Sunday, March 31, 1974

I HE MI(-I"IIU/-NN UAILY

Sundy, Mrch 1, 974 I1~IVX~hI(AIN AIL

vage Five

Presidents

Club:

Hobnobbing with alumni

By BETH NISSEN
A LUMPY SIXTYISH woman,
the wrinkles in her face
creasing her make-up, bumped
into me. She rocked her drink
and the ice cubes clinked to-
gether.
"Brandy," she winked at me.
"Nature's solution to winter is
brandy and fur." She wiggled her
shoulderssand turned to let me
see the stole that hung on her
wilted neck.
"It's real chinchilla," she con-
fided in a whisper, filling my ear
with brandy extract.
I moved away, mingling with
the crowd of University alumnae
and distinguished dignitaries.
The ogcasion was the Presi-
dent's Club dinner. The spangled-
gowned and bow-tied people were
gathered at Raleigh House in
Southfield to the glory of the
maize and blue and the green-
money that was had and was
to be had.
MY DINNER TICKET placed
me at table 32. "Second table
third row down," rattled the
usher. I found the table and
seated myself in front of a plastic
looking fruit cup.
I looked at my table mates, all
sharing theccommon bond of
some past connection with the
University and the $15.00-a-head
price for dinner.
A small,dtalkative Italian judge
from Wayne County sat to my
left. "And who is this lovely
young lady?" he asked, in a thick
accent, leaning in my direction.
I surmised he must be speaking
to me.
"I'm from the Michigan Daily
.." I began.
"Ah, A student!" he exclaimed,
neatly pidgeon-holing, me for the
evening. I became the entitled
resident table expert on the mood
of the campus and the seer of
what was to come in future
semesters.
"Tell me, Miss Michigan
Daily," said the balding, slightly
pickled businessman to my right,
as he slid over to occupy the
seat that had been empty be-
tween us. "What do you thing of
all this streaking?"

I SNEEZED and excused my-
self.
"How clever," he said. "A
sneeze! You're a very funny
girl!"
I was glad my respiratory sys-
tem amused him, and I fumbled
for a Kleenex.
At the table next to us, a be-
diamonded lady, herrdress swal-
lowed in three tiers of over-
lapping belly, claimed loudly be-
tween bites of grapefruit, " I

was calling for attention. Con-
versations faded and attention
was drawn toward the dais.
The master of ceremonies be-
gan rambling about the basket-
ball team, drawing great ap-
plause from the loyalist crowd,
They might have voted to can-
onize Johnny Orr if they hadn't
been finishing the last spoonsful
of melted dessert.
Theattending V.I.P.'s were in-
troduced to appreciative applause
-the President and his grinning

I fought the temptation to turn and politely
aSh her if she could pay my last tuition install-
ment and maybe my Ulrich's bill as well.'

just adore the Ann Arbor cam-
pus. Paul and I gave five thou-
sand this year."
I SILENTLY blessed the archi-
tects for provoking such moneyed
generosity. I fought the tempta-
tion to turn and politely ask if
she could pay the last $145.00
installment on my tuition that
was due on Friday, and maybe
my Ulrich's bill as well.
A frumpy waitress set a plate
in front of me. I stared at the
rolled chicken breast and tried
to estimate what on the plate
was worth $15.00.
T H E BUSINESSMAN w a s
breathing Vin Rose on me again,
making it difficult to concentrate
on the chicken.
"I assume you smoke mari-
juana," he said, not pausing for
me to answer. "I smoked it and
I flew around the room a couple
times . . ." (he laughed, know-
ingly nudging my elbow), "But
I couldn't remember what I was
doing. That's why I quit.'
The image of this oaf lighting
up accompanied by a Freak
Brothers comic book and prob-
ably some Kresge 39-cent in-
cense made me drop a spoon-
ful of peas back onto the plate.
SOMEONE AT THE head table

wife, scattered Senators and
legislators present and various
University deans, Regents and
spouses.
The businessman leaned to-
ward me, spilling a slosh of
coffee onto the tablecloth.
"You are really fascinating,"
he said, smiling from molar to
molar. "You ought to take up
with me. I'm not that much
older than you, you know."
What's a mere thirty years, I
thought.
Fleming was telling the guests
and their wallets that the Univer-
sity was in financial trouble.
"We're facing the same problems
you are," he told the audience,
drawing understanding and sym-
pathetic nods from people around
the room who had roasts in their
freezers and sufficient ethyl in
their Turtule-Waxed LTD's.
I WIGGLED my foot inside my
shoe and discovered a hole in
the left foot of my pantyhose.
"Damn," I muttered, remember-
ing I had no back-up pair in the
dresser drawer at home.
I began to take notes on the

President's State of the Univer-
sity address. The judge left and
walked toward the back of the
hall. The businessman 1l rched
forward again and said "Do you
get paid for working at The
Daily?"
The crowd applauded some-
thing Fleming said.
"Only if I do the work," I an-
swered. "I just missed that sen-
tence."
THE CROWD applauded the
end of the speech. I began to
organize my notes, with the
businessman staring over my
shoulder, telling me about the
industrial plant he owned.
"Were you ever a model?" he
asked. "You look just like a
model, you know."
"Excuse me, I have to go call
in this story," I said standing
and feeling very much like a
modern Brenda Starr.
"Are you coming back to the
table?" asked the businessman,
straightening his tie.
"Yes," I lied, moving away.
I finished calling in the finer
points of Fleming's speech, hop-
ing the sentence I had missed
wasn't the key to the whole talk.
THE GLEE CLUB was singing
the Alma Mater to a respectful
and reminiscing audience and I
fished in my purse for the red
tag that would get my coat back.
The crowd started leaking into
the lobby; I gave the girl behind
the counter my tag and she
handed me my blue raincoat.
"The mink, dear," said the
lady to my left, her earrings
blinding me for a second. "Thank
you," she said as a dark fuzzy
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blur was handed to her hus-
band. She handed the girl behind
the counter a dollar bill.
My wallet was empty except
for a button and coupon for a
free coke. I gave the girl the
dime the phone had returned
from my collect call.
She flipped it into a peanut
butter jar and stalked off to get
a fox-trimmed floor-length cape
in the third row.
PRESIDENT FLEMING and
his .rife stood next to me on the
outside carpetedxstepsmwaiting
for their car to pull up. Fleming
and I shook hands and talked a
little about The Daily. He asked
me if I had a ride and I nodded
as his long car braked two feet
away.
I waved idiotically and pulled
my coat closer, walking to the
lot where my borrowed VW was
parked.
A young couple unlocked their
rusted Vega as I passed. "It
was nice to see Joan again," she
was saying. "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah," said her husband. "I
could go for a Big Mac."

SHOW TIMES
Mon.-Sat., 7:15 & 9:00
Sun., 5:30, 7:15, 9:00

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SERGEI BONDARCHUK'S 1968
WAR AND PEACE (Part Two)
This film represents the outer limits of the panoramic film, the outer limits of the
long film, and the outer limits of the attempt of the talented filmmakers to bring
a great literary work to the screen . . . everyone with a serious interest in cinema
is obliged to see it. Russian dubbed. (No subtitled print available)
NEXT WEEK: ZORBA THE GREEK, PASSION
OF ANNA, FORBIDDEN GAMES
TON IGHT at 6:45 and 10:00 AUD. A
CINEMAT G 01:ANGELL HALL
tickets on sale at 6 p.m. Adm. $1.25


www-w-

WOMEN MEN
Thinking about the next steps in your life?
Come to Personal Planning Workshops
April 27-28 or May 3;4, 5
Call 761-2274 for more information
leave name and address

SAT., SUN., & WED. AT
1, 3, 5, 7, & 9;05
THURSDAY & FRIDAY at
7 pm. & 9 p.m.
WINNER
Best Foreign
FILM
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATION

1

JEAN COCTEAU WEEKEND
TESTAMENT OF ORPHEUS 1955
Cocteau's final statement on the poet and a last confession. This film features the
poet himself and a cameo by Palbo Picasso, a sometime collaborator and equivocal
admirer of his. Short: L'ETOILE DE MER Man Ray.
TUES.: POTEMKIN FOOTLIGHT PARADE
CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT ARCHITECTURE AUD.
C7ond 9:05 Adm.$1

Fleming



_ _ ____ _ T
__ _

TRUFFAUT'S
FOR
NIGHT

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i

ci

Featuring works
by Jose Limon,
Doris Humphrey,
Elizabeth Bergmann,
Vera Embreee,
,and students

603 E. Liberty
DIAL 665-6290
SAT. & SUN. 1 & 3 p m.
"SNOOPY COME HOME" (G)
SAT. & SUN. 6t
5 p.m., 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. ONLY

UNIVERSITY DANCERS
at POWER CENTER
Friday, April 16; Saturday, April 6; Sunday, April 7 at 8 p.m.
Young People's Matinee Saturday, April 6 at 3 p.m.
New Works by Student Choreographers Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m.
EVENING PERFORMANCES $3.00 MATINEES $1.50
Tickets available at Power Center Box Office 12-4 p.m.

.

l " Y ';

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EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY-MAJOR EVENTS COMMITTEE
is pleased to announce the only Detroit area performance of
THE TEMPTATIONS
with special guest stars
lower of Power
in
Bowen Fieldhouse
April 5-8:00 p.m.
TICKETS:
n Y ,$6.00 (reserved),

I

WINNER
OF
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATIONS
includin
BEST MOVIE

I

"THE


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