Part two of interview

Ted Danson was being escorted around campus by President and Mrs. Cohon. He had been smiling and shaking hands with students as they were brought to the closed off area by the CFA steps. The VIPs did not have to wait for a significant time as they were individually checked by security. Danson went first and then was waiting for the rest of his group to be checked.

In the meantime I ran over and introduced myself. I asked if I could interview him and he seemed more excited than I was.

The Tartan: When you were a student, were students engaged with politics and involved with activism?

Ted Danson: I wasn?t and it was a very political time. Kent State happened. My friends and I woke up every day wondering why we were depressed. ?Oh yes, the draft.? But to speak for myself, I was so taken by acting; I buried myself in the work. I wish I could saw I was a champion of activism. I hope students don?t feel this way now, they can?t afford to. The stakes are so high.

The Tartan: What do you think students should do to get involved?

Ted Danson: It depends on what your passions are, what your concerns are. Mine is environmentalism. Get involved, do your research, learn your issue. Every teeny thing that you do can make the world a better place. You don?t need to be famous, each and every one of us do make a difference.

The Tartan: What?s it like being back on campus?

Ted Danson: I am so knocked out by Carnegie Mellon. They should bring alumni back to see what this University has done. My brain hurts. I love the DaVinci ideal, how people here do interrelate, actors do work with computer folk.

By this time, the rest of his entourage had cleared security and were ready to be escorted onward. Compared to the various celebrities I would meet that day, I must admit that none were as grounded or down-to-earth as Ted Danson. He seemed more interested in asking me questions about CMU then in telling me his opinions.

I had gotten a couple of very short interviews with the people who were speaking. I decided I would go for broke and try to get a chance to talk to the Kerrys or Bon Jovi.

I made my way back to CFA and discovered it had been sealed off. No one was allowed in. I waited a bit, unsure of what to do until I found the staffer who had kicked me out before. I told her that I had met the person I was looking for and was ready to go back, then asked if I could be allowed in. I guess the story worked as she cleared a path for me past the secret service.

I was back in the press area, which was empty. The traveling press and the Kerrys still hadn?t arrived. I was keeping my eye out for Bon Jovi and knew full well that I wasn?t supposed to be there.