Regarding Beavis and Butt-head, There’s a Clash of the Ages

BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD BASHING: When asked about MTV cartoon characters Beavis and Butt-head, many students in the South Bay area said they thought the controversial, smart-alecky duo were--to borrow the pair’s phrase of approval--”Cool! . . . huh, huh, huh.”

But educators had a decidedly different view of the characters, who stirred controversy recently when a 5-year-old

Ohio boy imitating the duo’s pyromania set fire to his family’s mobile home, killing his baby sister.

Some schools officials were wary even of talking about Beavis and Butt-head.

Sandy Clifton, an assistant superintendent of education with the Redondo Beach Unified School District, said the media were fueling the popularity of the cartoon, which she said offers nothing of value to children.

“The issue is that we give credence to it when we focus on (Beavis and Butt-head), and it sends mixed messages to kids,” Clifton said. “Since they are an issue now, just to bring them up is not a good idea.”

Many youngsters polled at random at schools and teen centers in the South Bay said they watch the show. They disagreed on whether it influences behavior.

“I think the fuss is stupid,” said Christina Vattuone, 12, of Madrona Middle School in Torrance. Still, she said, some of the Beavis and Butt-head storylines leave a lot to be desired. “Like frog baseball; that was pretty gross.”

Sam Maas, a sixth-grader at Madrona, said it’s unfair to blame the cartoon for the tragedy. “How did that kid learn how to use the matches?” he asked.

Parents should accept some responsibility too, said Tyrone Carr, 16, of North Torrance High School.

“Beavis and Butt-head shouldn’t be taken off the air,” he said. “Parents need to talk to their kids, and tell them this stuff isn’t real.”

MUSIC SCHOLARS: Seventeen South Bay high school students will be among 600 Southern California students auditioning for a spot in a performing arts training and scholarship program sponsored by the Music Center.

Since 1987, the Music Center has sponsored the Spotlight Awards program, which gives students an opportunity to be trained by professionals. The students compete in ballet, modern dance, opera, classical and jazz instrumental music.

Sixty semifinalists will be chosen in early December. Two finalists will be chosen from each category and will train with artists from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Joffrey Ballet, and other professional musicians. The finalists will also perform in a recital at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion next March. Winners in each category will receive $5,000; runners-up receive $2,500.

The South Bay students auditioning are Torie Leomiti, Banning High School; Montse Garriga, El Segundo High School; Baka Tabata Gardena High School; Gloria Williams, Crystal Akman, Torrance High School; James Cho, Eiko Ckumura Stephanie Colgrove, Christine Gardiner, Gina Graziadio, Janine Foster, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School; Nicole Raymond, Redondo Union High School; Franca Abbatiello, Mirko Sekulic, San Pedro High School; Christie Kawada, Rosalee Wood, Andrew Schrader, West Torrance High School.

HEADMASTER: Nathan Reynolds, who since April has been serving as interim headmaster of Chadwick School, a Palos Verdes private school with 725 students, has assumed the post permanently.

Reynolds was headmaster of the Westlake School, a girls high school near Westwood, for 25 years before retiring in 1992. From 1955 to 1966, he also taught at Harvard School, a boys preparatory school in Westwood that merged with Westlake last year.

Items for the weekly Class Notes column can be mailed to The Times South Bay office, 23133 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 200, Torrance 90505, or faxed to (310) 373-5753 to the attention of staff writer Carol Chastang.