By ryan April 26, 2001
This week is the second and final part of the 80’s Flashback. Last week we took a look at trends that are reminiscent of the 80s: aviator glasses, old skool sneakers, loud colors, etc. This week we are going to reaffirm that the 80s are back by looking at the media that is most associated with the feelings of the time: live music. Now before you shell out $150 for scalped ‘N Sync tickets, take a look at some of the 80’s superstars who will be hitting the stage this summer — bigger and badder than ever. Material Girl and the King of Pop Rock n’ Roll may be dead, but pop music sure isn’t — and there isn’t a hotter pop pair than Madonna and Michael Jackson. Madonna will begin touring this summer in Europe and will be back in the States with her first tour in eight years. Tickets and venues haven’t been released yet, but this may be the only way you’ll feel like a virgin this summer. Speaking of feeling like a virgin, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, will be hosting a massive show at Madison Square Garden on September 7th that will reunite him with the Jackson 5 in a celebration of — what else? — himself. Vanity has never been more appealing to our 80’s ears, and I’m sure Tito, Jermaine, and the rest of the crew appreciate the opportunity to cash another paycheck after so many years. Monsters Of Rock Okay, so maybe Metallica made a big fuss about song-swapping on Napster. But I don’t think you’ll see Poison frontman Bret Michaels complaining that “Unskinny Bop” is being downloaded by his fans — because it’s the 21st century when Glam rock is what’s back and it’s about the music. And more importantly, the fans. The “Glam Slam Tour” is tailor-made for anyone who’s played beer pong to Monsters of Rock, or still holds true to cut-off shirts and stone-washed denims. So what do you get for your money on this tour? Only the best, including Poison, Enuff Z’Nuff, Warrant, and Quiet Riot. So come hear the noise. A Band Based On Singles Before there were Ace of Base and Paul Oakenfield, there was only one group that pumped up the bass and electronic chords — Depeche Mode. Now for the first time in a decade, Depeche Mode (a band known for its Billboard Top Ten hits like “People Are People,” “Blasphemous Rain,” and many others) is back with a new album and a fresh audience. Guys, be sure to break out the baggy pants, and girls, wear your one-sleeve shirt to this show which will ooze that 80’s feeling. It’s Only Rock N’ Roll The final two shows can be covered in this section because both rockers have been partying way before we were born, yet still rock harder than any Cornellian. Aerosmith and Rod Stewart, two staples of rock n’ roll, will be hitting the outdoor stadiums this summer promoting their new albums, which both hold true to the sounds they were producing back in the 1980s (as well as the 70s). This is cross-generational rock at its best, so be sure to pick up some extra tickets for your parents for Mother’s and Father’s Day. You may also want to purchase some ear-plugs for them, just in case.Archived article by
By ryan April 26, 2001
While Cornell’s varsity sports receive the majority of the recognition, the press and the adulation, there is a another athletic community on East Hill that thrives only through its own blood, sweat and tears: club sports. In this three-part series, The Sun will chronicle just what goes on in the world of club sports. Today’s third and final installment examines the relationship between club and varsity sports. F ormer men’s gymnastics head coach Phil Rach picks up a now dusty Ivy League championship trophy and removes it from a chair in his office so I can sit down. Rach may be the most successful coach in Cornell history . . . but chances are you’ve never heard of him. He was appointed coach of the men’s gymnastics team in 1983 and won eight league crowns during his nine-year tenure. Unfortunately, he will not have an opportunity to add to his hardware collection. That’s because the Athletic Department, in the face of enormous cost pressures in the early ’90s, slashed men’s gymnastics along with three other sports: women’s gymnastics, and men’s and women’s fencing. The relationship between club sports and their varsity cousins is one marked by passion, hostility at times and unity in other circumstances. During the late ’80s and early ’90s, athletic departments across the nation were struggling to deal with increasing financial burdens. The snowball effect began, however, in the early ’70s when a push for gender equality was enveloping the nation. Title IX had just been passed and as interest in female sports was rising, administrators were struggling to ensure equal opportunities for all student-athletes. So when former Cornell athletic director Laing Kennedy decided to drop the axe on women’s gymnastics and women’s fencing, the squads got together and sued the University. They won and were reinstated as full varsity sports. Their male counterparts on the other hand did not share the same fate and were relegated to club status. Men’s and women’s fencing head coach Al Peters came to Ithaca in 1995, after a stint as an assistant at Princeton. He inherited one of the most tradition-rich sports on East Hill — men’s fencing predates the 20th century, having begun in 1894 and was later joined by a women’s team in 1927. Peters also was faced with a program riddled with fractures. After decades of having two varsity teams, he found himself juxtaposed between a women’s varsity team and a men’s club team. He was charged with the unenviable task of organizing and coordinating a club for men who had been recruited to fence at the intercollegiate level; some had made their decision to come to Cornell largely on the reputation of the fencing team. “Both the men and women were shattered. They had been former teammates. One of my biggest goals when I first came here was to get them to work together. It’s taken me nearly six years to do that,” Peters explained. These days, relations between the two squads are much healthier. Friendships have been forged between club and varsity members. “They cheer for each other and really have been almost one big group. They just have to compete separately,” the coach observed. Senior John Osborne, a four-year member of the men’s club team, affirms the sentiment. “We have a good relationship with [the women’s team]. We practice with them everyday,” he said. Osborne believes that having the resources of a varsity coach to draw on gives the Cornell club a competitive advantage over other university clubs. “In my mind, we are about as close to a varsity sport as we get without having varsity status,” he observed. Some have attributed the downgrading of former varsity sports like fencing to Title IX. These coaches and administrators explain that in creating a balance between men’s and women’s sports, often times, men’s sports are cut. Former Associate Athletic Director and current University of Denver Athletic Director, Dianne M. Murphy, cautions that there are several ways to comply with Title IX and that it should not be viewed as a scapegoat for eliminating certain men’s teams. Murphy believes that Cornell faces funding obstacles that often times result in the downgrading of certain varsity sports, for many reasons beside the oft-cited legislation. “There is significant competition for funding between all of the schools at Cornell. There is no big fan base in Ithaca or much opportunity for corporate sponsors,” she reasoned. As a result, many sports, particularly those at the club level, must turn to individual fundraising efforts to sustain their programs. For Peters and his fencers, such efforts were far from futile. In 1996, thanks to a generous gift from the families of Andrew Stifel ’91 and Nina Farouk ’97, the team unveiled the Stifel Fencing Salle. Most unique was that it represented the combined drive of both the club and varsity teams who just years earlier had had a stand-off relationship at best. Indeed, the former schism was readily apparent through the condition of the gift — that the men’s club team be allowed to practice in it. The Salle has become a source of pride for the squads and alumni to unify around, and Peters enthusiasm for the place is palpable. “That used to be where the outdoor education people had the canoes. It was filled with cobwebs,” he said, as he gestured to a part of the room now adorned with electronic scoring devices. For some, the wounds from the relegation to club status are still present. Since Rach’s squad lost its varsity standing, it had been all but completely isolated from the women’s varsity team. Practices are held separately and there is little mixing between the teams or coaching staffs. Perhaps one of the reasons for this divergence stems from the fact that each gymnastics team has a separate coach. Rach explains that part of the reason for the separation is rooted in liability issues. Club sports are not provided with a trainer so the men may not practice at the same as their female counterparts. Despite being the most successful team on campus at the time it was voided, the men’s squad has yet to make the recovery that the other three programs have undergone. Rach also touts his squad as having had the highest team GPA on campus prior to it being cut. There have been murmurs of a movement among alumni to reinstate the sport at the varsity level, but at this point it seems unlikely that a change would occur in the near future. Rach reasons that keeping the club would have caused the university to incur little costs and reap the benefits of having a perennial Ivy League championship contender. Al Gantert, Director of Physical Education, sees the issue in a different light. “Another criterion was how many Ivy League schools had the sport. The fact that only a few other peer institutions had men’s gymnastics preempted the success of our team. [We had to ask the question]: how invested was the Ivy League in this sport?” he questioned rhetorically. Gantert attributed the divergent fates of the sports to their dissimilar nature. Men and women can more easily train together for fencing because the weapons are uniform, while in gymnastics equipment differs by gender. But the flow between varsity and club sports has been a two-way street. The administration has elevated some successful clubs to the varsity level. One need not look far to find success stories. Softball transitioned in 1994, the same year as Ivy League rival Dartmouth upgraded its squad. For several years ,the team had struggled financially as a club sport, but however scarce