Newspaper Page Text
Shop till you drop, and fight AIDS
Businesses
will contribute
part of profits
By MICHAEL BERGEN
Staff Writer
Want ingenuity? Take the
world’s most popular past-time,
shopping, then get local
businesses to contribute their
proceeds and raise money for
AIDS-Athens.
That’s exactly the premise
behind today’s fundraiser taking
place all over town, called “Shop
For Life.”
Organized by the Boybutante
Ball Committee, “Shop For Life”
acts as an additional source of
income for AIDS-Athens.
Over a dozen local businesses
will contribute 10 percent of their
Friday profits to the charity,
which assists those infected with
HIV virus and educates the public
about prevention of the disease.
“We wanted to raise more
money for AIDS-Athens without
having to charge a higher price for
Boybutante Ball tickets, or moving
the event to a bigger place,” said
Greg Avant, co-chair for the
Boybutante Ball Committee. “We
decided to do an additional benefit
to include another part of the
community that ordinarily didn’t
take part in AIDS fundraising.”
Proceeds from last week’s
Boybutante Ball traditionally
make up a large portion of AIDS-
Athens’ budget, and organizers
are hoping “Shop For Life” will
gain a reputation of its own,
according to AIDS-Athens Co-
Chair Rick Fiala.
“Someday it would be nice to
see it be as big as the
Boybutante,” he said.
Whether that be the case or
not, “Shop For Life” is a perfect
opportunity for local citizens to
contribute to AIDS-Athens while
shopping at their favorite stores in
the Athens area.
The businesses contributing to
the event encompass all aspects of
local commerce. Eateries, hair
salons, and other shops
participating will be identified by
a large red ribbon on their store
fronts, the official symbol of the
AIDS prevention movement.
With May being AIDS
Awareness Month in Athens, the
majority of benefits and
fundraisers will take place this
month, although this might
change soon.
“Although the Boybutante and
Shop For Life are the main
fundraisers we’re coordinating, we
also are planning an art auction
and reception in the fall,” said
Fiala. “We already have many
artists who want to contribute
works, and Kim Basinger has said
she will donate a work from her
art collection.”
Until then, “Shop For Life” will
make it’s debut foray into
fundraising with many businesses
committing profits and names to
the cause. However, according to
Month of May Committee Co-
Chair Gilberto Silva, the rest is up
•The Book Center
•Frontier
•Aurum Studios
•Lock Nest Hair
•Jackson St. Books
•Blue Moon Books
•The Loft
•Rage
to the community.
“It's a strong commitment for
the businesses who’ve dedicated
themselves to helping us with
AIDS-Athens,” said Silva. “Now
it’s up to the people to help them
by shopping at their stores.”
•Gyro Wrap
•Bazaar
•The Crystal Garden
•Archipeligo Antiques
•Homeplace Gifts
•Strand Haircutting
•Blooms of Holland
•Utterly Yours
JOHN MLLS/Tha Red end Black
WJt. OAKES/ The Red end Black
Rollin, rollin, rollin ... Students practice roller-hockey in the River Road parking lot.
Rollerblading is one thing — fun
By MAURA CORRIGAN
Staff Writer
I t’s hit Central Park, it’s hit Piedmont Park, it’s
been out West for a few years and now it’s
finally come to Athens - it’s the rollerblade
craze.
But the correct terminology for the popular new
sport that lets people cruise around- town at speeds
of up to 15 or 20 miles an hour is actually “in-line
skating.” Rollerblades were the first in-line skates
marketed. The skates have anywhere from three to
five wheels, all in a single row.
“They were adopted for summer hockey training
in the U.S. by Scott and Brennan Olson,” said
Michael Lumpkin, an employee at Charbon’s
Specialty Sports. “Their company started in a
garage in 1980 and ultimately became Rollerblade,
Inc.”
According to Lumpkin, the Olsons played hockey
for their high school in Minneapolis, and they
started selling the inblade rollers for hockey players
to attach to their ice skates during the off-season.
“In 1987, Rollerblade decided to market the
skates as a fitness product,” Lumpkin said. “Now
they’re the leading company in in-line skates.”
According to Steve Sevener, an employee at the
Sunshine Cycle Shop and a member of the
Duckhead cycling team, in-line skating is the fastest
growing sport in the U.S.
“A lot of people are finding that in-line skating is
good for staying in shape,” Sevener said. “But most
of all, it's a lot of fun. Once you try it, I think it’s
really easy to be addicted.”
Sevener said that in-line skating, like many
trends, hit the West Coast pretty big and then
started spreading to the East.
“It’s a hot thing and a new thing,” said Joe
Wilson, an employee of Play It Again Sports where
Ultra-Wheel in-line skates cost from $70 to $150.
They also sell used Rollerblade and Bauer skates.
Rollerblade skates at Charbon’s start at $150 and
go up from there, and rental skates are $15 per day
and $25 a weekend, Lumpkin said. Charbon’s also
gives free rollerblading clinics to groups of 8 or
more.
The Sunshine Cycle Shop sells Bauer skates at
prices ranging from at $90 to $500. They’ve been
carrying the skates for about 7 months.
Lumpkin stressed the importance of using
quality skates and said that many lesser-known
brands of skates, such as those sold at discount
stores, aren’t made of the right materials and will
easily fall apart.
But perhaps most important for both new and old
skaters alike is to wear proper protection. Knee and
elbow pads and wrist guards are all important.
“Ninety percent of in-line injuries are broken
wrists," Lumpkin said.
Please see BLADES, page 8
Police investigating posting
of white unity signs in dorm
By TRACIE POWELL
Staff Writer
Several signs advertising the
celebration of a “White Unity Day"
in Creswell Hall Tuesday evening
have sparked a University police
investigation, residents’ meeting
and may cause several students to
face student judiciary charges.
The signs were apparently a
response to Tuesday’s Black Unity
Day, sponsored by campus National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People.
Linda Hudson, resident life
coordinator for Creswell
Community, said University police
have filed an informational report
on the incident. She said one or two
officers have been assigned to
investigate the case.
“Information concerning the
hanging of the unauthorized signs
in undesignated areas and the
content of the signs will go through
proper judicial channels,” Hudson
said.
The investigation stems from
reports submitted to Hudson by
Creswell residents and housing
staff members, she said.
The Red and Black received a
University Housing incident report
Wednesday evening, which charges
four students, including a housing
staff member, with hanging the
signs, although one student said
there were five students in the
group.
The report names John Yarber,
a housing security staff member
who works in Creswell Hall and
Annette Nicole Watkins, a
freshman from Columbus.
Housing officials identified three
other students Thursday as
members of the group. The three
are Roger Edgar Barfield,
hometown unknown; William Erik
Shepard, a freshman from
Melbourne, Fla.; and Kirsten Wiese
Nielsen, from Dunwoody.
In an interview Thursday
afternoon, Watkins said she was
one of five students seen by another
student in the hall, although she
denied actually hanging the signs.
Yarber denied knowing
anything about the incident
Wednesday. But Thursday
afternoon he said that he filed a
report of his own to Hudson earlier
in the day.
Watkins said she was not
hanging signs and that she is guilty
by association only.
“I was walking with the guys,
but I was certainly not hanging any
signs,” she said. “I was just trying
to spend some time with John
(Yarber), my boyfriend.”
Shepard and Nielsen couldn’t be
reached for comment, and Barfield
refused to talk to The Red and
Black Thursday.
Housing officials held a meeting
Thursday night in order to discuss
the incident with Creswell Hall
residents.
Fifty people attended the
meeting, 12 of them white
University students and housing
representatives. The rest of the
crowd was black University
students.
The meeting gave residents an
opportunity to express their views
in a more positive manner, said
Pam Schreiber, assistant director of
housing.
Nunn, McNamara, Turner to attend discussion
By ROB SHAPARD
Staff Writer
United States Sen. Sam Nunn
will take a break Monday from
congressional battles over the
military’s future for a panel
discussion at the University on
issues of national security in the
1990s.
Nunn is scheduled to join
Robert McNamara, former
secretary of defense, and Stansfield
Turner, former director of the CIA,
in the first Richard B. Russell
Symposium. The program will be
held at the Georgia Center for
Continuing Education.
“We have among the panelists
some of the key policy makers or
policy advisers in the United States
government,” said Gary Bertsch,
chairman of the faculty committee
organizing the symposium. “We
expect that there will be some new
ideas shared that are going to be
impacting the United States’
policies in the coming years and
months.”
Bertsch, who co-directs the
University’s Center for East-West
Studies, said the discussion would
focus on issues such as the war
raging in former Yugoslavia, the
possibility of similar conflicts in the
former Soviet Union, and the
possible spread of nuclear
weapons.
Bertsch predicted Nunn would
try to avoid discussion of President
Clinton’s controversial push to end
the ban on homosexuals in the
military. Nunn has been outspoken
in calling for retaining the ban.
“I think he’s probably going to
want to stay away from that issue,”
Bertsch said.
Bertsch said that although
neither McNamara or Turner
serves in the current
administration, their participation
in the discussion is meaningful
because both are frequently'
consulted as advisers.
Turner, who directed the CIA.
from 1977 to 1981, has written
books on dealing with terrorism,
and conducting intelligence
operations in a democratic society.
McNamara was secretary of'
defense from 1961 to 1968, and was
faced with such Cold War show
downs as the Cuban missile crisis.
“Mr. McNamara is (now) very
critical of nuclear proliferation, and
is looking for ways of doing away
with nuclear weapons," Bertsch
said.
No seats remain for the
symposium or the press conference
to follow, but the event will be
shown on a large-screen television
in Georgia Hall of the Tate Center
and on University Channel 7. The
discussion will run from 9 a m. to
11 a m., with an afternoon program
on nuclear proliferation scheduled
from 1:15 p.m. until 3 p.m..
Five-Eight back in town, looking to the stars
Five-Eight enjoys hanging out in Athens, doing nearby gigs.
By MARK HODGES
Staff Writer
Five-Eight bassist Dan Horowitz
doesn’t have stars in his eyes just
yet, but he keeps looking up, just in
case.
After getting back to Athens
from a five-week tour, lead singer
and guitarist Mike Mantione and
drummer Tigger Ferguson will be
taking a much needed “break” back
home.
But, don’t expect these guys to
just sit back ana take it easy until
their upcoming June road trip to
Texas.
Five-Eight will not only be
playing in Athens at the 40 Watt
Saturday, but also at the Point in
Atlanta Friday, at Lakewood
Sunday, and at the Roxy June 11.
So much for the break. Yet this
is just fine for Horowitz, who said
he thinks being back in the area is
good enough.
“It’s nice to hang out and around
(Athens) and do the weekends
nearby,” Horowitz said.
The band is so busy because of a
little album they released in the fall
called “I Learned Shut Up” that has
been shaking up the alternative
music world since it came out.
Not onlv have they gotten press
in the form of a half-page
newspaper piece in the Chicago
Tribune, but they also got a
positive review in the March issue
of Playboy.
The band also participated in the
recent SXSW new-music showcase
in Austin, Texas, earlier this year,
as well as making the CMJ record
charts not long after the CD release.
So, if you hear anyone referring
to this band as “the next big thing”
out of Athens, you’ll know exactly
why. Horowitz doesn’t necessarily
put too much faith in all this hype,
though, and he shows a level head
when asked about it
“If that’s true, good,” Horowitz
said. “People tend to over-anticipnte
some . . . things go slowly |in this
businessl. But, I’m glad people are
behind the band.”
Much of the press and attention
the band has gathered in such a
short time can probably be
attributed to the band’s label, Sky
Records of Atlanta, who has done a
lot to push Five-Eight nationally.
And the band can’t argue with that.
“One of their ISky’sl strongest
suits is publicity, and they are great
at getting press,” Horowitz said.
“We’re really happy about that.”
Future plans of the band include
a possible live EP in the fall to
follow up on the success of “I
Learned,” while a new album can be
prepared for an early ’94 release.
The EP is still in the planning
stages, but it could include a couple
of cover songs along with some of
the older material.
Horowitz thinks it will be a
chance for the band to show off
strong live chops and, at the same
time, to allow the band to show its
sense of humor.
“It may be good to throw in some
of our Sabbath or Neil Young
(covers),” Horowitz said.
He explains that the band likes
to do some covers like that on
occasion, but they wouldn’t work too
well in a studio situation because of
their special live appeal.
The band also shot a video at the
40 Watt a few months back for their
rendition of “I Can’t Stand It” with
local film-maker Lance Bangs.
Since then the video has seen
completion, some airplay, and also a
banning. A Montgomery, Alabama,
TV station played the video and
some viewers called in to complain.
The video features a crowd of
crazed young people with their eyes
taped up with duct tape, screaming
and thrashing to the beat.
The controversy comes from a
shirt with the number “666” printed
on it that Mantione was wearing,
and apparently the station’s
audience misinterpreted its
meaning (or lack thereof)- Horowitz
said that the band finds the whole
situation rather humorous, and are
quite pleased with the video.
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