Band on The Run

FOR MORE THAN A WEEK THE STORY WENT UNREported, and for the reputation of Texas Southern University in Houston that was good news. Then the Japanese media disclosed that on Dec. 7 (of all days) members of the university's marching band, on a goodwill trip to Japan, had turned their Tokyo tour into a shoplifting spree, making off with $22,000 in loot from stores. One bystander even claimed that a student had brazenly videotaped enraged merchants chasing the thieves to their buses.

When Japanese police told the Americans that the buses would not leave for the airport until the items were returned, more than 80 CD players, pocket recorders, miniature televisions, and electric razors suddenly -- and anonymously -- were handed over to the police. The incident has profoundly embarrassed the historically black university and given rise to concerns that the students' behavior will further tarnish the negative opinion of blacks already held by many Japanese.