1994_10 Insight October 1994

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LIFESTYLE
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
October 19,1994
INSIGHT
Music review
Shahada Abdul-Karim
INSIGHT
Saturday. Oct. 15. 1994.
2:05 p.m.: The sound crew arrives. A tractor-trailer carrying
the sound equipment lo be used
in tonight's concert maneuvers its
way to the stage. The tailgate is
lowered, and the crew goes about
unloading and placing the equipment in its proper places on the
previously empty stage. The
sound booth is set up on ihe opposite end of the audilorium, facing stage.What equipment
doesn't go on ihe stage goes
there.
2:45 p.m.: The lighting crew arrives. Laden with extension cords
of various sizes and shapes, the
crew goes about setting up the
lighting to be used in (he performance. While the crews are setting up. members of Queen
Latifah's band start filtering in
for the upcoming sound check.
The drummer and disk jockey
arrive first followed by the bass
guitarist and sound manager.
3:00 p.m.: Queen Latifah arrives, dressed casually in aT-shirt
and jeans. Instead of hanging
around, she and her bodyguard
head straight oui into the main
fairgrounds to make appearances,
sign autographs and sample various goods of the Fresno Fair.
4:00 p.m.: Sound check. The
members of the band get into
place. The speakers arc turned
on, and the band goes through
various cuts on Queen Latifah's
current album "Black Reign."
The queen reappears, laden wilh
various gifts and memorabilia
from the fair. She goes up on
stage and takes Ihe microphone.
After about 15 minutes of checking, she plays around wilh the
drums a little bit, then disappears
into her dressing room.
6:00 p.m.: Fans—both those
bearing tickets and some noi—
begin to cluster outside of ihc
gates. All arc plastered to the
gate, trying to get a glimpse of
their favorite star. Security and
public relations begin to materialize at the gale fronts, and provide a strange mixture of threat
and hype which proves to be
enough lo excite the ever-growing crowd.
7:00 p.m.: The gates open, and
fans and spectators flood in to take
their various assigned seats. Everything is quiet as her loyal subjects await the arrival of their
queen.
7:30 p.m.: Fuji (a local Fresno
artist), comes onto stage to hype
up the crowd. The crowd goes wild
with anticipation and begins to
chant "Latifah" with growing fervor. After aboul five minutes, the
lights go up on stage, and Queen
Latifah runs into the spotlight to
the wild cheering and screams of
adoring fans both in the stadium
and outside the gate. With a stroke
and cue from the sound booth, the
music started up, and the concert
began.
Queen Latifah more lhan delivered her part wilh hard-hilling hip-
hop cuts from all three of her albums. "All Hail the Queen." "Nature of a Sista" and her latest one,
"Black Reign." Instead of simply
singing to the crowd, she made a
point of communicating with
them, making such comments such
as "If this is a fair, how come you
guys had to pay lo come in here
and sec me?"
The crowd went wild in response
lo everything lhat she had to say,
and one lucky fan even gol to come
on stage and dance with her. Someone even went so far as to throw a
condom up on stage.
Employees from the Box (Channel 34) made a special appearance
and presented her with a stuffed
"Box-bear."
The entire concert was filmed by
The Box. so there is a good chance
thai the concert will be aired sometime in the future.
In actual time measure, ihe concert was raihcr short. It only ran
one hour and twenty minutes, but
the atmosphere was so charged by
both ihe presence of Queen Latifah
and the essence of her music thai
hardly anyone noticed.
The fans left excited and very satisfied. The lucky ones even gol to
go backstage and meet her to get
autographs and pictures. She only
stayed backstage long enough lo
give everyone a quick hello.
Then she was off lo her hotel. She
left ihc same night, murmuring
something unintelligible about
heading to Los Angeles.
In any case, she has gone, but noi
without leaving some very special
memories in her place.
Star-studded attractions
Fresno Fair draws stars
Greg Chew, Special to INSIGHT
Alan Autry, from "In The Heat of the Night" is interviewed by Lisa White at the Big Fresno Fair.
University restaurant
receives major facelift
INSIGHT
It's roomy. It's comfortable. It's
lively. It's the University Restaurant.
The newest addition to University
Food Services provides a change in
atmosphere. Many diners agree that
the setting is quid and relaxing,
which the dim lighting helps create.
Jim Prince, director of University
Food Services, said it was lime for
the faculty, staff and students to have
a nice place lo cat. Also, the old restaurant was not profitable. The restaurant used lo be behind the Country Store.
Prince decided lo make a change
lasl spring.
The new restaurant seats 120. During July and August of 1994, renovations were made which included
new tables, chairs, drapes, lighting
and ceiling.
The change reduced the size of the
Country Store.
Prince said shrinking the Country
Store did not affect sales. The main
concern was lo make ihe restaurant
more profitable, he said.
The decrease in enrollment was also
a contributing factor in the decision
to make the Country Store smaller.
"Wc needed ihc people," he said,
|   "because if people are not purchasing the food, then sales eventually
drop."
Carl Carmichael, speech communications professor, said the smaller
Country Store has less to offer.
"There are fewer things and the
bulks are reduced," said Carmichael.
who goes to the Country Store every
day.
Before, barrels of drinks and a bakery were available.
Prince said he cannot cater to individual needs. He said he has to think
of the general consumers.
"People will complain," he said,
please everyone. We can
only continue to provide a good atmosphere*."
The Country Store is more of a
of a grab-and-eat place and not a
place to sil and relax. Prince said.
"We wanted to create a soft atmosphere, and we wanted it to match
the red and blue tones of Fresno
Slate," Prince said.
Debbie Guill. manager of the restaurant, said it is a good place to get
away.
"When you're in here, you don't
feel like you're on'campus," she said.
Marilyn Martino. an undergraduate
adviser for the Craig School of Business, said, "It's very quiet-like, and
you feel as if you're in a restaurant."
Marion Jimenez. 19, a junior majoring in psychology and criminology, said she feels the new place is
belter.
"I love it. It's so much more classy
and open. I don't feel so claustrophobic," she said.
Roger Barsoon. a senior mass communications and journalism major,
said he was amazed that the restaurant is so nice.
"I didn't expect something like this
from the university. In fact, I feel really out of place in these." he said,
pointing lo his blue sweats and white
T-shirt.
The restaurant is like a break in her
day. said Ruth Griffin, a professor of
theater arts and dance.
"Being a dancer, it's an anomaly to
have me sitting down in a relatively
civilized atmosphere," she said.
Diners of the restaurant also praise
the food.
Lccia Dc Luna, 23, a senior sociology and Chicano and Latin Studies
major, said the old restaurant didn't
appeal to her and thought il was too
expensive. After satisfying her curiosity when the new restaurant
opened, she's now hooked on clam
chowder served in a bread bowl.
"It's good and very reasonable,"
Martino said.
Carmichael. who eats there at least
once a week, can still remember the
buffet a few years back. It was inexpensive and diverse.
"Now. you have to decide on one
thing," he said. "The salad bar is also
limited, whereas before it wasn't."
Carmichael said the salad bar was
half the length of the restaurant.
Mary Parker, a professor of speech
communications, said she likes the
presentation of ihe food and thinks
the service is great.
Each of the five waitresses and two
waiters wears black slacks and white
tops. The hostess wears formal attire.
Service outside the restaurant has
also been made available to parties
for special occasions. Prince said.
Renting the restaurant and catering
boost profits, he said.
"This gives the restaurant a chance
lo make money and, al the same time,
gives them a nicc^place to cat," he
said.
s mak-
As a result, ihc r
ing more money.
"But because the restaurant jusl
opened, it's not making a lot," Prince
said.
He said he hopes thai through advertising and by renting the restaurant out, it will receive more recognition and draw more customers.
The money will pay ihe remodeling budget, he said.
The restaurant is open from 8:30
a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for continental
breakfast. It is open from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. for lunch. Reservations arc not
necessary.	
Percy, please
Terese Farmen
INSIGHT
The following book review is
a poetic narration about the
life and works of poet, philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Quotation marks around certain phrases are actual quotes
taken from Shelley's poems.
These quotes can be found in
the Norton Anthology
"Shelley s Poetry and Prose."
For a man to be outcast,
wilst his duty concerned
society's mockery on the
disadvantaged:
a nonconformist vessel
n ihe |
a of
incoherent imagery,
so the critics mocked,
you, Shelley were a gross
idealist dreaded to the
hips in life,
imagination conquest,
skies casting bows of rain
upon their faces;
a subtle optimist,
"If winter comes, can Spring
be far behind?"
But a dreary pessimist alas —
"We rest — A dream has
power to poison sleep.
Wc rise — One wandering
thought pollutes the day."
When first wife Harriet
drowned herself (literally)
in despair,
did you not seek your own
gratuity in solitude,
magnitude of masterpiece
potential?
I wonder how since the world
betrayed your genuis, hence
death your poetic birth,
that you should speak so
compassionately on their
behalf;
from such a wealthy
background,
you sided with the workers:
"Wherefore weave with toil
and care the rich robes your
tyrants wear."
And when they laughed al
your nonconformist philosophy, ingenious,
did you not
"leave thee naked
to laughter?"
But understood nonetheless,
the truest of man's devotions,
"Such gloom, — why man has
such a scope
For love and hate, despondency and hope,"
Imagination was a moral obligation in lieu of privilege
and your conquest, but as an
empathy
to the desecration of will —
Your earth had spirits,
colored as prism guards to
your liking,
each syllable a dose of
love to counter sarcastic
fancies.
In one verse, a summation of
life's toil as master verse
philosopher:
"Yet if wc could scorn
Hate and pride and fear;
If we were things born
Not to shed a tear,
I know not how thy joy we
ever should come near."
STEPPING STONE FARMS
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