1987_05 The Daily Collegian May 1987

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Page 2
=Friday, May 1,1987?
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IHavln' a Baby and Beta'
GrtwtT wi be the subject of a
lecture by Laurie McDade today at
3 pm in NeWScience 141.
The Magkalsa Filipino Or¬
ganization will meet today at
330 to College Union 311 A.
The international Club will
meet today at 4 p.m. in Speech
Artsl69.
The College Union Pro¬
gram Committee will present
"Cobra- tonight at 7 and 9:15 in
the Satellite College Union.
hosH
teflon  Saturday apM p.m. in I
dogDiamond.
Vocal Majors Richard Myn-
derup and Jeff Unk will pre¬
sent a free recital Saturday at 430
p.m. in St James Episcopal Cath¬
edral. *
Guy Holllday wa present a
free program Saturday at 8 p.m. in
the Northwest Church.
CSU  FOfldtfa will
Cathy Winter concert Sunday at 2
p.m. in Phebe Contey Art 101.
Pianist John Hord win pre¬
sent a free concert Sunday at 3
p.m. in the Wahberg Recital Hall.
Censorship blatant in
air band cancellation
The action of Dawn LoBaugh and the Vintage Days Air Guitar
Committee in cancelling the performance of "Some Band," the Christian
groyn which had planned to Up sync to a song speaking against abortion
andTwiqpsexuality, can be defined as nothing else but censorship.
The cor^ments made by LoBaugh during a Daily Collegian interview
seem to show that she acted in what she believed to be in the best
interests of those attending the event She said she did not believe Air
Guitar was the place to present issues. Vintage Days is typically a time of
fun, a way of forgetting one's problems.
Some Band had originally been one of the IS bands chosen to perform.
But it was rejected after Spring Break because LoBaugh and the
committee believed the band's song had a message and was thus
unsuitable for Air Guitar.
Although Some Band was not allowed to participate because the song it
was to perform had a message, the band which replaced it lip synced to
U2, a group known for singing political anthems.
Where, if any, is the difference? It seems one message is acceptable,
but the other is not Obviously the position espoused by "Some Band" is
not what one is used to on a college campus, it was clamantly against
gays and abortion. But still, the band's freedom of speech was infringed
upon.
The committee judged bands to compete in Air Guitar based on their
entertainment value. The group must have been entertaining to the
committee when it auditioned because it was given one of the highest
scores of all bands.
But after reviewing the lyrics, the committee banned the group. The
committee seemed to believe that performers should not have a message
because others might object It is obvious Some Band was not allowed to
perform because the committee disagreed with the message espoused by
the group.
The committee may have been attempting to make Air Guitar as
pleasant as possible for all those involved, but why did it allow the
profane language and drug-related humor espoused by the emcee? It
seems some were spared offense while others were not
TJiosc present who did not appreciate the emcee's approach, however,
survived the experience just as any students offended by Some Band
wouldhaver~ *
In the7 Air Guitar Committee's attempt to make the show more
enjoyable, their biases became clear. A religious group was considered
unsuitable, but the graphic and sexual language by the emcee was
considered highly acceptable.
The committee's actions were contradictory. The members used their
power to suppress what they found offensive, but allowed borderline
humor by the emcee, which was enjoyable in their opinion —
censorship. J
BLOOM COUNTY
Haunted by Arches
McDonald's, that hamburger factory, has
haunted me for years. There was one down
the street from the house I grew up in. There
is one a short distance away from my
apartment near the university. Whenever I
give someone directions to my place, I
always try naming a few of the local streets
and other businesses in the vicinity. But if
that doesn't work, then I have to tell them
about the dreaded Golden Arches because
everyone knows about Ronald McDonald.
Once they connect McDonalds with where
I live, there is no trouble finding me. But it
isn't pleasant to be associated in any way to
a fast food restaurant. McDonald's and I have
stxicdy an adversary relationship.
McDonalds is like the lad who everybody
at school liked and wanted to be friends
with, but you couldn't stand. McDonald's is
like the one kid on the little league team
whose uniform actually fit, and he never got
it dirty. McDonalds is like the kid who
always bragged about not having to wear
braces because his teeth were naturally
straight. McDonalds smiles too much.
I have always associated McDonalds with
juvenalia because I had most of my
encounters there before I was mature enough
to know better. The food wasn't produced in
such intimidating quantities back then. They
were maybe up to "8 billion sold"
Generally, older folks worked the counter,
and occasionally the' owner could be seen
turning a few burgers on the grill.
The advertising campaign centered on how
customers received change back from a dollar
after ordering a burger, fries, and drink.
Vietnam War inflation took care of that deal.
McDonald's was known for having good fries
back then. And the shakes' list of
ingredients might have included dairy
products, but I can't be sure.
My relationship with McDonalds
changed^when I was in sixth grade, from the
clean, super-lighted place down the street to
the chamber of horrors. My class won a free
tour to the same location down my street.
We saw everything that goes on behind the
scenes. I never wanted to return after that
sobering experience.
It was a nightmarish scene of sesame seed
buns in sterile bags stacked to the ceiling, a
Warholian glimpse of rampant product
saturation. Gallons of thick, sickly sweet soft
drink syrup mix sat, waiting to be transformed
into small, medium and large size beverages.
And in the walk-in freezer, slabs of helpless,
preformed meat patties awaited their
destination on the stoves where they were
brutally seared
To cap the trip, the folks who ran the place
let each of us grill our own burgers and eat
them free of charge. A lot of kids thought that
was a deal, but I felt it was growth-stunting to
understand what it was like to work at the
Golden Arches four years before eligibility.
"It was shocking." a classmate told me
years later. They didn't even tenderize the
meat!"
By\Peter Melton
I tended to avoid the place after that, but it
was difficult. Friends visiting me would often
want to go. Maybe I should have looked for
some new friends, but it was easier to go down
the street and watch them indulge. I eventually
became hardened to the sight.
One day, Ronald McDonald came to town to
meet his admirers, part of his world tour. My
little sister, who was too young to know
better, wanted to go. I went to protect her
from any roving gangs of anthropomorphic
cartoon characters who had been known to
behave like thugs when curious 3-year-olds
had tugged on certain portions of their
costumes. Luckily, the guy with the giant Big
Mac head (Mayor McCheese? I'm a little rusty
with my commercial recognitions) was
nowhere to be seen.
Some bad little kids threw things.at Ronald
and cursed him, but I held my tongue. I was
mostly interested in whether he was as super-
whiteman as he seemed or whether he could
be black. Someone said he was a well-tanned
surfer from San Diego. Actually, he most
closely resembled a' TV news weatherman, and
he talked like a toy salesman.
I see McDonalds in a different way these
days. I still think they serve tasteless pablum
but I understand their appeal. The corporation
is much admired for the way it does business
("efficiency" is usually the term used) and
rakes in profits.
Recently, some guy wrote a book about
-McDonald's — approved by the corporation —
that tells all, as a guide for budding
entrepreneurs. In a interview, the author
(sorry, I blotted it from my memory) said
that the great thing about McDonalds is its
consistency: No matter which, location you
go to, the food will taste exactly the same,
so people know what they're getting. That's
exactly what I thought was wrong with
McDonald's. Put that in your sesame seed
bun.
McDonalds is sort of the way Henry Ford
would do fast food with hamburgers rolling
off the assembly line. It's dynamic
capitalism, so it's slightly ironic that
franchises are making headway into Marxist
See ICON, page 3
Reader
Response
to The Daily Collegian is welcome.
Please send letters no longer than 250
words to The Deity Collegian, Keats
Campus Building. California State
University, Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740.
Letters must be signed and include the
author's name, telephone number and
address.
Member explains
Dear Editor,
As a member of "Some Band," I would
like to take this opportunity to give my
viewpoints in regards to our cancellation
from the Air Guitar show. |
When "Some Band" was formed, we
knew that our song might be contro¬
versial.  The  controversial   lyrics  went  as
follows:
/ heard the reverend say/gay is
probably normal in the good Lord's sight.
What's to be debated, Jesus never stated
whafs right. I'm no theology null but the
reverend may be a little confused...
These lyric are not pointing the finger
at homosexuality, but rather at a reverend
who is confused about his theology.
The  other controversial  lyrics  went as
follows:
A   Christian  counselor  wrote/quote   it's
BLOOM COUNTY
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