Title | Houstonian, 1990 |
Contributor (LCNAF) |
|
Date | 1990 |
Description | This edition of the Houstonian, published by the students of the university in 1990, is the official yearbook of the University of Houston. |
Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
|
Subject.Name (LCNAF) |
|
Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
|
Genre (AAT) |
|
Language | English |
Type (DCMI) |
|
Original Item Location | LD2281.H745 H6 v. 56 1990 |
Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b1158762~S11 |
Digital Collection | Houstonian Yearbook Collection |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | In Copyright |
File Name | index.cpd |
Title | Student Life |
Format (IMT) |
|
File Name | yearb_1990_021.jpg |
Transcript | Positive Images Soviet writer praises America and GH T, he following is an excerpt from an article written for "The Daily Cougar," the campus newspaper. It was written by Maxim Korjov, one of six Soviets who visited UH last summer. He was also a correspondent for TASS, the Soviet news agency. The possibilities for the average citizen of the U.S.S.R. to visit the United States are about as good as those of the Biblical camel to pass through the eye of the needle. With the exception of a small group of people (diplomats, journalists and the like), few Russians are able to boast, "I was recently in the States. .." There are times when a Russian cannot even imagine what America is like. The radio, newspapers and TV beat people over the heads with the information that America is long lines of unemployed, the hungry and homeless in the slums of New York, a bloodthirsty soldier with an M- 16, racial discrimination. And until recently weren't Americans traveling to the U.S.S.R. generally treated with suspicion — "You think he might be a CIA agent?" On the other hand, those stories and books by American authors which managed to get across the ocean somehow, the radio transmissions of the "voices of the enemy" and all the crumbs of information aroused us and whetted our curiousity. Beginning of the '80s: Our troops entered Afghanistan. The image of America took on an ominous hue. Ronald Reagan was Enemy Number One. Radio and television were constantly buzzing about American rockets, tanks, The Russian visitors enjoy the freedom of American culture.Pfrofo by Mark Lacy. nuclear warheads. And finally, perestroika, glasnost, "democracy,". The tone changed in the newspapers. On the televisior they broadcast stories about the life of Soviet immigrant in the United States. We were amazed to learn that notal of them were working in laundries or driving taxis. Anc that Americans aren't all that bad after all. Exchange programs are expanding. Children, college students, officers and businessmen travel the roads of the U.S.S.R. and the United States in herds. "You're going to America? Fat chance!" On the faces ol my relatives and friends there was amazement, mixed with disappointment. They think, "This guy's lost his marbles. Whaddya mean, America. It'll never happen." Texas, skyscrapers, ranches, freeways — I've read and heard about these things and seen them on TV. But coming into head-on contact with American life leaves one with a slight concussion. I have many impressions. Very many. America rep resents a different way of life, different possibilities, a different world. Much of what I have seen and experienced I would like to transfer to the Soviet way ol life, to make it less arduous and more interesting. Soonei or later, I hope, this will occur. But for now, let's get acquainted and get accustomed to one another. The line forms behind Houston. Welcome to Leningrad!-Maxim Korjov (translated by Harry Walsh, director of the UH Russian Studies Program) Courtesy The Daily Cougar 22 RED *N"t we VER |