Stop and smell the roses — in Kaleidosope
Volume XCIX, Number 37	University	of	Southern	California	Wednesday,	October	23,	1985
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Terkel: on the importance understanding history
By Dana Glad
Assistant City Editor
Studs Terkel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, stressed the importance of the "anonymous many" throughout history in a speech before an overflow crowd in the Seeley G. Mudd Building last night.
The common man's fears, laughter, and deeds are what "all history is about," said Terkel, who has become famous for his ability to arouse the storytelling instinct in even the most mundane personality.
Yet the famous interviewer spoke for less than half an hour before asking the audience to interview him.
Most of his books, including Working, and The Good War, which won this year's Pulitzer, are chronicles of history told through the mouths of the men who lived it.
"I hope you don't mind if I digress back and forth," he said midway in his speech, which covered readings of favorite poetic verses, anecdotes about the writing of his books, and many humorous interjections.
He added that his speech was "like jazz — improvisation."
Terkel said he feels many of society's problems can be traced to an attitude that "there is no past."
Therefore, he said, we live in an age when "a guy can get away with things," and this has enabled politicians and government to deceive the public.
When asked about his genera-
tion, he said he thinks that maybe "there was some knowledge of something that happened earlier, and maybe not," but that the time has come for the public to have a renewed understanding of history.
The distinction between gen-eratic.-s has to do with the advent of television as a mass medium, he said.
Terkel said the problem with television is that "there is no value — it's value free," and explained that the medium creates celebrities who make the ordinary man feel inferior for no reason and confuses truly important issues with trivial ones.
The public "can no longer tell where the soap opera leaves off, and life begins," he said.
For instance, someone watching television might see a woman on the news holding her dead child, then a detergent commercial immediately following. This might make him believe that "the detergent is more important," the author said.
Through this banality of the media, he said, our "richness in oral tradition. . .is being vulgarized."
When asked about the techniques he uses in gathering in-depth interviews for his books, Terkel said it is "no secret, really."
People open up to him because they have never been asked about their lives before, and they are "waiting to talk, (Continued on page 2)
STUDS TERKEL
LIEB FIRING MAY BE DISCUSSED
Student Senate to hold open forum
Robert Biller, executive vice provost of the university, is scheduled to answer questions on the dismissal of Irwin Lieb from his position as dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at tonight's Student Senate meeting .
Biller said yesterday that he had no prepared presentation nor written statement for his senate address, but said Lieb's dismissal is "one of the topics that may come up." tonight.
The meeting wdll be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Seaver Science Center auditorium and is open to everyone.
The senate was presented with a resolution last week that would thank Lieb for his contributions and wish him luck. An amendment was also offered, calling for full justification of Lieb's dismissal and the possibility of his reinstatement.
But the senate chose not to take a stand on the issue after an executive session, in which Wally Bobkiewicz, chairman of the Academic Affairs Research Action Unit, gave them additional information on the dismissal.
When the session ended, the resolution was withdrawn and the issue was temporarily dropped.
Senate president Pauline Ng; Kevin Bums, senate vice-president; Bobkiewicz; and DeDe Brown, a Greek senator, met with Provost Cornelius Pings last Friday to discuss Lieb's dismissal.
Pings provided them with facts about the issue and Ng asked to have Biller address the senate meeting. She said they felt the facts Pings presented had not been presented to the public, and, because her group did not represent the entire senate, she asked the facts be discussed in an open senate meeting.
Ng said Timothv Ferris, professor and chairman
PREVIEW
of the print journalism sequence at the School of Journalism, will also be at the meeting to discuss the situation, which he has termed "a shameful and stupid affair."
Lieb resigned earlier this year, saying that he wanted to pursue his academic career, but withdrew his resignation in an Oct. 4 letter to President James Zumberge and, shortly after, was fired by Zumberge.
His resignation and subsequent dismissal were met with vocal criticism from several of the college's faculty members and administrators, including Ferris.
After questioning Pings, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution calling for an investigation of the matter at their meeting last Wednesday night.
Food faire to go around the world in 80 dishes
By Sean Grady
Staff Writer
Food of cultures from around the world will be served during the annual International Food Faire, held by the International Student Assembly today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Alumni Park.
The fair is unique because it is the only event held by an on-campus group that is allowed to sell food not prepared by Dining Services.
Mae Hajjaj, president of the International Student Assembly, said the fair will feature food from 20 countries, including the United States.
The dishes will cost between one and four dollars, Hajjaj said. Those who wish to eat lunch at the fair will pay for their food with one-dollar tickets to be sold at three ticket booths, she said.
"It's very, very diverse, which is cool," Hajjaj said. "Each culture has its own distinct social values and one way to know these cultures is through their food."
The various groups at the event will also provide what Hajjaj called "culture kits," as well as fliers and other materials illustrating the cultures of the countries represented.
Because the food is prepared by students, instead of by Dining Service personnel, the ISA is allowed to put on the fair only once a year, Hajjaj said.
"But as long as we can put it on at least once a year. I'm happy," she added.
Eugene Lawless, director of Dining Services, said that under both state and county law, serving "hazardous food" — for example, food which has to be kept at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above 100 degrees to prevent spoilage, or which has not been prepackaged — is prohibited to people who are not food service professionals.
The university began enforcing this law two and a half years ago, banning groups other than the ISA from holding this type of event. Lawless said. The ISA had held the fair twice a year, until the 1984-85 school year, Hajjaj said.
The ISA is allowed to put on the event because of an agreement between Dining Services and Campus Life, Lawless explained.
(Continued on page 2)