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| Title | Houstonian 1997 |
| Creator (Local) |
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| Place of Creation (TGN) |
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| Date | 1997 |
| Description | This edition of the Houstonian, published in 1997, is the official yearbook of the University of Houston. |
| Donor | The digitization and presentation of this yearbook was made possible by a gift from Ms. Lisa Burns in honor of her service as Houstonian editor. |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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| Genre (AAT) |
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| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
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| Original Item Location | LD2281.H745 H6 v. 63 1997 |
| 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 | This image is in the public domain and may be used freely. If publishing in print, electronically, or on a website, please cite the item using the citation button. |
| File Name | index.cpd |
| Title | Student Life |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | yearb1997032.jpg |
| Transcript | Ghosts of the Past Haunt Fiesta City Yearly Round of Criticism Intensifies in 1997 BY: Mark Smith for a few weeks in April, the University of Houston was besieged in a war of words. Its an annual ambush, like Christmas bills or tawdry summer blockbusters. Every spring Fiesta City blossoms up out of the thick grassy patch along Calhoun Street, and with it comes a barrage of complaints, boycotts and protests. This year the siege was particularly long and the rhetoric rather intense. Supporters of the festival maintained that Frontier Fiesta is nothing more than a grand masquerade party. Revelers can walk within the cardboard-constructed town and enjoy a slew of timeless Texas activities, like dancing or barbecue cookoffs. Its authentic frontier guise, they say, is designed to celebrate the history of UH. But since the late '50s, respected UH students (some of them organization leaders) have spoken out against the Fiesta and what they believe it stands for. Their concerns once had such influence that the show was discontinued in 1959. Critics believed it was staged beyond a reasonable budget, noticeably messy and celebrated a harshly racist history on the Texas frontier. Several UH alumni helped resurrect the festival in 1992, initially using university funds and then weaning it off year by year. However, the opposition, also regrouped and strengthened somewhat since then. "I don't believe the group that brought (Fiesta) back expected the criticism it has taken',' said Activities Advisor Lisa Nicholson. In early April, concerned UH students began writing letters to The Daily Cougar, which appeared frequently for about three weeks. One letter urged a better cleanup effort, another spoke of injustices at the previous years festival and yet another dramatized the event as an annual hate rally. Soon with every criticizing letter one written in support of the Fiesta appeared. Leaders of 14 campus organizations signed a letter denouncing the racist criticism as "misdirected'.' Despite calamity in the newspaper, an estimated 30,000 people attended the event, and the greatest show of force by those in opposition was a quiet candlelight vigil held across Calhoun Street. Its attendants listened to a solemn discussion on the slaughter of Hispanics and Native Americans at the hands of Texas frontiersmen. Both gatherings passed into the night uninterrupted, and another year of controversy surrounding the Frontier Fiesta ended. "Even though (the protest) did happen',' Nicholson said, "it has provided a good forum for people to express their opinions and be passionate about things they care about. It was good for both sides;' i articipants and other revelers gather at a dance after a variety show. this year's flesta featured carnival booths, campus booths, concerts and a barbeque cook-off - its largest slate of activities in nearly half a century. Photo By: Al Greenwood ->enior communications major teri szynskie lights her neighbor's candle at a vigil held in protest of Frontier Fiesta. Attendees performed an Aztec dance and then discussed frontier genocide in an open group. Photo By: Ron Temple 44 Student Life |