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A myriad of emotions and expressions flood the stage during a recent dress rehearsal of a Greek drama soon to be performed in
Owen, Euripides’ “The Bacchae.” (Photo by John Campbell)
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4rson Suspected in Recent Treat Fire
s^JONATHAN RIDDLE. REX BEST
ijhough the March 2 burning of Treat
^rinitory seems old news by now, a fact
^hoHzed by its scant remains near the
^ter of campus, the probe into possible
^ises of the fire which destroyed it con-
^iies. When the HILLTOP went to press,
■lege officials were still waiting for a re-
on the subject from the State Bureau
jlnvestigation which could possibly con-
/’’i or deny the suspicion of arson. TTiough
/'^h suspicions have always been present,
in the case of most unexplained fires,
r ly reports were rather doubtful that
^'*1 play was involved. However, recent
^flations about the nature of the fire
convinced most authorities that that
^ the case. Apparently starting on a small
1 f®h in an alcove on the south side of the
j dding, the fire quickly broke the glass
j/* of an adjacent door. The fire then spread
« I'vo directions: a central stairway near
I' door acted as a chimney for the flames
involved since 2:45 in the morning. Several
members of the fire department stayed on to
make sure that the flames did not flare up
again and when they left Dean Gehring and
the security officers took their place. Be
lieving that if the fire was the result of
arson, the person or persons responsible
might strike again, the security officers took
turns patroling the campus that night. Also,
Dean Gehring and his associates decided
that the best next step would be to make up a
list of persons suspected of possible arson
to question the next day. Since January 1
there have been seven minor fires on cam
pus, and Gehring concentrated on the names
of those involved and all their associates in
making up the list. At any rate, Mary Jo
Byrd was sent at 3:00 am March 3 to look
up places of residence. The list was ready
at 4:30 and security men were sent out in all
directions to notify those who had been
suspected about the meetings with Dr.
an open window on the front of the build-
supplied a draft whi(^ helped spread
fire. The alcove in which the fire started
closed in on three sides, also providing
|,Perfect setting for the fire to grow. While
11' general area of origin can be located,
^ specific source of the fire remains a
Students To Take COMP
by JONATHAN RIDDLE
?>y!
stery. Workmen who had been busy dur-
* the day refurbishing the building had
.'*«cted all the garbage cans which ordi-
j fily would be placed on the porch and
them inside. Furthermore, preliminary
accurate investigation by the SBI
l^^aled that there were no short circuits
^Ughout the building.
[fie fire was first spotted at 2:30 am by
i**''se Jo Ann Ranke of the infirmary who,
*Um, called the security officers over her
^*?"Way radio. Security Director Mike
>ir,
®s, overhearing their conversation, de-
to ride by the building and later to call
fire department. By the time the fire
[j^Psrtment arrived on the scene at 2:45 am,
front porch was already consumed in
^^cs.
tfic daylight hours after the fire were
ones for many of those who had been
Speaking of his lack ol success at stan
dardized examinations, Winston Churchill
said, “When 1 would have willingly display
ed my knowledge, they sought to expose
my ignorance.” Most people would have to
agree. Such a description however hardly
fits COMP (College Outcome Measures
Project), a test to be a administered to
50-100 selected Mars Hill students April
13-14.
The test, formulated by the American
College Testing Program, will have as its
goal the assessment of general education
knowledge and skills; consequently, stu
dents will be able to use the information
they have learned in problem-solving ac
tivities related to the competences that
Mars Hill and other schools have adopted.
In contrast to most standardized tests
COMP includes many open-ended questions,
those not necessarily with single right an
swers. Instead of the regular test booklet
and answer sheet, this activity will use stimu-
GreekDrama
Relates
ModernTheme
bv JOHN CAMPBELL
Gehring. Other than finding out a few minor
details, these meetings failed to produce
the results hoped for. Thus Gehring and his
associates trust that the SBI investigation
will be much more fruitful.
There had been a rumor on campus, most
likely a facetious one, that administrators
set the fire in order to collect the insurance
for the building. However,'the total in
surance for Treat was $40,000, far below
the amount of revenue received for students
that might stay in the dormitory (approxi
mately $150,000). One thing is certain: the
burning of Treat, constructed in 1906, will
make the dorm room situation critical next
fall. Either the college will have to set aside
extra money to build added residence hall
space, or make a survey of places in the
community where students could stay.
Obviously since the burning of Treat means
major changes for the campus, the investi
gations into its causes is an important one.
lus materials — two films, music selections,
art pieces, and game exercises. Further
more, students will be asked to prepare a
short verbal reaction to be video-taped for
evaluation. The whole test will take
nearly seven hours to be spread out in ses
sions on Wednesday, April 13 and Thurs
day, April 14.
The purposed of administering COMP
at this particular time is mainly to see how
well it works in evaluating the extent of
student learning and the effectiveness of
a college’s academic program; individual
results will be of importance only in the way
they relate to the general picture. To put
it concisely, the exercise on April 13-14 is to
test a test.
Dr. Earl Leininger, chairman of Synop
tics Competences, will be in charge of the
testing. However, 50-100 students must
first be recruited to particpate. If anyone is
interested in cooperating in this rather un
usual evaluative experience, they are ask
ed to contact Dr. Leininger the week be
fore spring break, at the latest.
A fifth century Greek play, Euripides’
“The Bacchae,” will be Mars Hill College’s
first major dramatic production of the spring
semester. Scheduled to open March 18,
the play will run through the 20th, and then
repeat the next weekend, March 25-27.
All performances will be held in Owen
Theatre and curtain time will be 8 pm for
all performances except for those on Sun-
•days, when the play will be presented at
2:30 pm.
Euripides was not the most popular
playwright in Greece during his lifetime;
however, following his death, his plays be
came increasingly popular in Greece and
the surrounding countries, and this probably
accounts for the fact that more of his plays
survive today than those of his contempor
aries.
Known as the psychologist among Greek
playwrights, Euripides is the most modern
and arresting in point of view. Born of
aristocratic parents, he was, even as a child,
aloof and introverted. He shocked his
audiences with unconventional approaches
to moral and sexual problems.
Women, idealized or ignored by other
playwrights, filled his tragedies with their
passions and problems. However, his search
ing and sometimes unflattering portrait
of women was due to his characteristic
urge to analyze personality, and not a sour
attitude on women in general. In fact, he
was interested in the time-honored myths of
ancient Greece, not as holy legend,
but rather as vehicles of character study
and social comment.
“The Bacchae,” one of the last plays he
wrote, examines the hypnotic power an in
dividual can have over a group. Dionysus,
who was nutured in the thigh of Zeus,
returns to Thebes in the form of a man and
establishes a cult. The conflict develops
when Pentheus, ruler of Thebes, refuses
to believe Dionysus is a diety and has him
arrested.
Dionysus is both benevolent and destruc
tive in “The Bacchae.” Like nature, he re
leases the productive and joyous spirit of
man, yet kills those who deny him. Pentheus’
death is not to be regarded as justice as the
Dionysian spirit had little to do with justice.
Director Jim Thomas, chairman of the
department and associate professor of thea
tre arts, plans for this production to relate
to contemporary events rather closely.
“We hope to identify the universal theme
of the play and show that the hypnotic pow
ers that Dionysus had over the Bacchae
corresponds to the power, for example,
that Charles Manson has over his Tamily,’ ”
states Mr. Thomas.
Thomas is also planning for some elabor
ate “special effects” in staging the play.
With the assistance of Dr. Virgil Gray, pro
fessor of theatre arts, who designed the set,
electronic music, black and strobe lights,
and slides, are all being considered. To make
Dionysus appear and disappear as befits a
god, a trap door complete with elevator
will be employed.
The two lead characters of Dionysus and
Oentheus will be played by sophomore
Dwight Bradley and freshman David Ed
wards, respectively. Other characters in
clude Cadmus, Pentheus’ grandfather, who
will be played by Bill Frazier; Martha Kim-
sey will play Agave, Pentheus’ mother;
Teiresias, the blind prophet will be played
by Charlie Peterson; Jim Williams will por
tray the Herdsman; John Kelly will be the
Messenger; the Guard will be played by
Mitchel Beal; and the chorus wilt include
Debbie Deaton, Jayne Jaudon, Ursula Kun-
isch, Vicki Smith, Charlotte Tiencken,
and Wanda Friedrich.
So, for a production well worth your time,
catch Euripides’ “The Bacchae.” The box
office will open March 14. All seats will be
reserved, and reservations can be made by
calling 689-1239 from 1pm to 5pm daily.