09Mar90 Mesa School Party to Celebrate Mandela's Release
Daily Nexus
University of California, Santa Barbara
Friday, March 9, 1990
Party to Celebrate Mandela's Release
By Talia Eisen
Reporter
Reggae music and presentations on the problems of apartheid will be part
of a special celebration of the release of South African anti-apartheid
leader Nelson Mandela Saturday at the Isla Vista Theater.
The event, co-sponsored by UCSB's Educational Opportunity Program, is being
produced by Mesa School, an organization which holds events and programs to
promote "world peace and have a nice place on Earth," according to founder
David Crockett Williams.
A videotape of a Bob Marley 1978 performance at the Santa Barbara County
Bowl will start the event, followed by a speech from EOP Assistant
Director Hymon Johnson, who will share the podium with Williams.
Issues to be addressed will included apartheid, materialism, rule by
violence and energy technology.
A video highlighting the January 1990 lighting of the UCSB eternal flame in
memory of the Hiroshima bombing will be shown as a prelude to guest speaker
Bruce DePalma, natural philosopher and founder of the DePalma Institute.
DePalma, an electrical engineer who taught at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in the 1960's, claims to have invented a machine which extracts
energy from space. According to DePalma, his invention, which he calls the
"N-machine," is important because "space contains an enormous reservoir of
energy which can be easily tapped if you know how to open the door."
Stressing the importance of humanitarian rather than defense research,
DePalma said that "anybody who spends money on anything else but the
environment is acting in a counterproductive way."
Reggae band One Love Vibrations will appear following the preasentations.
Earlier this year, band leader Ras David had suggested to Williams that he
organize an anti-apartheid event.
"I felt there was a need to celebrate Mandela's release and call the
people to come forward and celebrate with us, and also to become more
aware of the condition of the world," David said. Apartheid, he added, is a
"non-political thing 'cause when you get down to it, it's man to man. It's
racism. The government can't make you love your brother."
Donations will be collected at the event for a peace walk to Big Mountain
in the Black Mesa region of Arizona. The coal and uranium mining in that
region have posed health problems, including cancer, to the Hopi Indian
villages there, Williams said.
There will be a $3 cover charge which will be used to pay the band and
promotional costs, according to Williams. The event, to be held in Isla
Vista Theater, will run from 6 p.m. to midnight.
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