Raiders
of the Lust Art

The King aid 10

ASCOT STEAL-
ing - yet
another dying
art in America.
The once time-honored
tradition seems to have gone
the way of the dodo. And
just what really happened to
the dodo, anyway?
Swiping a rival school's
mascot used to make you a
hero - even a legend. Just
a little added competition
between friendly rivals. No
harm done.
But today, school offi-
cials aren't so forgiving.
Although each season brings
renewed threats, it seems
increasingly difficult to do
the deed without incurring
a penalty.
In the most recent high-
profile case, former U. of
Texas, Austin, student Neil
Sheffield paid a hefty price
for his doggy tricks.
A determined Sheffield,
along with his larcenous

CHOOLHOUSE ROCK MEETS
Jailhouse Rock as stu-
dents slip into their
jumpsuits, slick back their hair and
tackle classes focused on The King
- er, Elvis Presley, that is.
Vernon Chadwick, an assistant
English professor at the U. of Mis-
sissippi, teaches The Polynesian
Novels and Hawaiian Movies of
Melville and Elvis. The class, affec-
tionately nicknamed "Melvis," digs
up issues of race, class, ethnocen-
trism and colonization.

music. "Elvis still has 150 voices com-
ing from different people," he says.
UI grad student Cherry Muhan-
ji, who has taken Nazareth's course
American Popular Art: Elvis as
Anthology, says she considered Elvis
a racist before she took the class but
now believes there is much more to
him. "Elvis is as important as Shake-
speare, T.S. Eliot and Tennessee
Williams," she says.
Chadwick, Nazareth and other
Elvis enthusiasts gathered to wax
philosophic about the sequined one
in August at the inaugural U. of Mis-
sissippi International Conference on
Elvis Presley. But not everyone thinks
The King is a viable topic of study.
"He's an important figure.
Whether that in itself is enough to
teach a course, I don't know," says,

John Shelton Reed, a sociology pro-
fessor at the U. of North Carolina.
"Listening to [the discussions], I did-
n't find it particularly persuasive."
Elvis in the classroom may not have
earned everyone's stamp of approval,
but there's a whole lotta shakin' goin'
on at the U. of Memphis in a course
called Memphis Music, taught by
David Evans. The course delves into
Elvis' musical characteristics and the
social forces that underlie his style.
Evans doesn't deny he's an Elvis
fan, but does he believe the man
who did so much for polyester and
velvet is still alive?
"No - I don't make pilgrimages to
his grave and light candles or anything."
Kathleen Seiler, Syracuse U./ll/ustration
by Sean Murray, Syracuse U.

It's the thought that counts, right? Right?!.
Nitty
Thrifty
lities

Don'It blame it on the frats.
Greek
Trapldies

"Elvis is a gateway of all the
issues we raise in the classroom,"
Chadwick says. "Elvis' rock and roll
was considered too black for white
society, too sexual for Puritan soci-
ety and too barbaric for American
cultural society."
Ole Miss sophomore Sony Felts,
who is enrolled in one of Chadwick-
's classes, says the course isn't as easy
as some might expect.
"A lot of people have the idea of
this 'Graceland fan' course, but it's on
a much deeper level than that," Felts
says. "I think we're going to see a lot
more teaching about Elvis. How he
affected the culture is what it's about."
Many modern-day performers
still emulate Elvis, says Peter
Nazareth, professor of English and
African-American world studies at the
U. of Iowa. Their imitation allows his
musical style to live on in all forms of

Well, it's one way to get your sheepskin.

posse, "the Texas Rustlers," swiped
rival Texas A&M U.'s Aggie mas-
cot, Reveille IV, just before the
1993 Cotton Bowl.
To Sheffield's surprise, UT
administrators didn't find his prank
humorous. Although he returned
the dog unharmed, he was disquali-
fied from running in student elec-
tions and ultimately pressured into
leaving the university.
"This one's going to go down

in the history books," UT senior
Ashley Callahan says. After the
theft, Callahan formed a student
organization to raise funds for a
statue in Sheffield's honor. "As
crazy as Texas politics are, this is
the kind of thing that could get
you elected."
Snatching a competitor's cow, a
rival's rabbit or an adversary's alba-
tross requires a brilliant blend of
deception and trickery. By contrast,
avoiding such a heist is a credit to
the animals' owners and caretakers.
Until Sheffield's theft, Reveille
IV was the only Southwest Confer-
ence mascot never stolen.

Uga, the U. of Georgia Bulldog,
still hasn't been taken. Frank
"Sonny" Seiler, a Georgia alumnus,
has owned all Ugas since the late
1950s. He says the dogs have been
shown nothing but goodwill from
home and visiting fans alike.
"Uga has always been treated
with respect," Seiler says. "I can't
think of anyone anywhere who has
threatened or would do harm to
our dogs."
Frank Pierz, director of spe-
cial programs for agriculture and
public service at Colorado State
U., is responsible for the CSU
mascot, Cam the Ram. He says
Cam provides his own best
defense against theft.
"If it was a parakeet, he'd be
easier to steal," Pierz says. "But he
weighs about 350 pounds. And
can you imagine something that
doesn't have horns butting heads
with him?"
But in general, Callahan attrib-
utes the decline of mascot stealing
to stiffer penalties and enhanced
security measures.
"It's healthy as long as it's not
destructive," Callahan says. "It's a
lost art. What happened to Neil -
it's detrimental to those of us who
appreciate mascot stealing.",
Grant J. Heston, U. of Florida/
Illustration by Michael Webb,
U. of North Carolina

Y OU SPENT YOUR FINANCIAL
aid money months ago.
The echo in your refrigera-
tor rivals that of the Grand Canyon.
With the Xs on the calendar inching
ominously close to Dec. 25, what
are cash-poor students to do?
In a mall-oriented world where
even simple cotton T-shirts sport
$19.95 price tags, finding gifts on
a college-student budget takes a lit-
tle ingenuity.
U. of Florida senior Kristen
Olson suggests a candle because the
price can be so ambiguous.
"It's a pretty gift," Olson says.
"Some candles cost $30 and some
cost $4, and you'd never know the
difference."
The homemade gift is always a
popular way to save money and give
a little bit of yourself. Cookies,
poetry or a heartfelt card will often
do the trick. Besides, it's the
thought that counts, right?
For many, a specific talent can
be turned into a thoughtful gift.
"I'm a photography major, so
usually when I'm trying to save
money, I give people one of my
photographs," says Cinnamon

Cooper, an Ohio State U. senior.
Cooper stakes her own frames out
of colored paper and uses black-and-
white film to keep costs low.
But for those whose talents
don't lead to inexpensive presents,
most college campuses have arts
and crafts centers for students to
make their own jewelry, ceramics
and other crafts.
"During Christmas time, we
do silk screenings, and people
come in and make cards and T-
shirts," says junior Tamara Neff, a
who works at a UF craft center.
"Almost everything that you make
here is under $20."
Brian Hedger, a junior at Michi- I
gan State U., says he doesn't fret
when the big day is approaching
and he's out of cash. "I'm not exact-
ly the most creative person in the
world. I don't make stuff. But I've
always somehow found a way,
whether it be working a couple of
weeks before Christmas, or some-
thing like that."
Last holiday season, Hedger
spent his Christmas break hanging
snow gutters on houses to earn some
extra dough.
"I had to do some Christmas
Eve shopping, but I got some pretty
nice stuff."
Tiffini Theisen, U. of Florida

i ,
4
j p° '
Ali

Professor (Aaon iS
itue ha "The King"
je on the-t-throne

FTER 19-YEAR-OLD SOPH-
omore pledge Gabe Hig-
gins drowned at a Texas
Cowboys function, the popular U.
of Texas, Austin, spirit organization
joined the less-than-illustrious ranks
of campus organizations and frater-
nities under suspension for accident
liabilities.
Higgins was still wearing his
cowboy boots when his body was
pulled from the Colorado River the
day after a Cowboys party in April.
His blood-alcohol level was more
than twice the legal limit for driving.
Although police are still investi-
gating whether hazing was
involved, the university didn't hesi-
tate to slap a five-year suspension
on the Cowboys.
"We look at the severity of the
case and the past record of the orga-
nization," says Jim Vick, UT vice
president for student affairs.
Whether fraternities and cam-
pus organizations should be held
responsible for accidents, hazing
and assaults that occur at their
functions is a hot issue. In June of
1995, there were two major court
rulings on this front. Both cases
were against fraternities accused of
fostering an irresponsible atmos-
phere at a party. Both parties ended
with a freshman being sexually
assaulted.
A state appeals-court judge
threw out the case against Delta Tau
Delta at Indiana U., but a federal

jury in Rhode Island ruled against
Tau Kappa Epsilon and the U. of
Rhode Island for SI million.
Confused? Many are. The perti-
nent question faced by both courts
- and now the Cowboys - is
when does responsibility shift from
the individual to the group?
"For an individual to be held
responsible, the group's leaders
must direct the activity or fail to
perceive a risk," says the Cowboys'
attorney, Scott Young.
The Cowboys incident shows
that these problems are not limited
to the Greek system; however, it's
traditionally fraternities that get
caught in the harsh spotlight.
In recent years, the 63-member
National Interfraternit vConference
has nade efforts to reduce potential
problems. These days, rush parties
feature not steins of beer but glasses
of milk. Some also hire security
officers and host invitation-only
parties. And fraternities even close
their bars at 2 a.m. - just like the
local joints.
But in the crackdown on Animal
House antics, local law enforcement
can sometimes go overboard. The
Phi Gamma Deltas at UT were
fined S10,000 for a fall of 1989
mud fight that resulted in ar infect-
ed cut.
With the courts providing an
inconsistent guide for those in stu-
dent organizations, membetrs are left
to decide what's harmless fun -
and what's illegal.
James Hibberd, U.of Texas,
Austin/Photo by Daymion Smith,
U. of Massachusetts, Amherst

12 U. Magazine " December 1995

December 1995 13