University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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9-911... FIRE TT Billy Joel ' s We Didn ' t Start the Fire took on a completely different meaning for the 750 residents of Crosby Pop star Billy Joel ' s reference to Ole Miss in his single We Didn ' t Start the Fire was caused by the racial fires In the ' eOs, but it reminded res- idents of Crosby Hall of the fire that caused them to become homeless for five days. Weeks before Billy Joel ' s song hit number one. many Crosby residents were awakened by fire alarms and the sirens of the Oxford Fire De- partment. The 376-room dorm was quickly evacuated, and the fire, which began in room 506. caused extensive damage. Athough no one was injured in the f ire, two residents who slept through the alarm had to be rescued from their fifth floor rooms by firemen. The fire Itself was contained to one room: how- ever, many floors received extensive smoke and water damage, forcing the residents of Crosby to move elsewhere. Some of Crosby ' s homeless found temporary homes through the University Department of Housing which arranged for students to stay in other University residence halls. Most students chose to stay with friends off- campus or in sorority houses, while some stu- dents opted to stay at local hotels. The fire was determined to have been the re- sult of a short in an electrical appliance which had been stored under a bed. Marcie Brooks, a resident of Crosby, later bought 96 T-shirts with the title of Billy Joel ' s song We didn ' t start the fire and sold them to other residents of Crosby Hall. Brooks said the back of the shirts show a piece of a residents stationery that Is bruned around the edges along with the Billy Joel song title. Even though the sale of the shirts was not authorized by the housing department. Brooks said the T-shirt sales were only done as a joke to all the hassle Crosby residents had to endure after the fire. • ' f NO REMAINS The fire completely destroyed room 506 and caused damage to other rooms on the floor, photo by Ken Ivey ANOTHER ENTRANCE Because of the se- verity of the fire, firefighters had to open a wall to enter the room to extinguish the fire. 22 o Fire I

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speakers Throughout the year, the Ole Miss campus was buzz- ing with many speakers and not all were politicians. Crazy Joe Clark, the former principal of the trouble- plagued Eastside High School in Patterson, New Jersey visited on Oct. 2. Clark spoke of his trial and triumphs at the high school beginning with his expulsion of 300 problem causing during his first week on the job. It was because of actions like this that Clark gained national attention and inspired the creation of the bio- graphical movie Lean on Me. On November 1 , Howell Raines, the Washington editor of The New York Times, told how journalism in Wash- ington differed from what is portrayed on television. He compared television ' s depiction of journalists covering Washington with real day-to-day occurences. Helen Thomas, the White House Bureau Chief for Unit- ed Press International enlightened students on Novem- ber 8. Thomas, a self-confessed women ' s libber, is the first woman to become an officer of National Press Club, president of the White House Correspondents Associ- ation, a member of the Gridiron Club and a member of Sigma Delta Chi. — SWINGING JOE. Joe Clark stresses a point with his bat. photo by Ken Ivey. MEETING THE CONSTITUENCY. U.S. Senator Thad Cochran made a stop by campus to drum up support for future elections, photo by Meluin Seld. 1 HOWELL RAINES of the ' The New York Times was a special treat for Journalism students. Speakers

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HALL FIRE A UM student sneaks a peek at the extensive damage done to the hallway of the fifth floor, photo by Ken Ivey. 23