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89 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, August 2, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 1, 2004 Medford man to be in the funny pages By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune Medford schoolteacher Frank Phillips says he and syndicated newspaper columnist Dave Barry share at least one trait — "The willingness to deal with silly things." Phillips learned Saturday that he’ll be sharing space with Barry in the Miami-based writer’s column that runs in Monday’s Mail Tribune. "That’s great," Phillips said. "It’s made my weekend." With help from more than 200 St. Mary’s School students, Phillips provided the not-so-serious subject matter for this week’s Barry column. It’s about the male-dominated world of breakfast-cereal cartoons. "It started out as a joke," Phillips explained. "But then I thought about it and figured this might be the kind of thing (Barry) would be able to write about." Advertisement One day last October, Phillips decided to spice up the school’s morning briefing by asking students to sign a petition that was eventually sent to several cereal companies to protest the preponderance of male cartoon characters including Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam. "I had been thinking about it for a while," said Phillips, who has taught Latin and English at St. Mary’s for 15 years. "I just started noticing they were all male characters." Phillips said he hasn’t yet heard back from a single cereal company, a development that doesn’t bother him too much. He’s happy to know that Barry has decided to give the petition some ink in his syndicated humor column, which appears in more than 500 newspapers, according to the Web site davebarry.com. "I’m quite satisfied with the column," said Phillips, a Phoenix-area resident. "It was fantastic." While the petition might have started as a lark, Phillips said the subject generated some interesting classroom conversation. "We ended up talking a lot about the psychology of this," he said. "After hearing from students, I’m not sure that any boy would be caught dead eating cereal with a girly character on it." Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times