PAGE 2
THE DEGREE
TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1976
i
i
a
I
i am a fool
a self-pitying reprobate of a
man
who receives no love from
others
yet why should i treasure a gift
which i find hard to re
turn . . .
it's as if i were afraid to display
emotion
for i'm a very tender individual
afraid to let it be seen
for this trait makes one weak
and for all the world i cannot
find this within me . . .
for i’m foolish
nobody to share my innermost
. self with
and nobody to share theirs with
me
yet at times i think to myself
what good is it . . .
Frank 76
''GodspeN"
During this past winter
break, I had the unexpected
pleasure of attending “God-
spell" at Atlantic Christian
College. Having never visited
their theatre before, I was
impressed with Howard Chap
el. While the interior has been
modified for its present use, it
still remains much of the
original atmosphere with over
head beams, stained-glass win-
downs, and a slab floor.
Guests were greeted upon
entering by members of the
cast, who, traversing the aisles
in their brilliant costumes, gave
a delightful impromptu “perfor
mance.” The center of attention
on stage was a red blurry
image of the “Godspell head” on
a yellow backdrop.
Getting of to a disappointing
ly sluggish start, my spirits
were suddenly lifted by the
beautiful voice of Cindy Fife
singing “Day by Day.” At this
point the actors seemed to “get
into the mood” in this last
performance. At the intermis
sion “bread” and “wine” were
served to the guests. The
performance resuming, I was
dazzled by Linda Wheeler and
her vampish “Turn Back 0
Man.” The finale, emotionally
moving, depicted the darkened
figure of Christ on the cross
against a background of chang
ing, projected light images.
By “GEORGE”
Many people have tried to
define jazz. Some call it “the
song of the south.” Some say
that jazz is the music of the
blacks. Jazz musicians call what
they play “the music of the
people.” To my way of thinking,
the last descripton probably
best describes what jazz music
truly is, “the music of the
people.”
Now, just what, exactly is
the “music of the people”? It is
just whatever the hell you the
listener wants it to be. If you,
the listener want this music to
be soul, it will, if you want it to
be rock, it will, or if you want it
to be anything at all, it will.
Jazz is considered the only true
American form of music. It
came about from a combination
of all our ethnic music. I guess
that it is very fitting that, since
our country is a “melting pot”
of people, our one true form of
music should be a “melting pot”
of all these peoples’ forms of
music.
Jazz is joy; jazz is sadness;
jazz is true “mood music” from
the word start. This style of
music is the only one that
I know of which can fit any
mood of any listener, any
Living
By SUSIE WILLIAMS
Here I sit in a green field of
grass. The blue sky with its
clouds that seem to roll by put a
reassuring spirit in my soul.
The chimes ring out reverence
to the world. All is calm and
quiet. No noise from traffic or
any hustle-bustle from the busy
world. All is peaceful and
serene. I ask myself if I have
died and am now in paradise;
but no, for heaven itself could
not be as beautiful, or could any
angel have the peace within its
soul that I have. Sitting here
thinking, I suddenly realize
What Is It?
where. It has the power to
make anyone of us do or feel
just about anything at all. This
music can make any of us rise to
the highest peak of the highest
mountain, or sink to the lowest
point in the depths of the
deepest valley. This marvelous
music can bring a person to
tears or make him laugh
uproarously, but the best thing
jazz does is give the listener
something to tap his toe to.
What brought about this
treatis on jazz? Well, several
weeks ago, our campus was
honored by the presence of one
of the last true jazz bands.
Predictions are that jazz is
going the way of everything
else that we Americans hold
dear, it is a dying art. Can this
signify that we are losing our
means of self expression? Well,
anyway, I hope not.
True jazz has its home in the
great city of New Orleans,
Louisiana, probably the most
individuarcity in this country of
ours. Perhaps jazz is preordain
ed to die there, also. To a true
New Orleanser, self-expression
is more precious than, perhaps,
even life itself. One can sense
this in its architecture, its
literature, its life styles, and,
yes, its music.
what life is all about. The
sunshine, the - blue sky, the
green g^rass, the birds; they all
seem to tell me that life is for
living; living it to the fullest
that it possibly can be lived;
reaching the heights and
knowing that you can’t possibly
get any higher; yet being
completely satisfied. Knowing
that the things around you are
too precious and beautiful to
have just happened and always
existed; realizing that nature is
a divine creation made with
love, I pray that I may never
again take what is around me
for granted; that I may realize
the beauty and no longer abuse
it. I pray that I would be able to
return to the earth what I have
As we sat enchanted by the
concert, some of us found it
amazing to watch those musi
cians and to realize that they
had no more idea what they
were going to play when they
got up on that stage than we
did. Those men had to have a
marvelous perception and
knowledge of life and people,
especially an audience (which is
terribly difficult) as well as
tremendous feel for their music
to know what we wanted and,
maybe even more astounding,
what we needed to hear.
We will never, ever get a
more diverse group of people,
from little old, blue-haired
ladies to long-haired college
students, to enjoy the same
thing as much as we all enjoyed
Preservation Hall Jazz Band. I
was amused, excited, thrilled,
intrigued, and yes, even amaz
ed to see everyone in their gum
swaying to the music of
Preservation Hall.
The musicians were excellent
showmen, but they threw in no
special moves or added frills.
There were special lights, nor
special costumes. All that was
presented was just good mus
ic... something to tap our toes
to.
so heartlessly taken from it. I
pray also that I would be able to
help others see and understand
what I have seen today, and to
become a part of this world and
to share it. Share it with
another beautiful creation, a
creation like you.
CONTINENT MOVES
The North American conti
nent is moving westward at
the rate of an inch a year and
the Pacific plate is shifting
northwest about three times
as fast, says Robert S. Dietz,
a visiting geology professor
at Washington State Univer
sity.