the Shack" have the potential to car­ entered his vocabulary. Sadly, Leonard's once superior foot- ry their respective teams through the Tournament like Dan­ speed, mmd boggling quickness, and highly underrated ny Manning did in 1988 with the Kansas Jay Hawks. I am punch1ng power s1mply failed him on February 9th. The not saying that UNLV will crack when the pressure of blinding combmations that stunned Hagler in 1987, the sur- March Madness comes knocking, but who knoWS7 H istory prisingly accurate punches that stopped Hearns in Leonard does often repeat itself. vs. Hearns 1 and the h1ghly effective ring savvy that re- The Yankees, minus George Steinbrenner, have screwed ~on: I bqin tnl$ r~~. I will answtt1he question whtch! posed hlthe last is­ duced Roberto Duran to plead "no mas" in Leonard vs. Du- it up again. The Bronx Bombers, who were attempting to SU¢. Q: •Js all, llwnan ~or ~emingles$ itt the be~ of deil.dr?'' A: No. In ran 2 were but d istant memories, Leonard believed that rebound from an overall dismal 1990 campaign, lost Dave Bfact, thls ~ be 'ifi~ed whh9Ut tven rcqu.lrin:g a notiQn of an afterlife, when the day came to hand em' up, he alone would pull the Righetti (the lone Yankee bright spot last year). The Van- 1~ the~$ttnc~ of ~a · p'benomeoon isha.rdty ludiQ'aUf to me. Call me a ro­ plug. Leonard now sees that it is no kees added two over the h1ll pitchers marnkJ 1n ~ ase, hOw can the tdlo'Wing things be -amsidered meaningless (as longer his time. So, on February 9th a (Steve Farr and Scott Sanderson). they are vatuabft. in and of t~Yet. ffes:pite the fact that they may or may not be truly illustrious career, spanning three Sorry Yankees, but you cannot blame disc:oolinued by one's own, i~iubi~ ~lh); rn~, raising children (properly, decades, came to a merc1ful end. I take Mr. Steinbrenner for an off- season course:), p!Jy~ng poker; lii:tl!ningtothe POfJUCS whtk drinking Guinness {ah, nostal­ nothing away from Terry Norris but full of missed opportunities. giaf},. \Qtch\ng in Q>tnpallj' ""''he Codfathd' tb~ of one's beloved friends, and, most Leonard 10 his prime would have dis- The Toronto Blue Jays, on the oth- tmportantly, l..ove, in aU -of it~ m.)'N.d wtietics and complexities. All of these noble posed of Mr Norris ins1de of three er hand, prof1ted most 10 the off-sea- endeavots >rre but stqJS on huma.nlund's ladder to that lofty ideal {not in the Platonic rounds. Norris d1d not beat the real son. The Jay's were always the most sense, of course, as U;weis s~ingwhich all of us have come into contact with in Ray Leonard, he beat what was left of •talented team in the AL East but this most iml)eJfca of worids}. Her~ 1 have demonstrated that, while it is an ending him. were desperately in need of a person- of sorts (ag,aln, 1 do not nJte()Ut ~n afterlife), death cannot cancel out the nobler cn­ Tommy Hearns should follow Ray ality change. The "bad seeds" on the

Sec BUGS BUNNY, page 21 The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 15 ·a!nnqd OJ "'a!dt~!.ld 11 w..t~-l ..trw aauaq ~UO!Jaa..ta lltUlSUO~) t; l{~!A\ sndtq..t<{ p~A\.Opu~ '".JDOWP. ~, 3l!pO..tqdy JO !iflOJlh)f ~ n.l~lf oar' WOlf A\ 0.1 f.\1 Ua.J a !.Jd po~ aq •

.J'O.H{ p;.lU!tllU~UUl JH ~Hlf"' ~,.nlsauqdalf Ol o~fnp ..n1ua u1 .talf aAt~ ··'.HMO[ AURlU pnq :Jl!po..tqdy '...t..t!~ ..p JO SF:JUO.I}lld ,.ftfl RUM '-H(S ~v "·u,wq W\~OL~ l{lOq ~Ullfll~)Ul

~upmJ1UJ ·•1(1nop v. S! ~wtm ..taq \~ u

puu "tUP.Oj,, l.fJ

·u.1oq snM s~~ppo

puttO.lU patu..tOj }lHf SIGNS OF THE TIMI!S • C

'11WJ 'I upu a~:h~.laAt: .lql 3.mpo.Jd 01 s~uTw S9 pu tt::ht .~J.Hl ..).J.llf M.AUU

H33dS ll!HB '9 DH3dd3HS VHVS AB 031IdWO~ central to them. In other words, through tion. Clearly these complex mutat1ons suffering spirituality is striven for. Amiri were homologous w1th changes withm Baraka, in his classic book of 1963, American h1story: the m1grat1on of BlwtS Ptoplt, gave a different inflection to blacks from the South to the North the interpretation of the blues. Arguing their transformation from beang planta­ passionatdy, because he was in the pro­ tion workers to being urban proletanat. cess- of shifting from Beat Generation Marx would have marvelled at these poetics (a-la Allan Ginsberg, Gary Sny­ momentous changes as confirmation of der) into cultural nationalism (a-la The his great document, Das Kapita!, perhaps Autobiography of Malcolm X), Amiri the truly one great book beside the Baraka traces the origin of blues in Bible. American slavery. For him these songs Robert Johnson incorporated all these What Would America Be Without The Blues! are constituted by the intertwining of earth-shaking events into the structure sociological imagination and lyrical real­ and fabric of his tremendous music. Al­ For Professor Agnes Jackson, Wishing Her a Speedy Recovery ism: interfusing the personal and the though the revolution achieved by him historical experiences of black Ameri­ was universal, the obJeCt of its 1ntent .... •'• ....:::-:: cans. In the blues one finds embedded was a particular form: namely, the Delta the history of black experience in Amer­ blues, the blues tradition an wh1ch he And I went to the mountain ure of American par excellent, likewise Wallace Stevens in ica. was situated. The predecessors of John­ lookin' far as my eyes could sec: poetry, then surely, Robert Johnson is that figure in the do­ In many ways, Alain Locke, in his son withan this tradition were outstand­ And I went to the mountain main of music. 1936 book Tbt Ntgro at~d His Mnic/Arl: ing figures like Charlie Patton, W1llte lookin' far as my eyes could see Who then was Robert Johnson~ Before entering into the Part tmd Prtsmt, had already anticipated Brown and Myles Robson. As various Some other man got my woman and the '-a problematical details of his personal , which is these various subsequent explanations scholars have argued, such as Wilham lonesome blues got me sketchy and controversial, and is in the process of being re­ and interpretations of the blues, when Barlow, in l..ooltilfJ wp at Dourn: Tbt &!u­ -•If I had Possession over Judgement Day• constituted by various scholars, it would perhaps be better to he stated that harmonically and rhyth­ Jt7tct of BlwtS Cwlttm ( 1989), and Robert formulate a few words about the blues, in order to situate fully mically, the tunes are constructed Palmer, in Dtrp BlwtS ( 1981 ), the early he issuing last October (1990) in the to format by the historical (musical) biography of Robert Johnson, which around a succession of three common blues took on three cultural formations: Columbia Records of Tbt Co•plttt RtcordbtJs of Robtrt is visible and much more apparent. There has never been a chords on the key-note, the sub-domi­ the Mississippi blues, the East Texas TJob"solf was an event of the utmost importance. singular constancy in the articulation of the central strands of nant and the chord of the dominant sev­ blues, and the P1edmont (Appalachian Robert Johnson is arguably the greatest exponent of the blues the blues. Major African-American literary figures, from Alain enth. The structure of the blues 1s an Mountams) blues. Robert Johnson was a form. Arguable because, preceding and contiguous with him, Locke, the first great black American literary scholar within AAB variation: the repet1tion of the sec­ representative figure of the most vigor­ were respectively Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, both great in­ the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, to Amiri Baraka (l..eroi ond line for emphasis facilitates a ous blues tradition, because 1ts immer­ novators of the blues musical structure. Perhaps what consti­ Jones), the brilliant Marxist-Leninist (Maoist) playwright chance for subsequent Improvised vana­ sion in the sharecropper experience was tutes the transcendental element in Robert Johnson, beyond within the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, have been con­ tion. took this central element of deeper, and also because the immediacy these two historical figures, the cognitive mappers of the pas­ stantly occupied with criticalJy disengaging the historical sig­ improvisation from the blues. of racism and oppression were pro­ sage-ways from the rural blues to the classical blues, is that nificance of the blues. This engagement has had its own his­ Robert Johnson was born in Hazle­ foundly traumatizing. Robert Johnson w1th him we encounter the actual complex structuring of the torical significance of the blues. hurst, Mississippi on May 8, 1911 . He was a great healer, like other blues classical blues. Simultaneous with this historical achievement This engagement has had its own historical logic, for it died in the city of Greenwood on Au­ greats, of the troubled soul of black within African-American culture, in relation to 'American' cul­ could be argued that the whole task African-American litera­ in an essay of 1955, -Bessie Smith: The gust 16, 1938, having been poisoned by Americans: ture as a whole (the equipoise between African-American and ture in the twentieth-century has been the cultural project of Empress of the Blues,• defined the blues a man whose fiancee Johnson had been You can call the blues, you can call European-American cultures), Robert Johnson, together with establishing blues esthetics within its figurations. Zora Neale as very sad songs, mostly about the ab­ paying attention in a night dub. He the blues any old thing you please Charles lves, the major founder of classical music in America, Hurston was the radical practitioner of this revolutionary sence of love, poverty and homeless­ lived only 27 years, yet what an extraor­ You can call the blues any old thing is one of the principal definers of American Modernism in the quest. In response to this project, great scholars like Houston ness; yet containing within them an dinary transformation he brought to you please force-fidd of music. (Note: for this author, being a foreigner A. Baker and Henry Louis Gates, have been constructing, ironic twist which makes people laugh. American musicl The historical emer­ But the blues ain't nothing but the and of a different shading, to a large extent, American culture within postmodernism, the theoretical edifice of blues esthet­ Richard Wright in a "Foreword• to Paul gence of Robert Johnson signaled the doggone heart disease can only be synonymous with Native-American culture, pre­ Oliver's book of 1960, Tbt Mtat~iltJ of tbt transformation of primative blues into ics. What these writers had to say concerning the blues was The influence of Johnson on Muddy cisely because of colonialism and the matter of Christopher BlwtS, theorized the blues as profoundly classical blues: whereas the former was fundamental indeed Waters, T-Bone Walker and Howlin' Columbus). In other words, if for example, Frank Uoyd concerned with the psychological prob­ principally concerned with the individu­ langston Hughes, whose voluminous poetry is nothing if Wolf was real enough. Wright is in the sphere of architecture the representative fig- lem of guilt. Continuing, Wright em­ ality and separateness of the black expe­ not the realization of the vernacular structure of blues ~1cs, Moch has still to be written about the phasized that although these songs were rience in America, the latter indicated greatness of Robert Johnson. The publa­ replete with a sense of defeat and down­ the historical consciousness on the part cation of a study on Johnson by Mack heartedness, because of the deep-suffer­ of African-Americans of their unstable By Ntongela Masilela McCormick, on which he has been ing of black people in America, they position within the American super­ working for the last twenty years, Professor of English and World Literature were never intrinsically pessimistic, structure. One was predicated on partic­ should be occasion for great celebration. since a sense of hope, affirmatton of life ularity, and the other on umversalism. and an endemic capacity to live, was As performance, the blues moves from field hollering to meditative contempla-

The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 19 ccThe timeless echo of Locke did not fall deaf to the ears ofthe gener­ ation upon which he depended ; rather; it found refuge and rebirth in the pens of Gwendolyn Brooks and Toni Morrison, beauty in the grace ofAlvin Ailey and Judith Jamison, genius in the ideas of Hous­ Insomuch as it is directed by, but ton A. Baker Jr. and Cornell West, and perhaps a new rhythm in the autonomous from the forces of music of Herbie Hancock and the eminence of rap." Postrrwdemism the current Black strengthened by an identification with African heritage and Luther King Jr. remains a constant and calculated part of black vivid in its portrayal of the Afro-American experience within efforts, in contrast to the work of Western Postmodernists Renaissance resembles the Harlem Postmodemist culture. Writers like Alice Walker and Toni like ltalo Calvina or Rauchenberg whose account of history Morrison are not preoccupied with representing the chaotic assumes the fragmentary structure of a collage. Renaissance of the 1920's structure of time within a technological age in a perpetual The early institution of slavery and existing radal discrimi· state of flux. Their intent is not to subvert the concept of to­ nation have forced blacks in this country to identify them­ tality in discourse but to create a discourse of theior own selves in the context of a subculture. The work of people like grounded in a reality propagated by what Frederic Jameson Alain Locke, langston Hughes, Toni Morrison and Howard describes as •the rultural logic of late capitalism•. In essence, A. Baker Jr. has given this rulture a ·sound· and a ·voice• rich the art, music, literature, and dance of the new Black Renais­ in rulture, beauty, and intellect. Like the Harlem Renaissance sance is not constructed of elements reflecting this Postmod­ of the 1920's, the present movement of black art, music, litera· BY JASON SINGER em age, but a critique of the experience those elements create. ture and criticism stands independent of, but directed by, the The vehicle by which the music of this renaissance conveys dynamics of its age, specifically Postmodernism. In that sense, its message is a candid narrative on top of a crude rythmic re­ the works of these great artists and writers not only enhances merican capitalism exists as the Skinner box for class physics. They did not align themselves or fall in opposition to production of the blues, namely rap. It does not employ the present sute of society aesthetically and intellectually, but structure dynamics. That the lower class in America Totalitarianism, metaphysics or the disruptive elements of an melodies which collide, coexist and interpenetrate each other enlightens all of us to the destructive forces of a technologi­ Aconsists of a disproportionate number of blacks is no industrialist civilization. Their motivation was to create a like those of laurie Anderson or David Byrne.Whether it be cal capitalism and the reality of the urban American experi­ secret. What kind of importance, then, does a young black •space· for black expression, to embrace the element of •time• on the stage, in a book, or on canvas the historical Afro­ ence. place on intellectual pursuits in light of the numerous black that held no consequence during slavery and to penetrate an American experience from Booker T. Washington to Martin homeless, the ravaging of black life by drugs, gang-related vi­ industrialist dvilization that gave promise to posterity- a pos­ terity predicated by Locke as the job of a younger generation: olence, and the human destruction running rampant within "Broadway• are from cartoons based on fects are intact on the new recordings. "Youth speaks, and the voice of the New Negro is heard. urban America? music, and are well served by being pre­ Stalling and Franklyn were composers, What stirs inarticulately in the masses is already vocal upon BUGS BUNNY The intent of the question is not to suggest a lack of exem­ sented in their entirety. Also, some­ not recording arti.sts. They wrote their the lips of the the talented few, and the future listens, howev­ plary black intellectuals but to illuminate a phenomena to the thing to consider is the fact that the scores on paper, and as a result the mu· er the present may shut its ears: contraty, existing within this Postm&iern age. The question, from page 14 recordings here are by and large new sic loses nothing in the new recordings. rather, implores that one respect the emergence of a new recordings, while "The Carl Stalling However, purists may bitch, and it's true RENAJSSANCE black renaissance in art, music, literature and intellectual criti­ II Jupiter" and Franklyn's "Baton Bunny: Project• is made up entirely of original that there is a charm to the original cism which is grounded in an Afro-American reality and im­ The timeless echo of Locke did not fall deaf to the ears of Come to think of it, they're all great. recordings. But fear not, the music is recording simply because that's what parted through a voice or mode of expression independent of the generation upon which he depended; rather, it found There's no need to go into detail still brilliant, and the excellent sound ef. they are. A di.stinct pleasure on -sroad­ and to a degree, in reaction to the Anglo experience. refuge and rebirth in the pens of Gwendolyn Brooks and Toni about the tunes themselves, as we've all way• is the presence of Milt Franklyn's Insomuch as it is directed by, but autonomous from the Morrison, beauty in the grace of and Judith Jami­ heard them many times. In their place I The point is this, music, obviously absent from -ne Carl forces of Postmodernism the current Black Renaissance resem­ son, genius in the ideas of Houston A. Baker Jr. and Cornell shall reflect on the nature of this disc, as Stalling Project: The notes to ·carl bles the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's. West, and perhaps a new rhythm in the mus1c of Herbie Han­ if making a Cartesian analysis of a ball dear reader: Bugs Stalling• unfairly make Franklyn into a In 1925, at the crest of the Harlem Renaissance, Alain cock and the emmence of rap. of wax. This disc, while containing sim­ Bunny is the second-rate replacement for Stalling. Locke published Tit NM Negro, a mapping The mirage of upward-mobility that at. ilar music to last year's release of -ne He is nothing of the kind, as the music of Afro-America n expressive Modernism. lured blacks to industrial complexes l.ke Carl Stalling Project,• differs from that dominant American on this album proves. True, Stalling vir­ Locke, in effect, delineated the advent of Chicago and City during the disc in many respects. Most important­ tually invented his art form and Black literature, dance, music, and intellec­ age of Modernism has yielded, instead, the ly, "Bugs Bunny on Broadway· consists cultural icon of the Franklyn, his apprentice, had a slightly tual critidsm by separating it from Western horror of the urban American experience. mainly of complete scores, unlike the Twentieth Century. more conventional approach to his Modernism. He insisted that the forces be­ Vestiges of the African sound wh1ch lifted other disc, which, while including a scores, but p1eces like -what's Opera, hind the expression of black intellectuals W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston and couple complete pieces, was primarily Greater than Doc?· are sheer genius, and this album like.hirnsdf, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Robert Johnson during the first three made up of thematic medleys which Branda, Monroe~ should give some more attention to DuBois, Langston Hughes and Countee decades of this century resonate in the were pieced together (with the utmost Franklyn. Cullen did not echo the voices of Western­ voices of Gwendolyn Brooks, Toni Morri­ care and skill) by producer Hal Willner. Dean, Dylan, or Dig this record. Or better yet, be like ers like James Joyce, Picasso or son and Kool Mo Dee in reproach of the While Willner's method worked bril­ James Brown. So~ me and buy both. They each have their Einstein.These black artists, writers and aca­ chaos and discontinuity inherent in an ex­ liantly, a piece like ·what's Opera, merits. They both are eloquent testi­ demics were not concerned with the uncer­ perience v01d of the ephemerality associat­ Doc~ in which the music is so central dig it! Hes got a mony to the genius of Stalling and tainty of time and space due to the presence ed with Postmodernism. to the plot as a whole, must be present­ record out! Franklyn. And Bugs truly is the original of Einstein's mathematics or Heisenberg's The product is a new Black Renaissance ed in its entirety. Most of the pieces on counter-rulture rebel.

20 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 21 ------~~~~------T A K I N

Amencan by the White law enforcement c1sm is 0110 issue that plagues high oHlcers in wh1ch the African American school and college campuses across prophecies that there w1U be a day when he nation. Stereotypes of people of Whites are dominated by African Amen­ color permeate the so-called 'real world' of cans. The second pantomime is a reverse employment, housing and social activities. I D of the f1rst Th1s time the four Afncan E African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Americans tum from the White The final Native AmeriCans are paid less than their scene is the prophecy realized, a Wh1te Wh1te counterparts, are consequently job applicant challenges an African Ameri­ Mastering The Evasion of forced to live in lesser quality housing 10 can employer under an Affirmative Action slums or reservations and are frequently program. made to fed unwelcome at some restau­ Andrews' 10spm1tion for the play came Responsibility rants and clubs. One Pitzer student h;as from h1s own personal experiences grow­ written a play on the topic of racism and ing up iind attending a predom1nantly r

hen, in ages to come, poster­ The Other Side ity, if it deigns to cast ats W ponderous eye upon my des­ presents the winner perate and fearful story, judges me, I can only hope that it looks upon my of the 1991 Best plight with no small measure of pity. I wnte this now in order that the world ~worsf, Edgar Allan of men, who know not what evil laes beneath this existence's calm veneer, Poe Contest. will know my tale, so ansuring that my miniscule voace is not lost in the up­ roarious miasma that I know is to fol- low. Do not call me mad, rather call me obsessed, for a madman is one who tacks of direction, whose footsteps are ragged, faltering, not driven and deter­ PAUL Au mined by such desires as those that fill POMONA CoLLEGE my tortured soul. I ask of yOU: would a madman dediCate has lafe to the endless pursuit of truth and knowledge, would a madman work his very cranium to the cortex pouring over ancient vol­ umes of curious and forgotten lore, would a madman knowingly risk has very existence for an idea that all would agree transcends the mundane morass to which mortal man remains manacled? And you must reply that No- no madman would do such thangs for madmen seek to obscure, to con­ fuse to erase the fragile boundaries whkh divide this lighted world of rea­ son and knowledge from those darker realms of chaos, confusion and death These boundaries, despite the efforts of teamed men from noble Alexandria across the churning seas to Claremont, have been occasionally crossed, for the quest for knowledge often inex-tncably leads into the darker realms of our frag­ ile and harrowed existence. My story is of such a falling, of such a descent into the maelstrom that lies beneath the apparently calm surface of our m­ tellectual community. The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 25 24 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 THE VAULT IN ROOM FOUR, CONTINUED have conversed across the ages with dreams, that made my entire life's work what terrible risk I was taking but CONTINUATIONS that venerable sage, attempting to pluck naught but a shrill, off-key note in the please, look upon my plight with pity, ••• forgotten secrets from his long dead symphony of the world. And so, my for 1 was a man possessed, trying to save start of a semester. The post-historical era, for all its sim­ brain as a raven would pluck meat off a friend, you must know from whence my sanity, my very reason for life and I "1 was disappointed that there was plistically optimistic characterizations putrid, rotting corpse. But I digress. that perverSe: imp came, that plan that ask you, my friend, could you, would not more student involvement but 1 am wiU continue for the time being, to It was on such an ordinary night nagged and tugged at the ragged cor­ you, do other than what 1 have done1 appreciative of Sheryl Kurland and oth­ in~ volve an economicaiJy influential vast when, I, pouring over an ancient ners of my mind, that voice that drove a When I presented my work and stood cr:s who brought together the events of United States of America. So manuscript, chanced to fall upon a let­ driven man to very brink of dcspcntion before the English Tribunal, 1 knew that the opening,• says Ellsworth. So why wh~n w~ THE 0Tv GETS INVOLVED get around to defining our forthcoming ter, an inauspicious letter, but one and pushed him over, screaming into a 1 had been discovered, for it was not were students in the dark as to the de­ which was to cast my mind downward, tortured abyss. those voluminous purple robes of office According to Ellsworth, early in Oc­ velopment of any such struct:ure1 There ~le after the present conflict, we will fmd ourselves in a position similar to ever downward, into interminable dark­ Stealing the letter from the deserted that my colleagues wore, but the death tober, the dty led Pitzer to believe that seemed to be little communication with that of Germany: promising even ness. A letter which was to utterly de­ library was not as euy as 1 had antid­ black robes of those who judge, and the yurt would have to comply with the students until after the yurt was greater growth, but contending with a stroy my fortune as well as my already pated. I could feel the horrible stares of whose judgement will be terrible. few, or no, city codes. But, as Ellsworth built. "We take for granted communica­ problematic past. The United States weary mind. At first I thought that it long dead eyes piercing into my mind What transpired next, I do not know, further explained, a memo dated Octo­ tion,• explains Vicke Sdk, ·such a small has never been tremendously adept at was some trick, a falsehood planted by from the books that surrounded me on for at the moment that those judges ber 16, 1990 from Sharon Woods, Di­ campus, we just assume that everyone those idiots who seek my academic de­ the shelves. The very air seemed to pronounced my fate, my senses took rector of City Community Services for knows: acknowledging its past faults, or learn­ struction- for 1 have often seen th"em­ drag me down, hamper my step and my their leave, flying off to that dark pit

The Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 27 THE fLEXIBLE VO I C E THE fLEXIBLE VOICE Overcoming Is This The Way War is Homophobia Supposed to Feel? ithin the last few months I dent' or 'conflict' in a jungle or a foreign was engaged as the entire event was giv­ ity? These remarks coold be devastating. the (gay issue) to make it less frighten­ have come to understand the location comfortably far away from our en the name Desert Storm - a title t all began one morning in my Hu­ When a person speaks of their gayness, distant, glazed and hypnotic ivy-covered walls and suburban lawns. which conjures up memories of glam­ ing: Thackray added • It's very e~sy they say that it is a natural part of them W man Sexuality class. Yesl A gay, les­ voice with which elder generations re­ In order to inject life and feeling into orous Rambo adventures. Each time my when people only see abstractions hke just like an arm or a leg. How is one bian and bisexual panel of Claremont this artide. ... to just think of the gay­ call certain key moments in history such the concept I relied upon scenes super­ fears and doobts would surface a man in I supposed to feel when somethi~g so College students were coming to ex­ as Kennedy's assassination and the day imposed upon the word by authors, a tailored suit with a perfect haircut and ness.... and forget the person." natural to them is shunned and reJected press their views. Society is ever-changing with new an American space craft landed on the movie makers, and elders who had expe­ a poli tical office would appear in my by society? With wide eyes the class watched as rules, problems and concerns. However, moon. During these reminiscences it is rienced American military conflict. Yet, television set and soothingly inform me the twelve students introduced them­ The gay community is angry becaus_e clear from the powerful images and de­ such oral and visual accounts are subject that everything was under control, pro­ with these newfoond issues, such as t~e of the lack of humanity felt for selves one by one. There wa~ a the~r tails offered that these pefiOnal accounts to so many varieties of censorship and gressing according to plan. emerg\ng gay cause, we as a co~mun•ty cause. The panel desires to change soc•• strangeness in the room. It felt t.ke seem to be forgetting somethmg very of larger historical events have been re­ fabrication that I have not been able to Yes, my conditioning, brainwashing if those students were on display. . etal views through education and told many times and have indeed as­ rely upon such impressions for accuracy. you wiiJ, was complete. I have always important: there are people at the heart •speaking out: Thackray stated why it is Have you ever caught yowself t~m~­ of these issues with thoughts, hopes and sumed an important place among indi­ My naive and vague notions about the considered myself to be a pacifist. I ing or feeling this way? Most gay tndi- important to educate people about wha,t viduals' personal histories. By retaining concept of war became more height­ firmly believe that the death and de­ dreams. , f it means to be gay. "When people dont ·duals think these feelings are homo- 1 a dear mental and emotional vision of ened and tense in the months of military struction of war is obscene. But the VI • b . Thackray feels that peop e s ear understand something they often get phobic in nature meaning an o sessiVe comes out in jokes directed at the gay dramatic moments in history one is able build up prior to the United Nations strength of media manipulation com­ fear of and hostility toward homosexu­ very afraid of it . to define and pei'SOnalize realities that deadline. I was aware that oor coontry bined with prolonged desensitization community. You' re putting someone Pomona senior Jenne Bunker stated als: (Sexual Interactions, Allgeier & All- down because of something they have are initially incomprehensible. was ebbing ever doser to a military con- have had powerful affects on my ideals. "my hope, my dream, and ideal goal is Until recently 1 had observed this Also, political leaders have cleverly po­ geier, 1988) . . no control over." . for all homosexual relationships to have In my opinion, a much larger ~~e IS jokes and prejudicial remarks agamst phenomena without experiencing any sitioned themselves in the role of the ul­ at the heart of these feelings. ln thts so­ a place in society; [we will then feel event in my own lifetime that was uni­ timate father figure-the patriarchy- as the gay community have been bec~m­ comfortable] to hold hands and kiss [in ciety being any different from the norm ing more prominent, especially dunng versal and important enough to remain they command the mindJess children in constitutes a readiness of people to public] and eventually get married.• frozen and alive in my memory. How­ America- the general population- do not the 19go's because of the gay male a~o­ Thackray added, that what the public chastise and ridicule. . ever, the instant that 1 heard that Ameri­ think, do not evaluate, do not be con­ ciation with A.I.D.S. Crimes against needs to realize is that "gayness is preva­ The panel spoke of many issues _m- ca was at war will be permanently crys­ cerned, just lie back and be lulled into gays are on the rise in the United States. lent in every aspect of our sodety an? cluding their impressions on the art.cle These homosexual remarks may mean talized and preserved in my mind. I sleep as we tell you bedtime stories in the Co~t by Nicholas Greatrex, Oc­ whether you know it or not, there s cannot recall specifially what the CNN about brave, patriotic soldiers, amazing nothing to those whose sexual orienta­ someone you care about who's gay.· tober 31 , 1990. tion is commonplace and accepted by anchorman was saying until I heard the new toys, and a bad man who broke our This editorial made an attempt to sug- The gay cause is aboot love. One pan­ actual words: WAR AMERICA IS AT rules. sodety. But what about the young gay elist stated "there's so much hate in our gest that homosexuals are wrong in their or lesbian confused about his/her sexual- WAR Once the war was under way and I thinking. •Uke people dependent on ar­ society. People are getting_killed for WAR, certainly none of us are unfa­ had recovered from the initial shock, I tifidal stimulants, sodimites need help. their skin color and we are [s•mply] hat- miliar with the word. From grade must admit that I experienced relief and They need someone to show them that ed because of who we love: school through to college we have ex­ flict in a barren and hostile region of a sensation of urgency boarding on ex­ there is a better way. They are the peo- This is very true. The gay Rights amined, studied, and debated war. But desert. While I was anxious and con­ citement. Throughout the first four ple with a problem ...... Through the cc ••• there's so much Movement is about being able to love the idea seemed purely theoretical: it fused I was simultaneously incapable of days of the attack I rarely left my televi­ another individual of your own sexual power of logic and reason, we must co~­ was an event in the past, reduced to a believing that our government would sion set. I was dazzled by colorful maps vince them to change their ways. ThJs orientation. This country has strayed black and white newsreel. Our genera­ launch an offensive attack on Saddam and the new technology which magical­ hate in our society. away from its traditional values always would make for a bet_ter society.. .. : tion is not unfamiliar with war though. Hussein. Somehow, I reassured myself ly transformed the death and annihila­ This editorial is an unfair attack that takirlg things for granted. \f things a~en't We were born in the midst of Vietnam, that this h ideous possibility would be tion of bomb raids into a video game. tends to provoke unfair prejudice People are getting working oot in a marriage, an expedie~t and as we move into adulthood our avoided. Part of the intrigue was tied to the feel­ d ivorce can be arranged. A lack of ft . against the gay community. coontry has entered into a mtiitary con­ As we approached the deadline ing that I, at home on my couch, was an The panel members were upset about killed for their skin delity is ever increasing. flict of mass proportions. thoogh, a curious phenomena occurred: integral part of the process. I shared the this rationa\e. Pomona student Gillian If we can learn anything about the Thus, it would seem that my life, your I began to hook into the contagious cur­ anchorperson's confusion and thought gay cause we should look beyond the Thackray stated that •there's a _deb_ate life, our lives, have been framed, if not rent of tension, hype, and energy which patterns as we all attempted to fit to­ color and we are stereotypes and realize that those of us about whether (the gay community~ IS. a defined, by war. Before that day the the faces splashed across my television gether the pieces of random information whose sexual orientation is common­ valid minority and has a right to ex~st '" concept of war was abstract; an outdat­ exuded each night. It was impossible and rumor into a comprehensible puz­ society.... . The Co!ldJt would not publis~ [simply] hated place are lucky. We can love another in­ ed event studied in worn history books, not to notice a new gleam of excitement zle. attacks on other minority commum­ dividual freely. We've been granted a or graphic but ultimately fictitious im­ in the pupils of anchormen and re­ Subtly tough commercials began to ties... When things like this come out we because of who we God-given right that has been _accepted ages created by Hollywood producers. porters as they cited scores of incompre­ reappear intermittently within the news all feel we have to stand up and s~y by our culture without questiOn. The The reality of war seemed to be a vague, hensible figures and statistics about the coverage. The first time I saw an adver­ :):) gay men and women, however, have to something because otherwise [thes~ IS­ love. distant possibility, a political alternative American troops departing for the Gulf. tisement in the midst of live war pro­ sues] will be a Ilowed to just pass by· fight to love. Fighting to love, what a at worst. War was reduced to an 'ind- My fear subsided and my fascination gramming 1 was jolted by the banality The panel came to the H~an Sexu­ sad statement our society has made. Continued on next page ality class •to make people thmk about lhe Other Side, February 26, 1991 • 29 28 • The Other Side: February 26, 1991 THE fLEXIBLE Vo 1 c E

Continued. • • and purposelessness of it.s message. United States, if I could believe any of event that is so far away. Within days though, the networks were the lies our government is telling us When I need to strongly experience once again airing soa·p operas and the then I would be able to comprehend the emotion about the war I force myseif to prime time line up. I promised myself notion of war. But people are dying relive that moment when I first heard that I would not succwnb to the numb­ right now. the words: AMERICA IS AT WAR. ing effect of light and pointless enter­ What has happened to the passionate What I felt at that instant was intense tainment. and dedicated interest we felt in the first and pure emotion- fear, deep sadness, I have been unable to keep my few days of the wao I believe that a love for my family and friends; each of llectibles Featuring promise. The new semester is well un­ number of factors have combined to us had such a moment. Perhaps by talk­ der way and I am frightened by how un­ quench our need to stay informed. In ing about and comparing our individual Simpsons informed and disinterested many of us many cases this desensitization is inten­ experiences we can deduce meaning. In • Betty Boop have become. When the subject of war tional- media manipulation, political those first mirutes of shock and grow­ • is raised in casual conversation people plays, and television special effects de­ ing realization war was not just a term, • Farside tend to groan and roll their eyes. It signed to prevent us from envisioning not a vague picture, not an event hap­ • Looney Tunes seems to be an unwritten rule that to the pain of death. Also, part of our in­ pening in a distant desert, nor was the discuss the war in social settings is ability to believe stems from the ficti­ war merely a technical video game, or • Batman somehow inappropriate and disruptive. tious nature of television- the primary an event confused with statistics and • Disney The war has not touched many of our medium of information in our modem useless information- in the experience of • Super Heroes lives directly- not yet. Even so, is this age is numbing. Personal self-deception pure recognition the war was real, terri­ • Garfield how war is supposed to feel? Many and denial are also strong factors . After ble, completely present, and right here people whom I have talked with about so many months of anxiety and fear of in my own psyche and heart I was able • Comic Book this absence of feeling provide quite a nuclear weapons the reality of war came to realize that the war had personal rele­ • Hollywood Stars few "ifs" to justify their lack of emotion almost as a relief. For those of us fortu­ vance to me. That is how war is sup­ T-Shirts and interest . . . if there was a ground nate enough not to have a relative fight­ posed to feel. • Gumby war, if I had a relative fighting in the ing oversees there has been little alter­ war, if acts of terrorism occ:urred in the ations in daily life to remind us of an flt.y GlasSlllml is a Scripps smior. • Desert Storm T-Shirts 485 B Central Ave. CCentral Village) Upland 91786 • (714) 982-5565

0 Foothill Blvd. c/entral Village ll>-. N ~ Arrow Route ~ 0 v c: ~ ffff~ Arrow Hiahwav 0 ;::! - · ~ ll> ~ t < ~ s a. n>- )> < San Bernardino Fwy. 10 CD -

N : \J ~U'C"ti~ co.:,~

·ZO 7o a~ o'(\~ ~ s e c..o n d __ _at: . eocm ~'c:s6 91766 \.)~\\.~ oC\~ ~~ ~ l u s l t • ~~\~ Cll (714} 620-'Z210