Washington City Paper: Contents for Feb. 19

Return of the Mecca?
University President Patrick Swygert has restored the Howard machine to mint condition. Too bad he can't restore its soul.

Cover Story

It's my senior year of high school and, for some time now, my parents have been on my back about planning a future past age 17. I've been hearing the college speech all my life, so much so that I can't imagine doing anything else besides spending another four years regurgitating facts. There's only one problem: My scholastic career has been a tasteless joke. After three years of high school, I've got a 1.8 GPA. After my junior year, I was politely asked to leave the magnet high school I was attending.

At my new school, I'm doing a little better, if only because I went from trigonometry to applied math—but who's to say what'll happen next semester? In most college recruiters' eyes, I'm still a knucklehead. My parents are so flustered that they've begun treating me with daily doses of their mantra: "When 18 rolls around, you will be looking at the front door." I've got limited options. No college in its right mind would take a kid with a 1.8 GPA. I'm not down for the Army. I'm too lazy to work a menial job. Community college is looking pretty good.

Good, that is, until an invitation to a swanky recruitment dinner at Howard University appears in my folks' mailbox. It turns out that when I took the PSAT a few months back I managed a decent enough score for Howard to waste a stamp on me. My folks have a major soft spot for Howard. My pops sold books on the campus in the '70s. After he went back to school for his college diploma, he worked about 10 years at Howard's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. ... Continued

Issue of Feb. 19 - 25, 1999

News and Features

Return of the Mecca?
University President Patrick Swygert has restored the Howard machine to mint condition. Too bad he can't restore its soul.
Cover Story By Ta-Nehisi Coates
In the Name of the Father
For victims of domestic violence, feeding welfare databases is rarely worth the price.
Feature By Amanda Ripley
Held in Contempt
D.C.'s courts are in big trouble—and the rest of the city seems happy to see them fry.
The City By Stephanie Mencimer
Hack Job
On the road to nowhere at the Walker Johnson Transportation Training Institute.
The City By Elissa Silverman
The Short Circuit
Raising a little hell at the Wizard of Oz Munchkin auditions.
The City By Sean Daly
Questionnaire: Dorothy Benton Lewis
The City By Nefretiti Makenta
City Hall's 411 911
One Judiciary Square's new building directory is enough to bring out the clipboard assaulter in anyone.
The City By Laura Lang
High and Mighty Lonesome
The Mail By Murphy Henry
Some of My Best Friends Are Desperate Men
The Mail By Rick A. Jorgensen
Gods and Monsters
The Mail By Suzanne Ehlers
Mission: Impossible
The Mail By Bruce Krohmer
Live Free or Die
The Mail By Doris Gordon
Subcultural Homesick Blues
The Mail By Carla Ringquist
Buzzkill
The Mail By LeeAnn O'Neill
Dancing Queen
The Mail By Crystal Harvey
Barbarians at the Gateway
The Mail By Le Eckles

Columns

Playing Chicken
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Punishment for Gluttons
How the kiddie pranks of the old Candid Camera begat the thinly hidden hatred of Fashion Emergency.
Demimonde By Arion Berger
Know Your Market
City Desk By Colin BaneLaura LangNefretiti Makenta, Alexandra Phanor and Elissa Silverman
NO MORE TEACHERS'DIRTY LOOKS
Loose Lips By Erik Wemple