Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / April 22, 1991, edition 1 / Page 6
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What's Happening in Human Rights by Eric Longley "I have two stories tonight," said Sheherazade. "One is short and pretty depressing, and the other one is long but more light-hearted." "Let's have the depressing story first," said the King. "As you wish, Your Majesty," said Sheherazade. "You may remember a story I told a few weeks ago in which I mentioned that one third of the nations of the earth torture their own citizens on a consistent basis (includ ing Iraq and some of Iraq's foes: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria). According to Amnesty International, there are a great variety of torture methods. There is the ever-popular application of electric shocks to sexual organs. There is falaka, which involves repeatedly beating the soles of the feet There is el quirofano, formerly used in Chile, in which the victim is forced to lie on a table with the upper part of his body unsupported, forcing him to hold up his weight in a most painful manner. There is the famous pau de arana, or parrot's perch. This ingenious method involves suspending the subject "head-down from a horizontal pole placed under the knees, with the wrists bound to the ankles." And in the method known as el telefono (the telephone), the torturer hits the victim simultaneously on both ears. And we mustn't forget the reliables: plain old beating, threats of death or harm, and, in the case of women, rape. For example, if Amnesty is to be believed, 'Cop Rapes Women' is virtually a daily newspaper headline in India" 'This is horrible!" said the King. "What can I do about it?" "I would recommend joining Amnesty International or some such organization and campaigning against torture. And I would recommend that you ratify the United Nations Convention on Torture, as the United States did last year." "Very well, Sheherazade," said the King. "I wiii do these things, now that you have shown me the need for action. But your story has really made me feel depressed. Could you tell the light-hearted story now?" "Certainly," said Sheherazade. "This story is based on a movie entitled Monty Python and the Holy Grail II" She began: Once upon a time, in the southeastern United States, there was a small liberal arts college called Drofliug. One of the admin istrators of the college was sitting around one day when a mob of enraged students and faculty came up to him, dragging along a poor soul who was firmly bound and dressed in white robes. "We caught us a bigot," said a spokes man for the mob, throwing the accused man at the administrator's feet. "This vile see HUMAN RIGHTS on page 7 >• THE GUILFORDIAN April 22, 1991 6 GUILFORD LIFE Mummenschanz European Mime Troupe Delights Audience Chris Ward Staff Writer Mummenschanz, a mime troupe, gave a special performance at Guilford on April 8. The group, comprised of Austrian Barbara Karger, Swiss per- former Peter Locher, and German Thomas Prattki, transformed themselves into over 25 fantastic crea tures. The current mem bers of Mummenschanz, all of whom have been with the troupe since 1989, used a variety of costumes and lighting to make an un usual and fascinating world of strange animals. The original Mummen schanz was formed in 1969 by Bernie Schurch and Andres Bossard, who were joined later by Floriana Frassetto to comprise the group that performed at the 1972 Avignon Festival. After that first appearance, Mummenschanz became known world-wide as one of the premier mime and puppetry organizations. The group, whose name means "masquerade" in German, has made appear ances on The Muppet Show as well as in festivals in such diverse cities as Edinburg, Scotland; Marriot Celebrates One Year of Safety Lara Ramsey Features Editor This final cafeteria article for the year honors an unusual and commendable ac complishment of the Marriott staff and employees. On the morning of April 18, both the vice president of Marriott food services and the district manager dropped by the cafeteria to congratulate the staff for making it one whole year without a single accident. The last accident, one year ago last Thursday, happened as manager Doug Gilmer was slicing cheese. He cut his finger badly enough so that student worker David Olson remembers it as 'stitchable'. Which causes one to wonder—for the record —what constitutes an accident? Manager Tim Tyree explained that an official accident, or one that qualifies as reportable, is one in which the victim is Spoleto, Italy; and Prague, Czechoslova- and children alike. One skit involved a kia. Mummenschanz's per- •••••••••••••• formance in Dana Audita- : review: rium was a magical affair ~,,,,,,,,,,,, that was exciting to adults Mummenschanz Mime Troupe's repertoire includes many varied costumes and figures including this giant hand which 'drew' figures with a piece of string /photo courtesy ICM Artists caused to either seek outside medical at tention, or else lose time at work. There fore, stubbing toes doesn't count. Olson remembers a day last summer when the record almost broke, literally. A worker was wheeling a cart of glasses when the rack tipped over, smashing at least 50. The worker fell as well, landing face down in the middle of his own spar kling accident —yet he stood up, without a scratch. The cafeteria celebrated this anniver sary of Doug's finger with an informal ceremony. John Radcliff, the vice presi dent of Marriott (the second largest corpo ration in the United States) intended to present a plaque of recognition, but the mail hadn't come yet, so he shook a lot of hands. He also spoke with business man ager Dick Coe, who has been at Guilford for 17 years, and said that this has been the best year in terms of student satisfaction giant human-like hand holding a large pencil which "drew" figures with a piece of string that was attached to the instrument. In another skit, a large tube held a giant balloon on its top and then tossed the red ball into the audience. The program, which was divided into two sections, also contained several skits which parodied human be havior. Several acts por trayed men and women and their sometimes unusual and funny ways of inter acting with each other. During the performance, the audience was deftly kept in anticipation of what would happen next. With the performance of its two-year old routine, "Best of Mummen schanz," this amazing group of European mimes, actors and puppeteers rep resents a strong creative force in entertainment. With their amusing but meaningful commentary on life, the members of Mummenschanz demon strate a new and fun way to look at our lives through the magic of costume and mime with food services so far. Also in honor of the occasion, the people who have worked in the cafeteria full time for the last year received Marriott wind breakers. Part-time employees received Marriott tennis shirts. "I went for a whole year without cutting myself, and all I got was this lousy T shirt" joked Olson. When asked what she thought of the ambiance at the ceremony, Christine Magnarella, supervisor of catering, said that it was one of "anticipation and pride." When asked what she anticipated, Mag narella replied, "Oh, the windbreakers!" As far as Tyree knows, this is the first celebration of safety that Marriott has observed, and also the first year it has been earned. There is a calendar in the cafeteria that is marked off, one slash for every day that goes by accident-free. But who's counting?
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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April 22, 1991, edition 1
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