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by Tim Cir.'.th
Ctsff Writer
Rebecca Ranson u a 31 year old
playwright, producer and director. But
unlike her colleagues, her audience and
cast stand behind bars. Her work is with
prisoners.
"My scripts deal intensely with basic
human rights," Ranson said. "Prisoners
interest me so because they are the most
Di Phi prestige low
by Elizabeth Respess
Staff Writer
Being a Di or a Phi at UNC once meant
honor, prestige and identification, but
membership in either , of the two literary,
societies now awards little recognition on
campus.
Because of the societies relative
anonymity on campus, there is confusion as
to their function. Is it another Greek
fraternity? An art society? An honor society? '
The 35 members of the present Di Phi
Societies are interested in art, academics and
debating and meet regularly to have
discussions and debates as well as to hear
speakers. The societies are the oldest literary
group in the United States.
However, the present ties are but a"
skeleton of what the societies once were. At
one time, anyone with ambition joined either
the Dialectic or Philanthropic Societies to
learn debating skills. Parliamentary
procedure and to indulge in academic:
discussions.
Through the 180 year history of the
societies, these values have been given less
importance by the UNC campus. The
intervention of wars, the creation of
alternate campus activities such as sports
and the challenge to traditional institutions
has resulted in reduced membership and
prestige.
The two literary societies have produced
an impressive list of alumni which reads like
Theatre
Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt Show, a
production of the Carolina Playmakers,
opens at 8 p.m. today in the Graham
Memorial Lounge Theatre. Not on the
Playmakers Six-Play Season Ticket
PlaikJVerrGJias been substituted for..
production.
Dallas Greer will star as Peer Gynt in
this musical portrayal of Ibsen's rebel
folk hero. The play runs through Sunday,
March 23, and will reopen for four
performances March 27-30.
Tickets can be purchased at 102
Graham Memorial or at Ledbetter
Pickard in downtown Chapel Hill.
The Death and Life of Sneaky Fitch, a
farcical tragedy of the Old West, will be
presented by Lab Theatre at 4 p.m. today
and at 4 and 1 1 p.m. tomorrow in 06
Graham Memorial.
Sneaky Fitch is directed by Larry
Lipton. David Weddington appears in
the title role.
an index to a UNC campus map. Every
building on campus which honors an
alumni, except Chase Cafeteria, is named for
either a Di or a Phi.
President James K. Polk, Thomas Wolfe,
Vice President William R. King, 11 North
Carolina Governors and 11 U . S. senators
learned some of their skills in the chambers
of the two societies.
Remnants of the societies glory remain as
inspiration for the present members. The
societies are safekeepers of a valuable
portrait collection which is the largest
privately owned art collection in North
Carolina. Most of these portraits, by such ,
artists as Charles Wilson Pealei Thomas
Sully and Eastman Johnson, hang in the Di
Phi's chamber rooms in New West and New
East.
The Di Phi Societies can claim much of
UNC. history. They are responsible for the
Honor Code established in 1876 and for the
collection of books which began Wilson
Library. Their members formed the nucleus
for student government at UNC and for the
Honor Court.
The Dialectic Society (Di Society) was
formally established as a debating society in
1796, approximately one year after UNC
opened. The Philanthropic Society (Phi
Society) was soon established to provide an
alternate organization for those of different
political persuasions.
To prevent bitter competition and rivalry,
an imaginary line was drawn through
Raleigh and those born east of the line
belonged to the Di Society and those born
to the West belonged to the Phi Society. Out-of-state
students and anyone born in Orange
County were allowed to choose between the
societies. The tradition continues today
although the line now passes through the Old '
Well.
The societies prospered through much of
the periods prior to the Civil War. As their
membership expanded,- Ihey moved their)
' quarters from the : top ofSouth Building to
the newly constructed north wings of Old
East and Old West in 1848.
The attraction of new chambers in New
West and New East, which had been
completed just prior to the' Civil War, soon
helped the membership drive. The late 1 800's
was a period of prosperity for the two
societies.
But the history of the Di Phi Societies in
the 20th Century is one of diminished glory.
The chambers were allowed to deteriorate
and when renovation finally occurred in
1947 it only caused disruption in the meeting
place and more loss of members.
In 1959 the two societies joined and had
a total of five members. It has been an uphill'j
struggle since that time.
neglected people I've ever met. When I
walk into a room full of prisoners, I can
feel the need"
A graduate of the University of
Georgia, Ranson first worked handling
case loads as a social worker. After a
year she moved to Chapel Hill, where
she eventually enrolled in the drama
department. Her first contact with
prisons came through a drug
rehabilitation group from
Hillsborough, who asked the drama
department for some help with a play
they were creating. Along with a co
worker, Juan Johnson, Ranson wrote
and directed a play entitled Wrong
Horse to Ride. Ranson became so
involved with the prisoners she decided
to write a play especially for the cast,
Fisheyes and Butterflies. The play
became successful and they performed it
twenty times that summer. Lloyd
Richards, head of the Eugene O'Neil
Foundation, liked it and mentioned the
play to a friend of his who was looking
for someone to operate a drama
workshop inside the New York prison
system. Once offered, Ranson accepted
the job immediately. Her first
assignment was Attica State Prison, and
she began working there last April.
"I was the first woman ever hired to
work behind the walls in Attica, she
said. The administration told her she
wouldn't live a week.
"That first day I was pretty scared,"
Ranson said. "To begin with, 1 was
white, southern and female. And thosd
things aren't terribly popular with
inmates from the ghetto. To them, I was
an imported country bumpkin, who
knew nothing of their problems. We did
eventually close the gap, but it wasn't
easy."
Closing the gap was a matter of
solving problems, Ranson said. "Most
of my classes were black and the
the eminent attorney
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language they spoke was street talk,
which of course I didn't know. Some of
them couldn't even read and none of
them had ever done a play before.
We also had to struggle for control
of the class. At Attica, the inmates are
very political and they felt they should"
control the class. It took a long time
before that finally broke down."
The administration was not always
cooperative either, she said. "Because of
the strenuous workouts I require before
practice and because of the summer
heat, I requested one more bath per
week. My request was denied."
During one practice, she was to play
the part of a woman, who was to be
embraced. The guards saw it and she
reprimanded by the superintendant for
"messing around with the men." At
another practice, her class took a
"psychological journey," a means of
bringing out emotions. When the
officers saw it, she was reprimanded for
"provoking hysteria."
Problems such as these, Ranson said,
sometimes led to a blow-up. On the
morning of a Christmas performance,
two of her lead players were locked up in
a shakedown. When she arrived, the
group, voted not to do the show. As
showtime came, the M.C. told the
inmate audience what had happened. As
they listened, twenty guards with clubs
in hand marched into the room. "My
cast told me to get out of there right
away before something happened, but I
stayed."
Soon afterwards, the superintendent
entered and demanded the show be put
on. The prisoners refused to do so
without the two men. Finally, the men
were set free for the performance, but
the tension in the show was still very
high. "The show turned out awful."
V
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Rebecca Ranson
Stefl photo by ABc Coyte
Another time, she asked her class to
do a short speech on what they felt was
important to them. One inmate, who she
called her "little revolutionary," stepped
on stage and began to arouse the class in
an editorial comment on Attica. The
guards immediately jumped on stage
and dragged him away. "1 got so
involved with that, that 1 went home
that night ready to quit. So 1 wrote a
long poem to him, explaining my
feelings and he wrote one back. Since
then I've used poems as a tool in our
communications."
Ranson has learned something from
the inmates, and she has her own
opinions on prisons. "1 don't think the
prison system works. They say the
prisoners are rehabilitated, but all they
do is put them back on the street, at the
same level they were before. For
rehabilitation to work at all, the
prisoners must be elevated.
Life is not easy for Rebecca Ranson.
She travels between New York and
Chapel Hill and often sees her husband
only once a month. But it is the kind of
work she likes and she says she'll keep it.
Play the Steak Pebpame.
Pick up this friendly little bumper sticker at the Steak Pub
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The winners will be chosen randomly, by license plate
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stickers. The first winner will be announced on Feb. 25. Then
every Tuesday for six consecutive weeks winners will be chosen,
ending with the selection of a grandprize winner. Everyone is
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to be chosen a winner, your car must be wearing a Steak Pub
bumper sticker. Read the Tar Heel regularly to keep up with
the announcements. And now, about the prizes
Win these exciting prizes (wow!):
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IS J 1 rim. M
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