1981_01 The Daily Collegian January 1981

              Page 2 -the Dally Collegian - J anuary 30,1
Off the cuff
What type of a foriegn policy stand do you
think President Reagan will take toward
Iran?       By Terry Moore  Photo* by Robert Gauthier
one, one of retaliation and I
think he is going to negotiate. Probably by not giving them any aid or anything like that *
Kenny English, accounting major • 'It
should be very conservative. He
should go ahead with the hostage
deal but be very careful in any
statements towards Iran and towards
the Persian Culf. He is the one to get
us into military involvement.*
Karen Payne, undeclared major - *l
don' t think Reagan will give them any
aid. I don't think he will want to be
friends with them. I don't think he
will use military force, but I think
he will forever condemn them "
Rick Clausen, staff member of Ibe
computer center - *Very tough. Anything he can to make it difficult for
them. I think if there is any type
of problem that comes up, he will not
hesitate to use military force.*
Sheryl Young, English malor -
'Stronger military. He rjrobabry
won't go to war, but I think he
will stick more soldiers over in that
vicinity. It depends on how many
more comments he will make before
he cools off as to when the situation will get better. *
American Journal
Hostages suffer
publicity blitz
Get ready; the medi
before it gets better.
Before you can say relentlesscoi
By David Armstrong
blitz over the hostages' r
rcialexploitation, the TV docu-
oramas, quicxie paperoacKs ana talk snow spots will bury us in our beds.
The only trick the public relations savants haven't pulled off were half-
time interviews of the hostages at the Super Bowl. ('He's some kinda
ayatollah. Isn't he, Howard?')
Lost In the orchestrated patriotism surrounding the 444-day standoff is
the reason the kidnapping of the 52 Americans occurred In the first place:
our government's overthrow of the popular government of Mohammed
Mossadegh in 1953, and the restoration of the Shah by the CIA.
Throughout the administrations of Presidents Elsenhower, Kennedy,
Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter, America enthusiastically supported the
Shah and bankrolled torture of thousands of Iranians by SAVAK, his secret
police, that far surpassed In barbarism the treatment of the American
Had the Shah been able to stay in power, President Reagan would surety
have flooded Tehran with arms and money, as he is now doing for the murderous military junta in El Salvador.
American foreign policy, not only—or even primarily—the religious
fanaticism of Moslem revolutionaries in Iran, was the cause of the hostage
crisis.
The mass kidnapping and imprisonment of our embassy personnel was
the effect. It's important to keep that in mind as Ronald Reagan, Jimmy
Carter and others huff and puff about the tarnishing of our national honor.
Leaders truly concerned about national honor would not underwrite
dictators around the world and call it respect for human rights.
Repeated reports in the mass media charge that the hostages were tortured. That the Americans suffered fear and intimidation is clear. Two
women report being forced to play Russian roulette by their captors at
the beginning of their captivity.
Several ex-hostages tell of being held in solitary confinement for attempting to escape, and several others say guards struck them.
Many ex-hostages complained about their food and accommodations.
All understandably worried and wondered whether they would be released.
The hostages suffered numerous indignities, to be sure, but evidence
that they were tortured is slight. No hostage died In captivity and none
appeared to be seriously ill, physically.
Their plight does not compare to the thousands of rapes, mutilations and
executions documented by Amnesty International and others under the
Shah-and In El Salvador, Chile, Haiti and other countries run largely
with American tax dollars.
It does not diminish the anguish of the hostages to say that their imprisonment more nearly corresponds to the conditions in many United States
prisons where Americans incarcerate other Americans for crimes real and
imagined, than to foreign concentration camps.
For having endured imprisonment with their pride largely intact, the
hostages are now being lionized. Yet, as novelist Herbert Cold pointed out
in a perceptive article in the San rraricfc*ce Chronicle, heroes usually seek
their fate, rising above their previous condition to attain heroic stature.
The hostages did not choose their role; they were government employees
who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, pawns on the
chessboard of international power politics, who endured their unexpected
imprisonment as best they could.
They are not heroes, but victims, and their exaltation in the public mind
says more about Americans' need to believe in something—almost anything—than about the actual circumstances of the seizure.
In the end, the hostages were used—are being used—in the manner of
persons who remain powerless to determine their own fate. They were
used by Iranian militants and parts of the Iranian government to strike back
at the U.S. for our long-time orchestration of Iranian affairs—and, perhaps,
to distract other Iranians from the problems of the Islamic revolution.
In this country, they are being used by the merchants of mass culture,
disappointed in the slow sales of Lennon memorabilia.
And, of course, the hostages are being used by the New Right and the
celluloid cowboy in the White House, who see in the very human anger over
the extended crisis a chance to resurrect the big-stick diplomacy of an
earlier era.
If Ronald Reagan, his sidekicks in the Pentagon and the corporate desperados in his cabinet have their way, Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round the
Old Oak Tree* will soon be replaced on the nation's airwaves by 'Onward
Christian Soldiers.*
That would be the final indignity, for the hostages, and for people everywhere who wish to survive these perilous times.
4   Women's movement sets art trends
Men nave ainerent an pruiosopntee.
What do the words menstrual, minimal and abstract all have in common?
They all refer directly to trends in
art.
One factor that has been instrumental In bringing several new trends
to art is the women's movement, said
Joyce Aiken, head of the CSUF Art
In the 1940s and 1950s, the majority of art classes were being taught by
men. Men have different art philosophies than women,' said Aiken.
'Women felt that In order to be
accepted and successful in the art
community, they had to adhere to the
male philosophies—as indeed they
did,'she said.
But as the late 1960s and early
1970* rolled.in and the women's
movement began to gather strength,
women's art changed right along with
the movement.
*ln the earfy '70s,, women's art
was quite reactionary—as was the
women's movement. Now both have
matured and have become accepted,'
Aiken said.
'There Is no longer a need for th*
shock art that was employed at that
time. For instance, In menstrual art,
women artists were actually using
tampons and Kotex in their work and
saying, 'This is what women are
about.' Some felt that It was necessary at that time, but now no one
would look at it,* she said.
The women's movement was also
instrumental In starting a movement
toward more personal art, Aiken said.
'In the late '60s and early '70s, we
had a trend toward minimal art, very
stark art with very little, if any, emotional context,* she said. There
came to be a very strong reaction
against minimal art. This reaction
carried the trend to the other end of
•From the minimal art, like a white
on white canvas, we swung Into a new
decorative art, which used an abundance of material, Just overloaded the
canvas,'Aiken said.
•Decorative art was not necessarily
personal; It was merely a reaction
against the minimal art. However,
with the growth of the women's
movement, feminist art allowed
women to reflect a more personal
statement In their art work,* she said.
Aiken noted that she saw that her
own work was changed through the
Influence of the women's movement.
'I began to do more personal work.
I left drawing and painting and started working with craft materials. *
Possibly the most personal of her
(See Trends page 10)
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Extra
CAOS is
not chaos
to CSUF
By Margaret Helnan
" Out of chaos can come art, and
CAOS, the Cultural Arts Organization of Students, is determined
to bring an artistic atmosphere to
CSUF.
Susi Schaefer, one of tbe group's
• founders, said the organization was
formed last month and already has
more than 60 members who have
paid their $2 semester dues. Students
taking drama, dance, music, art
and 'anyone who has creative tendencies' can join, she said.
The purpose of the group is to
'benefit the university and community artistically,' and CAOS already has a number of activities in
the planning stage.
Painting wtll begin soon on a mural
for the Veterans' Hospital. Portable
murals for the CSUF Music Department are also being planned.
Schaefer said that next semester,
students will be able to paint the murals for class credit.
Projects to raise money for these
artistic endeavors, as well, as for
new equipment for the art department, Indude a bake sale Feb. 5
in the Free Speech Area, painting
little hearts on people's hands for
Valentine's Day, selling tee shirts
with the CAOS logo and a pottery
sale. The group Is also applying for a
grant and Is seeking donations from
businesses. ,    ,
-We're willing to help raise funds
for   other   departments,'   Schaefer
said. 'With 60 some of us, CAOS is
, lot of people pulling together.'
She said CAOS could be helpful
(See CAOS, page 10)
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