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MICH.ELLANY

FILM

Caught between Baby Boom and Bust

John Cleese's

'Clockwise'

is just a waste (

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INTERVIEW
John Finn

Former administrator and BAM veteran
says some graduates leave here 'illiterate'
John Finn has been active in civil rights and racism issues here since the
1960s. He participated in the first BAM movements as a University
housing administrator, hired in 1969 as the first black in that department
in an upper level position. Finn eventually became associate director, a
position he held eight years. He spoke with Daily staffer Rebecca
Blumenstein.
Daily: What were your biggest accomplishments as associate director?
Finn: Most of my concerns and accomplishments had to do with
minorities. I don't want it to look like I am taking credit for everything
that happened while I was there, because there were many people
involved in the broad-based movement. But during my time we developed
an office with special programs that dealt with minority as well as
disabled students. These programs also addressed issues such as sexuality
and women's issues. We also created the position of the minority peer
advisor during my time here.
D: Do you feel that the minority peer program was successful?
F: It has been extremely so. Sometimes the problem that we had was
that some white staff had the tendency to not deal with minority issues
because they assumed it was the expectation of the minority peer advisors
to only deal with such issues - that was not the intent. The intent was
to insure that in residence halls we had someone who was sensitive to
minority issues. Minorities can relate to those individuals because they
are more sensitive to their needs - as well as provide an opportunity for
whites to interact with those staff people regarding racial issues.
Sometimes it doesn't work out exactly that way, but for the most part it
has worked real well.
D: Do you feel that both black and whites become uneducated when the
University is not as racially diverse as it could be?
F: Certainly. Many students come here and get educated in terms of
academics, but once they get out in the real world, they can't deal with
reality. That is because of the inability to deal with diversity. Students
stay here for four years because they are suppossed to be given a social
and cultural as well as an academic education. But many leave this place
basically illiterate. That should not happen.
D: Who does it hurt the most?
F: It's a two-way street. It should not happen with the black or the white
students if the University is providing avenues for people with diverse
backgrounds to interact. The University has seriously failed in one of its
missions to educate its students if such interaction does not occur.
D: Is your involvement with the Black Action Movements a reflection
of that belief?
F: My involvement with the first BAM movement in 1970 and the
See INTERVIEW, Page 9

LATELY I'VE BEEN READING
a lot of articles about my gen-
eration. According to the articles,
my 1965 birthdate places me
alternately in the tail end of the
Baby Boom, or the first rank of the
Baby Bust.
By now I think most of us are
familiar with the popular
characterizations of the children of
these eras. The Boomers were
Woodstock-attending, pot-smoking
longhairs out to change the world.
They are now older, cynical, and
making a whole lot of money.
The Busters are Madonna-
attending, coke-snorting shorthairs
who are out to get what they can
from the world before it blows up.
They are young, cynical, and out to
make a whole lot of money. The
groupings are media-concocted
generalizations, and we can all cite
exceptions, but I think they're
strong enough to be used in
informed discussion.
I don't feel like a Boomer or a
Buster. I find myself clinging to an
idealism which both the Boomers
and Busters have abandoned. I find
myself longing for the over-
powering sense of grassroots
community which I remember from
OFF THE WALL
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO
POLITICAL GRAFFITI?
(in reply)
OK... uh... Reagan sucks. Satisfied?
-Graduate Library
Who would name their son ORAL?
I wonder if he as a brother Nasal or
Anal?
-Angell Hall
Beer, beer, beer
So amber and so clear
Not half as sweet as a woman's lips
But a bloody sight more sincere
(replies)
Yes, guys are the "honest" ones!
(HAH!)
When are you guys going to
realize that no girls like that kind of
mentality? TRY A LITTLE SEN-
SITIVITY!
(in reply)
JUDGING BY THE COLD, SU-
PERFICIAL WAY SO MANY GIRLS
AROUND HERE ACT (AND THE
EGOMANIAC BOYFRIENDS THEY
CHOOSE), YOU HAVE TO WONDER
IF SENSITIVITY IS REALLY WHAT
THEY WANT. WHAT DO YOU
REALLY WANT? SINCERELY CUR-
IOUS.
-Graduate Library

the early '70s, when I followed my
mother to Vietnam War protests
and McGovern campaign efforts. At
the same time, I have had little
patience with the disorganization
and lack of reward that characterized
the grassroots-type organizations I
have since worked for.
The Baby Boomers, filled with a
heady understanding of the power
that the weight of their numbers
implied, set out, in the late '60s to
change the world. They succeeded,
but not all of the changes were
positive.
To their credit, the Boomers got
rid of a criminal president, and
forced the government to get out of
a war that it never should have
gotten into. The Boomers can also
take some credit for the strides that
were made to improve the status of
minorities and women.
But somewhere between the
Nixon landslide of 1972 and the

final removal of troops from
Cambodia, the "movement" evap-
orated. The final achievement ofpthe
partially unified Boomers was the
election of Jimmy Carter, and after
that, I think many of the people
who had committed themselves to
world improvement in 1967 patted
themselves on the back, and decided
that they had done their share.
The Boomers assumed that the
slack would be taken up by the next
group of college students - since
ideal-driven rebellion against the
status quo was the responsibility of
the young. And I think most young
people do feel a need to criticize and
change the world their parents have
given them, but as the number of
young people dwindled, young
idealistic rebels were subjected to a
numbing realization: there weren't
enough of them.
The prospect of national union
on important issues was rendered
next to impossible. It became clear
that even if youth united, their
collective weight would not
significantly tip the scales. The
young people of the '80s are
prisoners of demographics which
limit their impact, and the tacit
See LOGIE, Page 9

By Scott Sterling
I THINK CLOCKWISE CAN
serve as an inspiration to young
filmmakers everywhere. It demon-
strates that there is a need for good
filmmaking.
Director Christopher Norman
has managed to take one of the
most naturally funny actors
anywhere and turn out a completely
unfunny movie. I assumed that
John Cleese's participation in a
movie would at least assure a
minimum of entertaining moments.
Upon re-examination, I probably
should have realized what I was in
for.
The first and perhaps most

telling clue was that it was being
shown at the State Theater. I
remained naive to my destiny after I
got in a minor bang-up on my way
to the movie house. I even
maintained an optimistic attitude
when I enjoyed a choice of any but
five seats in the theater. But within
minutes I was all too aware of the
excruciating hour and a half that
was only beginning.
The storyline of Clockwise is
reminiscent of last year's After
Hours. John Cleese's character,
Brian Stimson, sets off to deliver
the opening address at the annual
meeting of the Headmasters Con-
ference. He misses the train, loses
his wife, hitches a ride with a car

thief, gets stuck in the mud, and
ruins his suit. Will he ever get to
the conference?
I suppose John Cleese's
character should have stayed home.
I should have stayed home. You
would think that after my own
accident I might feel sympathetic
for Cleese after his tribulations.
But there's rarely a funny moment
in Clockwise. This is the kind of
movie that makes you constantly
aware of how much your butt hurts.
I suppose I will have to
substantiate my criticisms. None
of the irreverent English wit we've
come to expect from the former
Monty Python member exists in


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Clockwise. This is not to say ther
is no irreverence, just that it's nc
funny. Here, religion and the elderl
are used for comic target practic
The gun exploded in the director'
hand. It was all too predictable, i
not wholly offensive, to portray
group of old women shufflinf
aimlessly throughout the scrip
uttering lines like "I don't knov
where I am or who I am." A
similarly inept attempt at humo
was leveled at a group of monk
who gaze longingly at the firs
women they've encountered in
long time. It sounds on paper lik
it could be funny, but it isn't.
The irreverence unfortunatel:
also extends toward the audience

PRINT FROM THE PAST

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MAGAZINE'S
of
or


Best Food Best of the
Burger Radio station
Pizza Local band
Popcorn Building
Hot Dogs Dorm
Bagels ___________________ Bar________
Greek food Dance Bar
Italian food Happy hour
Oriental food Place to meet people
Mexican food Place to take a first d
Seafood Birth control method _
Junk food Place to get away fror
Breakfast Place to study
Late-night eats Excuse for a late pap
Take-out Person in Ann Arbor
Greasy spoon Best thing about Ann
Deli Best (fill-in-the-blank).
New restaurant
Food bargain
Place to take the folks__T e w or t
Dorm cafeteria
Most unsightly building
Worst place to take a
Best usin ssesWorst dorm meal
Best Businessesw
Worst thing about Ann
Men's clothing store Worst (fill-in-the-blank)
Women's clothing store
Thrift/used clothing store ___
Shoe store__l e__ __ ___
Grocery
Gift store What do you like about
Copy shop
Liquor store What do you dislike at
Book store
Used book store What do you like about
Record store
Used record store What do you dislike at
Candy store

DAILY FILE PHOTO
Fire consumed the upper floors of a building at Main and Huron Streets on
Nov. 10,1971. The structure, which once housed Joe's Star Lounge, was
demolished recently to make way for the One North Main development.
THE DAILY ALMANAC

R E A D E R

PCOLL

THIS IS YOUR OFFICIAL BALLOT for Weekend
Magazine's fifth annual Best of Ann Arbor reader
poll. It's quite a gesture on our part, devoting a whole
Magazine to your opinions, so don't blow the oppor-
tunity. Fill this out. Now. Mail or deliver it to the
Daily (Weekend Magazine, 420 Maynard St., 48109)
by April 6, or give it to our people in the Fishbowl
today. Results will be printed in our Anril 17 edition

20 years ago - March 28,
1967: Regents held a special
closed meeting to vote to offer
Robben Fleming the presidency of
the University and succeed outgoing
President Harlan Hatcher.
Fleming, chancellor of the
University of Wisconsin's Madison
campus, recently had been offered

the presidency of the University of
Minnesota. About his apparent
choice between the two schools, he
told the Daily: "It would be a tough
decision for me to make."
Earlier, Fleming made headlines
in Madison when he posted bond
for 11 students arrested for picket-
ing Dow Chemical Co. recruiters.

Signature
Address
Phone
L - ---- - -

It took me 20
women. Now
WOW!

years to appreciate
all I can say is...
-Graduate Libraryw

e >; :RAGE 8 ,j.WEIENQMARCH-1.27, 1987

WPEKfND/MARCH 27, 1987