1988
U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER 13
1988 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER 13
I.
Allan Bloom reviewed Character acting Playing Leningrad Just hearsing around
Student takes stab at "River's Edge" lead, Georgetown pianist Student's morbid but
bestselling author who Daniel Roebuck, does strikes key notes during practical hearse is an asset
blasts Higher Education. Hollywood the easy way. Soviet tour. and a liability.
Page 18 Page 15 Page 17 Page 18
' - .
_ '\
J
Tama Janowitz
can't be all
bad; can she?
By Casey Seiler
N Daily Northwestern
Northwestern U., IL
We're eating lunch at Scoozi, a
warehouse-like Italian restaurant
that the author's publicist tells me
is "mobbed" at night. Janowitz is
wearing a miniskirt with a loose
orange sweater, and her hair is
going up and out in such a way that
her voice seems to come from the
end of a little cave. When she talks,
it's in a slightly nasal, rising-and-
falling tenor that seems oddly fit to
her torrential way of speaking.
In interviews, Janowitz's speak-
ing voice is one of the characteris-
tics that has unfairly branded her
as the Cyndi Lauper of new fiction.
More than a year since the publica-
tion of Slaves of New York, her
small frame and huge coif have
appeared on MTV, David Letter-
man, in ads for Rose's Lime Juice
and Amaretto Di Saronno and oh,
yes, on the jacket of her new novel.
A Cannibal in Manhattan is the
modern fable of Mgungu, a tribes-
man from the fictitious island of
New Burnt Norton who meets and
is adopted by New York socialite
Maria Fishburn. Upon the couple's
arrival in civilization, Mgungu is
instantly snapped up by the meat-
eaters of the New York press and
street life. Featuring a cast of
dwarves, killers, foulmouths, and
undergrounders, Cannibal is a
comic attack on Downtown society
and a chance for Janowitz to do a
happy tap dance through the freaks
and club-hoppers that she has
claimed as her stock and trade.
When asked about the origin of
her novel, Janowitz says, "I'm not
sure where the germ came from. It
might have been that some years
ago I read a story, an article about a
Third World man who was in New
York City, and they said, 'What do
you want to do?' He Said, 'Well,
shop for brassieres for my wives.'"
At its best, Janowitz's fiction
draws a fine line between the pri-
vileges of affluent Downtown
artists and the crushing exploita-
tion - whether economicemotional
or sexual-that nails themto their
place in the city's machine. "I think
that even slaves are often canniba-
listic. It's not just New York, it's our
society, and people are trampling
all the time to get someplace..."
See Janowitz, Page 18
/i
One student
recounts her
experience
By Wendy Sweet
Tech Lode
Michigan Tech U.
We met at the party last Friday. I was
talking to friends when I felt someone
staring at me. When I looked around,
this guy across the room was smiling at
me. Not a normal, happy smile, but a
lazy, sexy grin. Yeah, he was good-
looking-it felt like an electrical jolt.
Anyway, I lost sight of him for a while in
the crowd.
An hour later, when I was dancing, I
saw him talking to some guys I know.
When the song ended, I went and asked
my friends about him. They said I'd
have to find out on my own. A little later,
we literally walked into each other. I'd
had quite a few beers and felt pretty un-
steady so he put both arms around me
for support. He laughed and said he
hadn't expected to meet me quite that
way. I laughed too. Then we exchanged
names andIsaid thatIwas going home.
He offered to escort me-make sure I
got home safely. I wanted to know more
about him so Iagreed. We got into his car
and I gave him directions. I leaned my
head back and closed my eyes.
The next thing I remember I was stop-
ping in some deserted field. The door
was locked and I couldn't get out. I
panicked. He pinned my hands behind
my back and tied them together. Then he
said he'd waited for this a long
time.. .He started to rip my clothes... .I
just couldn't believe it .. .
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By Eric Lazier
The Hatchet
George Washington U., DC
"We're all addicted to something,"
Bono Vox said as he faced the sell-out
crowd that flocked to see U2. "I'm
addicted to being here." And with that,
the band swept back into the rapture of
"Running to Stand Still," from The
Joshua Tree, the band's latest and argu-
ably best album.
At RFK there was a devoted crowd,
packed like sardines in line after end-
less line, enduring grey skies, chilly
weather and an ever-present drizzle.
But U2's performance made the adverse
conditions seem insignificant.
U2 is indisputably the most popular
rock act in the world today, both on re-
cord and on the concert stage. Bono and
the crowd of more than 60,000 got their
fixes that evening. The band charged
through a driving, 105-minute set that
had people still singing the inevitable
closer "40" on the Metro ride home.
U2's forte has always been live per-
formances. The band makes great re-
cords, but the concerts are invested
with a degree of passion and personal
commitment that is matched by few
others in the field. In addition to Bono's
searing vocals, The Edge's exuberant
guitar, and the pounding rhythm sec-
tion of bassist Adam Clayton and drum-
mer Larry Mullen Jr., the band also had
age and Bono vox on Jsnua tree cover.
some serious political, social, and reli-
gious ideas to offer its audience. U2 has
long been a feverish supporter of
Amnesty International, which received
the usual pitch from Bono and had an
information table set up at the show.
The bulk of the material performed
came from The Joshua Tree, with a good
portion from The Unforgettable Fire and
a sprinkling of hits from War and Octo-
ber. And, as has become a tradition with
U2, the set was highlighted by a few
covers, ranging from Curtis Mayfield's
"People Get Ready" to the Doors' "Rid-
ers on the Storm." Bono alternately
seduced and preached to his audience,
running about the stage with such ener-
gy that at one point he stumbled and
dislocated his shoulder.
The only drawback to the show was a
nagging sense of predictability creeping
upon the band. The covers, pitches for
Amnesty, bringing people up on the
stage and other live U2 mainstays are
great. But if you have seen the band
before, you expect these things to hap-
pen. It would be very easy for U2 to fall
into a routine or a formula at this point
because it has found one that works.
The band's members' must remind
themselves that they have gained a
loyal following by challenging their au-
dience, rather than giving it what they
wanted to hear. Still, if the RFK smash
was any indication, the fire inside U2
has not burned out.
The preceeding paragraphs recount
the story of an ordinary meeting that
resulted in an "acquaintance rape." Ac-
quaintance rape is becoming more and
more of a problem. While the exact
national incidence rate of rape varies,
surveys have approximated the extent
of rape on college and university cam-
puses.
Dr. Mary Koss at Kent State U. disco-
vered that one in eight college women
have been raped and one in four were
"In 1987, one in eight
college women was raped by
a stranger or acquaintance."
- DR. MARY KOSS
victims of sexual assault. She estimates
that 25% of all college women will ex-
perience sexual assault by an acquain-
tance during or before college.
Despite these figures most victims
don't report it because "they feel
ashamed, helpless, betrayed, depress-
ed, humiliated, guilty, angry-did she
lead him on, were drugs or alcohol in-
volved, did she do something wrong? "
The definition of rape varies depend-
ing on its source. The dictionary says
See Date Rape, Page 14