Monologue______ _________
Congress should silence record critics
By Dave Holmes
Copy Editor of The Print
There was.a-day not so very long ago
when I was refused admission to a movie
because I was under 17 years of age. The
movie was ‘R’ rated and contained material
that someone, or a committee of someones,
decided I shouldn’t see. So if there are
things\that 16-year-olds shouldn’t see, there
must be things that 16-year-olds shouldn’t
hear, right? .
Recently, a very concerned wife of a very
well-paid. Cabinet member proposed to a
special House subcommittee that the record
industry rate and label all recordings it pro
duces in a manner similar to that of the
movie -industry. This rating system sup
posedly would keep filth and pornographic
material away from America’s youth.
Would a rating system achieve this lofty
goal? I think not.
The main criticism Qfthe proposed rating
system is launched, not suprisingly, by the
majority of American recording artists.
People as diverse as Dee Snider of Twisted
Sister and Donny Osmond are saying that
such' a rating System would stiffle creativity
as some artists would have to charige and'
“clean up” their albums in order to sell
them. How many X- rated films win
Academy Awards? Conversely, the majority
of the record-buying public doesn’t buy
albums full of “wholesome” things. With
labels being stuck on album covers, some ar
tists might have to add things they normally
wouldn’t, in order to sell their wares, to a
label-conscious public. Again, how many
people over the age of 12 go to see a lot of
G-rated movies?
Another angle that opponents of the
rating systems bring up is that artists would
be classified by the ratings on their albums.
Very few artists want to be labeled as
“Porno-pushers” dr as “Goody-
two-shoes.” Such a labeling could
narrow the range of people that buy their
albums and thus reduce sales..
These rebutals are all fine and dandy, but
what have they got to do with decreasing
pornography? Not a thing. They have to do
with- money, which, these days, usually
takes a higher priority than scruples. And
speaking of that filthy subject (porn, not
wealth), let’s, take a look at what MIGHT
happen if a fating system were in effect;
A typical sdventh-grade American
youngster wants to be popular among his
peers. How does he get popular if it doesn’t
come naturally? He does something to
change his image, something that’s cool in
the eyes, of the states quo. He does
something that the other kids would only
dream of doing. That’s right: Little Johnny
or Little Mary gets his or her hot little hands
on an R-rated or (God forbid!) an X-rated
recording.
It hasn’t been so long ago that most of us
can’t remember the thrill of doing
something we weren’t supposed to do. Or
better yet, the thrill of telling our friends
about it. No, I definitely feel that a rating
system wouldn’t solve the problem of por
nography in popular music. More than like
ly it would make illicit records all the more
enticing to children.
By the way, just what IS pornography?
Who is to set the standards? Who is going to.
draw the line between art and trash? I’ve run
into more than a few English and Italian
madrigals of the sixteenth century that were
pretty steamy. Are they pornographic^ ■
Finally, there’s a point to this ratings pro
posal that sometimes gets overlooked: cen
sorship. A group of people get together, and
after drawing the ‘porno line’, say,
“Alright, we’ve separated the ‘bad’ stuff
from the ‘good’. Great. Say, why don’t we
just get RID of the ‘bad’ stuff altogether?”
These same people probably have some neat
ideas on other things. When certain protest’
rallies, folk songs, or (gulp!) newspapers get
banned, I promise not to say “I told you
Then again, I probably won’t be allowed to.
Andrews finds ‘the varied life" to be his own
By Loretta Carter
Of The Print
It’s 5:30 a.m. on a brisk, autumn
morning and Dick Andrews', English
instructor at the College, is about to
start another day. As the minutes tick
away, his slumber is startled by the
piercing clatter of an alarm clock. He
awakens, eyes partly shut, vision an in
distinctive blur. He , tells himself,
“Time
milk the cows.”
For Andrews this is a typical morn
ing. He has had this routine for 14
years|When the cows are milked and
fed, the chicken’s eggs are gathered,
and, of course, the barn has been
cleaned, Andrews scuttles off to school
to start his 8 a.m. class where he
teaches 75-100 enthusiastic English
students. .
:
“I hope someday to write
a book of children’s
stories.”
Andrews has been a teacher at the
College for 14 years. He not only
teaches the fine art of writing and
English, "but teaches English as a se
cond language along with teaching Bi
ble as Literature. ■
Page 3
Born in Spencer, Massachusetts, An
drews is one of three children raised on
the family farm. He moved to Oregon
jn 1966 and now lives at Beavercreek.
The proud and happy father of three
girls, his youngest still lives at home,
Andrews has four adopted sons from a
previous marriage, and is the grand
father of three boys.
Andrews is.a yery talented man who
worked in North Dakota for 10-years
on an Indian reservation. From his ex
periences there, he now travels two or
three times a year around the state
teaching children about Indian
customs and life. He also has a talent
to tell children stories with quite a flair.
“I hope someday to write a book of
childrens’ stories,’’ he said.
Andrews is already a published
author. “About two years ago,” he
said, “I had an article published by a
farm magazine put out by the Ford
Motor Co. telling about tips to help
part-time farmers.”
As well as being an educator,
author, and folklorist, Andrews is a
caring “Big Brother” or “nanny”, as
he has been called, to five young
wrestlers. He takes in and gives a good
home to these men during the school
year. These wrestlers are from all dif
ferent parts of Oregon. Andrews
became interested in rooming wrestlers
after he first came to Oregon when he
became friends with one of the wrestl
ing coaches. He keeps himself active in
the sport by helping to support the
fund-raising of the wrestling teams.
This man of many talents also taught
English as a second language in Costa
Dick Andrews
Rica last year for 4 months. Then, this
last September, he went again.
Things around the Andrews house
will be changing slightly pretty soon:
Andrews is about to be married. The
lucky lady, Cindi Pucci, is also a
teacher at the College and will soon
become Mrs. Cindi Andrews. Con
gratulations to the happy couple. *
Photo by Dan Wheeler
October 22, 1985
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