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As
I remember it, the main culprits were ... well, mayber I'd better
not say. These are dangerous people, and I am afraid they may feel
compelled to retaliate. At any rate, the event goes something like
this: during one of the first meetings to organize the Hilton Hotel
graduation party, the suggestion is brought up that we should do
something dramatic (to put it mildly); we were, I suppose, children
of the eighties and recognized that fame would come in the wake
of, not merit or achievement, but notoriety. In our minds, graduates
who\preceded us had already filled the "fame" categories
(academic; political; humor;etc..) It was therefore decided that
we would briefly introduce hell into the classroom. The decision
was made that on the last day of classes, everyone would bring some
natural thing (tomatoes, frogs, earth, whatever...I do not think
that waste matter was considered at the time...). At any rate, there
we were on the final day, all ready to conclude classes. I think
that the victim in our class was the kindly and intelligent but
gangly Mulugeta. I don't think he'll ever forget the day. Frogs
hopping about, tomatoes and eggs on the board, singing, (vulgarity?),
everything short of anti-revolutionary slogans.
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Brother
Michael Farrell, the most powerful white man in Ethiopia at the
time...it took his granite face and frozen, half smile to quell
the rebellion. Thus it was that we were thrown off campus; there,
of course, instead of shame we stood about, delirious with pride.
The innovative pranks and general adolescent wit prevailed ("x'
was almost assaulted by a patriotic Addis Abeban; this fellow was
passing by as a group of us stood surrounding x; he was being attacked
verbally by us; everybody was taking a bite at him, piranha-like.
The fellow asked what the matter was.
Someone,
perhaps "y", told the fellow that "x" was a
sexual deviant. The guy had to be restrained as he was prepared
to do him bodily harm At the time, as I recall, "Don't ask,
don't tell" was not in place. The man, an old-school type,
felt a biblical urge to defend honor, country, and God... I don't
think "x" was amused...And so, we achieved immortality.
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