To SSQQ Readers: It turns out that
the flap discussed below was based on a fairly large misunderstanding.
Mr. Huzar's email hit me out of nowhere and basically left me in shock. However, the very next day
I responded via email to Mr. Huzar and carbon-copied my response (see
Shaggie
2) to the other people on his email list. As a result I got one very nice phone
call which helped to clear the
air.
The phone call was from Nick
Mirgeaux, who is president of the Forbidden Word Professional Forum
(APF). Later that day came a nice email from Stephen
Huzar (see Shaggie 3), who bless his heart is only
guilty of caring too much about his school. When used
"wisely", that kind of
loyalty is pretty wonderful.
As a way of attempting to
heal the wounds of the misunderstanding, I offered to let
SSQQ host a charity class in "Forbidden Word Jitterbug" on Saturday, March 25. Below is my email on the
event which should have laid the controversy to rest. But it didn't.
February 8, 2000
Stephen,
Apology
accepted. Thank you for getting back to me.
Since your
letter, I have discussed the issue with a half-dozen A&M
graduates. The consensus is they are proud of the dance and enjoy
having their school’s nickname associated with it. However they
respected your position as well and sensed that you had the school’s
best interest’s at heart. If the legal office of A&M actually
does contact me and requests that I abandon the use of the word
“Forbidden Word”, I will honor their wishes and hold a studio-wide contest
to rename the dance.
I am sincere in
my offer to sponsor a Crash Course in the dance formerly known as
“Forbidden Word Jitterbug”. I have not published the March Schedule yet, but
plan to offer the class on Saturday, March 25, from 7-9 pm, with
Rachel Seff teaching it. I hope your organization will help promote
the class and participate in it to a high degree. As I said, all
proceeds will go directly to the A&M Scholarship fund. The event
will be charged at $20 a person for a two-hour course and will be
advertised as an A&M Fund Raiser. I would hope a
representative of your organization will volunteer to handle
registration and collect the money. Your club will be given its own
table and will be permitted to distribute literature promoting your
organization and its events.
There will be a
C&W dance afterwards from 9:15-Midnight. If anyone from your group
wishes to participate, they will be quite welcome, but I must make it
clear the $7 cover charge will go directly to SSQQ. I might add that
since all wine, beer, soft drinks, and popcorn are provided gratis,
our “profits” usually boil down to about $3 a person. Hopefully no
one will feel we are being greedy.
I regret any
negative dealings you may have had with members of my organization in
the past. I will say that my studio is very protective of its privacy.
Due to our prominence, through the years different people have
attempted to promote their own events on the premises, but behind our
backs... a situation that roughly parallels your own concerns : no one
likes to be taken advantage of. As a result, it has become easier to
simply stay isolated from the activities of all other dance
organizations. For example, we typically do not promote outside dance
events. Nor do we rent the studio out to anyone. Even our own
instructors, whom we trust, are not to use the studio for anything
other than private lessons.
With this in
mind, consider our offer to be quite special.
Rick Archer
SSQQ Dance Studio
Houston, Texas
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