School Daze

School Daze takes place at Mission College, a historically Black college in the American South, over a homecoming weekend. Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap, an activist student, leads a group of friends who push for divestment from South Africa and criticize the fraternities and sororities for what they see as conformity. Julian Eaves, known on campus as Dean Big Brother Almighty, heads the most prominent fraternity and believes its members are already accepted by white society. The two camps, and the women connected to them, collide over questions of identity, class and protest.

Spike Lee directed, wrote and produced the film, his second feature after She's Gotta Put It and the one that preceded Do the Right Thing. It came out in 1988 through Columbia Pictures and Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Laurence Fishburne plays Dap, with Giancarlo Esposito as Julian, Tisha Campbell as Jane Toussaint, and Ossie Davis, Joe Seneca and Art Evans in supporting roles; 74 performers are credited in all. The mix of comedy, drama and musical numbers runs just over two hours.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 5.7 from 116 votes. The audience response is modest and divided, which fits a movie that mixes broad campus comedy with direct political argument rather than settling on one tone.