12B - Th ichiganDaily Weeken agazine - Thursday,_Octer_9,_1997 r Q State of the Arts COME0OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine - Thursday, October 9, 19 - 58 [i University Feature Bentley Library peevshisoy1 We're here. We're queer. Get used to it." This is one of many catch phrases you may hear this week, this week of celebration, this week of tossing your inhibitions aside, this week of being yourself, this week of coming out. That's right, it's the time of year again for National Coming Out Week. And Coming Out Week isn't just about telling the world you're gay, it's about te4l4ng the world that it's OK to be gay. In the spirit of telling the world that it is all right to be who you are, I propose that members of another minority come out of their own respective closets - guys who watch soap operas. You know who you are, guys. You are the ones who schedule your classes and tee times around "Days of Our Lives." You are the ones pissed off that Sonny left Brenda at the altar. You are the ones who can name all of Erica Kane's hus- bands. You are the ones annoyed because Sami is still alive. Face it, you are the ones addicted to daytime dramas - not that there's anything wrong with that. Admitting that you're a male soap opera viewer is nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't make you less of a man; it doesn't say anything about your sexual orientation; it doesn't give people cause to ridicule you. It does, however, instill in you an enormous sense of pride. Take it from me, I'm an out and proud soap-opera viewer, flaunting my extensive knowl- edge of "General Hospital" as if there were no tomorrow. Still, there is a stigma on television lifestyle choices like mine. This stigma has been created by a society that believes only housewives and F young girls watch soap operas, and it is reinforced by an advertising indus- try that creates especially tortur- ous tampon, yeast Bryan Lark infection and baby Daily Arts Editor wipes commer- cials to air during soaps, making it painfully obvious that college-age males are not the target audience. But for me, what doesn't kill me dur- ing my beloved soaps only makes me stronger. I laugh in the face of Vagisil; I scoff at Pampers Pull-Ups; I care noth- ing of the new Tampax Multi-pack. These sexist commercials are a fact of soap-watching life and are but one way soap society is prejudiced against viewers of the male persuasion. It is assumed from the get-go CBS soap honcho Bill Bell and other big cheeses that the core audience is entirely female. What else would explain the fact that female characters on soaps are either virtuous.virgins or all-out vixens - two categories of admirable femininity for women to simultaneously identify with and despise. On the other hand, male soap charac- ters are divided into three subsets: patri- arch, lawyer and brooding gigolo: with All three groups are too sexy for their own good and are often shown fresh from the gym or from the shower. All this is great for women - some- thing to enjoy on both intellectual and carnal levels. But where does that leave us? With whom can we identify? Adam/Stuart Chandler? Who are we supposed to desire? Deirdre Hall? Even though I'm not welcome at this meeting of the All-Girls Club, I'm going to stay just to spite them, damn it. Are you reading this saying, "Gee, I wish I could be like Bryan, flaunting my soap opera pride as if there were no tomorrow?" Well, you can, my friend, by just following my simple steps to find the out-and-proud soap viewer inside yourself. Step 1: Affirm your feelings. Before you come out, make sure that coming out is truly for you, that you are actually a soap addict. For instance, I admit to watching "GH" on a regular basis, as well as the rest of the ABC afternoon lineup if it is presented in front of me. I can also tell you what's happening on "Young and the Restless" "As The World Turns'" "Bold and the Beautiful" and "Days." In case you're not sure, this definitely makes me an addict. If you're in anywhere near as deep as I am, you should just come out already! I'm tired of being a lonely voice. Step 2: Please yourself. Not like that, pervert. Just ensure that you're coming out for yourself and not to please a psychotic soap-addict columnist begging for a revolution. Step 3: Steel yourself. Be prepared for taunting at the hands of the closed-minded. Prepare for peo- ple calling you awful names. Prepare for teasing calls of "Oh, sorry, did I call during your soap?" Prepare to be on the defensive when someone calls your favorite soap heroine a dumb bitch. Step 4: Realize that your favorite soap heroine is a dumb bitch. Until you view your soap and its characters as a cheesy and vapid, though passionate, exercise in pop entertainment and not as an omnipotent bible of social interaction, your confi- dence in coming out as a super soap fan can never be fully supported. Think about it: How credible are you as a fan if you actually believe that people return from the dead; that most bodies are never recovered; that so many babies were switched at birth; that demonic possession occurs every day; that you have an evil twin or that your girlfriend is your sister? Step 5: Come out. That was easy, wasn't it? Only five steps and you're out. Why was that so simple, Bryan? Because no one cares if guys watch soaps, that's why. Soap-o- phobia is a phenomenon that should be non-existent in today's supposedly open and enlightened culture. So, go ahead, achieve daytime nir- vana, watch your soap openly, discuss it with friends, tell strangers, shout it from the rooftops. Do whatever you want, but just don't ever let anyone tell you that you're strange or different just because you've been watching "GH" since pre- school, before being a soap addict was hip. Listen to this out soap fan, I'm OK watching soaps; you're OK watching soaps. But if you ever believe you're not normal, whether you're buying a Soap Opera Digest at Meijer, rushing home from your evening class to catch Susan Lucci lose another Daytime Emmy or are contemplating a trip to this year's Soap Fan Fair, just seek out those who understand your addiction. There's safe- ty in numbers. We're your brothers, your friends, your sons, your RAs, your Daily colum- nists. We're here. We watch soaps. Get used to it. - You can get the week's soap syn- opsesfrom Bryan Lark by e-mailing him at blark@umich.edu RECYCLE THE DAILY. DAILY. By Jason Stofer Daily Arts Writer "You bulls are the same, but the rea- son for this note is to praise the ability of Lt. Ron Leonard. He is one man should I ever be cornered, I wouldn't kill.' -A letter stored in the Bentley Library, to Port Huron police, from infamous mobster John Dillinger: Tales of bayonets clashing and pleas to distant loves; stories of athletic tri- umph and crushing political defeat. Within the walls of the University's Bentley Historical Library on North Campus, this lore of yesteryear lives on. The Library, established by the Board of Regents in 1935, draws researchers from across the nation, seeking to tap the archive's rich historical documents. The collection, encompassing both Univer- sity and state history, contains more than 30,000 linear feet of archives and manu- scripts, 57,000 printed volumes, 1.5 mil- lion photographs and other visual mate- rials, and more than 10,000 maps. These records give a glimpse into the creative processes of some of America's greatest artistic minds. Arnold Gingrich was a Michigan Daily editor who went on to become the editor of Esquire Magazine. In the first half of the twentieth century, Esquire was one of the nation's most respected literary magazines. The archive's Esquire Collection contains Gingrich's commu- nications with some of the industrial era's most memorable and prominent figures. One of the more intriguing documents is the first draft of Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro, complete with Gingrich's editorial changes and remarks. The collection also includes let- ters and stories from such notables as William Faulkner and Clarence Darrow. Relevant archival documents date all the way to the present. Just a few years ago, Michigan architect Gunnar Birkerts donated his entire cache of sketches to the archive. Birkerts designed the University Law School's underground library, and is known as one of today's great modernists. Birkerts saved every sketch - from his original conceptual drawings to the polished final blueprint - for more than 30 of his most famous works. Manuscript Assistant Sally Bund said that with the days of hand-drawn archi- tectural drawings giving way to technol- ogy, preliminary sketches are will no longer be saved. Thus, Birkerts' sketches will prove invaluable to architectural stu- dents in the centuries ahead, as they doc- ument the entire creative process. "They are a fascinating view of how the archi- tectural mind works," Bund said. William Wallach, Bentley's assistant director, said Bentley's mission is twofold - to serve as the University's archive, while also documenting the his- tory of the state of Michigan, its people and its non-governmental organizations. Perhaps Bentley's most sought-after doc- uments are the letters of 27 of Michigan's 45 governors. For instance, the letters of Stevens Mason, Michigan's first governor, con- tain personal correspondence with Andrew Jackson and accounts of the infamous Toledo War, which pitted Michigan against Ohio. Jackson mediat- ed between the two states, and a com- promise was reached - Michigan received the upper peninsula, while Ohio retained Toledo. At the time, many Michigan residents thought the state got a raw deal. The archive's political collection, while primarily local, does contain some very important national documents. For instance, in the archival stacks are the cue cards from which President Lyndon Johnson read his Great Society speech. There is also a fairly detailed account of the so-called "Polar Bear Expedition," - America's foray into the Russian Revolution. The library purchases almost none of its documents, instead relying on Michigan citizens' donations. However, materials rarely land at Bentley on a sil- ver platter - some of the library's more intriguing tales surround how its collec- tion was obtained. After 130 years of repeatedly unsuc- cessful attempts, Governor Alpheus Felch's letters were recovered following a phone call less than two decades ago. The executor of Felch's great-grand- daughter's estate called the library after finding the papers buried in a dust- cov- ered trunk. Within weeks, they were delivered to the library. Materials in the archive run the gamut from war to politics to gender relations to athletics. One of the collection's strengths lies in its volumes of local material. The John Sinclair letters give an up-close view of the life and philoso- phy of a controversial 1960s radical. Sinclair lived in the building which cur- rently houses the Luther Co-op and was a leader in the Detroit music scene. He also hoarded 1960s memorabilia - his collection gives valuable insight on the inner workings of revolutionary groups like the Black Panthers. The list of possible research topics seems almost endless. The archive con- tains a comprehensive history of Michigan athletics, mapping collegiate Bentley conservator JIm Craven preserves 19th-century advertisements. Fram O BIANCHI - s For More Information Contact: BIANCHI-ROSSI TOURS at o Loco in 1uco?? 800-875-4525 web sitn wwbianc-essicem athletics' growth from its infancy to today. Wallach said the library is active- ly updating its extensive resources for those researching various single-issue groups, including gay and lesbian rights, the civil rights movement, abor- tion and the environment. The archive also gives a comprehen- sive University history. Bentley research assistant and LSA junior Chris Frey said the library contains all University presi- dents' letters, and has "just hundreds of boxes of material on the influential James B. Angell." On the Bentley Website, located at http:// wvswsumich.edu/-bhl/index.htm, the campus' history and buildings are brought to life on a virtual campus tour. Given the rarity of its documents, the Bentley library maintains closed stacks; documents are retrieved by the library's archival staff on a per-request basis. Frey said this is done "not so much because the documents are valuable, but because they are unique and irreplaceable in nature." Patrons must check their bags and belongings at the door, and then are allowed to request documents from the librarys knowledgeable archivists. People should feel comfortable searching the archive, whether they are seasoned University professors or are making their first foray into historical research, Wallach said. "We try to give everyone the same kind of professional attention --whether they be a profesion- al scholar or neophyte" Howevers, researchers should be warned - archival work can be tedious. While the research may be difficult, results are often incredibly rewarding. "It's a real detective job sometimes, but as you discover things, it's fun," Wallach said. QUALITYVINTAGE & RESALE CLOTHING mention this ad for 10% off your next purchase 110 East Liberty Ann ArborMI4814 313.7b12605 " Open daily 10am -9 pm weekends 10am - midnight Aj \t FOR YQU R COS Well pay $5.00 for these CDs Puff Daddy - No Way Out Fiona Apple - Tidal Oasis - Be Here Now Beatles - Abbey Road Spice Girls - Spice - Sgt. Pepper Matchbox 20 - Yourself or Someone Like - Magical Mystery Tour Jewel - Pieces of You Jimi Hendrix Sarah McLachlan - any CD - The Ultimate Experience Prodigy - The Fat of The Land - Are You Experienced? 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