THE MEREDITH
HERALD
o @meredithherald
@ @meredith_herald
#harktheherald
meredithherald.com
February 5, 2020
Inside This Issue
NEWS
Bee Houses
Go Global with Meredith
State of the Union
A&E
Knives Out Review
Frozen II Review
Flora fern Fauna
Dad Jokes
OPINION
#NoFilter #NoFacetune
Video Game Escapism
Meredith Announces New Creative Writing Minor
By Molly Perry, Contributing Writer
On Jan. 14, 2020, Meredith
announced a new creative writing
minor. Students can enroll in the
new courses for the minor starting in
Fall 2020. Any student who wishes to
express their creativity, improve their
craft or gain new skills for the work
place can minor in Creative Writing.
English professor Dr. Re
becca Duncan attributes student
interest to be the main motivation
for developing the creative writing
minor. Combined with the success of
the Professional Writing and Presen
tation Media minor, she and other
English professors thought, “why
Alice's Memorable Return to Wonderland
By Rachel Van Horne, Staff Writer
Meredith College has once
again fallen down the rabbit hole for
the 25th time in the college’s history.
Directed by Meredith’s own Vice
President, Jean Jackson, the tradition
was enjoyed by Meredith students
of all class affiliations. For the first
time in performance history, vouch
ers were distributed for Friday nights
performance to students on a first
come, first served basis, starting at
10 a.m. After that, the line at Jones
Auditorium to get seats stretched past
Johnson Hall. The anticipation of the
once-in-a-college-generation event
could be felt by every student stand
ing in line. The play featured jokes
on “Megxit,” satire of recent political
events and numerous pop culture ref
erences. When talking with students
in classes following the performance,
many were astounded by the talent of
their professors. Karen Flores of the
class of 2023 enjoyed seeing our col
lege’s own President Jo Allen partici
pate in the fun; “I wasn't expecting to
see her in the the role that she was in,
but I loved all the jokes being made
surrounding people losing their jobs
if they beheaded her.” President Al
len played the Cook.
Several students agreed that
having faculty and staff who are
willing to put on such an engaging
and lighthearted performance really
displays a labor of love to the stu
The Tea Party Scene: Dr. Robin Colby, Dr. Shannon Grimes,
Prof. Sarah Bean and Prof. Steven Roten. Photo by Mimi Mays
not have creative writing as well?”
Dr. Duncan explains that “students
sometimes bring whole novels or
fanfictions” when they first come to
a creative writing class, “so we know
that we have talent.” Classes that
are part of the program of study for
the Creative Writing Minor include
Introduction to Creative Writing,
Writing Poetry, Writing-Fiction and
Playwriting and Publishing and Edit
ing, among others.
In addition to the new minor,
the English department continues
to evolve by revamping long-exist
ing classes. The popular Chaucer
course has been renamed “Errant
Knights and Powerful Ladies.” This
course provides a different experi
ence for students each year, because
the School of Arts and Humanities’
theme changes annually. This year’s
theme is “Activism Through Lit
erature.” According to Dr. Duncan,
updating these literature classes over
time is essential because “the way we
read [books] changes,” and these new
perspectives allow us to “value the
old as well as the new.”
More information about the
Creative Writing minor can be found
at https://www.meredith.edu/english/
creative-writing-minor.
dents. Sara Davis of the class of 2023
spoke of her excitement before the
performance: “the wait was definitely
worth it; the seats were great, and
the energy while waiting was unlike
anything I've ever experienced. I defi
nitely will be coming back to see it as
an alumna, not only so I can see what
it feels like knowing more professors
but also to celebrate 100 years;” the
next performance, in 2024, will be
too years after 1924’s first show. At
tendance at the performance was an
ticipated by all class years. Kelly Fox
and Erin Jordan of the class of 2020
discussed their excitement in finally
being able to experience this tradi
tion after a four-year wait. “It seems
like it means a little more when you
have experienced almost your whole
ride at Meredith.” The excitement for
the performance extended beyond
students; Kayla Quinn, the residence
director of Vann and Stringfield
Halls, compared the Alice in Won
derland production to Comhuskin’,
stating that it is the equivalent of
Comhuskin’ for the faculty and staff.
With all of the late-night rehearsals,
pop-culture references and time-
honored traditions within the show,
this effort spoke volumes to students.
Dean Gleason, in her fifth Alice in
Wonderland production, discussed be
ing a seasoned veteran of the perfor
mance, describing how certain char
acter choices
Curtain call with all Alice cast and crew. Photo by Mimi Mays
with current news.” She also discussed the centennial celebration that is set to
occur in 2024: according to Gleason, the “Dodo director” is already planning a
big event to celebrate the momentous occasion.
Amber Sheely of the class of 1989 discussed some of the differences
between her Alice in Wonderland play in 1988 and the one held on campus this
January. For her, the most exciting part oiAlice in Wonderland was seeing her
professors in a different setting.
The stories of Meredith women past and present hold true to this
exceptional time-honored tradition. Being able to see our beloved faculty
perform in rhyme, speak utter nonsense and bust out to our favorite Lizzo
self-love anthem reminded us all of the tme magic of our Meredith College
Wonderland.
Off With Their Heads
By Mimi Mays, Editor in Chief
This year’s Alice perfor
mance included satirical portrayals
of President Donald Trump and
comments by other characters at his
and his family's expense. Though
they were meant to be comedic, not
all audience members approved of
the remarks. At the Saturday show,
a Meredith student stood up dur
ing the trial scene and said, “that’s
very disrespectful” before walking
out of the performance. The student
has asked to remain anonymous but
stated to reporters that she found the
show "very offensive." In her opinion,
"if someone doesn't like the president
then they can keep their views and
opinions to theirselves" [sic]. Accord
ing to Professor Cathy Rodgers, who
played a character responsible for
many of the remarks against Trump,
"theatre is meant to offend."
Dissent was not contained
to inside Jones Auditorium either.
A Meredith College Facebook post
about Alice had to be deleted because
community members were having
personal arguments in the comments
section about the appropriateness of
Trump's portrayal. "We're fine with
people having criticisms or concerns
about things the College does," says
Melyssa Allen, Meredith News Direc
tor, "but not when people start to
fight each other." "Our Facebook page
isn't the place for that," says Kristi
Eaves-McLennan, Meredith VP for
Marketing and Communications.
She also reports that Meredith has
received "a few emails and calls from
individuals expressing opinions." The
College's goal for now is to "listen to
concerns and assuade misconcep
tions," says Eaves-McLennan.
Video footage of the incident
at the Saturday show can be found on
our website; meredithherald.com.