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Experiences Russia USC By Bruce B. Ritchie LENINGRAD, RSFSR, USSR ? The baggage examiner in the Moscow airport stared at the tightly packed handbag and shook her head in disbelief. After unsuccessfully trying to zip the bag back up, she slid it to me, smiled politely and waved me on. I went to the Soviet Union as a member of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls' Soviet Mass Media tour, but rather than being armed with an assortment of cameras and recording equipment, I carried a conglomeration of hats, T-shirts, buttons, cigarettes ana music tapes tor Soviets my age. I wanted to meet and understand collegeaged Soviets, but I was destined to leave more perplexed than when I arrived. IN PREPARATION for the trip, I read books and articles about Soviet youth, but their American authors were in their 30s or 40s. 1 was still young enough to mingle in and see it first hand, I thought. Armed with my bag of goodies, I first hit the streets in Moscow looking for the hot spots that would surely mark any city of seven million. I passed small groups of teenagers gathered outside my hotel, The Kosmos, as I ventured downtown. It was just nearing 11 p.m., but as I stopped to peer into the cafes dotting the streets, I could see only elderly ladies placing chairs on the tables. Hn\/lp P.nntimiprl from nanfi 1 L/ U Jf ** r ? The Supreme Court's statement said, "Desp documented during this hearing, many of th peared to result from a number of sources, b election commission (sic) only. "NOR DOES there appear to be any e regularities were created by any person for an; pose, with the effect that the election results w or altered." Doyle said he did not expect Holderman to but he was appealing because "I want him (H Captain D' gj Seafood ^ I Hamburger. ^ Sunday - Thursday Friday & Saturday IS CQNVENIE 705 Knox , 796 6157 St. Andrews Road 1 772-5102 7369 Two Notch Road Dentsville 788-4775 DRIVE THRU AVAILABLE - EVl We Accept igpissii i IH 2 CLAM MNI I /> < Each Clam Dinner con ! (C^i Golden Brown Clams, 1 French Fries & 2 Sou 1 Offer E: ? n lifestyle nt visits Most It didn't take many more blocks to realize the only thing moving in Moscow after 11 p.m. were the trolley cars and an occasional soldier walking his beat. Feeling puzzled, I strolled back to the hotel via the Solkolniki Park. You couldn't stroll a mile through Anytown, USA, I thought without finding at least one bar open. And Moscow is the largest city in a nation of 250 million. AN ICY breeze in an otherwise calm night rustled some bushes. I realized I had taken a wrong turn and found myself in a remote area of the park. Three figures were approaching from the other direction, from the shadows. I turned and walked quickly. "I don't want to die in Moscow," I thought as I found myself encircled. "Americanski?" a voice behind me questioned. I turned and stared sternly at a Russian in his late teens. He had stringy, dull brown hair that flopped over one eye and reached down to his collar. He wore white high-top Converse shoes, blue jeans and a denim jacket. i17A _ t x unit i i i uo you nave jeans 10 sen.' ne asKea. IT WAS a question I would hear a half dozen times every day for two weeks. I sighed in relief. I had no jeans to sell, but I played his game. I told him I had a pair of new Levi's, unwashed, for 100 rubles in my room. o >ite irregularities the codes apply as they are w le problems ap- "If he upholds the Con ut not from the disregarded and the Court c whims. Why have a code if ; vidence that ir- Doyle said. ? o >+? %!.?. nr?i J . rv i _ r y pamcuiai pui- ine coae uoyie reiers 10 s ere manipulated must ensure that all elections just manner." rule in his favor "SOME PEOPLE don't u olderman) to say this," Doyle said. "They thin PEN ' " I 10:45 A.M. - 10 P.M. I 10:45 A.M. - 11 P.M. | M* I AAAVIAtIA m iwflHuws Abbott Drive [ 1-6494 j 7331 Garners Ferry Road | 785-4151 | 2091 Beltline Blvd. || at Richland Mall 787-0505 I ERYTHING CAN BE PACKED TO GO 1 Call In Orders pon Good For |mT UEDO PAD iA QQ lm libiw g vr% T? / f njnij tains a Generous Portion of f\i , Creamy Cole Slaw, Crisp >?1) ithern Style Hush Puppies. fiwl r~ f>~* nn |/|fin > pgr cualoaur iiuw VII uiaaa i The three laughed and walked away. The articles I read before leaving the U.S. said jeans were going for $150 a pair in the 17 c c tj t >4 i : i r vj.o.o.iv. i uiuu i uiuig any uctausc 1 couldn't afford them in America. Besides, 100 rubles could buy little. The clothes in department store windows were usually out of style, made of poor quality, expensive and rarely available. WE WERE warned about such encounters in our tour information packets and by our tour guides, Soviet and American, and a former correspondent on our trip. "The KGB will routinelv Dlace agents near foreigners and set up illegal sales," said Jill Dougherty, our American guide. "You may not get in any trouble at all, but it's something they have on you. If you were to become involved suddenly with some dissidents here, for example, they would have an excuse to ask you to leave the country," she said. Some offers smelled of KGB setups: Welldressed men in their 30s approached Americans in hotel lobbies, which had restricted access, and asked to go to their room to examine their wardrobe. "Do not be alarmed," was their opening line, enough to alarm anyone. Nearly all teen-agers had an interest in jeans, however, and anything else for that matter. UN A STKULJL througn uorky FarK, a iiLtvu. nig iu gum up irt's ruling, the code can be would underst :an make decisions by its own dent Governir you're not going to follow it?" "What I fin in last year's tates the Elections Commission sioner) and sc are run in a "fair, equitable and problems hav< If Holderm nderstand the reason I'm doing the board of ti If I am ? nnnr Inser and iust trv- that far GRAB 41 DIAM With a Diamoni /^U from Art Your ArtCarved Representative is here now. With the beautifully affor I ahlfi Dfismnftr Diamond Collection II ArtCarved exclusive. Exquisitely cr diamonds, in 10K or 14Kgold. Or. ch j" Cubic Zirconia. II Let your ArtCarved Representati | collection today. Gold and diamonds i i { 1 S Men., Tues.. Wed. 8:30am 11 2 April 25, 26, 27 5:00pm I DATE TIME F I o Deposit Required MasterCard or Visa Accepted , : ... neciia tour Moscow amusement park, one could occasionally see young Soviets with an Adidas jacket or college T-shirt to match faded denim and boots. Uorky Park is a favorite place in Moscow for young Russians to play the shooting gallery with beebee rifles for 3 kopecks (5 cents), ride the ferris wheel or walk along the scenic Moscow River. Little old ladies sold meat pies or smoked herring from stands while classical music trumpeted overhead. Ice skating on the ponds was a cheap escape from the crowded life of a one room apartment. There were reports of hidden rock 'n' roil nightclubs in Moscow, but most teen-agers shrugged cynically when questioned and said the best places to go were our own hotel bars. One unadvertised youth bar was discovered by several group members venturing down a side street in Leningrad. A long line of teen-agers led to a building entrance with flashing lights. My fellow journalists said they were whisked to the front of the line "because you are Americans." They paid a two-ruble cover charge that included drinks. TL- -1--1- - ' ' i iic ciuo was crowaea witn students and sailors dancing to the music of the '70s pop band, The Village People. The author is a senior journalism major who recently completed a trip to the Soviet Union as a part of a mass media tour. This is the first of a two-part series. The second part will be published Wednesday. the works, but I would hope that most students and that what I'm trying to do is get them (Stuent) within the code. d amazing is that Student Government brought elections commissioner, this year's (commis meone from Student Affairs to ?av that : existed all along." an denies Doyle's appeal, Doyle can appeal to rustees, but he said he probably wouldn't take it IsTm WIjU? i Hnllpnp Rinn ^ ~ ? C7 Carved. f# . An afted designs, all set with genuine oose the eleaant diamond-substitute ve show you this beautiful class ring ...it's the only way to go! IRVED :iASS RINGS INC " University Bookstore - Riissfili House Nothing else feels like teal goid O