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The Red and Black. Frtda>. F'ebruarx 2ti. i»7f
Editorials
The Red and Black
21-hour limit
SANDY EVANS
Entertainment redefined
Those of you who try to beat
the system by pre-registering for
more courses than you need each
quarter might very well have
your plans brought to a sudden
hault if the Universty Council
approves a proposal recommend
ed Tuesday by its own Executive
Committee
Excluding those enrolled in the
College of Veterinary Medicine,
the proposal would place a 21-
hour limit on the number of
courses for which a student could
pre-register effective summer
quarter 1976. A student who
legitimately wanted to take more
hours than the proposal allows
would just simply have to pick
them up during the drop-add
period.
Although many individual stu
dents. haunted by memories of
frustrating pre-registration fail
ure, may scream “unfairness,”
the proposal is basically a wise
move on the part of adminis
trators that would benefit the
student body as a whole in the
long run.
In the past, students who “go
shopping" with their pre-regis
tration forms have created prob
lems for everyone involved in
class scheduling After success
fully obtaining desired schedules,
they usually drop their “stand
by” courses the first week of the
quarter or the last day of
drop^add period, leaving class
rooms empty and professors en
raged.
The proposal would still allow
minimal “shopping” to occur in
that most students take only 15
or 16 hours per quarter The only
“unfair” aspect of the proposal
is its failure to effectively deal
with students who actually do
need or want to take more than
21 hours a quarter.
since the committee did make
exceptions for students in the
College of Veterinary medicine,
why not include provisions for
legitimate overload students?
Perhaps these exceptions could
be handled through the advising
program where a student’s advi
sor may recommend additional
courses during the pre-registra
tion process It is not uncommon
for a graduating senior to dis
cover he needs an extra science
or P.E. credit to complete his
graduation requirements, mov
ing his course load up to 22 or 25
hours.
If this additional exception is
added to the committee’s propo
sal, the University Council
should consider the suggestion
reasonable and fair. Hopefully,
by the time the proposal ever
becomes a reality, pre-registra
tion problems will be even furth
er reduced by reinstatement of
courses presently not available
due to financial cutbacks.
Defined and redefined, the term enter
tainment' is little more than a hlur in the
minds ol many applied to roller derby
as frequently as to films, hooks or TV
specials Forty rears ago. entertainment
was definite The
terms great enter
tainment conjured
up images of the
silver screen playing
court to dreamy
music, beautiful love
scenes, and gracelul
romantic dances
In 1935. movie
houses across the nation we-c tiller with
millions ol loyal patrons who relaxed and
unahashedly enjoyed the scene before
them repeatedly leading ladies would
swirl onto a dance floor as orchestras
swelled and leading men burst into song
Viewers appreciated this escape into
pure romance, accepting music in motion
for the simple joy it brought
In 1976. these same scenes cause
audiences to squirm uneasily or twitter
nervously Today's "revelant" society
often refuses to accept such dreams as
Sandy evans is feature editor of The Red
and Black
vehicles of joy. opting for the harsh and
cynical 'real' view ol today’s world.
I. for one. find those corny musical
comedies much better therapy for what’s
ailing in our day-to-day living than the
newer trend toward "revelance '
Musical comedies came in with sound
film, for when Hollywood learned to talk,
it also learned to sing and song goes
hand in hand with dance Musical after
musical was cranked out ot the glitter
city from 1930 until the 1950’s, and never
did the audience tire of the fanciful
melodic journeys, though most plots were
surprisingly similar.
The audience apparently eagerly took
to their hearts the never-ending cycle of
boy-meets-girl. boy-falls in-lovewith-girl,
boy-loscs-girl. boy-sings-and-dances-and-
suffers a-bit. boy gets-girl—and-
vice-versa For the romance was there in
heaping shovels-full; the music was
delightful, the dancing sinfully magical,
the ending eternally happy
And though the plots are amazingly
corny, these films are magic The stories
are heart-warming, easily creating a soft
down of make-believe Never taking
themselves seriously, musicals urge the
viewer to do the same And then there’s
the music
Some of the greatest composers Ameri
ca has known contributed to those joyous
celebrations. Cole Porter. George Gersh
win. Joseph Kern, teams like Corner and
Idiwe and Rogers and Hart, all invested
one ol the most necessary ingredients
that make the fairy tales come to life.
Alone these songs are beautiful; when
one remembers the lively dance, the
energetic performance and soulful rendi
tion by a favorite screen star, these
merely beautiful songs become memories
ol pure enchantment
Some of the best examples of the
musical are RKO’s series of classic
featuring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rog
ers From their first coupling in Flying
Down to Rio this team nestled into the
hearts of so many, not excluding this
writer
Astaire and Rogers typify everything
viewers of the ’30s looked for in a
musical: the music was always spellbind
ing. with one or two songs going on to
become populai hits; the story was
always inevitable romance between the
two stars, after many ‘insurmountable’
complications, of course And the dance
what everyone breathlessly waited for
throughout the film—sprang from such
perfect physical harmony and grace, it
spoke more richly of love and romance
than a bedroom scene could ever hope to
touch upon
The in films this couple made together
for RKO center on their talents as
dancers. These are dance films—as critic
Arlene Croce said in a review of the
films; "When Fred and Ginger go into
their dance, you see it as a distinct formal
entity, dancing was transformed into a
vehicle of serious emotion between a man
and a woman."
There is no real message’ involved.
The plot, extremely simple, does not
suggest social or moral doctrines in any
way There is no violence, no sex—As
taire and Rogers never even kissed
(though a kiss was occasionally alluded
toi until their last film, The Parklavs of
Broadway. Instead, these films are filled
with fantasy, joy, laughter, simple un
complicated emotion , magical music and
dreamlike dance
So what’s happened to this delightful
escapist entertainment? I will not go
along with the theory that modern society
is too sophisticated for this art form.
Though musicals are dead for all intent
and purposes today, due to lack of popu
larity, neccessarily high budgets and
production costs, and lack of musical
talent (perhaps because no one’s look
ing? i. what’s dead may not be allowed to
rest in peace
Nostalgia, which has brought into the
open an almost cult following for these
old musicals, has also inspired many new
ambitious dreamers. The idea of musi
cals are once more being tossed about
fims studios MGM is starring Stoekard
Channing in their newest attempt at
musical comedy entitled The-
All-Anierican Girl.
George Cukor, director of some of the
finest musicals (such as Judy Garland’s
A Star is Born, Gene Kelly in l.es Girls,
and more recently My Fair l.adyi, is
currently working on Bluebird starring
Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner The
first film the U S has made in con
junction with Russia, and featuring two
well-known stars not famous for any
musical talents, this should be interest
ing At least it is an attempt to reenter
the world of musicals
Sociologists claim America uses enter
tainment as an escape, and as economic-
situations get bad. entertainment and art
improve Well, the setting is here. Now
all we’re waiting for is the right chemical
blend of script, cast, director and music.
Entertainment might still come back into
its own and boy, could we use it now.
thomas McKenzie
FRANKLY SPEAKING ...by phil frank
"‘A HEART BREAKING STORY OF
A YCXMJS COLLEGE GRADUATE
/Aj SEARCH OF A sOB.. NOT
FEC0/mBNDEt> fSfe VIEWING
£>V COLLEGE AGE SK/PEA/IS!*
O College Media Services Box^dll Berkeley, Co 94709
Dreaming by Memorial
I was sitting in front of Memorial the
other day. Spring fever had struck me; it
was probably the weather Anyway. I had
just finished taking a mid-term exam. I
thought it would be an easy exam I
started studying for it the night before at
about midnight after watching parts of
the Olympics on TV. playing some
hearts, reading the newspaper and wor
rying about when 1 should start studying
The exam turned out to be harder than 1
thought
There I was. sit
ting there at Memo
rial watching girls
walk by, thinking
about what that
midterm exam
would do to me.
thinking about my
future. thinking
about those girls
walking by There is one thing about the
University — there are plenty of girls to
watch walk by.
My roomate walked up He's a business
major He looks like a business major.He
wears nice, stylish clothes He always
carries his calculator with him to all of
his classes He has this business major’s
air about him He is sure of himself,
practical, realistic — he’s going to get a
job when he graduates
We exchanged “what’s happenings”
and "nutting muches" and he sat down. I
started looking at this girl standing at the
bus stop She looked like one of those
beautiful girls on the shampoo commer
cials. The sun shown off her golden hair
framing her head in a split second halo of
gold. It was just as if a technician on TV
commercial shooting set had turned up
the Fresnel back lights and the camera
man put the camera slightly out of focus
to create the illusion. You know how it
looks, like the way they used to show-
close ups of Lucille Ball and Doris Day at
the beginnings of their shows after Lucy
and Doris got so old their wrinkles
showed up under regular lighting
I don’t how it happened I guess it was
the weather, the fatigue from the test,
the beautiful girl I was staring at. but
suddenly I went into a fantasy, a day
dream if you like I started thinking
about how wonderful it would be if I was
married to the girl. 1 didn't even day
dream about premarital sex — which is
often in my fantasies I just dreamed
about being married.
I have felt like that since 1 had this
crush on Annette Funicello back when 1
was part of the Captain Kangaroo
generation
My rooommate. who was probably-
feeling dejected because I was ignoring
him. said "What ya been up to?"
"Nuttin much, just thinking." I replied.
"What va thinking about’’" he said.
Then I jet it all go I started talking to
myself
Then 1 let it all go I started talking to
myself more than my roommate I stared
off toward the bus stop to the spot where
the girl was standing, even after one of
the crowded, smelly vehicles had taken
her away 1 just sat there and stared and
talked
"I was thinking.” I said. "I was
thinking how wonderful it would be if I
were married to that girl."
I was thinking. "Wouldn’t it be won
derful if we lived in a nice little home
somewhere’’ Wouldn't it be nice if we had
children" Wouldn't it lie something if I
could sav to my son (or daughteri.lt was
my generation that fixed up this old
world
"Back in ’76. as I recall, we all got
together and took the things our fathers
had given us and used them. It was rough
going at first, but we succeeded We took
the technology, the knowledge and the
freedom that was handed to use and got
to work at what we believed in It was
my generation, son (or daughter), that
cleaned up the environment once and for
all We fixed up the government so we
could trust politicians"
Wouldn't it be great if I could say.
"Yep. my boy (or girl), we used our
knowledge to create a world that is worth
living in We used our technology,
excellent climate and human love and
compassion to feed the starving masses.
It was my generation who got rid of the
prejudice because we saw what it did to
our country and the world, and we hated
what it did My generation used our
common sense to create a lasting peace
on earth
"See son (or daughter), back in ’76 we
put a stake in our future We kept up with
what was going on My generation
worked hard for a belter world Young
and old, we banded together back in 1976
We voted our consciences. We let our
government know what we wanted and
we got involved to make it work
"Wouldn’t it be great," I said, “ if I
could say, "Son (or daughter), there is
still a lot of work to tie done, but we did
our best My generation made the world
a great place for you to live. Now it's
your turn, son (or daughter). This
world's a fantastic place so handle her
gently."
Wouldn’t that lie great I turned to my
roommate
He looked at me. and then his watch,
“I got to get going to class." He got up.
"You’re dreamer McKenzie.” he said,
walking off
“I know.” I said with a sigh. "I
know "
lettett^letlers
1 Letter intellectual sellout * 1
TO THE EDITOR:
A non-reply to Nicholas S Booth's Feb
18 letter follows
When something is adversely affecting
a body, the body begans to feel aches and
pains Only if the aches and pains are
severe or specific enough ran a suitable
cure be selected for the body Meanwhile
one waits, watches, and takes aspirin.
This strategy applies to student bodies as
well as the human body
In the early '60s student bodies at the
less repressive educational institutions in
America and elsewhere began to feel
aches and pains The bodies’ initial
complaint was acute nausea from contin
ual exposure to decay in confined spaces
Let us have other exposures, said Mario
bavio and Tim Leary. Go to unconfined
spaces, said Aldous Huxley and Ken
Kesey. A children's crusade started —
and failed, because, as in the medieval
children's crusade, even virtuous child
ren tend to naivete and are easily
subdued by active hostile forces.
Even so, a romantic President, folk
ahd'rock singers, and the discovery that
When one is stoned one doesn’t feci like
being violent helped lead to a kind of
palli-itive humanism throughout the land
Viet Nam gave specificity to every
one’s aches and pains Initially the adults
alleviated their own symptoms by
jailing, gassing and shooting a few
children, but the disease was so intrin
sically contagious and painful that even
the adults soon began to demand a cure
In the interim, the more devious and
cowardly children utilized the humanism
prevalent among their peers to find
socially acceptable ways to pretend to
protest while simultaneously leaving the
actual protesting, fighting and dying to
the sincere, the poor, and the blacks A
dishonest surgeon selected for treatment
of the case used multiple amputation,
of Vietnam from America, (the children
from the adults, and the people from the
body politic. The operation was almost a
success, but the patient still lived
Now we are essentially back at the
level of unspecific pains What then of the
University? In the land of the numb, the
reactionary is king The more sensitive
parts of the University body are sending
out signals which will eventually xtimu
late action That admirable humanist.
Dean Tate, perhaps the last Southern
gentleman yet alive, has charged re
cently against a strong foe for a rather
nebulous reason I bclicv* Crrv-al Pick
ett would have understood The feeling
against the raise in tuition seems less
motivated by the considerations of the
"dismal science" of economics than by
the dismal atmosphere typified by the
anonymous University official who, last
year on televsion. continually referred to
the University graduates as "the pro
duct." subject to "quality control" by
examinations “along the production
line "
Deja vu. Watch Wait Do not allow
yourself to Ik- folded, spindled, or
mutilated while events evolve Try to
avoid the sell out intellectual program
ming in Nicholas Booth's letter If you
are interested in tactics Study Thoreau
and Ghandi The body will choose the
proper time for its cure
TIM At AS PAl’l, GRAHAM
Do professors
use buses?'
To Till-: r.i h i nit
In am Mi<|iurinK alxHil IIh* uses for the
University Hus System On Saturday
n»»»l:l. I-Vli 14 | several University
buses in the Homewood Hills subdivision.
These buses were letting off adults at
professors houses. I was wondering if
these buses were chartered, or if we
students at the University are paying for
the transportation of the faculty to attend
what looked to he a social function
NAME WITHHELD
'Hate column
very tacky'
TO THE EDITOR:
III response to Jane McAlister’s "hale"
column I have lo admit lhal I like many
things, hate nlhers filings, and find many
things "very tacky " Among the "tacki
csl things I can think of is writing a
cnlonoi on whal ynil hale Besides,
fhole's enough hale in this world already
Bil l. TWI oil
FIG NEWTON
Dieting addiction
Tee cream
“Ice cream?” I asked in disbelief
"Yep. nothing but ice cream and you
can cal all you want,” she told me with a
knowing look in her eyes. “Just don’t
eat anything else and you should lose
about seven pounds
the first week."
To this day I be
lieve that old room-
male of mine had
slock in an ice
cream company.
Elated with visions
of a slender body
and a mouthful of
ice cream. I rushed to tne store and
wiped out Iheir stock of chocolate ice
cream
That’s when the first problem arose I
had forgolten lhal ice cream has (o be
kepi frozen or if develops a bad case of
fhe runs
So the diet quickly became a group pro-
l-’ig New Inn Is a first year law student at
the University
ject The rest of my hall was the group. I
was the project. I've never had so much
trouble finding people with refrigerators
who didn’t like chocolate ice cream in my
life.
As soon as that minor technicality was
taken care of. Ihe diet began in earnest
The first half gallon was easy My face
smeared wilh chocolate ice cream from
ear to ear, 1 thought. “Newton, you've
stumbled onto a miracle diet at last."_
After a night of fitful sleep, I found 1
could not face the thought of ice cream
for breakfast, in fact, I couldn’t face the
thought of anything for breakfast The
previous day’s ice cream was lodged like
a glacier in my stomach.
By midday I had summoned enough
courage to mount the scales. Three
pounds gone "Wonderful," I thought Mv
stomach growled in agreement.
By now the thought of ice cream made
by stomach lurch like a boxcar out of
gear The only substance that I could
intake besides ice cream was water. So
I promptly doubled the dorm water bill.
I drank so much wafer that if my left
big foe could have been unscrewed, I
would have made a wonderful fire
hydrant
By fhe end of the day I knew the end
was near I crawled on the scales. "Four
and a half pounds," 1 gasped My
stomach at last was silent.
My friends on the hall carried me to
bed My roommate wisely chose to seek
temporary lodging elsewhere.
I had been well on my way to
becoming a junk food junkie and all in
fhe name of a diet.
But even worse, I realized that I was
addicted to dieting I couldn't wait to try
out a new one so 1 could fit my size
twelve body into lhal size three outfit I
had bought, expecting to loose wait.
“Prune Juice.”
"Prune juice?” I asked in disbelief..
m THE HKI) AND I’.LACK
Miriam Pace, Editor
Edie McLaurin, Mike Millions,
Executive editor Business manager
Beverly Thomas, news editor; Helen Hege, copy editor; Jim Galloway, Lynn
Plankenhorn and Jane Singer, associate news editors; Tony Barnhart, sports
editor; Rick Ricks, state editor; Joyia Anthony, city editor; Sandy Evans,
feature editor; Terri Van House, Lookout editor; Kirk Duckworth, art-photo
director; Hoke Carter, chief photographer; Jane McAlister, production
manager; Mark Prevail, wire editor
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