The King and 10
SCHOomousE Rocx mefts
Jailhouse Rock as stu
dents slip into theit
lumpsuits. 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 "Melvts." digs
up issues of race, class, cthnocen
trism and colomration
CLASS
“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
ctv 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 ‘Graceiand 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
Naiareth. 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
music. "Elvis mil has 1V) voices com
ing from different people," he taw
UI grad itudent Cherry Muhan
ji. who has taken Naaareth s course
American Popular Art F.lvn at
Anthology , tavt the conudered Elvis
a racut before the took the clast but
now believes there it much more to
him. "Elvn it at important as Shake
tpeare, T.S. Eliot and Tennence
Williams," the tavt
Chadwick, Narareth and other
Elvis enthutiatti gathered to was
philosophic about the tequined one
in August at the inaugural U of Mis
sissippi International Conference on
Elvis Presley But not everyone thinks
Hie King is a viable topic of ttudv
“He s an important figure
Whether that in itself is enough to
teach a courte, I don't know," says
John Shehon Reed. a sociology pro
te»*or at the l of North ( aroiina
"Lijtentng to the discussion* . I did
n't find it particularly persuaiive "
EKu in the clasuoom may not have
earned evrrvone 1 itamp ot approval,
but there t a whole lotta thalun pun
on at the U of Mernphn in a uuirte
tailed Memphu Music, taught bv
David Evan* I"he course delve* into
El via muntaJ charai lenities and the
•octal ton.es that underlie hi* style
Evan* doesn't deny he * an Fivt*
tan. but doe* he believe the man
who did *o muth tor polveiter and
velvet ii still alive?
"No — I don t make pilgrimages to
hi* grave anti light tandle* or anything.'
IClttitur Stt*. Syncum UJVkmtrtUon
by S+tn Murrty Syracuse U.
Quest
Expert:
Terry The
Traffic Guy I
On Christ
“I wouldn’t want to
aaa mysalf in a
class trying to do
my hair up Ilka
That’s orasy.”
T'ProfeiSof Aaron, is
lit true that “The Kin^
vdied on 'the throne
>q
V;
VtfflRENOT
If#
KsrcrtSmiT
AttAuiT
AtfCWOL ffctiONiNG
'WHXWTEAT ,,
XMR. OW^ RISK
Don’t him mm H on Mm trmtm.
Am* !9-year-old voph
omotf pledge G»be Hig
gins drowned it a Texas
Cowboys function, the popuiir U
of lexas, Austin. spirit organisation
lomed the let*-thin illustrious ranks
of cimpus organisations ind frater
nities under suspension for iccidcnt
liabilities
Higgins was Kill weiring hit
cowboy boon when hu bodv was
pulled from the Colorado River the
day itter i Cowboys parry in April
Ht» blood-alcohol level wn more
than twice the legal limit tor driving
ETC.
.Although police are itill investi
giting whether hating was
involved, the university didn't hen
ute to dap a five year tuipeniion
on the Cowboys
"We look at the levenry of the
liie and the pan record of (he orga
nuation,' says Jim V'ick. L‘T vice
president for itudent affairs
Whether fraternities and cam
pus organitationi should be held
responsible for accidents, hating
and assaults that occur at their
functions is a hot issue in June of
I99A, there were two maior 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 IiUnd ruled against
T au Kappa Fpilion ind (he l of
Rhode Island tor $1 million
Confuted1 Many are The perti
nent quettion fated by both courti
. and now the Cowbeyi — in
when doe* rciponnbiiiry ihitt from
the individual to the group*
"For an individual to be held
reiponuble. the group > leaden
mun direct the activity or fail to
perceive a ruk," *ay* the Cowboy*'
attorney, Scott Young
The Cowboy* incident ihowi
that thew problem* are not limited
to the Greek lyitem, however, it'i
traditionally fraternitiei that get
caught in the hanh ipotlight
In recent year*, the 6,Cmember
National Interfraternity Conference
hat made effort* to reduce potential
problem* These dayt, ru»h panic*
feature not »teim of beer but glaitei
of milk Some alio hire lecurity
officer* and hoit invitation-only
panic* And fraternme* even clo*e
their bar* at 2 a m — iu*t like the
localjoint*
But in the crackdown on Animal
House antic*, local law enforcement
can sometime* go overboard The
t’hi Gamma Delta* at L'T were
fined $10,000 for a fall of 1989
mud fight that reiulted in an infect
ed cut.
With the court* providing an
inconsistent guide for those in *tu
dent organisation*, member* are left
to decide what * harmle** fun
and what * illegal
Jtrmt HUrimtl, U of Tun,
Auitln/Photo tty Otyrmon Smith,
U. of UosuchutottM, Amhtnt