March 2, 2005
The Clarion
Pa}»c 5
Faculty Spotlight:
Humanities Division Chair Mary Louise ‘Mel’ Bringle
By Matt Rutherford
Entertainment Editor
On March 17, I was able to interview
Mary Louise Bringle, the Humanities
Division Chair of Brevard College. More
affectionately known as Mel, she spent
most of her childhood in Greensboro
North Carolina, she also
attended Guilford College,
a local private college. For
her graduate studies she
attended Emory Univer
sity of Atlanta, Georgia.
Mel has a BA in the Arts,
French, and Religious
Studies. Her PHD is in
theological studies.
What made you
decide to choose Brevard
College as you place of
work?
1 had been working at
a small college before Brevard, and I
enjoyed the atmosphere. 1 also knew the
current President, and he was very
■4:
persuasive. At the time 1 was also writing
hymns, and the fact that Brevard College
has an outstanding musical program was
perfect. 1 love being around good
musicians.
/ know many students who are
religion majors, hut don t know what
they will be able to do with
their degree. What other
jobs besides teaching and
clergy positions might
these students be able to
pursue?
Any career path that
requires the skills needed to
relate to people, critical
thinking, writing, and
speaking. Some specific
jobs would be: Social work,
counseling, working for
non-profit organizations,
camp counselors, working
at a Montessori school, or a religious
youth director.
During your college career who
was your biggest injluence?
Actually, I had two. Jerry Godard, a
professor of psychology, and Mel Kiser a
professor of religion. Both of these
teachers were phenomenal. I learned how
to teach from these two professors. They
also pushed me to think ahead, and to
think about majoring in something
besides French for college education.
Just out of curiosity...Do you realize
that you have a large student following?
You are without a doubt one of the most
popidar teachers on campus. How does
this make you feel?
No, I didn’t know! I just love what I
do. When I’m feeling depressed or I’m in
a bad mood, I can go into class and all
that just melts away. I can always count
on Brevard students to cheer me up. By
the time 1 leave I’m on cloud nine because
I’m doing what I love.
Do you have any advice for students
struggling to choose a major?
Listen to your heart, do what brings
you joy, and spend time with it.
Thrift Store Music Reviews
Editor s note: Periodically we will
print reviews of cassettes from the thrift
store bin. We invite readers to contrib
ute; the only criteria is that the music in
question must be under a dollar from a
thrift store.
By Joel Graham
Staff Writer / Photographer
What a week at the thrifty! These
beauties are a threesome of musical
pleasure. Spring must be a good time for
folks to donate music, so root through
the local music bin for hidden treasure.
John Lee Hooker, BOOM BOOM
(Point Blank 1992)
Holy smokes! Whoever got rid of
this one was a moron! The late John
Lee Hooker is, and always will be, the all
time heavyweight champion of the Blues
world. If you have never had the blues,
don’t worry, they will visit
you when you least
expect it. Boom Boom is
an example of Hooker s
genius as a Blues man.
This album covers many
topics such as, sadness,
revenge, drunken
sadness, and testicular
fortitude. The song Jesse
James makes you glad
you never got stuck in a Mississippi
roadhouse on a Friday night without beer
money. Same old Blues Again is a classic
tune that speaks of the heartache and pain,
a special quality that Hooker can make
enjoyable. John Lee Hooker was born in
Mississippi, then later found most of his
recording success in and
around Detroit. To listen to
Hooker’s words, you have to
be open to a range of
emotion. Not all
Blues music is sad and
depressing, but the history
of hurt is evident in some of
the music that is the
soundtrack of hard times.
We lost Mr. Hooker a
few years ago. 1 never got to see him live
and I will always regret it. If you have any
of his work, you know what a gift he was
to American music. If you have never
see Thrift music, page 14