The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 10, 1981-Page 9-F
MARRIAGE MADE IN... GENERAL HOSPI TAL'
Students and soaps
By PAMELA KRAMER
Mind rot. That's what soap operas
are: absolute mind rot.
Until a few years ago I could honestly,
say the only daytime serial I had wat-
ched was Dark Shadows, and I con-
sideeed it way out of the soap opera
league.
BUT ONE YEAR, all that changed.
I'm not sure why-my mother and
father never watched a soap opera in
their lives-I found myself casually
watching the ABC afternoon line-up. It
was probably more out of curiosity than
anything else.
Oh, sure, I made jokes about my
newly-formed habit at first. I felt em-
barrassed about spending several
hours a day watching the ridiculous,
predictable lives of the characters un-
fold, fold back up again, and twist
ronl in an endless pageant alter-
nating between pain and joy.
BUT EVERYTHING They say about
soap operas being addictive is as true
as everything They say about the con-
tent: being ridiculous. I'm no longer
ashamed to admit it: I'm hooked. And"
I'm not alone. Soap-watching has, in,
deed, become a collegiate epidemic.
Case in point: Near the beginning of
the summer, an Associated Press wire
story headline caught my eye: " 'Soap
addie3ts' receive daily fix of 'General
Hospital' at bar."
THE STORY was told about a bar in
New York that has a daily General
Hospital Happy Hour catering to droves
of college students, many of them
dressed in surgical greens.
I haven't heard of anything like that
in Ann Arbor. Maybe this town is too
full of the intellectual elite for any bar
to try it. But if one of them did-if, say,
Dooley's had a wine and cheese hour (to
catch the elite who also happen to be
fans of General Hospital) featuring the
soap on the big screen-I'll bet they'd
make a killing.
Just look at the student lounges in the
dorms. Ten years ago, students were
out protesting against wars, sexism, and
racism. Now, they sit trasfixed before
the screens in these lounges, waiting
with bated breath to see what will hap-
pen next on their soaps
THE ROLE OF soap operas on
college campuses is no small matter.
The University of Alabama offers a
class on soap operas; several other
universities, including this ones have
done studies on their impact; and many
students schedule classes around
"their" soaps.
Some of the side effects of these
habits are vaguely disturbing. The
other day, University junior Jill Schultz
went out shopping for an unusual dress.
But that's not the way she looked at it.
"I'm not going to get anything that the
normal person would wear," she said.
"I'm going to get an Alexandria Quar-
temaine dress." (Ms. Quartermaine is
one of the newer members of the GH
gang).
Not everyone gets quite so involved,
but there's a little bit of it in all soap
fans. In a high-pressure environment,
an hour of mind rot can be comforting
now and then.
Prep hood
If there has been one concrete, campus-
wide movement during the past year it
has been the "preppy" movement.
While many students have eagerly pur-
sued "prephood," through fashion or
general "acceptable" preppy behavior
(daily parties, conservative politics,
etc.), other students have just as
eagerly joined the "anti-preppy" for-
ces. The war should continue well into
this fall.
Doily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM
Religion on campus more 'traditional,
'still varied
EMBASSY HOTEL
Downtown Residential Hotel
200 E. HURON
(The corner of 4th 8 Huron)
Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104
$14 Single $16 Double
MAID SERVICE SPECIAL WEEKLY RATES
OverseasVsitorsMostWeIcom.
By PAMELA KRAMER
In keeping with the national trend,
rganized religion has enjoyed in-
creasing 'acceptance on campus during
the last few years. Students are more
comfortable with these religions than
they were 10 years ago, when many
thoughtof them as "establishment" in-
stitutions, local religious leaders say.
"On a continuum, the glory days (for
campus religions) were in the late fif-
ties," says Rev. Bob Kavasch of the
University Lutheran Chapter (Missouri
Wynod). "Then the bottom fell out in the
late sixties, and now we're part way
back."
AND, KAVASCH says, the approach
and goals of his Church have changed.
"Many years ago, we (the campus
ministries) were aimed at keeping
(parents') daughters' virginity intact.
Now,, I think we're in the business of.
trying to provide comfortable spaces
for students, in a community where
they will be affirmed," he said.
Religion is "one of the first things to
go" when a person leaves home for
college, according to Rev. Andrew
Foster, chaplain at Canterbury Loft,
the Episcopal student ministry. I
But by the time students finish up at
the University, they often decide it may
be time to re-examine religion and its
role in decisidns 'concerning "ethics,
values, the meaning of life-'the pur-
pose of it all',"Foster said.
AND, WHETHER students hold
traditional or non-traditional beliefs, if
they want to participate in a com-
munity that shares those beliefs, they
will almost certainly be able to find one
in the area.
"There's everything from Atheist to
Zen here," said Rev. Bob Hauert, direc-
tor of the University's Office of Ethics
and Religion. The office publishes a list
of nearly 100 religious and spiritual
organizations available to students.
According to Hauert, who has been in
Ann Arbor for 21 years, some of the
newer, non-mainline religious
movements, such as Siddha Yoga
Dham and the Word of God Com-
munity, have become solidly
established in the area.
Craig Harvey, a staff member of the
Church of Scientology, said his group
provides "a way for a person to
discover himself or herself spiritually
through more knowledge."
As a free service to the public, the
Church will evaluate a personality
questionnaire which "gives a clear pic-
ture of what areas of life you're doing
well in, and shows where improvement
might be beneficial," Harvey said.
One of the most active campus
religious organizatons is the Jewish
Hillel community. With a mailing list of
several thousand, Hillel offers coun-
seling, concerts, films, dancing, and
countless other activities to students in-
terested.
Local musicians: A review
(Continued from Page 4)
e same name).
Dick Siegel started out playing his
blues standards and quirky originals
alone before graduating to a full band
sound which brought the money- and
exposure of the bigger bars in town.
Similarly, Steve Nardella played
acoustically. and -r . various
aggregations before he moved on to the
Ropkabilly revival of his present band.
BOTH MEN have "paid their dues,"
*an , it shows in their professionalism
and poise on the stage. Consequently,
both bands are an almost certain good
time live, and they are two of the most,
popular ones in town.
In a similar vein, virtoso harmonica
player Peter "Madcat ' Ruth enjoys a
fair.sized local following. Madcat plays
straight old-fashioned blues harp like a
magician, and his piano and bass
players are talented, as well.
Other local talent in the more
traditional acoustic sphere are the
*Gemini Brothers, identical twins who
are best known for the beautiful har-
mony of their blending voices.
WHILE ALL OF these traditional ac-
ts are fine on one level or another, they
don't exactly break any new ground,
musically. But this is not to say that
such ground-breaking is not being done
in Ann Arbor; several local bands are
attempting to fusee: together x
dichotomous styles or expand the boun-
daries of others. It's in this area that
the most exciting things are happening
musically.
The Flexibles, for instance, is a
local and relatively new band that is
quite successful at moulding white funk
and pop_ together. Although it plays
primarily originals, every number is
danceable, and one can enjoy them. at
first listen.
Both the Ragnar Kavaran Band and
Gary Pryka and the Scales mix reggae,
R&B, and heavy metal with more pop
concerns. While both bands present
somewhat of a challenge to the ear
(both play almost all originals) the ef-
fort is well-spent. Pryka and Kavaran
are unusual and engaging singers, as
well as talented songwriters.
THERE ARE so many bands in the
city that it may be more useful for the
newcomer to think in terms of clubs
rather than types of bands.
For starters, Second Chance and the
Count of Antipasto are, on most nights,
the home of the top forty cover bands:
Such bands are usually from Detroit.
Two or three times a week Second
Chance deviates from this pattern, and
these deviations are worth checking
out.
An altogether different attitude per-
vades The Ark, a small club that
features a great variety of acoustic per-
formers ranging from major artists
like Tom Paxton or Pete Seger to
amateurs, who have their own night on-
ce a week.
Rick's American Cafe and the Star
Bar are more difficult clubs to
categorize. Rick's presents everything
from national blues artists (Son Seals,
Jimmy Johnson), to local cover bands,
to local original bands. The Star is a
seedier version of Rick's, and the bands
are usually original and new.
The final word on music in Ann Arbor
is to "explore." Whatever it is that you
love in music, there is a very good
chance that it is here somewhere. But
like every other'service 'this town and
this university offer, you have to look
for it; it won't come to you.
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Ann Arbor's
Oldest & Finest
Natural Foods
Restaurant
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Role of Major Events
depends on economics
(Continued from Page 4)
is known as a "B market," because the
population is only about 120,000. Being
45' miles down the road from Detroit
doesn't help.
AS YOUNG EXPLAINS, two percent
of a market may be interested in buying
tickets for a given concert; two percent
of Detroit is considerably larger than
two percent of Ann Arbor. Translation:
The artists can often make more money
by playing in Detroit.
This is especially true of black ar-
tists. MEO has come under attack
several times for not booking black ar-
tists. Young says they try to, but any
show MEO books has to be within its
economic reach. That is, they cannot
afford to lose too much money.
FURTHERMORE, many artists
have certain markets they feel are im-
portant to their'careers. Consequently,
the richness of Detroit's musical
history draws many bands there
repeatedly.
If a concert is scheduled in Detroit, it
probably will not be scheduled in Ann
Arbor, for economic and contractual
reasons. The latter involves the usual
"90 days, 90 miles" rule of
booking-performers are often not
allowed by contract to play within 90
miles of a city within 90 days.
Sometimes this restriction is waived, as
it was when Bruce Springsteen played
If MEO makes money, the profits go
back into the price of tickets. Tickets
for the betroit Bruce Springsteen con-
cert, for instance, cost $10.00 and $12.50
apiece. The Ann Arbor show cost $8.50
and $10.00.
It was unclear at press time whether
MEO broke even in 1980-81, since the
total cost of overhead had not been
determined. Young said the year was
the leanest MEO has had so far, even
though it sold out more concerts than it
ever has. The problem, she says, is that
there weren't enough concerts to
produce the revenue needed to cover
costs.
EVEN SELL-OUTS have their
problems. Ask anyone who stood in line
all night for Bruce Springsteen tickets,
only to get seats high up in the gold tier.
The whole experience brought on a bit
of an uproar-Springsteen apologized
on stage-but Young says there is no
better way to sell tickets for shows so
heavily in demand.
Selling tickets by mail, she says, is
STAINED GLASS, LEATHER,
PAPER CUT-OUTS, PRINTS,
WEAVING, WOODWORK,
POTTERY, JEWELRY
expensive, and check-in systems
discriminate against out-of-towners.
Young insists there is no way to prevent
people from standing in long lines with-
out inviting worse problems.
A parting word to the wise: Tickets to
MEO concerts are sold at Crisler, the
MEO box office, and other local outlets,
but none of these outlets has better
tickets than the others. The tickets are
evenly distributed by a computer and
printed on the spot. No matter where
you buy the ticket, it is first-come, first-
served.
So there is no point in waiting all
those hours in line at Crisler. If only the
hundreds of Springsteen fans had
known that last fall.
Say hello to
our whole wheat
waffles & pancakes
Every Saturday
& Sunday
10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
314 E. Liberty 662-2019
Open /fdays a week.
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HERB DAVID
GUITAR STUDIO
302 E. Liberty
Ann Arbor-665-8001
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