Purdue Best Bets
January 23, 1998
JOURNALISTS: Here's an idea for a news story and a list of Purdue events during the
next two weeks.
'Amistad' adds to February's Black History Month
The events on the Amistad may be little known to the general public, but historians
call it the best-known slave mutiny to ever occur. Steven Spielberg's movie is true
to history but a bit sensationalized, says Vernon Williams, Purdue associate professor
of history. "It is quite accurate in the basic story line, but like anything that comes
out of Hollywood, it tends to stress sensational aspects rather than the day-to-day
kinds of things," he says. Lisa Anderson, Purdue assistant professor of theatre and
African-American Studies, says "Amistad" will add to people's knowledge of slavery.
"There is so much that we don't get in our history classes," she says. "There's an
assumption that we all know about slavery and therefore we don't have to talk about
it. But this isn't necessarily true." CONTACTS: Williams, (765) 494-4144; Anderson, (765)
494-3074.
Events
Friday, Feb. 6.
Board of Trustees meeting. 1:30 p.m. Room 304 (Anniversary Drawing Room), Purdue
Memorial Union. President Steven C. Beering and members of the Purdue Board of Trustees
will be available in Purdue Memorial Union Room 256 immediately following the meeting
to answer questions from journalists. CONTACTS: Jeanne V. Norberg, director, Purdue
News Service, (765) 494-2084; e-mail, jeanne_norberg@purdue.edu,
or Joseph L. Bennett, vice president for University Relations, (765) 494-2082; e-mail, joe_bennett@purdue.edu
Saturday, Feb. 7.
16th annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. 11:30 a.m. Elliott Hall of Music. Sponsored
by Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity and General Electric. Teams of Purdue
students build complicated and humorous machines to turn off an alarm clock. The
winner of the Purdue contest goes on to represent the university at the National Rube
Goldberg Machine Contest, to be held at Purdue on April 4. Student organizers maintain
a World Wide Web page at http://expert.cc.purdue.edu/~thetatau/RUBE/ Video and photographs of past contests are available. Journalists will not be allowed on the stage
with the machines during the competition, but they are welcome on stage before and
after the contest. Purdue will provide video and photo pool coverage and direct audio
and video feeds. Video b-roll, photos and a news release will be available the afternoon
of the event. Satellite assistance is available. CONTACT: Grady Jones, Purdue News
Service, (765) 494-2079; e-mail, grady_jones@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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