September 13, 1984
Black Ink
Page 5
UNC Blacks Need To Improve
by Marjorie Roach
Staff Writer
This Fall has seen a significant
drop in black enrollment at UNC.
Figures show that out of the 3,300
freshmen enrolled at the University
this year, only 350 of them are black
down from 427 in 1983. One Univer
sity official attributes the decline to
the enhanced recruiting efforts by
predominantly black schools. Also,
the rising cost of college in the face of
decreasing financial aid is a cause.
Hayden B. Renwick, Associate
Dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences says academic success at this
Univesity is what helps recruiting.
“When students go home after flunk
ing out, they paint a dim picture of
Carolina,” he says. In the following
interview. Dean Renwick expresses
his concerns over the state many
black students are in at the Universi
ty-
BLACK INK: What is your main
concern regarding blacks at this
University?
RENWICK: Blacks apparently don’t
consider academics a main concern
based on numerous reports of missed
classes. We’ve designed an Academic
Monitoring System which reports all
D’s and F’s. Over 59 percent of last
years freshmen were reported as hav
ing D’s and F’s. They were notified
by mail, yet we could not get the vast
majority to attend tutorials designed
to help them.
BLACK INK: How have blacks done
in previous years academically?
RENWICK: When you look at the
last 4 years, it is getting worse. 48%
of the blacks on this campus have
below a C average. Out of 1300
blacks, less than 100 have a B average
or above—this leads me to believe
academics is not top priority.
BLACK INK: You once said in a
previous interview; “It’s not recruit
ment that’s the problem, but reten
tion.” With that in mind, why has
enrollment at black colleges increased
whereas black enrollment has declin
ed at the University?
RENWICK: I think Carolina has a
lot to do with that. The University
has not provided adequate support
systems—combined with the lack of
priorities, the black student then
flunks out. And that same student
hurts the community because he does
not admit he flunked out, instead he
berates the University. The high
school senior believes what he hears
from those peers and changes his
views about coming to UNC. Com
bine this with the stepped up
recruiting of black schools and the
decision is not hard.
BLACK INK:What can be done
about the situation?
RENWICK: Design supportive
programs that will ensure the success
for the black student.
NOTE: There will be a follow-up on
statistics and trends about Black
enrollment and academic progress.
Look for this information in upcom
ing issues of Black Ink.
Black Cloud Over ‘ ‘Purple Rain’ ’
By Winfred Cross
“1999” was certainly good to
Prince Rodgers Nelson. Although
released during the “Michael Jackson
era,” the album firmly established him
as one of the most celebrated musician/
singer/songwriters. With the release of
his fifth album, the incredible sound
track to the not-so-incredible movie
“Purple Rain,” Prince produces his
most consistant and satisfying work.
The album, as does the movie,
opens with “Let’s Go Crazy.” The
song opens with Prince sounding like a
television evangelist, pipe organ and
all in the background. “Dearly
beloved/We are gathered here
today/To get through this thing called
life....,” he says. “And if de
elevation tries to break you down/Go
crazy! ” He then cuts loose with one of
those high-pitched screams and rips in
to the album’s most wicked beat. Its
high energy guitar work and bom
bastic drum beat make it the album’s
most spirited song. The pace quickly
changes with the second song, “Take
Me With U,” a duet with Appollonia
Kotero. Prince and the film’s leading
lady are no Roberta Elack and Peabo
Bryson, but they handle this sweet,
mid-tempo love song fairly well. Stay
ing with the same mood Prince slows
the pace even further with “The
Beautiful Ones,” a torrid ballad which
showcases his royal badness’s incredi
ble vocal range. “What’s it gonna
be,” he screams. “Do you want
him/Or do you want me?/Cause I
want you!” He sort of over does it a
bit with the screeching falsetto but,
none the less, it’s a very lovely song .
Unfortunately the rest of side one
isn’t so lovely. The side’s last two
“Computer Blue” is pretty bland, but
musically and lyrically. And “Darling
Nikki” sounds like it was dug up form
a box of discarded Jimmi Hendrix
demo tapes. What it lacks in melody it
makes up in filthy lyrics: “I knew a
girl named Nikki/Some say she was a
sex fiend/I met her in a hotel lobby/
Masturbating with a magazine.”
That’s pretty raunchy stuff.
Fortunately, those songs are the
album’s only faults. The rest is
magnificent. The second side opens
with the killer, “When Doves Cry.” I
don’t have the slightest idea what the
song means or even what does sound
like when they cry, but I do know it is
one of the best songs to come from a
movie this year. (Well, considering
other movie songs like “Ghost
Busters” and “I Can Dream About
You,” that’s not much of a compli
ment.) The album’s last three songs
are the album’s best. “I Would Die 4
U,” “Baby I’m A Star,” and the
beautifully touching ballad “Purple
Rain,” are all performed live with his
band Th Revolution. Each song has a
wide open sonic quality that is enhanc
ed by the use of strings, something
that Prince has avoided in the past. On
these songs he is a man possessed. He
sings each as if he’ll never sing again,
especially on “Baby I’m A Star.”
Sure, he may sound arrogant when he
says “Take a picture sweety/I ain’t got
time to waste/Cause baby I’m a star,”
but he’s singing the pure truth; he is a
star.
Without question “Purple Rtiin” is
the best movie soundtrack of this
decade.. With this album Prince show's
^ that he has finally learned that it la the
tity of sex that makes a great jdbum.
Truly, he has made a great album.
But he hasn’t made a great movie.
Without question the soundtrack to
this film is helping to draw millions of
people into the theaters to see it. In its
first few months of release the movie
has already grossed over $40 million.
It paid for itself in its first weekend of
release. (It cost $7 million to make.) It
is a sight to see. Visually, it is a satisfy
ing film, especially in the music scenes.
But take away the pretty stage lights
and the music and you have an awful
film.
To say the least, the acting is pitiful.
That is to be expected. The movie only
uses one real actor, Clarence Williams
III. But he never really gets the chance
to act because he doesn’t get much
screen time. Prince is awkward as the
kid, even though he’s supposed to be
playing himself. But what he lacks in
talent he makes up in stage presence.
Whenever he enters a scene, he steals
it. His curious blend of saint/sinner
magnetism draws all attention toward
him. Too bad he has to open his
mouth.
The same goes for Appolonia. Her
looks carry her through most of her
scenes but not even they are enough to
help her when she sings “Sex
Shooter,” the movie’s weakest song.
The only real acting is done by
Morris Day and his zany sidekick
Jerome Benton. These two seem the
most at home in front of the camera.
As a comic pair, they add needed relief
to the poorly written script. They even
manage to do a fresh version of Abbot
and Costello’s “Who’s on First”
routine. The sad thing about their per-
fortnances, however, is that they are
stock black character types. Day’s
womanizing, sharp dressing slickster
character is nothing more than the
thousands of other “coon” characters
that have come before him. He pops
and rolls his eyes and sends out high
pitched cackels at the snap of a finger.
His buddy Benton could easily be
mistaken for Eddie “Rochester”
Anderson, the first to perfect the com
ic valet role. Anderson was usually
shown as being smarter than his
employer (Jack Benny) but usually in a
way so that he would look as foohsh
as his employer. The same goes for
Benton. The two represent the sad atti
tude that the movie industry has
toward black movie roles.
The movie’s most offensive quality
is the way it treats and projects
women. In one scene a woman angrily
approaches Day to show her resent
ment of being stood up, the woman is
dumped into a large dempsy dumpster.
In another, Appollonia is slapped into
a chest-of-drawers after she has given
Prince an expensive guitar. When the
group Appolonia 6 performs they are
gyrating in front of the camera like
street hussies. In the rehearsal scenes
Day tells his “girls” that he wants to
see ’’some asses wiggling.” And the
only song written about a girl in the
movie, “Darling Nikki,” is about a
whore.
If I had only paid attention to the
music scenes of “Purple Rain,” I
would have felt the movie was decent.
But I can get music videoes from
MTV. When I go to the movies I ex
pect to be entertained by action or
drama. “Purple Rjiin” has neither. □
songs are; by far the album’s worst. quality of the songs and not the cjuan-