14 = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JAYPLAY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2002
Turnabout trends: ruling the ins and outs
FASHION
The way nymphos pine for sex and megalomaniacs crave the grandiose, I am a magazine addict. Admittedly, lollygagging past the magazine aisle at Dillons doesn't constitute a disorder, but can this reliance on the glossy and two-dimensional be healthy? The problem is you can never catch up. One month's "This spring's must-haves" is in the next month's "Worst Dressed Celebrities." Who is this almighty Wizard of Oz who decides what is in this season and out the next? And not only that, is he or she really omnipotent? I am not the only Dorothy in search of the great and powerful Wizard; Toby Young devoted a chapter of his memoir How to Lose Friends and Alienate People to this.
Sarah Behunek pblack@kansan.com
Young was an associate editor for Vanity Fair in the mid-90s but was fired after a year and a half. During this time, Young
saw behind the curtain only to find the Wicked Witch of the East, not a harmful wizard. Before reaching the Emerald City- Vanity Fair - he thought that magazine journalists were not reporting fashion they saw but were actually-gasp-"in cahoots" with advertisers. Kind of an unsaid, de facto-type institution.
Surprisingly to Young, after his shortterm residency in the offices of Vanity Fair. he discovered that not one of his colleagues admitted to his conspiracy theory. But it wasn't their lack of recognition that astounded him; it was their complete and utter denial of such a claim. They perceive themselves as reporters, not puppets being made to dance by the advertising puppet master.
Young muses on magazines' power to convince people that they actually know what they are talking about when they declare a style "in" or "out."
"Ultimately, the reason they are able to pull this off is because they're convinced of it themselves," he wrote. Essentially, the fashion writers believe themselves to be all-knowing and have an innate ability to decree what is in and out each season.
And all I have to say is: but don't they? Confidence denotes credibility almost as much as knowledge does, so why dismiss
their claims if they believe themselves be valid? Young writes that the style psychics' "predictions carried so much weight they ended up becoming self-fulfilling prophecies." The Wizard of Oz had power only because everyone believed he did, but he still had it nonetheless.
This conundrum has my head spinning.
So I will settle with a happy medium: although I do not religiously follow the style suggestions of Vogue or Bazaar, I do consult them as muse-like entities who are in tune with trends. They are there for entertainment, not worship, and put together to serve advertisers as much as people. Keep in mind that yes, the style psychics and advertisers may have a degree of control over how we dress and the glossy pages may be tantalizing, but there is no true wizard behind the curtain.
University of Illinois to mimic 'Real World'
By Jaime Malarkey
Daily Illini (U. Illinois)
via U-Wire
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- University of Illinois students may be able to participate in a university rendition of MTV's The Real World, minus the cameras, if one student leader can garner enough support for a living-learning program similar to several already in existence at the university.
Patrick Wu, Student Government Association vice president of student groups, said he originally hoped to create living quarters for student group leaders to ease event planning and group collaboration. SGA executives and legislators, for example, could live together and thus coordinate more efficiently.
"I pitched the idea to (university President C.D. Mote Jr.), and it's my first idea he responded to," Wu said.
To get it approved, however, Wu had to expand his vision to the entire campus.
But such a concession makes the proposal similar to several communities on the campus, a point that doesn't deter Wu.
"The greatest thing is, it's open to anyone — you don't have to be in a student group and you don't have to apply to get in," he said.
This contrasts with other university living-learning programs such as the Jiminez-Porter Writers' House, CIVICUS and College Park Scholars, which require residents to meet rigid guidelines.
The Real World Community, however would include mandatory leadership-oriented classes for inhabitants, Wu said. The classes would also enable students to work through the inevitable melodramatics when eclectic students live together, as seen on MTV's reality series.
"I hope there's controversy," Wu said. "Otherwise it's just as boring as regular housing."
Wu plans on advocating new dorms for the program or trying to obtain an area in the South Campus Commons complex to encourage more male/female interaction than the traditional dorms would allow.
Students would have access to a list of groups outlining living areas so interested students could choose to live with participating groups.
Because living and learning centers must be sponsored by an academic department, Wu will meet with Dennis Kivlighan, department chair of education and personnel service, to ask for his support.
Progress and approval is hard to gauge. Wu said.
Kivlighan said his department was recommended as a potential sponsor because of its previous support of College Park Scholars' child outreach programs and a faculty-wide interest in promoting diversity.
If a sponsor commits, a written proposal will be submitted to Dean of Undergraduate Studies Bob Hampton.
Several other influential administrators consider Wu's brainchild a viable idea, but
one that may have already been addressed.
"I hope Pat can maintain his enthusiasm for it and keep advocating for it because as a concept, I think it's a wonderful idea," said Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Warren Kelley.
Kelley also said that some practical realities need to be explored, such as the need for a program so similar to already existing programs and the monetary costs involved.
Laura Lauth, director of the Jiminez-Porter Writers' House living-learning program, echoed Kelley's concerns.
She said the community of Dorchester Hall has a history of focusing on issues of difference and cross-cultural communication and already sponsors ethnically diverse speakers and events for its students.
"I don't think the university would approve and fund a program they felt was redundant," Lauth said.
A hopeful Wu predicts the living centers will be small-scale at first, but anticipates popularity will increase rapidly within the next four or five years.
"I could see an entire quad dedicated to this," he said. The university's living and learning programs are currently ranked No.3 in the nation. This program, Wu said, could take the university over the top by orchestrating genuinely diverse living arrangements.
"The idea that the university has about placing students in diverse living conditions doesn't really happen," Wu said. "It's a facade."
Marvel Comics to bring hero out of the closet
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - The Rawhide Kid, a longtime Marvel Comics character, is coming out of the closet next year.
The Kid's orientation, along with his white gloves and a white cowboy hat fashioned from Canadian beaver pelts, will be unveiled this February in a Marvel series called Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather.
Marvel is the home of more old-school comics like Spider-Man and the X-Men. The Kid made his debut in 1955, when comic book sexuality was not an issue and Marvel was looking to cash in on the success of the classic TV show Rawhide.
The times have certainly changed.
"It's not a book solely for a gay readership," said Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief at Marvel. "Who watches Will and Grace? Everybody I know. This is the same. If you like a good story and a good laugh, this is for you."
The Rawhide character will not walk out of the closet and into a saloon — not that there's anything wrong with that.
Part of the comedic slant will come in the Rawhide Kid's asides to the reader after the townsfolk can't quite figure out what makes the gunslinger ... different. In his previous incarnation, the Rawhide Kid was very shy around women. Nothing about that will change in the new version.