Students Demand South Carolina Boycott Last month, James Koffi, a sophomore at Whitehaven High School, was one of the 50,000 people protesting the flying of the Confederate flag over the Columbia, South Carolina, state capitol building. Now he and fellow students want Memphis City Schools to take part in the NAACP’s tourism boycott of the state, asking the Board of Education to officially adopt a resolution that condemns South Carolina for flying the flag and urges all principals, students, teachers, school organizations, and other system affiliates to hold all meetings and conventions outside the Palmetto State. “[The Confederate flag] is a symbol of racism and oppression, and we shouldn’t tolerate it,” Koffi told board members at last week’s board meeting. Central High School student Melissa Hudson, who also attended the South Carolina protest, agreed, telling the board, “Such displays of ignorance are not acceptable.” The students, who are part of the Memphis chapter of the NAACP’s Youth Council, have already had some success. Whitehaven High School’s Leadership Council recently adopted its own resolution requesting that the school’s band, choir, and other organizations not attend conventions and meetings in South Carolina. However, school board members didn’t respond to the resolution, and Commissioner Michael Hooks Jr. says he’s not sure if any members will bring it up for a vote. — Tanuja Surpuriya Blaze Destroys College Building Holding Dayton Monkey Trial Papers Documents from the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” were damaged in a fire that gutted the administration building at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, last week. The blaze that fire marshals believe was caused by faulty electrical wiring tore through most of the third floor of the school’s main building, which houses offices, the school library, a computer lab, and classrooms. “It’s mostly water damage to the documents, but we lost William Jennings Bryan’s signed copy of Origin of the Species,” says public relations director Tom Davis. “That was really hard, but we’re thankful that the rest of the papers have only minimal water damage.” Modular classrooms were set up Monday. The college’s 550 students are attending class where there’s space, from the auditorium to gym locker rooms. Davis says the school isn’t canceling its upcoming Presidential Scholar weekend, which will host 70 prospective high-schoolers competing for academic scholarships. “They’ll see the college a little differently from their predecessors,” he says. “But nothing about the school has changed; we’re just a little smoky now.” — Ashley Fantz Janie McCrary Leaves Memphis Arts Council “It’s been a very interesting 14 years,” says Janie McCrary of her tenure with the Greater Memphis Arts Council. The vice president of development and marketing recently announced her retirement effective June 30th, and it has certainly been a productive and fruitful time. McCrary’s achievements include the Greater Memphis Arts Council artist calenders, the Arts Access program, the development of a workplace-giving program, and the ubiquitous Soul Food calenders listing all the major events of the arts season. Most notably, in the arena of fund-raising, McCrary has seen donations increase from $1.8 million in 1992 to an all-time record of $3.2 million in 1999. “The strong economy has something to do with [the increased funding],” McCrary says, but the agency, which serves as a marketing umbrella for local arts groups, has also benefited from effective programs. One involved 125 young volunteers, each of whom asked five other people for donations. Regarding the local arts scene, McCrary says, “Arts groups are now more collaborative than competitive, the symphony sounds better than ever, the arts proposals we have been receiving are spectacular, and all of the work we are doing with schoolchildren has got to pay off in the long run.” The Arts Council plans to hire McCrary’s replacement before April 25th so that the new hire will benefit by working with McCrary. “It’s hard to imagine life without Janie,” says Arts Council President Kate Gooch, who says she expects that McCrary’s replacement will be hired locally. “We are looking for somebody with a strong background in marketing and development and good community contacts.” — Chris Davis Rise In Police Accidents Sparks Studies In the wake of several well- publicized traffic accidents involving police — two resulting in the deaths of officers Don Overton and John Robinson — new interest has been rekindled in an old question: Are Memphis police officers involved in too many traffic accidents, and if so, what to do about it? The question dates back to at least 1993, when, in an attempt to reduce accidents, the MPD adopted its current policy that limits police chases to the pursuit of subjects suspected of violent felonies, a policy that was itself the result of months of study. In light of recent events, the department’s practices are again becoming the subject of soul-searching and number-crunching. Recently, Mayor Willie Herenton asked the department to compile numbers comparing the number of accidents involving police officers to the number in the city as a whole. The results found that accidents citywide have declined by 13 percent since 1996, while accidents involving officers have risen by 19 percent in the same period. Officers were involved in 376 traffic accidents last year, or some 31 per month. Because of an increase in the size of the force, the number of accidents per officer has actually declined slightly since 1996, although police-related accidents made up 1.2 percent of all accidents in 1999 compared to less than 1 percent four years ago. Herenton has asked that the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission undertake a study comparing those totals to other departments around the country. The study will take two to three weeks, says the commission’s director of research Barry Gildea, depending on how quickly the comparison cities respond to requests for information. Early last month, the Crime Commission undertook another study at the request of city council member Brent Taylor. Following the accident that killed Officer Robinson, Taylor asked the commission to investigate ways fleeing suspects might be apprehended other than car chases. “My angle was more what kind of technology is available for us to use that would increase the likelihood of apprehension of these fleeing suspects, while at the same time decreasing the need for ground pursuit,” says Taylor. Taylor says possible alternatives range from the high-tech to the low-tech, from air pursuits and technology that can disable moving automobiles to tire-punishing spike strips. “I asked the crime commission to do some research into what technologies are available to aid in police pursuits, not to further restrict them,” he says. “I think it’s restrictive enough and we just need to use technology to help us in the pursuits.” The MPD, meanwhile, is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the studies. “We’re always concerned about accidents,” says MPD Deputy Director David Dugger. “Whether they’re disproportionate to the public at large has not been determined yet.” Dugger acknowledges that police accidents have risen as accidents in general have decreased, but emphasizes the training department personnel receive in defensive driving. So, what will be the outcome of all this studying? “I think the two studies complement each other,” says councilman Taylor. “Obviously it would be difficult to get into what the mayor is asking them to look at without looking at police pursuits.” As for the recommendations that inevitably result from such studies, Dugger says the MPD is open to suggestions. “We appreciate anyone that can come up with a better idea, a better solution,” he says. “Hopefully these studies will lead to a workable solution that will lead to a reduction of accidents not only for the police but also citywide.” — Jim Hanas Making a Difference in Millennial Memphis - 35 Q: What is the worst thing about not being able to read? A: Not knowing that The Memphis Flyer and Mr. Anonymous are giving away $1,000 a week of course. Sadly enough, that flip statement is not true, and illiteracy is hardly a subject to take lightly — it is an invisible prison incarcerating thousands of adults in our community alone. To be cut off from the world of literature is a terrible thing to be sure, but the inability to fill out a job application can be crippling. Can you imagine not being able to read a newspaper or to help your children study for the big test? These abilities, which most of us take for granted, are not luxuries. The old saw still cuts true, and as it has been said so very many times before, “reading is fundamental.” The Memphis Literacy Council wants to eliminate illiteracy in the Mid-South. Hundreds of MLC volunteers teach basic reading, writing, and math skills to those in need, and this year more than 500 adults will take control of their lives as a result of such programs. A grant of $1,000 dollars will provide 50 new students with workbooks, a dictionary, and the supplies they need to overcome a terrible deficiency. For this worthwhile project, The Memphis Literacy Council will receive the 35th Making a Difference in Millennial Memphis grant. As part of its 10th-anniversary celebration, The Memphis Flyer is giving away $50,000 in grants of $1,000 each. The money is provided by an anonymous Memphian who hopes to encourage what might be called good works — little things that improve the quality of life in Memphis. The grants are disbursed by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis. Grants are available to any nonprofit in the Memphis area. To apply, send a proposal on the organization’s stationery to: Making A Difference The Memphis Flyer P.O. Box 687 Memphis, TN 38101

					Fly on the Wall Follow The Politically Correct Road On Monday, FedEx pulled its popular Wizard of Oz ad, one of the highlights of this year’s Super Bowl commercial barrage, in light of complaints from several national organizations. According to the new issue of Advertising Age, the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, in partnership with the National PTA and Partnership for a Drug-Free America, complained about the ad, which features munchkins inhaling FedEx-delivered helium balloons to raise their voices. The groups are apparently concerned that teens, who, of course look to fantastical munchkins as role models, might emulate this behavior. Despite the protest, FedEx officials say they have only pulled the ad to review its appropriateness. The Great Rawlins-o “He seemed to be able to address issues in very broad terms, and yet he could relate to what we were thinking, almost like he could read minds.” — Washington State University endowed chair holder Jim Cook on meeting University of Memphis president V. Lane Rawlins, as quoted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Cook — who holds a chair in wheat research — described meeting Rawlins as “just like something magical,” from which we can only infer that wheat researchers don’t get out much. Still, Rawlins has apparently made some kind of impression. On Thursday, WSU was to announce whether it would offer its presidency to Rawlins. But at least we can punch a hole in that mind-reading theory; Rawlins says he expects to make a decision by Friday. To the School Board, With Love Despite wisely scheduling it on Valentine’s evening, Memphis City Schools board members were sorely disappointed in the low turnout for last Monday’s annual budget review. “It always disturbs me every year when we have this so-called hearing and nobody comes,” said board vice-chairperson Barbara Prescott in The Commercial Appeal. But by the end of the night, the dour board members were able to turn their frowns upside down. In honor of the 96th anniversary of the birth of Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel next week — an occasion that the Memphis Education Association is hoping board members will mark by visiting and reading to school students — MEA president Lucy Stansbury presented the entire board with hats of the kind made famous by a certain cat. Acting like schoolchildren themselves, the board doffed their new chapeaus, but where new money for the next school will come from, we’re sad to say, nobody knows. Did You Happen To See The Most Adorable Man In The World? Sadly ignoring the many charms of the men of The Memphis Flyer editorial staff, the Internet jeweler Miadora last week named a molecular biologist at the University of Tennessee—Memphis the world’s most adorable man last week. Eads resident Len Lothstein, 45, was nominated by his wife, Judy, a cardiologist at UT. “When I first heard about the contest, I was a little thrown by the word adorable,” Judy said in a statement. “To me, adorable meant cute — like a kitten is adorable. I thought it was kind of inappropriate for a man, but then I looked it up in the dictionary and saw that it also means ‘worthy of being adored.’ That’s exactly right for Len.” Of course, we’re sure he’s really adorable now that he’s won the $100,000 platinum, ruby, and diamond jewelry ensemble, the stainless steel Cartier watch, and the seven-night Cancun vacation that comes with the title. Hell, I’m starting to find him kind of cute myself.
		Compiled by Mark Jordan with contributions from Tanuja Surpuriya Send items to: P.O. Box 1738 Memphis, TN 38101 FAX: 521-0129 e-mail: . jordan@memphisflyer.com.