Tiiftsday, November 13,1979
professor Roy Takes Trip To China
By Jana Miller days. Within that timo fViAi. i. • !•
pages
By Jana Miller
Mr. Edward Roy, sociology and
religion professor, had the unique
opportunity to visit China this
past summer. Only seventeen
teachers chosen from all over the
country had the chance. Each
teacher was investigated before
being granted permission to join
the elite group.
The group essembled at Kent
State University and their trip
lasted for a total of seventeen
days. Within that time they
visited five cities. Canton, Chang
Hi, Nan King, Tintin and Peking.
The Chinese travel agency had
everything well prepared for the
Americans upon their arrival in
China. They escorted them to
several of China’s prominent
palaces. They enjoy their visits to
all the cities, but Mr. Roy found
Peking the most enjoyable. In
Peking Mr. Roy visited the
Temple of Heaven, an example of
extraoridinary craftsmanship.
The Temple of heaven is the
place where kings’ used to go to
pray for good crops. Mr. Roy
observed an unexpected aspect of
the Chinese culture, ‘The
Democracy Wall.’ The
Democracy Wall is two blocks of
bulletin boards. The Chinese post
up their frustrations and
anxieties on massive buUetin
boards for the public to view.
Mr. Roy found the Chinese to be
friendly and very curious. The
people of China who knew how to
speak English would attempt to
carry on a conversation with the
American tourists. Overall, the
teachers had an excellent time.
They went mainly for education,
but they also gained a great deal
3f cultural experience.
One touching experience that
vir. Roy encountered was the
love parents show for their
children. Mr. Roy said, “Com
munism seems to have brought
them closer. Changes are taking
place in China, but slowly; they
want to preserve. Though they
are happy with their present way
of life, they will never have the
Freedom that we enjoy. ’ ’
Merritt’s Merits: Dylan, The Eagles Do It Again
By Tim Merritt
Slow Train Coming:
Bob Dylan is, perhaps, one of
the most misunderstood figures
of the rock era. Never has one
performer been forsaken by his
“fans” so many times, only to re-
emerge and prove them all
wrong. He did so after being
booed off the stage at Newport,
and he’s done it again with “Slow
Train Coming.”
Not that Dylan needs any
justification from anyone, but
"Slow Train Coming” is not
merely a “religious” album. It is
a statement of faith, though I
realize - and Dylan states - that
we live in a time when faith is
deemed irrelevant.
It was Dylan who spoke the
truth in the Sixties and then
watched it die. There were
others, of course, but Dylan was
not as mystical as The Beatles
and not as earthy as the
“folksinger.” Dylan sooke the
universal truths instead of the
timely maxims, and he survived
the collapse. Dylan was the true
visionary of that period, and,
unlike John Lermon, he could not
simply say “the dream is over”
and go into hiding. Dylan had to
know why.
It was also Bob Dylan who
almost died himself in a
motorcycle accident, and who
suffered through an arduous
divorce. Those sort of things
happen all the time to anyone,
but, with Dylan, they were
personified in a manner that was
meaningful to anyone. So when
Dylan sings “you got to serve
somebody,” he is saying that, in
the end, faith is all there really is.
Faith is what pulls you through.
In a period when the things that
mark a progressing society are
noticably missing, Dylan’s social
comments becomes even more
relative, if relatively is what is
sought. Maybe Dylan has more to
tell us; perhaps, we quit listening
too soon.
The Long Run
After three long years, the
breathless (well-not quite
breathless) wait for Eagles fans
is over, but The Long Run is not
exactly what one expects after
three years. It seems as if The
Eagles as suddenly making
records in their spare time.
While the first track, “The
Long Run,” does come close to
matching the early Eagles’ style,
the group’s sound has changed
radically from their days of
backing Linda Ronstadt. The
music is, by all means, more
sophisticated, but the band seems
to have misplaced the elements
that set them apart.
Joe Walsh’s “The City,” the
theme from the film “The
Warriors,” is included — Walsh,
of course, still with the group,
which is touring with six mem
bers for the first time.
Other outsiders lend a helping-
hand in The Eagles’ production,
such as Jimmy Buffet, who helps
out on backing vocals on “The
Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks,”
a song in the tradition of Animal
House. Bob Seger also co-wrote
“A Heartache Tonight,” about
the best on the album.
The Long Run is a great album,
an Eagles’ album, but - with the
“new-wave” competition - has
long will the Eagles’ name be
enough to propel their albums
right to the ton
GIANT RECORD SALE
Limited Time
Reg. 8.98 tapes & LP Now 6.98
Reg. 7.98 Tapes & Lp Now ^5,98
Special Group Tapes ^4.98
AUSTINS
11 E. Main St. Across from Court House
A SUN DROP transistor
radio has been placed in
all dorm COKE machines
To be dispensed
at random.
GoodLiUCk! Effective 11.1«.79.
Couvtcsy of youi* CoctM"(yOlu Bottltwtf
2 PlAS^