Volume 137, Issue 2
ALTERNATIVE
VALENTINE'S DATES
LOW BUDGET SOLUTIONS FOR EVEN THE MOST HIGH- MAINTENANCE
DATES
BY LUBNA TAKRURI
So maybe you lured her in with promises of dinner at Aqua following that hot-air balloon ride in Napa. Hot air indeed -- after tuition and textbooks, rent and parking tickets, Valentine's Day is arriving with a reminder of its imminent expenses. And you, starving student, are starting to fear it may be KFC and donuts on the 14th if not a dateless, lonely night.
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Hopefully the reality is that your partner will still love you even if you spend nothing on him or her. So instead, why not blow away your beau with a Valentine's fantasy day while spending next-to-nothing?
For those who can't wait to begin their Valentine's revelry, be the first to celebrate at The Canvas gallery the night of Friday, Feb. 13. The Canvas promises a masterpiece to match any mood at the Valentine's party and opening reception for CRUSH / CRUSHED, a multi-artist exhibit of art inspired by love (and unrequited love). The Canvas, an Inner Sunset venue on 9th and Irving combining a café, gallery and performance space will be rocking sensual art with DJs, appetizers, as well as some short films and skits. Adrienne Simms, one of the featured artists, is a former student of the City College Visual Arts Department. "The Canvas is a lovely place to bring your Valentine," Simms said. "The art is consistently engaging, and you can enjoy it while sipping on a sake martini!"
For the art and culture aficionado, another unique and provocative date and iconically San Francisco is a trip to the SF Museum of Modern Art. As you enter the lobby (hands entwined), gaze up at the majestic atrium, where you will later ascend for the reverse view. Your hearts will pound as you are suspended four stories above on the metal grate bridge. Your aesthetic sense will heighten as you are immersed in the Modernism of your surroundings. Be sure to check out the Matisse exhibition and others from the museum's permanent collection. If you're feeling particularly giving, pick up small souvenirs from the museum's store for the traditional V-Day gift exchange. Or skip the commercial element entirely and notice that a whole day's worth of entertainment has only set you back $6.00 each for admission with student ID. (Don't forget your City College ID!!)
Perhaps the activism-minded Cupid with naught but bus fare in his or her pocket will consider an alternative Valentine's Day activity in the Haight District. Reclaim the Streets, a direct action group, is having a free street party. Gather at Haight and Stanyan on the border of Golden Gate Park at noon, and wait for the 1:00 PM instructions revealing directions to the undisclosed party site. Event is free, but the flyer requests pirate attire, so civilians might have to purchase an eye patch or parrot if they can't find one at home.
A dating-expert friend of The Guardsman let us borrow one of his empty-pocket but romantic city secrets. Park on Chestnut Street behind the San Francisco Art Institute and head up to its roof for a spectacular view of Coit Tower and the skyline, without the Coit Tower crowd. Bask in the serene time alone with your Valentine once our photographer climbs down from the roof, that is.
Candles and bubble-bath are fine for the timid, but artistic adventurers will enjoy the many romantic options for Valentine's Day great reminders of San Francisco's flamboyant character.
The
Sex Tour at the Zoo
Broke or not, everyone should know about a world-famous and uniquely
S.F. Valentine's Day event: The Sex Tour. Every year, the San Francisco
Zoo treats visitors to a special two-hour tour on the mating and courtship
habits of the wilderness on exhibit. Take your sweetheart to learn about
the birds, the bees and everything in between while you enjoy champagne
and chocolates. The event runs $55 a person and is so popular that space
is limited. Advance reservations are required; contact (415)
753-7165 or specialevents@sfzoo.org.
The tour is twice daily on Feb. 15, 21 and 24. Valentine's Day is sold
out so this is a good choice for the forgetful --just pretend you planned
it late all along.
Literary
icon re-examines
segregation
Ishmael
Reed launches African-American History Month at City College's Rosenberg
Library
BY GENNADY SHEYNER
A prominent literary figure and longtime UC Berkeley lecturer, Ishmael Reed, kicked off City College's celebration of African-American History Month on February 4 by denouncing American culture of "white anxiety" and revealing his surprising views on segregation.
 COLLEEN CUMMINS / GUARDSMAN Ishmael Reed speaks of the days of segregation and the changes since the landmark case of Brown vs. Board of Education case 50 years ago. |
"The problem with this country is white fear," said Reed, 66, addressing a diverse crowd of about 90 students and faculty members at the Rosenberg Library, the final stop on his three-campus tour. Earlier in the day he visited the Downtown Campus and Southeast Campus.
"(George W.) Bush won the election by appealing to this fear," he added, citing Bush's 2000 presidential campaign stop at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, where he waved the Confederate flag to an enthusiastic crowd. Bob Jones University was roiled in controversy for years because of its ban on interracial dating, a policy that was finally abandoned in March 2000.
"Someone needs to take leadership to mitigate the anxiety among the white community," Reed said.
According to Reed, one such leader is Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), whose presidential campaign has been picking up steam in recent weeks. Reed sees hope in Edwards' message of fighting poverty in black and white neighborhoods alike.
"For once we have a guy talking about populism without racism," Reed said of Edwards.
Reed was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., but grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. Having lived through the Civil Rights Movement, he described the effects of this period on life in the black community.
"I learned to read a newspaper at an ice-cream parlor in a black neighborhood," Reed said. "We lived in a segregated community. We rooted for the Negro League teams. Our idol was Joe Louis. We had out own heroes, businesses, icons, professionals. Then desegregation came along and destroyed the African-American community."
Reed lamented the integration of other races into black colleges and businesses, which left many black professionals jobless.
"Lots of professional black people lost their jobs after desegregation," he said. "Desegregation broke up the African-American nation."
At the same time, Reed extolled the virtues of integration, crediting it with raising both the living standards and the expectations of the black middle class. It also allowed him to learn about other races.
"Up until seventh grade I knew nothing about white people. After mixing with them, I found out that white people are not God. The integrated school demystified white people."
However, he was quick to point out that integration failed to live up to its lofty ideal of racial equality.
"We still get racially profiled," he said.
Reed's speech was in large part a history lesson that covered the most important figures and events in African-American history. He recalled the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case that made segregation legal as long as facilities were kept "separate but equal" and the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case that finally banned segregation. He also recalled some of America's most prominent black leaders, including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells.
While Reed focused primarily on black history, he also mentioned other ethnic groups that faced discrimination in America, including the Irish and the Italians. He emphasized the importance of learning about other cultures and proposed that schools do more to promote ethnic studies.
"It'd be great if we had some European Ethnic Studies departments," he said, "so that so-called 'white Americans' can learn where they come from."
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Feb. 17: What would happen if Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X had met? "The Meeting," a play by Jeff Stenson and directed by Gloria Weinstock of the City College Threatre Arts department, speculates on the answer. The performance is free and starts at 11:00 a.m. at the Diego Rivera Theatre on the Ocean Campus.
Feb. 18: Youth Speaks, an activism poetry troupe, will perform in the Rosenberg Library room R304 at 12:00 noon.
Feb. 26: Catch the Youth Speaks poetry on the John Adams campus, in the third-floor auditorium of the library at 11:00 a.m. The Ocean campus will also host the annual Women of Color Gathering as a segue into Women's History Month in March. The gathering will be at the atrium of the Rosenberg library at 12:00 noon.