The Head-Royce Upper School Newspaper September 1994, Volume V, Issue I

SIBYLLINE LEAVES
Despite strike baseball lives on U.S. patio
bleachers were nothing more that the risers school as afarm complete with chickens and The only grumble ofdisenchantmentcame
Andrew Lau '96 for the chorus. The National Antfaem was a tractor. Last year the '94 Trojans dressed from a few of Juniors who were forced to
Layout Editor sung by a box named Sony and the only the school in a Hawaiian atdrc. However clean up the mock dirt field, tarps, various
bloopers for the day were to be found on neither could compete though with the elabo- bleachers and other decorations. The dis-
The Seniors once agaui took to the annual video tape. With all the elements put to- rate set up of tfae American Pastime. grunded few remarked that tfae Seniors them-
task of decorating the Upper School patio. getfaer though and maybe just a litde magic Ironically, rumor has it that the original selves didn't have to clean up after last
This year the class of 1995 chose to trans- from the Seniors, the Head-Royce School plan was to turn the school into a prison. year's Seniors. A few anonymous Broncos
form the sedate patio into abustling baseball had its very own ball park for a day. The story goes that a the lastmmute decision also agreed that they didn't remember hav-
game in response to tfaerecentMajorLeague Many students remarked throughout tfae came from Mr. Barankin to hold the base- ing to have to clean up. Either way we will
Baseball strike. The Broncos decorated the day that this was the best scenario put on by ball game much like what many had wished get our chance to do the same next year.
patio into a miniature basebaU diamond the seniors during the last few years. Two would have happened in the Majors instead All in all this was a great day at the ball
complete with all the amenities. years ago the class of '93 decorated the of the dreaded baseball strike. park.
Many students new and old alike were
surprised to arrive at school to find the
sounds of the great American Pastime. They
were greeted by the class of '95 dressed as
vendors offering popcorn and peanuts to
anyone and everyone who passed down the
stau-s while the sounds of cheering fans and
the National Anthem filled the air.
Seniors, dressed in tfaeir baseball attire,
entertained the passing students with amock
game while the rest of the class cheered from
their positions on the roofs and in the tempo-
rary bleachers and stands. Baseball was
played all morning during off periods on this
miniature field with the sounds of a plastic
bat and Wiffle ball amusing the few lucky
enough to have a free period.
Smells of lighter fluid and burnt hot dog
engulfed the school as the two foot tail
flames told of the inexperienced chefs. The
reward came at lunch ybentbe cooks fmaUy
gained flieir experience and the smells of
BBQ had most wishing had hit a homerun
too.

The day also featured a homerun hitting

contest on their ball field, rewarding a hot
dog at lunch to anyone who hit a homerun
over the builduigs left handed.
The field itself was constructed of dirt laid
on tarps for the infield and 700 sq. ft of
Astroturf to emulate the grass outfield. The Members of the Class of'95 celebrate the great American pasttime from the bleachers and roof overlooking the playing fieldinfront.

Seniors bond to rocks, eachother on fallout

rock with ease.
Valerie McGuire '95 Unfortunately, Rock-CUmbing was any-
Copy Editor thing but easy. About halfway up the rock I
realiized I had travelled far away from the
Plastered to the face of a mountain, grip- original intended path to perhaps the most
ping a small rock for support, I wonder how difficult spot to climb in. There were no
I arrived at this moment. I look all around me holes apparent anywhere for my hands and
for a potential foot hole but my gaze. lands feet to rest. I wanted to get down. The
far below me where I catch a glunpse of my weather was hot, and I didn't see anywhere
fellow classmate, Julie Leimbach, holding to move. The words of encouragement com-

my safety rope tighdy. And suddenly I re- ing from below seemed, dirough the fihn of
member what possessed me to try and scale my frustration, to be patronizing me. Yet
the face of a cUff; I am on Senior Fallout. somehow, some way, I managed to slowly

The seniors spent the two days prior to the arrived at the top. When I got there I was
start of school rock-climbing, hiking, play- fflled with a sense of not only relief but also
ing games, and generally "bonding" (yes, accomplishment. It was like nothing I had
we still have to play bcaiding games senior ever experienced.

year) In the heat of the desert at Pinnacles For anyone who is enticed by this story,
National Monumentmany students enjoyed you have senior fallout to look forward to. I
hiking, picnicking and playing games, ev- was not the only on who found the experi-
eryone agreed that Rock-Climbing was at ence worthwhile. Evan Mager '95 agreed, "I
least a memorable if not thrilling experi- thought the physical challenges presented
ence. by rock climbing were as knportant as the
As my climbuig group arrived at the Mono- time we spent together as a class."

lith climbing site (tfae same says it all) we

wondered if the clunb was surmountable.
The previous night we had teamed to tie our
ropes, fasten our harnesses and belay (hold-
ing the ropes for the climber) but no one had
taught us how to climb. After a quick dem-
onstradon I was expected to climb a vertical
For anyone interested in climbing on their
own, Cityrock, in Emeryville, offers a
wall, classes and equipment rentals at
their indoor facility. Many national parks
Kathryn Patton '95 pauses mid-descent after her arduous climb up Teaching Wall, also offer programs for more experienced
Pinnacles National Monument. climbers.
 SlBYLLINE LEAVES
Andre invades Normandy
Andre DeFontaine
News Editor
This summer I went to the beach.
I went to the beach where tens of thou-
sands of ment died fightmg for freedom. I
visited the shores of Normandy that hosted
tfae Allied invasion of France. These were
the beaches that General Eisenhower hoped
would provide a pathway into defeating fhe
Germans and liberating France.
Although there are many sights to see in
Normandy, the most popular ones are the
beaches, where that batdes between the Al-
lied forces and the Germans was fought, and
the cemetaries where the soldiers lifeless
bodies are held.
My family and I visited the beaches first
There was nothing spectacular about them.
||||e|l|£||Iai||8sag
l|||i||n|)ns||||ti0r||i|
Gump hits America!
Chris Wu
|;I^|tlti^|tHae|c^|igi||ai^
|,S|ies;||EaF[||to|^||£roni||^ Reporter
^le&ve^QsEKwi^sea^^
|sttK|ei!HEs|gO;E^i
[ a<le^dei^^eldy^ Forrest Gump shows "life is like a box of
^f<w:!SchGl^;SN;l:lliliitiii;^ chocolates", as Gump is Oscarbound. Not
lli|ig|iu^|||||^|ijiz^^ only was Gump a surprise to all movie-goers
l:fifiedc|it|a!?|c>^ across the country, people are forgetting
;:StiO^^|E|F3fOu|^ about pictures like the fast Speed, smart
|';piohably||was||^ Clear andPresentDanger, gargantuan True
i;fi)]|rabte||tBrei Lies, and the unsuspecting Shadow which
|i|o|ig<»|u^aaK^g,,ia^ were also very entertaining. In some ways,
lji^loiiyi):iiiiioilEBtiiw^ the quality movies this summer were all
|J||U||tx||||||||||||E|||I||||^^ feeling down, blue and Gumpy.
||||ess|||||||^||^^|?|^^
||||i||ie|||(|||^ City Stickers II: The Legend of Curly's
|^iiiia!|||iiJi Gold
||||Baiat^^|ie^sa^|||||^ Somewhat of a disappointment, the sequel
l.stud^teiwjffill^^ of the very popular City Slickers was O.K.
|::|n)l|l|||.I|E1i»%|s^^ A story about a big radio show producer
i||M||||||a|ite||u[Kt|su^^ (Billy Crystal) who finds himself with his
||i||Fe||i||||^||e|||e best friend (Daniel Stem), and brother (Jon
}J£F6KffeE^S^fi^^S^^ Lovitz) searching for gold from a treasure
|ei(ijii,||.||||iia|||^ map. Crystal and Stem are medioCTe, but
^<aeua|e||ie|||ce^ Lovitz is so silly that he's funny, but after an
^|i«:)|fa!u^i|E^ir;Q^^ hour of his Godfather impersonations, and
;;|bure^t^c|dlai^^ crazy dances, it get's old. Jack Palance plays
|||?]|l|^$|QiB|^ii^ Curly's twin brother, in an attempt to make
||x:||te||^u|ce&;|||||^ things more interesting. The role is not sup-
||p|e»!|iisigng^^ posed to be funny, butitbringsoutPalance's
iliiii&li^lairejl^^ character. OveraU, City Stickers H was O.K.
;;|Ed||^s:i!|ra^^ in some parts, but very boring in others.
mvtStKe fl^ it is absoia that Wait for the video. (6, getting old.)
:;ih^:^^|)^;;f<^^T^ Speed
aasi^li^ There are only two words to describe the
|?»i!!|l^gta^ movie Speed:: pure action! This movie pre-
i|a^mg||heaf^]E:ai)|^ sents dilemna after dilemna, problem after
;e some problem. Keenu reeves plays a cop. Jack
Traven, who is known for his unorthodox
||»|i|djQ|^iWCBE^ style. Traven saves a bus, fuU of civilians,
|;|i|ig|ai|^||a|i|{u^ which is loaded with abomb thatis acdvated
:^b|HG^t|||iijEufl!(ia^ when the bus reaches 50mph. If the bus goes
i::ioinn^t;iffli^;ifb^ below 50 mph after the bomb is activated,
||>n^j|>i|iij(ry the bomb detonates. Cinematographer-
|:l|;|we|||v|?||^&|^||E||eKl||^ii^ tumed-director. Jan De Bont, does a terrific
||||F|a|is|||||re|i^ job making action flow. Reeves, always
[^aaly:|i|||c(tei|^|a^ known as Ted of the Bill and Ted adven-
[l|hi|Bi||?Hi|cIiifen||t|^ tures, fmally made an actor of hunself (he
,.|be^|:|tiit|:i|E^;;givift^uSii was also in Little Buddha this summer).
i:j|u|[>i|||/^|^ei|||u«t^| Sandra Bullock (one of the civilians in the
l^ll^lion^ bus) might be the action female of the 90's
l|Fu|||i||ii||i^ right next to Rene Russo. Great movie. (9,
,:M^^|tBe|®e^iiMe;iin^ action-packed)
|yout;||jxi|||^^ The Lion King
|iu|:|i||Be|t|pe|i^|v|^ Disney's legacy for making the best ani-
:;!Qvit||lB|s|;^ii^ mated features lives on with a change of
|;^^|i|lli;|n£;|jw|1|u||^
They looked like any other vacation area.
People were making sand castles, swim-
ming in the water, and sunbathmg on the
shore. It was a beach like any other beach,
just a popular tourist spot, where people
could sit and relax. We sat and ate lunch
there, never fully coming to grips with what
happened on that very beach 50 years ago.
The historical significance of tfae beach
did not sink in until later that day, when we
visited the cemetaries. We walked through
the doors of the American cemetary in
Normandy, only to be greeted by row upon
row of tombstones. Itwas then that I realized
that the people we had seen earlier lying on
the beach would not have had the freedom to
do tfaatifit had not been for tfae dead soldiers
lying underneath the ground in tfae cemetary.
As I was walking around observing the
tombstones, I began to notice how young the
genre. Disney's The Lion King presents an
animal world instead of human which they
did in the last tfaree animated feature films
{The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast,
Aladdin. Simba, heir to the king of the
jungle, is framed for his father Mufusa's
murder by evil uncle Scar; later he returns to
regain his throne. Voices for tfae outstanding
Lion King include James Earl Jones
(Mufusa), Jeremy Irons(Scar), Matthew
Broderick (older Simba), Whoopi Goldberg
(Hyena Shenzi). Disney also brings a sad
death into the story, which gives the movie
depth, similar to their classic Bambi. (7.5,
,Fun.)
Forrest Gump
Tom Hanks follows up his Oscar perfor-
mance in Philadelphia with another terrific
perfoahance in F'orrest Gump. Forrest
Gump, a slow witted man, tells his journey
though life from the 50's to the 80's. In my
opinion, this was the best movie of the
summer. Very comical, the imagination of
the film is overwhelming as director Robert
Zemeckis incorporates great ideas and his-
torical events. The only handicap is tfae
length of tfae movie (a hefty 142 min.) which
at some moments seem to really drag. But
pure Hanks steals the show. Industrial Light
& Magic does spell-binding special effects
as Gump looks as though he is interacting
with three different presidents (Presidents
Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon). They also
make Gary Sinise look legless. Gump also
has a dramatic side when his childhood love
and later spouse dies of AIDS. My pick for
movie of the year thus far. (9.5, one-of-a-
kind)
The Shadow
Alec Baldwin and Penelope Ann Miller
star in this remake of the popular radio
show, The Shadow. The Shadow starts off
being a corrupt opium drug lord, when a
Buddhist monk changes his life. He gives
hun supernatural powers. One of Baldwin's
best. The Shadow has dazzling special ef-
fects. One inconsistency in tfae movie is the
amount of powers the supeifaero has. At
times tfae Shadow is helpless, and in other
scenes he is indestructible, overall the movie
was satisfying. This picture is good for both
kids and adults. (8, very entertaining)
True Lies
What can I say about an Arnold
Schwarzenegger flick? True Lies is defi-
nitely bigger, and better than most Arnold
movies. This picture is about a superspy
September, 19(
soldiers were when they died. Most of fhe
were between the ages of 22 and 26. The
young men had the best years of their liv
taken away from them because of the war
sat there imagining what it would be like
die at the age of 22, to not be able to live d
life that I had spent years preparing for.
Before this summer, I had read and leanu
about the Allied invasion in Normandy
history class. I had heard about how mai
people had died, and I had read about d
mass destruction that was caused. Thougl
had learned all these things, the numbe
never meant anything to me, until I saw d
baches that were freed, and the sea of gravi
where the casualties of war rested. Wh
used to be just names and numbers in
textbook took on an all new meaning for m
It was only then that I realized the magn
tude of the soldiers deed.
who pretends to be an average accountar
playedby Schwarzenegger. JamieLee Curt
plays the deceived wife who ends up aidir
her husband in a war against an Arab rel
gious crusade. James Cameron(Temunato
Alien) comes up with True Lies, to foUo'
his last blockbuster with Schwarzenegge
Terminator 2. The movie is 2 hrs. and 2
mio. of pure action. However the middl
section detracts because it is completely ol
the subject of the big plot. (8, BIG!)
The Mask
Jim Carrey creates another blockbuster i
comedy The Mask. The basic plot of thi
movie involves an accountant who disco\
ers a magical mask which turns him mto
comical superhero. Like Ace Ventura: P(
Detective, Carrey' s last hit. The Mask reaU
does not have much brain. Three thing
make this movie tasteful. One, the star, Jii
Carrey, period. Two, the spell-bmding spe
cial effects done by Industrial Light an
Magic. And three, die rise of new actress
the stunningly beaudful, former mode
Cameron Diaz. Without those the movi
would be rather lame. The soundtrack is nc
bad. Despite it's weakness, this averag
movie will bring in ttoe dough. (7, bit shaky
Clear and Present Danger
Thu-d of tfae Tom Clancy novel
turned book. Clear and Present Dangeri
the worst of tfae three, but is still good.Thi
second with Harrison Ford (previously ii
Patriot Games), Ford plays Jack Ryan CLI
agent trying to bust open the case on the druj
cartels in Columbia. Directed by Philli]
Noyce, this fihn requires a bit of thinkmj
and following. Overall the movie is enjoy
able because of Hamson Ford. Little extra
include, Williem Dafoe as a mercenary an<
James Earl Jones, in his third Clancy film, a
Chief of CIA. Since Hunt for Red October
(Scan Comiery) and Patriot Games (Ford
were hits, expect Clear and Present Dangei
to be so too.
(8, intelligent)
Along with this summer came a flock 01
prominent stars includmg Bullock (Speed)
Diaz (The Mask), and Mykelti WUliamsoi
(Forrest Gump), who plays a brief role
"Bubba" which ends up bemg a big part ol
the movie. Another thing that popped up is
the quality of soundtracks after phenom-
enal. The Bodyguard, Forrest Gump, Lion
King, and The Mask are all excellent. Is
there a bald, gold, figure in sight? There sure
is.
September, 1995
Rockridge becomes Camelot
Remy Goldsmitfa '95
Contributmg Writer
When I walked back to my car in the
Rockridge BART parking lot on Tuesday
evenings after woric, I made some interest-
ing observations. Among the usual sounds
of cars and subway trains, were tfae clashes
of swords, hinging of amior and loud cries
of "Halt!" Underneath the BART tracks and
Highway 24
overpassmem-
bers-some clad
in tunics,
p eas en t
blouses, or full
setsofannour-
of the Society
For Creative
Anarchronism
(the SCA) meet
twice a week to
socialize and
practice their
combat tech-
niques.
Organized in
1966, the SCA
was founded in
an effort to ac-
lively study as
well as reenact
parts of the
Eurpoean Me-
dieval and Re-
naissance pert-
ods. Former lo-
cal marshal and
active partici-
pant Sir
Hillary, a
woman who
greets me in a
set of armor that she made herself, contends
that the society members entertain no hopes
of actually returning to the periods. "We
munic tfae bits and peices of the time periods
that we fmd interesting." Society members
have the luxury of reliving history selec-
lively. For instance, men and women are on
the same footing in the SCA.
The SCA functions as sort of an umbrella
organization for more specific interests. "It
has all your basic human entertauunents,"
"Beastie Boys" rock Lollapalooza
Sam Baker '95
Business Editor
Incredible music and beautiful weather
highlighted this year's Lollapalooza music
festival. The Shoreline Amphitheater was
the site of tfae only two Bay Area shows on
August 27 and 28, and was a perfect place to
house this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In its fifth year, this touring music extrava-
ganza definitely rocked. Being an all-day
affair, eightbands played consecutively start-
ing at 2pm and continuing until llpm. This
exciting and entertaming bill included mega
stars such as Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie
Boys, and Tribe Called Quest, along with
The Breeders, George Clinton, L7, and the
Berkeley native Green Day.
Along with the well-known groups per-
forming on the main stage, there was also a
second stage where lesser known bands
played. This stage was much smaller with a
sound system that wasn't quite as powerful,
SlBYLLINE LEAVES
describes SirHillary, "eating, dancing, drink-
ing, and fighting." An extensive list tfae
Introductory Guide To The SCA names
other "skills and crafts" that society mem-
bers may participate in, including husbandry,
cartography, and philosophy.
Of course, the fighting is what attracts
many of the SCA members. According to
Su- Hillary, the SCA is the only organization
that offers tfae opportunity for combat. "We
tempt tfae adrenaline drive. Fighting allows
us to go to the edge. It's easy to get hooked."
Fighting is based on the Honor Code sys-
tem. The intent of an SCA member is to not
actually hurt his adversary when he fights.
Instead, when one is struk with a blow that
in an actual jousting situation would cause
the loss of a limb, he must no longer use it in
batde. "The Honor Code is the metaphore
for the Society," observes Sir Hilary. "How
we carry ourselves on the batdefield carries
over into the other relms of society. We
but the bands played (heir music; and they
played it well, regardless. Featured on the
second stage were The Pharcyde, The Boo
Radleys, and several other "alternative"
bands.
The word "alternative" is key to under-
standing the whole Lollapalooza experi-
ence. It encompasses everything that isn't
mainstream. Among the "alternative" events
was the freak show where different freaks
hung unnamable tfaings from unable places.
As well as the abundant music on the two
stages, Lollapalooza was also a carnival. It
had various booths that one could partake in
if the music becomes too loud or uninterest-
ing. Included in this barrage of entertain-
ment was a Mist Room where people could
escape to if the heat became too unbearable.
There were also several VirtualReality simu-
lation machines that sunulated a "high" ex-
perience for a high price.
On the music spectrum of things, all groups
were extremely talented, but the best by far
was the Beastie Boys. Thdr stage presence
would rather lose [in a
fight] then do somthing
dishonorable."
Particiaption in the So-
ciety touches on tfae rest of
one's Ufe as weU. "[The
SCA] effects how you treat
people as well as one's
physical confidence," ex-
plains Sir Hilary. "Cour-
tesy becomes a way of
life."
The SCA offers those
who are interested in au-
fhentic studies of the past
a chance to relive it. Most
members lead somewhat
ordianry lives, but on ev-
ery Tuesday and Thurs-
day night dabble in the art
of re-living medievil his-
tory.
surpassed all the others;
they simply put on the
absolute best show. At
some points their loud
punk rap style of music
was just too much for the
soundsystemattfae Shore-
line Ampitheatre, but
overall it was an incred-
ible display of musical tal-
ent.
Lollapalooza was an
extreme experience, and
definitely worthits $33.00
price of admission ticket.
Although the bands on the
main stage could not play
for as long as they wanted
to do long due to the lack
of time, the wide range of
music had something for
mosteverybody, and made
for some incredibly enter-
taining acts.
Patrice turns into
a LEADer in
Virginia
Patrice Harper '95
Reporter
Business. The word alone conjures up certam images of men
in suits with large offices and even larger paychecks. But more
often than not ethnic "minorities" are not mcluded in this
unagery. Thanks to a program called LEAD (Leadership,
Excellence, And Development) however, I got the opportu-
nity to examine tfae world of business executives.
In order to become a LEADer, one has to go through a
process very similar to the one seniors go through to enter
college. After sending in essays, transcripts, and recommen-
dations I received a letter saying I would be going to the
Darden Scool at the University of Virginia. Although most
people thought I was aazy for going to school during my
summer vacation, I could hardly contam my excitement.
Early on the morning of June 26th I kissed my family
members good-bye and boarded the plane. My earlier excite-
ment was starting to abate and tons of thoughts were Hoating
through my mind. I was starting to wonder if I would like the
people and I was already homesick.
Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about. I rode on the plane
with a gui named Mia Mitchell who was gomg to the same
program. We became instant friends and explored the Mary-
land airport during our stopover.
After our arrival we were picked up by an resident assistant
(RA) and introduced to the other people who made up our
group ofdurty students. We were driven to <fae UVA campus
and led to our respective suites. Each suite had sue rooms; one
for each student and one for tfae RA. wo watched over us. I had
the best suite in the world. Besides myself there were also
students from California, Virginia, andlndiana. The last order
of the day was to receive our schedules and listen to tfae rules
and responsibilities.
Our first school day got off to a rigorous start. We were
issued bus and recreation passes and told to go to breakfast at
Observatory Hill (the closest school cafeteria). The food was
horrid, but I was starving so I ate itall anyway. We then caught
the bus to Darden. We were warmly greeted, issued name tags
and our school day started.
Each day my classmates and I ate breakfast at 8:30, then
went to class from 9:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. Our lectures
ranged from the deficit to business plans and marketing
strategies. At 8:00 P. M. we had individual study time where
we prepared our case studies for the next day. At 9:00 each
night, we met ui groups to bramstorm ideas to further solve tfae
problems in the case study.
Although, the vast majority of our time was spent doing
work, we also had lots of fun. We had water fights, played
racquetball, explored Virginia and learned African dancing at
a studio owned by one of the student's. On Saturdays we went
bowling and to the movies. We also visited Washington, D.C.
where we saw the Capitol Building, tfae White House and
various senators. A couple of friends and I caught a train and
went shopping before visiting the Smithsonian museum.
On the last day we had a talent show and an awards
ceremony. My group swept the awards, but we were most
proud of the award we won for the Business Plan Competition.
The competition was the highlight of the month and we had to
combine everything we had been learning in school. We had
to develop a product, market it, write a plan and then present
it to a room full of professors and businessmen posing as
investors. Although we all had on suits and dress shoes my
group grabbed each other and just hugged.
At the beginnmg of the program our RA's told us we would
all be crying on the last day. I could hardly keep myself from
laughing out loud and most of my peers felt the same way.
However, on the last day it was a different story. We had spent
so much time together learning and playmg that it was hard to
imagine being without each other.
These were some of the brightest people in America, but we
had all fused together to become a working unit. I kept my
promise not to cry, but as I hugged all my friends good-bye I
knew our different state homes wouldn' t keep us apart. Look-
ing at the sea of black and brown faces surrounding me, I knew
I couldn't have cared more for these people if I had known
them for years. LEAD not only taught me about business, it
also taught me about life.

Strike ruins memorable baseball season
Graham Dobbin '97
Entertainment Editor
While players like Frank Thomas andBarry
Bonds lose thousands of dollars a day, the
baseball strike continues to threaten post
season play. More importantly, numerous
longheld baseball records that could have
been shattered this year can no longer be
broken because of the shortened season.
The strike, which began on August 12tfa, is
caused by a dispute between the players and
the owners primarily over the existence of a
salary cap in baseball. The salary cap limits
how much money owners can spend on
players. Many of tfae owners support the
salary cap because it controls the amount of
money tfae players receive. This, as a result,
is a savings for the owners. However, tfae
wealthier owners do not want the salary cap
because they can afford to pay theu players
more money. With tfae salary cap in effect,
the poorer owners will be able to compete
with tfae wealthier owners as far as how
much money they can pay to theu- players.
Consequently, with a salary cap, the league
would be more competitive with less dispar-
ity of talent between the wealthier teams and
the poorer teams.
While owners are in disagreement over
the salary cap, the players unanimously agree
that there should not be one. This makes
sense because with no salary cap, the play-
ers can get paid a lot more money.
But is money necessarily the most impor-
tant issue? Many baseball players were hav-
ing the best year of their careers until tbe
^^yA(/u»w-^*>
Who puts the paper in the shoes?
Life as a Stockboy in San Francisco's
Fashionable Esprit Outlet
Scan Bowman '97
Entertainment Editor
While most students were savoring their
summer, this student was painfully suffer-
ing through his first summer job.
In mid-spring my family realized that I
had virtually no plans tfais summer. Soon
after that, my dad threatened to make me do
odd jobs around the house. In other words,
"Find a job or activity for the summer or
youll suffer bucko."
I was stunned. For about two weeks I did
nolfaing. Around tfae end of April, it dawned
on me that there was one more month of
school. If I didn't do something, I would be
doomed to have an awful summer. I applied
for a job at a local swim club.
I did not apply anywhere else. It looked
like I was condemned to labor around tbe
house. Luckily, my dad told a family friend,
who works for the clothing company Esprit,
that I was looking for a job for the summer.
He said he would see if he could get a job for
me at the one of the outlets.
Weeks passed, and I had gotten no reply.
Once again, I was fretting over the possibil-
ity of being slave labor for my dad. I called
the friend and asked him about tfae job.
He told me what appeared to be wonderful
news: I had a job at the Esprit Oudet in San
Francisco. He told me to show up at his
office the first Monday of summer vacation.
However our friend did not know what my
job would be. The people m Human Re-
SlBYLLINE LEAVES
strike cut tfae sea-
son short. In
fact, someY^^
players y ^.
were ^^
o n
pace to
break vari- •<•
0 U S
fficcxds
un-
til
the
sdc
be-
gan.
For in- stance,
Matt WUUams of the San
Francisco Giants had43 home
runs when the season was put
to an abrupt stop. Had he con-
tinued at that pace, he would
have hit 62 home runs for
the year and broken
Roger Mans' record of
61 home runs when he
was with the Yankees in
1961. Matt Williams
may never again
have another year
^ that the
with as much
success.
An-
other
\<J
sources did not know. After a few phone
calls, I found out that I would be a stock
clerk.
Even tfaen, I stUl did not know how much I
was getting paid. That day I had (fae exciting
job ofhangmg up children's clothing backin
the stock room. Later I found out that that
part of my job would be truly tfarilling com-
pared to the rest of my duties.
One of those was Ifae lively job of taking
out the paper out of shoes and purses. I had
to do that nearly everyday for eight hours
straight. During these eight hours, I thought
of the poor person who had to put paper in
the shoes and purses. I also wondered why
the heck Esprit wanted paper in them in the
first place.
My good days were when I was able to
take old price stickers off all the blue jeans
and put new stickers on. After a couple
weeks of depapering shoes and purses ev-
erything else seems like a roller coaster ride.
Another annoying part of the job was
being tfae youngest employee by 3 years.
Every other stock cleric was over twenty.
Some were 10 years older. Actually, it was
nice when people thought I was a senior.
When I told tfaem I was a sophomore it
usually blew them away.
Besides being somewhat boring, I felt that
my job was better a litde better than school
except for one thing: the commute. I had to
get up at 6:30 on workdays. Around 7:20,
my dad and I would go drive to tfae casual
carpool stop for passengers. It's simply po-
lite hitchhiking from Oakland to San Fran-
possible milestone that was ruined was Tony
Gwynn's bid to bat .400 or better in one
season. When tfae strike began he
was batting .394 and if had he im-
proved a little on that average during the
<^final stretch of season, he could have be-
come the first guy to bat .400 since Ted
Williams did it in 1941. Because of the
strike, his chances for domg it this year are
gone.
^
their seasons ruined. There were numer-
ous players like Ken Griffey Jr., Frank
Thomas, Albert Belle, and Kevin
Mitchell who were having the best
^season of their careers. All the hard
work that the players put into this
season was thrown away when the
strike began.
As of yet, the players and tfae;
owners have yet to come close
to making a deal. What an-
gers a lot of people is the
fact that both sides are
not making a great ef-
fort to resolve the
problem. Many
people feel
players
and
Cisco. Most "carpoolers" do not view them-
selves that way. They just view it as another
form of public transportation. In reality,
they are hitchhikers in business suits and
dresses.
Once one gets intfae car, he almost always
says nodung and prays to the commute gods
that die driver is going to drop him off in a
good area. Usually that is Howard St by the
bus temiinal in San Francisco.
After carpooling, I caught a bus that took
me to Esprit. Riding MUNI buses during
commute hours is an experience no one
should have to go through. A good morning
was when I could move at all after I entered
tfae bus. Once, the bus was so crowded that
the bus driver let people get on the bus
coming in through the rear doors, and not
paying fare.
After a tedious day at work, I had to look
September, 1995
0f
/PW
'many
players feel
optimistic that base-
ball will resume before tfae
season ends. "Every strike
gets resolved," said Giant's
/•i outfielder Barry Bonds.
"The season will start
somewhere down the
road. There will be
baseball."
(Newsweek, August
22 issue)
s^
}}l
<-^w«u\^V|
forward to the commute home. At thebegin-
ning of the summer, I ahnost always was
able to sit down when I got on the bus. In
exchange for tfais comfort, traffic was stop
and go everyday. One day the traffic was so
bad that it took ten minutes to go one city
block.
Later on in the summer, it changed for the
better. I had to stand all the time, which I did
not mind, and there was very little traffic.
The most memorable moment of my sum-
mer was waiting for MUNI for an hour
because of the Giants game. That's one way
to have tfae summer slowly pass.
Overall, it was a memorable experience.
If I had to choose between working at home
or at Esprit, I would have chosen Esprit. I
had a nice income and met quite a few
interesting people.