Thoughts on My Day in Wonderland
Macy Allen, Contributing Writer
it happens once every four years.
Meredith is transformed into
Wonderland and students are invited
to join Alice on her adventures. It is
a wonderful journey and with any
journey, there are many thoughts that
run through your head.
The Journey to Wonderland
1. Class is almost over. Class is
almost over.
2. Class is over.
3. T-Minus six and a half hours until
Alice.
4. Wow, we’re close to the door.
5. The line isn’t that long.
6. Just keep siftin’, just keep siltin’, just
keep siftin’, siftin’, siftin’.
7. Is it too early for Papa Johns?
8. Papa Johns is on its way.
9. Wow, the line’s grown.
10. PIZZA!
11. Does anyone want to play
cornhole? #TailgateAlice2016
12. Guess not.
13. Woo, Cornhole!
14. Only three more hours until the
doors open!
15. Ooo it got cold quick.
16. My butt hurts.
17. Cold
18. Cold.
19. Cold!
20. COLD!
21. I can’t feel my toes.
22. Man, I did not prepare well for this.
23. Part of the excitement of Alice in
Wonderland is that it is a complete
secret from students, and only occurs
every four years, Alas, that gives us
so little time to enjoy it, so for one last
hurrah for Alice and Co. we contacted
many faculty and staff involved with
the tradition to ask what interesting
facts or secrets they could share. In
keeping with the Alice tradition they
will remain anonymous with only their
stories to be known.
Some cast members keep their roles
tor life. Dr. Jack Huber, retired head
of the Psychology department, played
the White Rabbit from 1976 until 2012.
“This past Alice was the first one in
almost forty years that didn’t have him
in it!’’
Roles in Alice must be handed down
from the previous performer to the
next generation.
Most of the leading Alice roles begin
rehearsing a couple of weeks prior
to the first show. Everyone begins in
earnest the week before and comes
together every night the week of the
run.
The cast members of Alice put a
great deal of effort towards changing
the original script to suit the times.
Some prefer to adlib, and others
plan thoughtfully. During the week
many changes were made because
something they found funny (i.e. the
Cat “photobombed’’ a “selfie’’ with the
Duchess and Alice) didn’t work out
timing wise and had to be cut. The
Duchess said “Some characters, like
Donald Trump, were perfect given the
current political climate!’’.
Characters like the cards and fairies,
with many dances to choreograph,
have complicated rehearsals, which
are more challenging to keep secret.
Some actors switch roles over
the years. A main character from
this year’s Alice used to play the
Artwork By Macy Allen
Are We "Wifey" Material?
Brooke Mayo, Staff Writer
In honor of our special anniversary
year, The Herald staff has decided
to dust off the old newspapers of
our college’s past and bring to light
what former Meredith women have
written. This is the second of a series
of excerpts from long-forgotten MC
newspapers, and we hope that the
Meredith community enjoys a blast
from our very own past as much
as we have enjoyed gathering this
information for you.
An excerpt from “Women’s College
Favored to Win Over Coed Schools
in Husband-Catching Race’’ by Ann
Ipockon November 7, 1952.
“Some people (parents of eligible
girls especially) look at coeducational
schools as the modern American
version of old-fashioned European
and Oriental system of the marriage
broker. How did this idea grow? Well,
it appears that most of these people
assume that campuses where young
men and women work, play, and share
mutual interests and acquaintances
are mating paradises. This thought
also runs parallel with the idea that to
enroll a girl in an all-girl college is like
placing her in a convent.
It is a known fact that men of our
generation are looking for certain
qualities in a wife and do nbt want her
to be helpless. This is the chief jump
women’s colleges have over ‘coed’
schools in the husband-catching race,
in an all-girls school, it is the girls who
make the decisions. They are the ones
who decide how, where, and when to
do something. In a ‘coed’ school most
of the thinking and problem-solving
are done by men.”
As women at Meredith College, we
have pretty much heard it all. We’ve
been asked how our MRS. Degrees
are coming along, if we are all raging
feminists, if we actually live as though
we are in a convent, and if we all have
homosexual desires. These types of
questions do not necessarily anger
us, but rather confuse and annoy us.
We live in the 21st century, and yet we
have to justify why we attend an all
women’s institution. Not only that, but
we also have to deal with the constant
questioning by the outside world as
well as our own community about
whether or not we are acceptable
prospects for marriage.
Marriage - or the idea of marriage -
for the Meredith community is a touchy
topic. It is natural for women to want
to marry, and we don’t want to hear
that we aren’t viewed as acceptable
prospects. At the same time, though,
is it fair to say that we are more suited
to be good wives compared to females
that attend co-ed institutions? Is this
even true?
Females at ail-women and co-ed
colleges receive different types
of educations and influences. It is
arguable that women who attend
same-sex colleges are more focused
and are more eager to fight gender
stereotypes, but that cannot be
claimed as fact with every situation.
Consequently, how much does a
woman truly change with the all
women’s college background?
Personally, I am more confident in
my abilities and my talents than I
ever was before attending college. I
am more willing to state my opinion,
despite controversy, and I am also
more likely to sign up to volunteer or
lead various activities. However, I’m
not entirely convinced that I changed
only because of the type of college I
decided to attend. There’s no telling
if I would have decided to major in
something that is typically expected
of males if I was at a co-ed college,
and I can’t say with a clear conscious
that I wouldn’t have found myself in
a different setting, I don’t know, and I
never will.
To some degree, it is understandable
for the outside world to have questions
about the type of environment that we
as women at a same-sex institution
surround ourselves in. It could be
intimidating to date and ultimately
marry a woman that doesn’t allow her
life to succumb to anything patriarchal-
related, as we have been encouraged
to not take or accept anything less that
we know we deserve.
However, are we truly more marriage-
material if we haven’t made males or
partners a factor in our day-to-day
decisions? While this idea differs for
some students, I personally have
not made another person a priority
of mine for several years. Does that
make me marriage-material at this
point in my life? Probably not. Does
this make me marriage-material for
some point in my future? Sure, as long
as I marry a person that doesn’t mind
an independent, head-strong woman
as a wife.
It’s important to note that a woman’s
worth is not and should not be
measured by what her man or partner
sees in her. While it’s completely
natural for us to want to marry, it is also
important for us to recognize that we
have value outside of matrimonial ties
and responsibilities. We all have goals
in life that we wish to accomplish, and
it’s perfectly okay if getting married
isn’t a priority right now. It’s also
perfectly okay if it is. Our life stories
aren’t meant to have the same plots,
and we are only fooling ourselves if
we try to fit into a mold that society
expects of us.
STAFF
Rachel Pratl, Editor in Chief. Emily Chilton, Assistant /A&E Editor. Cheyenne Williams, Op-Ed Editor. Laura Douglass, News Editor. Faith Rogers, Layout Designer.
Olivia McElvaney. Online Editor. Instagram Manager, Sarah Kiser. Twitter Manager, Valerie Bobola. Sarah Haseeb, Website Designer.
Staff Writers; Katrina Thomas, Brooke Mayo. Caroline Garrett, Niki Bell, Kat Bonner, Kayla Kushner, Alexa lanuale, Sarah Kiser, M’Beyanna Robinson, Katie Murphy, Baileigh Jones