Hovember 17, 1969
To the Editor of the N.C. Essay
In regard to the review of the
last North Carolina School of the
Arts Orchestra Concert, we the
elected representatives of the or
chestra, would like to offer the
following response:
We realize that the review was
written with best intentions, and we
also accept the fact that many of its
points contained some degree of
validity. However, we contend that
a review of any performance, and par
ticularly a student performance, is
for the purpose of offering con
structive criticisms which can have
a positive effect on improving the
level of performance.
We strongly feel that such de
rogatory and openly insulting gen
eralizations as made up a large part
of the review in question belong to
an editorial opinion rather than a
review. We further feel that these
statements serve no purpose other
than to anger the performers and that
they are detrimental to the morale
and general atmosphere of the school
as a whole.
In order to insure constructive,
educational reviews in the future,
we suggest that the Essay staff make
use of any of the qualified personnel
found on our faculty to offer their
criticisms of performances in the
The N.C. Essay
form of reviews, and that the opin
ions of students be confined to the
editorial.
The N.C. School of the Arts
Orchestra Committee
John Sizemore, Jr. Debbie Henry
Jerry A. Folsom Cathy Tait
Lynn R. Bernhardt, Jr.
Phil Wachowski
REPLY
Let me first thank you for your
letter to the Editor and, as our
policy has always been, we welcome
students' letters and opinions. How
ever, there are a few points which
I would like to make.
First, the article to which you
are referring (N.C. Essay, Vol. 4,
No. 4, pg. 4, "Orchestra Reflects
Apathy") was contributed to the paper
by a student who is not a member of
the Essay staff; furthermore, the
Editorial Board could not accept the
responsibility of printing the arti
cle as an editorial. Reviews con
tributed to the paper by students
are welcomed and if they are to be
relabeled, they would be marked
"letters to the editor."
(aon’t. on page 4)
Page 2
(Cont. from page I)
somewhere is of no use. A message
that there is a sharp pain at the
tip of the left index finger or a
dull pain in the upper abdomen
offers the possibility, though not
the certainty, of relieving the
pain or eliminating the cause.
Many of our ills have little immed
iate possibility of cure because the
cure would require a mammoth trans
fusion of plasma in the form of dollar
bills.
Nevertheless, many ills and ago
nies would be relieved if we would all
try a little harder to communicate
rather than attack. A head with an
Excedrin ache can give very little
attention to a pain in the backside.
Congratulations to the Student
Government for beginning to dissect
themselves. Let us hope they can
put themselves back together again.
Congratulations to the Essay for
moving toward a more constructive
editorial policy. Keep it up.
Congratulations to those people
who are beginning to actively
struggle with the problems of feeding
an active body on two dollars a day.
Good luck to you.
Congratulations to student spokes
men who are trying to be constructive.
Try to be accurate as well.
Congratulations to everyone who
has been a part of this proud dream
and noble experiment. Yes, I am im
patient too, but let us all balance
our impatience with an equal quan
tity of realism.
Here's to a healthy body cor
porate.
Mens sana in corpore sano.
Ronald Pol lock
Homesick for Winston-Saleni
I've been away from Winston-Salem
for almost five months and I feel the
absence of several good friends which
I have there.
In the second order of priority,
I feel very reminiscent for the North
Carolina School of the Arts. It was
(and still is, I hope) the refined
addition to life which distinguished
(distinguishes) Winston-Salem auspi
ciously from most other American
cities. It was pleasing to me to be
able to live near a place where pro
ductivity in the dance, music and
drama was thriving. There were many
public performances at the N.C.
School of the Arts that were of high
professional standards.
When I arri-ved in Ames, I asked
about modem dance and ballet. I was
told that such things can be found in
Chicago (350 miles away). I wish
there were an Iowa School of the Arts
in Ames, but if there were, it would
have to be excellent to compare fa
vorably to the North Carolina School
of the Arts.
David R. Eokroth
AmeSi Iowa
Tony Senter- Editor
Mike Ferguson
Tom Cavano
Ruth Rendleman
Gwen Spear
Sandra Williams
Kathleen Fitzgerald
David Wood
Sam Barcelona
Valerie Parker - Typist
Anthony Fragola - Advisor
—n
Letters to the Editor