TMe Lmce
-September 25. iQQfi
Junior witnesses Centennial Park bombing
hv Donna Sammander seer to have left that . ^
by Donna Sammander
An Atlantan who stayed at home
during the Olympics had three ways
to claim fame. He/she could have
been a volunteer (and sell his/her uni
form for loads of money after the
Games), or could have participated as
a dove or a munchkin in the Opening
Ceremonies. Or, he/she could have
been at Cenntennial Olympic Park the
night of the bombing. I have that
strange sort of honor and was able to
whisper the morning after that “yes, I
too had been there so many minutes
before or after the bomb went off.”
The most unpopular time for a sight
seer to have left that night was twenty
minutes before the bomb went off.
That night a wonderful Reggae
Band, Steele Pulse, was playing and
crowds of people flocked to sway in
front of the stage or to lounge on the
grass before the bomb exploded. 1 had
never felt so carefree in Atlanta be
fore. I had no fear of pickpockets, or
muggers, or the random accidents that
Suburban People are always warned
of before taking MARTA (Atlanta’s
railway system). The streets were a
living mass of people going in and out
of the park. People hawked tickets
and pins, sold hotdogs at outrageous
prices and splashed in the lovely foun
tain rings which were in the center of
the park.
I had been separated from my
family for three hours and was getting
tired of the sights. The crowds seemed
more sparse as 1 walked towards the
exit. Some street drummers rolled out
their rhythms, rolled them so vigor
ously that the bomb was a mere pop
beneath their sound.
Then I woke up the next morn
ing, at home, only to hear that the pop
and the “fire works” had killed two
people, near the stage where people
had been swaying to song. To put it
° —gv-wu:, uau uccn sway mg to song. To put it together
Students lifeguard at pool in Olympic village
ni VlVfPIl^ fmtn norr>
that way, the bombing sounds as if it
had ended all music, sight and sound
for Atlanta during the Olympics. But,
I felt no bitterness in others or myself
that some madman (or woman)
wanted to jinx a world-wide event of
peace.
Rather, 1 was eager as many oth
ers were to attend the Park’s Re-open-
ing and to splash in the Olympic foun
tains at least one more time before the
Games and all their colour and vari
ety moved on. No matter how many
tragedies threatened to end Our
Games, I am proud that Atlanta pulled
together to show that they had the
Olympic spirit.
OLYMPIC from front page
spirit. As members of the recreational
staff, Reide and Fraser managed to get
tickets to see the ceremony’s dress re
hearsal, as well as packages of Powerade
left 0','er from the athletes.
Meeting the athletes was another
exciting part of Fraser and Reide’s
unique summer job. The duo saw such
famous athletes as Gary Hall, Jr.,
Michael Johnson, Hakeem Olajawon,
Monica Seles and Andre Agassi. But
the athletes were not the only famous
people these St. Andrews students got
to see up close. Brooke Shields, Arnold
Schwarzenagger, Vanessa Williams and
President Clinton also graced the Olym
pics with their presence. Reide and
Fraser also saw Hootie and the Blow-
fish, the Goo Goo Dolls and Ziggy
Marley. “I thought of them as being
godly almost,” Fraser said. “But upon
meeting them, I realized they were just
human.”
One of the funny things about
staying in the Olympic Village was that
many people assumed that Fraser and
Reide were athletes Because they were
"'orking at the pool, they didn’t have to
"'sar standard staff uniforms and they
took advantage of this on several occa
sions. Through careful planning, they
™Magedto slip into the athlete’s dining
3ll more than once. Fraser also pulled
some strings with her former swim coach
I* 0 was a the Olympics with the Zim-
^ we team. She managed to get tick-
sts to events where she got to sit with
the athletes. An additional surprise
came when the security guard mistook
the two for athletes and took them to
the athlete’s tram. They didn’t argue
the point. Many people asked Reide
and Fraser for their autographs. They
willingly played along and laughed
about the experience.
Reide and Fraser liked the ce
lebrities and the free stuff, but they
found themselves
moved the most by
the Olympic Spirit
itself. “Myself be
ing from a third
world country and
Britta being from
East Germany,”
Fraser said, “it was
amazing to see such
a display of unity.”
They say
the entire event was
like a dream. It was
so far from reality
that after it was
over, culture shock
set in. The only low
point was the Cen
tennial Park bomb
ing. It was the talk
of the Village for
the remainder of
the games. The pair
agree that it put a
damper on every
thing. Several ath
letes left as soon as
their events were complete rather than
staying in the “dangerous” Village. Nor
mally the athletes would have stayed for
the closing ceremonies, but this was not
the case in Atlanta. Several bomb scares
shook the Village following the centen
nial park bombing. Even the pool had
to be cleared as the security dogs were
brought in to investigate the bomb
threats.
The Olympics ended nearly
two months ago, but Britta and Lisa still
relive their adventures when they talk
about them. They smile at their memo
ries—memories that will stay in their
hearts for the rest of their lives. A year
ago, they never would have thought they
might work at the Olympics, and now
it’s a summer job that they will never
forget.
Lisa Fraser and Britta Reide pose for a picture with Brooke Sheilds and Andre
Agassi at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.