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NSA conference - a radical muddle of campus politicos By DANA WHITLEDGE NATIONAL STUDENT ASSO- C I ATI ON CONGRESS RE- PORT OR THE ONE PLACE WITH FOOD WORSE THAN RICE. The National Student Association Congress has happened every year for the last twentyfive years, yet for three or four Wanted immediately: translators for scientific material. All languages, especially Russian, Japanese and Rumanian. Write TRANSLA- TORS, 2121 Huldy, Houston, Texas 77019 BABY SITTER WANTED Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. (567-1278 months beforehand, the advance literature makes it sound very tentative, perhaps even spur of the moment. This is not the case, but things are far from perfect at the Congress. A large portion of the uncertainty stems from not knowing who or what will show up: 500 or 2000. This year it was about 750. At any rate, registration at Catholic University in D. C. last August 12 showed all the confusion that could be expected. The staff had planned to have the pre-registered delegates' information ready to go, but about sixty delegates had arrived in Washington the night before, and the whole national office had been mobilized to find rooms for them. So much for advance planning where student are concerned. 1 was going to the congress STELLA SULLIVAN SCHOOL of ART 2409 Times Blvd. 529-8902 Fall Session, Sept. 18—Nov. 22, 1972 Registration: Sept. 12-16, 1.2-4 p.m. JESUS CHRIST IS ALI VE AND WELLIN ARGENTINA - and in Boise, Idaho; London, England; and in our town. Jesus Christ lives to offer a new life now and forever to all who accept Him. CONTINENT*!. BREAKFAST 9:30 JUL $he University Group SOUTH MAIN BAPTIST CHURCH 4100 South Main (Across from Sear's) 529 4167 UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AND INTERNATIONALS. to see about such things as the NSA speakers bureau, travel arrangements for students, the book club, and other assorted goodies that the Program Council could desperately use. Jer Mardis had been to the congress last year in Colorado and had warned me that it would be extremely political. Well, I intended to avoid all of that and just stick to seeking out services and meeting people from other universities. Saturday evening before the first plenary session (where all official business of the congress takes place) I suddenly found myself on the Congress Steering Committee representing Texas and Oklahoma. So, instead of avoiding all the politics, I spent my entire time caught up in all of the inner workings of the congress and the NSA. The Steering Committe (CSC) was a combination of credentials, platform, agenda, and steering committees. In short, if you wanted something to happen there, you had to bring it through the CSC. So, starting every morning during the congress, I reported to the Committee room at 10 am, and stayed there, except for lunch and dinner breaks, until plenary sessions at 8 pm. We heard credentials challenges, squabbles over office machines, attempted infiltration by the Communist Party, mandates to boycott lettuce, conquer multiple sclerosis and sickle cell anemia, and constitutional amendments to restrucure the ruling bodies of the NSA. In short, it seemed like Help Your Brother Give Blood Donors 18-20 years old must have parental permission BLOOD BANK OF HOUSTON 2209 W. Holcombe Call MO 7-6142 Open Mon. thru Sat. 7:30am - 3:00pm PLASMA DONATIONS NEEDED MISTER PIZZA 2534 AMHERST—IN THE VILLAGE 11-11 Mon.-Thur. 11-12 Fri. & Sat. 4-12 Sun. Featuring New York Style Pizza, Steak Sandwiches (9 Inches Long—Sliced Steak), and Hoagies. COUPON FRIDAY & SATURDAY MIDNIGHT MUNCHIES September 15 & 16 Regular $5.75 "Works" Pizza $4.00 —OR— . 50c discount on any Medium or Large Pizza COUPON 50c DISCOUNT ON ANY Medium or Large Pizza Expires September 14, 1972 the rice thresher, September 14, 1972—page 6 10pm - lam Italian or Ham Hoagies BUY 2, GET 1 FREE —OR— Steak Sandwiches BUY 2, GET 1 FREE - ; COUPON | Tuesday Night Study Break j [September 19, 1972 9pm-12am] i$l off on any Larga Pizza I j —OR— j !All the Pepsi or Dr. Pepper you! ! can drink with purchase of j ; 4 Hoagies or 4 Steak Sandwiches j miniature Democratic Convention. Although we followed parliamentary procedure in the CSC, discussion often lead to argument. The most violent of these was the result of my asking the Third World representatives to clarify the phrase "U.S. domestic genocidal policies." This, and my inability to understand someone from New York City while he was screaming, resulted in an almost physical confrontation. However, things cooled off, and order was restored. Plenary sessions were something else again. They were boring, long, sometimes exciting, irritating, but always uncomfortable. They were held in the gym, which was like holding them in the Rice gym in August. The only saving grace was the Good Humor Man who parked his truck outside the plenary hall until the session was over. For the three years previous to this congress, there had been some kind of podium takeover by the blacks or Third World. We thought this year would be the exception, since major reforms in the structure of NSA had been made during this congress, but this proved to be a false hope. On Friday, the plenary, we were to hold elections for national officers. When the first ballot was over, there were still three candidates in the running: Larry Friedman from Queens College, Mae Jimison, a black woman from Indiana* and Tim Higgins from Wisconsin. Friedman and Higgins were tied, and a question/answer period for the three was to begin, when suddenly Friedman dropped out of the race, and gave his support to Jimison. It became immediately obvious that some sort of deal had been made, and suddenly the whole atmosphere changed and turned against Mae. The resulting ballot gave Higgins a clear victory. At this time Omar Fareuk, a Black Muslim from Chicago, stormed the podium and attacked Tim Higgins. The next few minutes were confusion, anger, and violence. Before we knew it all the bottles that had been on the tables were gone, and the blacks were carrying them around, gently swinging tfiem. Within ten minutes the Third World Caucus had left the gym and was deciding on its next move. This was about 1:30 in the morning. The next few hours were spent with the two groups talking about what had happened, and what needed to happen next. In the end the Third World came back about Sam and another election was held, with all the candidates in it. The winner was again Higgins, and the Third World started to protest and walk out again. But this time Omar Farouk got up and said the system had declared Higgins the winner, and as such he would try to work with him to further common goals, not to destroy. At 6am the plenary was adjourned after also electing Ron Eirenreich from Temple University in Philadelphia as vice-president. While seeing the discord and politics rampant at such a congress, it is easy to get discouraged and decide it isn't worth a damn, but something Margie Tabankin, last year's president, said stuck in my mind, "This is the only game in town." The NSA is the only nationwide clearing house for information for student governments. This is the only way we'll ever get those services that I went up there for, so maybe we had better stick with it and try to improve it. With this in mind, I ran for the National Supervisoi'y Board which oversees the Association and makes policy for it during the year. I was elected and now am one of three from the area of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri. So now we have a strong input in the NSA policies. Let's use it. Scholarship offer deadline nears By CRAIG STAFFORD Hey ther£ graduating seniors! Somebody cares about you —if you care enough to apply. October 9 is the deadline this year for applying for several special scholarship opportunities: Rhodes Scholarships 32 candidates are selected in the United States to study at Oxford University. Men only. Marshall Scholarships 24 to be awarded, for continuing studies in England. Fullbright Grants One year SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16 12:30 P.M. graduate study abroad. Fluency in language or country to be visited necessary. Danforth Fellowship for College Teaching Careers Rice may nominate two candidates. T. J. Watson Foundation Fel> lowship" "For a disciplined Wanderjahr." Rice may nominate four. High ranking graduating seniors should contact Dr. Parish, Room 101, Lovett Hall for more information and application forms. Do it today. You could be seeing the world next year! For full credit textbooks must be returned within THREE WEEKS after the beginning of the semester in which purchased. Books must be returned in salable condition, absolutely free of all markings other than our price mark and be accompanied by our CASH REGISTER RECEIPT. A full refund will not be made after the THIRD WEEK of the semester. RICE CflmPUS STORE
What does Marjoe do with the souls he by ANDY HURLEY Movies, good or bail ones, do something to the people that see them. They push them around visually and emotionally and morajjy and ideologically. In fact, the really avid movie- goer is willing to see bad movies, stupid movies, simply to be able to watch his own reactions to the clumsy attempts of the movie makers to manipulate the viewers. Like sex transformed into mechanics by a consciousness of style or the lack of it, consciousness of the participation in it, watching movies can be a very frustrating and unsatisfying enterprise, and one which chills rather than warms. "Marjoe," for example, is an ably-made film with a compel- ling personality to focus on and follow, an interesting counterpointed double life to fathom, and hordes of evangelist campfollowers to feel patronizingly smug toward. My audience over at the Alabama applauded the film. And I, sitting down front with an obstructed view of the ugliness physical and spiritual, the desperate eyes, the souls with warts to be removed by a laying-on of galvanizing hands and a speaking of glossolalic jabber, I was depressed and angered by the film. Marjoe Gortner was a victim of his parents' manic and zealous evangelism/moneygrubbing. They worked the four-year-old child like a gander who lured the the golden geese to the canvas tabernacles erected in towns across America. They made little Marjoe into a spiritual freak-show. They robbed him of knowledge of moral discriminations by conflating the good of caving souls through preaching gospel (a good I will not dispute the goodness of) with the evils of spiritual hypocrisy and preaching tainted with fraud and greed. And as Marjoe says, it is a part of his life he cannot be responsible for. He was the innocent tool of his mistaken if not actually bad parents. But as an adult, Marjoe should have more of everything good—especially if he has, as he continually wants us to believe, learned lots ot' lessons Books make a film and a joke H. DAVID DANGLO The human inhabitant of Tralfamadore is, has been and always will be, living on that planet 1 - the natives live in the fourth dimension. What the natives do when they're not observing the humans (in a sealed dome furnished by Sears and Roebuck) is unobservable, but what human Billy Pilgrim docs is - time-tripping. He jumps back and forth uncontrollably through the many events of his his life. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-F I V E could become a very epicurean philosophy of life. Billy begins his time-tripping after he is picked up by a Tralfamadorian light ship, shortly after his wife's fatal accident and the plane.crash. He is. limited, however, to his own existence—his earthly life span-through which he hops back and forth as he spends eternity in outer space with his idol-mate, buxom starlet Montana Wildhack. Can you imagine being warned several years ahead of time, and then cramming every activity imaginable into that time, knowing that you'd be reliving them forever? Although I'm sure forever would soon become somewhat boring, at least you'd be doing yourself a service to insure the postponement of eternal ennui. Plus you would have more time to think about your choice of mate. Although the situation'is preposterous, SLIAUGHTER-FIVE is a very enthralling film, and, if not :the best this year, at least the best combination of perfection and singularity. I have not read ..the book; therefore I cannot comment on the skill of adaptation. To say "if the book is as good as the movie, it's worth reading" would sound rather ignorant — what can one say about a book which received rave reviews upon publication, boasts one of the world's most renowned contemporary authors and is part of a cult? The unusually meticulous script seems to suggest that the original was followed faithfully, and the movie has plenty of assets on its own. The acting and photography are only adequate, overshadowed by a masterful control of movement and juxtaposition by the director, George Roy Hill (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID). Michael Sacks, aided by a fantastic makeup job that rivals the ag- ing process used on D u s t i n Hoffman in LITTLE BIG MAN provides a good Billy Pilgrim, and supporting performances by Valerie Perrine as Montana and Ron Leibman as the avenging Paul Lazzaro are very complementary. Sharon Gans as the "pleasingly plump" Valencia Merble (Billy's wife) and Holly Near as the prototype daughter Barbara ("there's no such place as Trilafamiduke!") are also notable in their debuts. The invisible Tralfamadorians steal the show in this category, and their celebration of new human life when Montana gives birth truly makes the heart rejoice. George Roy Hill, however, has managed to direct an almost perfectly executed movie. His success as director of Butch Cassidy has clearly carried over to a remarkable rendition of a man "unstuck" in time. Although he has sacrificed good characterizations (possibly a fault of the original) and the potential for better photography, he has taken a conceivably confusing concept and sorted it out visually for the audience. SLAU G II T E R- HOUSE-FIVE is rarely confusing, and Hill sees to it that, despite the bumpy story line, the movie can be easily followed without too many jolts. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE— a philosophy, a celebration of life and a truly fine film. At the Gaylynn in Sharpstown. What are perverts? Do aphrodisiacs work? What is sodomy? What happens in the body during sexual intercourse? Dr. David 1 Reuben tried to answer these questions in his best seller EVERYTHING YOU AL- WAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK, with varying feuccess. Woody Allen, in. his new film of tine same title, has managed to answer them again in an equally ridiculous fashion; and at the same time he spoofs foreign films (in atrocious Italian), horror films (mad doctor sex tfiend[) and historical films (with thee and thou and words that rhyme with latch). I think I read the book at one time or another, simply because I didn't think I' could just wait and see the movie, a previously successful ploy with such best sellers as THE GODFATHER and THE NEW CENTURIONS. I couldn't have been more correct in my tMhking. xhe book is the perfect material for Allen, and served only as a springboard for some very special and unique comedy. With seven sketches, Allen answers, seven of Reuben's basic questions, with as much plausibility as the original replies. Settings range from medieval castles to modern testicles; subjects range from chastity belts to monster breasts (captured in a size 4000, X-cup bra); situations range from infatuation with a sheep to gangbanging by a troop of crazed Boy Scouts. With EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK Woody Allen has branded pornography with his low-key humor, but the effort is about as significant as other such comedic trivia as THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT and hardly more worthwhile. Little more than a "hard-core" LOVE AMERICAN STYLE has been developed. Every character in the movie is feature perfect, and I just have'to praise Allen's sense of direction and characterization despite my discontent with the total concept. His humor trademark is still clear—the unchanging straight-faced, anti-serious comedy unmatched by other comedians or directors of comedy. I never thought that this could be the least bit obnoxious, but it finally happened with EVERYTHING. Woody Allen really ought to find better things to do with his time. through his cold-blooded exploitation of the offering plate to his own gain. He should have more sense of responsibility to those people—however ugly, however much hicks, however naive ai\d unconscious of urban vices they are—who believe in him and his powers to show them how to do good. He should have sympathy for them. He mustn't let us have fun at their innocent expense. And he should have respect for us. His appeal is great—he's a combination of David Frye and Mick Jagger physically—and yet he uses it to swindle not only those poor arthritic old folks but us, whom he seems to be enlightening. The shell game, played with celluloid. Marjoe wants to seem cold, calculating, and .evil — one knows this when he says, "I'm not evil; I'm bad, and there's a difference," so that you know he's lying, like the used-car salesman who wants to be a Marjomioso. He winds up seeming not cold or calculating or evil but sad, self-deluded, and bad. It would be great to be evil—Miek Jagger is evil, and he's the closest thing to a hero that we have nowadays. But is evil manque, not heroic but disgusting, not amoral and grand and vital but immoral and petty and sick. Marjoe is a cheap shyster, and his victims are pitiable and legion. "Marjoe" is a vicious, grasping - , mercenary movie; its victims are us, if we applaud or are angered or if any of it caters to our sense of our superiority to the victims we see Marjoe ripping off. But the movie is very well done, very ingratiating, very slithering and reptilian and quick and razzle-dazzle. It is a doozey and I'm very happy finally to have escaped it by writing this review. Don't let it sell you salvation by showing you that you're elect''"already. That's a hard temptation to resist, the appeal to vanity, but do it, do resist, or you lose your soul to Marjoe. V I A WILD VIEW OF THE WORLP IN THE Wll-P p PAIR'S HI-FLYING FOOTGEAR, BAGS V&ELTC ft FOR HE ySHE. (M THE GALtEtUA. ft HERE,TWO TREE-TOPPFRS ON STACK V STILT X > HEELS. HI-RISE NANNV IN BURGUNDY, I) (MUSTARD ^ &LUE. §30. HE-TIE, NAVY/ I VRE£> FIRING OR &R0WM/MUSTARD PIPING. ^ I §34. BanhAmericard V Master Charge. leather ALL THE WAY! he The Rice Program Council Presents: J O E Starring PETER BOYLE AND DENNIS PATRICK Saturday,,. Sept. 16, - 7:30 a>pd 11:00 pm IIAMMAN HALL $1 at the door the rice thresher, September 14, 1972—page 7
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