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(09/25/91 9:00am)
Fresh off a week-long run this summer at the Bedlam Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Theatre Arts Program production of Antigone will open tonight at the Annenberg Center Studio Theater. Directors and actors in the Sophocles tragedy said they have adapted the ancient play's already timely theme into a more modern rendition. "The thing with Antigone is that people can see that it has survived so long because its always timely," said Antigone Director Samara Epstein. "The play is from Sophocles 2000 years ago, yet you could read about the same thing in the paper today." According to Epstein, there is one pertinent theme in Antigone -- that every person has to be active in making their own decisions and shaping their own destiny. "There's an ancient call to action that we all have to learn to answer," the College and Wharton senior said. The play also features an original musical score, and a modern adaptation of the Sophocles text. College junior Yasmin Tuazon, who is playing the title character's younger sister, said that the play has been made more relevant to a modern audience. "Antigone is a classic, but our production shows this classic in a very relevant light," she said. At the invitation of the University of Edinburgh, the University students who both direct and act in Antigone spent a week performing the play in Edinburgh this summer. Epstein said that the extended engagement in Scotland gave the group an opportunity to perfect their performance. "We were in one of the prime venues for theatre in Edinburgh, at the Bedlam Theatre in the middle of the city," she said. This year was only the second time that the University has sent a play to Edinburgh, and the first time that the play was student directed. Antigone opens tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Studio Theatre at the Annenberg Center and will run through Saturday night.
(04/04/91 10:00am)
The undergraduate deans of the College, Wharton and Engineering and a representative from the Nursing School came to Houston Hall yesterday to share opinions and criticisms of the undergraduate education system. The discussion, sponsored by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, drew an audience of about 20 students. The discussion covered the goals of a college education, comparing a general education to specialized majors, and the undergraduate deans discussed their personal educational experiences. College Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Norman Adler offered a metaphor on the conflict between pre-professional and liberal arts majors. "The fox knows many things, the hedgehog knows only one very well," Adler said. "This is the tension between general education and pre-professionalism. It is necessary to strike a balance between the two." Assistant to the President Nicholas Constan explained the three "tools of he trade" in education -- "reading, writing and thinking." He then said that the true goal an education is to develop the thought process "in any educational environment." Wharton Vice Dean Janice Bellace said that only two of the classes she took in college are useful to her today, both of which were not in her major. Bellace stressed that students often ignore many potentially rewarding courses that are not in their areas of specialization. "People tend to avoid courses they think they wouldn't get an 'A' in," Bellace said. "Part of the general requirement's goal is to encourage people to take courses they normally wouldn't take." The most heated point of the discussion came when former SCUE Chairperson Gwen Campbell challenged the deans and the general requirement system. "Five years ago, when the deans were asked what education was, their answer was general requirements," Wharton senior Campbell said. "I'm a member of the senior class who went through them . . . It's a little difficult to have educational coherency with the general requirement program." Adler's reaction to Campbell's criticism was mocked surprise, and said the administration is working to improve the coherence of the educational process. Michael Dal Bello and Hallie Levin, co-chairpersons of the SCUE Deans Forum, said they were pleased with the student turnout and the ensuing discussion. Dal Bello explained that the debate format may have misled the audience into expecting conflict among the speakers. "We never expected it to be a debate," he said. "We expected a friendly discussion where we could share the thoughts of the professors. I think we accomplished that." John Keenan, associate dean of the Engineering School, was also present for the discussion. The discussion today was part of Education Week, a series of SCUE events intended to bridge the gap between faculty and students.
(03/29/91 10:00am)
Students and professors from several universities crowded Bodek Lounge last Friday for an all-day teach-in on the post-war situation in the Persian Gulf. Edward Herman, a professor in the Annenberg and Wharton Schools, criticized the media for allowing itself to be manipulated by President Bush. "Would the President of the U.S. lie?" Herman said. "The media pretends he wouldn't. The media tends to play easy and dumb." Herman was not alone in his attack on the media. George Gerbner, a former Dean of the Annenberg School and an expert on television, said the media's use of violence is a reflection of the American public's attitudes. "I don't think there's been an era in the history of mankind where there were so many images of violence," Gerbner said. "There's been such an overwhelming amount of these images that they have become almost invisible." Gerbner said that the victory in the Gulf war was seen by many Americans as the "apocalyptic" destruction of Iraq. "There's no way to convey how desensitized we have become to celebrate this event," Gerbner said. This view of the war was shared by many speakers, including History Professor Beshara Doumani. Doumani was among many speakers expressing concern that the end of the war did not signal the end of turmoil in the Middle East. "All the problems in the Middle East that existed before the war continue to exist," Doumani said. "In fact, these problems have only gotten worse." In addition to several University professors, professors from Drexel University, Temple University and representatives from several peace-activist organizations also spoke at the the forum. The lectures inspired strong emotions throughout the day from the attentive audience. "For five months I've heard the point of view of the people who were dropping the bombs on Iraq," said College freshman Buddy Attie. "I came to this lecture to see the war from the other point of view, the view of the country and people who were being destroyed."
(03/07/91 10:00am)
Two University professors spoke at the Hillel Foundation Tuesday night on the parallels between black and Jewish literature, including issues of common racial stereotypes in movies and literature. Assistant English Professor Herman Beavers said that most black figures that society commonly identifies with are entertainers. "Even in the 1990s, blacks seem to have a hard time functioning in mass American culture unless they can make white people laugh," said Beavers. Beavers and Assistant English Professor Elisa New explored both real and mistaken racism directed towards the Jewish and black communities. New warned against "the temptation of extracting characters [in both movies and books] from their particular context." She explored the tendency for people to "mistake the part for the whole." New said that while prejudice towards Jews was certainly evident in past books and movies, recently some films have been branded that are legitimate depictions of Jewish and black life in America, including the movie Driving Miss Daisy. New discussed film director Spike Lee's claim that Driving Miss Daisy is a racist movie. "Lee complained that Hoke acted as the typical black man in his place," New said. "To me, however, the film wasn't about individual places, but about what we were as a society at a certain point in history." New went on to describe Lee as a "young turk," explaining that he is fast to criticize films for being racist, without basing his criticisms on rational arguments. Beavers spoke largely about the misrepresentation of blacks in movies and in literature, saying that blacks are depicted as the "brute negro." "The wheels in the head of the brute negro aren't really turning, except around the idea of getting sex, sex, sex, usually from white women," he said. He condemned this and other stereotypes, and praised Lee for challenging racist notions and realistically depicting blacks in his films. Beavers and New teach a course in the College on the same topic of American black and Jewish literature, sub-titled "Exodus and Memory." "It's a fun course," said Beavers. "We both incorporated stuff that we love to read." The discussion in the Hillel Lounge and was sponsored by The Einstein Cafe, described by student co-director and College senior Alyssa Sepinwall as a forum for discussing issues affecting Jews.
(01/31/91 10:00am)
The students who braved the rain last night to fill Houston Hall Auditorium beyond its capacity were treated to a professional comedian, Patrick McGreal, and a dozen aspiring student comedians. The show, sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee, featured an array of ethnic jokes, with several comedians dwelling on traumatic childhood experiences, including the perils of eating too much roughage before art class. A full Houston Hall Auditorium was treated to free Certs, given by the show's co-sponsor. "It was such a pleasure to have an alternative to Calculus 141 on Wednesday nights," said Wharton freshman Moris Finvarb. The competition was held as part of a national tournament involving 70 colleges across the U.S.. One winner from each college is entered into the national semifinals. A videotape of the University's winner, Hood Qa'im-Maqami, will be sent to the competition's judge, comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld will choose three finalists who will be flown to Florida for the Certs Comedy showdown. Qa'im-Maqami said he was shock when he learned he had won the competition. "I was very apprehensive about going up against such impressive competition," he said. Qa'im-Maqami's routine was a combination of stand-up comedy, "Iranian ventriloquism," and a variety of impersonations which he warned would neither look nor sound like the people he was impersonating. Thoroughly attentive throughout Qa'im-Maqami's act, the audience greeted him with resounding applause when he topped the judges' voting. SPEC President Lisa Nass, a College sophomore, said she was extremely pleased with the "amazing turnout." Nass explained that SPEC hopes to schedule many similar events in the future on a more regular basis, featuring more student comedians. "There has never been anything like this on campus," said SPEC member and College freshman Jennie Rosenbaum. Harlan Freilicher, a College junior and SPEC member, said that many in attendance "showed up for the free Certs presented at the door."
