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(10/20/00 5:10pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Vince Liotta, head of Stage Directing for opera at IU School of Music, said the operas this year are all about different variations of love and how love affects humanity in different ways.
After the first opera, "The Elixir of Love," in which love was examined for pure enjoyment, IU Opera Theater will present "Cosi Fan Tutte" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It opens at 8 p.m. Friday at the Musical Arts Center and runs through Oct. 28.
"Richard Strauss really started it back in the repertoire," said Herbert Kellner, guest stage director for this production. "He almost single-handedly got people thinking about it again and sort of brought it back into the repertoire. I find it a magnificent challenge with incredibly magnificent music."
"Cosi Fan Tutte" roughly translates to "that's the way women are." The opera is about two pairs of lovers and how they think and feel about each other.
Ferrando and Guglielmo, two soldiers, make a bet with each other about how faithful their lovers Dorabella and Fiordiligi will be. With the aid of Don Alfonso and Despina, they masquerade as going off to war, leaving their lovers free to either be faithful or carefree. Slyly, the two men dress up so their lovers won't recognize them, and each begins to court the other's lover. In doing this, they realize how they truly feel about their lovers.
"On the surface, it appears to be a little bit slapstick, but I think the music is so serious that it lends itself to deeper thought," said graduate student Corey McKern, who will play Guglielmo. "I think there are real human emotions there that are serious.
"I probably have the least serious role, in some ways. You have four different character types ranging from very serious to shallow, and that's what I think it's interesting -- because these characters are believable today."
"Cosi Fan Tutte" marks the homecoming for guest director Kellner to IU. He graduated in 1975 from the opera directing graduate program. Since then, Kellner has been at the Lyric Opera of Chicago working as an assistant stage manager.
"We were students together at the time that he was at school here," said Mark Clark, a friend of Kellner and producer of IU Opera Theater. "I followed his career and I met him in Chicago a couple of times. I've asked him a number of times to direct at IU and he's always been too busy. We're very fortunate to get him."
Kellner is not only directing "Cosi Fan Tutte," He's also teaching a course at the School of Music. In addition to his work, he has enjoyed the nostalgia of being back at IU after so much time away.
"I have to say everyday I turn a corner and I run into something that reminds me of people and things that happened," said Kellner. "I've gone by a lot of the apartments I lived in while I was here. It's a strange feeling in some ways. And in some ways it's amazing how comfortable it was to come back, and in some ways it feels like I never left."
But with Kellner, "Cosi Fan Tutte" was still the first priority.
"You could just sit there and close your eyes and listen to the music and nothing else, and you'll come away from the evening being fulfilled."
For more information, visit www.music.indiana.edu.
(10/12/00 4:35am)
I am proud to say I have been to almost every restaurant on Fourth Street, also known as Restaurant Row. I'm proud to say it because it means I've given my palate nice experiences, and it has broadened my horizons. But the other night I went to a small restaurant with cuisine I'd never eaten before. I hadn't even heard of it. I had no real idea of what to expect.\nI went to The Red Sea (a lot closer than I thought and no desert around) and had an interesting experience. The Red Sea, 404 E. Fourth St., is an Eritrean restaurant. Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1993 to form its own country.\nMany have joked and said, "Oh you're going to anthiopian restaurant ... let me know how the plate is." But I can tell you there was more food than my companion and I could handle.\nThe meals there are done in two ways. Patrons can each get their own meal and eat or they can choose meal sharing and sample different entrees from everyone. We opted for meal sharing, although we never really ventured away from our own dishes because they were so good.\nWe started with Katena, a flat pancake bread with a sour cream and spice sauce. It had a zing and was spicy, but not too hot to handle. The cream helps with that.\nWe ate those fairly quickly. Next came our salads, nice mixed greens with a tasty, almost vinaigrette, dressing.\nI've never enjoyed a salad at a restaurant so much, because it was the first time the main lettuce was not iceberg, in fact there was no iceberg. And it was not too large to spoil the meal or too small to be insignificant.\nNext came our meals. A note about the menu at The Red Sea: There are few choices. There are only eight or nine dinner and lunch entrees and only two appetizers. It is a small, select menu. \nBut we were both able to choose something that was suitable to us. My companion ordered the Chicken Ziganey -- chicken with a hot and spicy pepper sauce with a hard-boiled egg over either rice or Katena. I ordered Lamb Alecha (the Eritrean word for Lamb curry) with carrots. We both ordered our meals over rice.\nMy companion is not able to eat things that are too spicy, but the Chicken Ziganey was OK, and my companion seemed to enjoy it. The Lamb Alecha was also good with the spices never overpowering the taste of the meat. The pieces of lamb were tender without gristle, and the carrots were a nice addition.\nThe only dessert offered was chocolate cake, and neither my companion nor I were in the mood for it, so we ended with just the appetizer and meals. Our bill was reasonable for the amount of food we got and compared to other Fourth Street restaurants.\nWhile I did enjoy The Red Sea, its lack of several menu items means there is a short limit as to what can be experienced there. Also, the best part of the evening wasn't the food, it was the company, because the quaintness of the house lent itself to wonderful conversation.
(10/04/00 3:20am)
I have chosen a title for my column called "a little bit of sechel," meaning a little bit of common sense. Perhaps it's a Jewish thing, or perhaps it's that I tend to see the world in a different way than most people (well, all people, since I am the only one of me).\nNeedless to say, I generally write about things that pique my interest because of their lack of sechel.\nFor instance, I received an e-mail this weekend from a person I don't know personally -- Elijah the Tishbite. For those who are unfamiliar, he was the prophet who ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire. He will return to announce the coming of the Moshiach (messiah), according to Jewish tradition.\nThe coming of the Moshiach will bring the world to come, where all Jews will return to the land of Israel and live the way God intended, and so on and so forth. Our space in the world to come is determined by our merits in this life, which is why there are so many pious Jews in the world. It is quite similar to Christianity's view of heaven and hell.\nWell, good news for all of us, because Elijah the prophet is already here (according to his e-mail). Yes, in fact the only reason the messiah hasn't come yet is because our good friend the prophet is in prison. Too bad. I was surely hoping a convicted murderer would announce the coming of the Moshiach, because that is in fact exactly how it was prophesied (not really).\nThe one thing, though, is that we can do something about it. On Oct. 14, he wants to be taken to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to make a sacrificial offering unto the Jewish G-d (for he sees a dichotomy between the gods of Christianity and of Islam). There he will prove himself to the world by calling upon G-d to set fire to it.\nWell, I'm certainly for it. I mean, we haven't had a good old-fashioned sacrificial offering since the destruction of the second Holy Temple in 70 C.E. (i.e. 1,930 years ago). I suppose we can totally disregard centuries of Rabbinical liturgy just this once, and then the rewards will be incredible.\nThe e-mail I got from Elijah was passionate and intelligent. It was obvious he knew his Bible (and commentaries on it) as well as the current news events surrounding Israel. It was almost convincing. But I disregarded it once I saw the date on which it was sent: Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000 at 5:30 p.m. \nMany of my readers might ask, so what? Well, Saturday was the holiday of Rosh Hashana, the birthday of the world and the Jewish new year. It is a day on which no work can be done, including getting online and sending an e-mail. Personally, I think Elijah the prophet ought to know that.\nJust food for thought. Shannah Tova (have a good year).
(09/28/00 4:16am)
I found out last spring that Athol Fugard was to visit IU this fall, but I was not quite prepared for meeting this paragon of modern theater.\nFugard came to campus as the Class of 1963 Wells Scholar Professor, and his visit coincided with the purchase and exhibit of his notes and manuscripts at the Lilly Library, as well as the release of a book about his works by English professor Albert Wertheim.\nI was privileged to experience Fugard's art, wisdom and humor three times. The first was a public reading by Fugard of his prose work "Cousins" at the University Theatre. In "Cousins," Fugard spoke vividly about two cousins of his who helped him develop into a person who would come to love and work in theater.\nHe spoke of early experiences with the piano and turning music on the page into words for the stage. He also spoke of their first "productions," which were given for parents and friends with his cousin in the living room -- it was these living room experiences that first led him to the theater. What many artists know as the second real draw to the theater is the risk that is involved in that undertaking.\nHis second story surrounded a risk and trust circumstance with another of his cousins and a brave choice they had to make together.\nIt was evident that things "struck remote chords in his soul," as Oscar Wilde put it. He also answered lingering questions with his asides. He even let out a secret about the subject of a play he was afraid to write. \nI also experienced a session where Mr. Fugard worked with actors and directors in a rehearsal of his works "Hello and Goodbye" and "The Bloodknot." What I saw was the simplicity, the creativity and the courage that has made Fugard's plays and his art world-renowned. While rough, it was intriguing to experience how looking or thinking in a different way could result with a product that seemed unfathomable from the start of the enterprise.\nHe also, as a treat, read one of the scenes with a theater professor also from South Africa so participants and viewers could hear the language and the energy of his scenes in the voice and dialect they were meant for.\nFinally, I ate pizza with Fugard and about 20 other students where we just talked informally. Fugard answered some questions, including one very close to me about where art is, where it is going and how I should go about creating the kind of theater I want. He reminded me of the start he'd had with his cousin in the living room turning music into words.\nThe need to perform and to create, to imitate ourselves, as Aristotle put it, and to find out what humanity really is does not need to be done with a budget of millions of dollars. Art driven by money, we agreed, is deadly to art itself. He told me to do a play in my living room if that's the only place to do it rather than succumb to the bottom line.\nBasically, all we need for theater is a play, actors and an audience.\nWhat I learned the most from him came during the informal setting.\nThrough all of the horrors in life he experienced, all of the plays he'd done, he still had the good humor and basic humanity to sit and eat pizza with a group of undergraduates and allow the moments to linger.\nMore than taking life by the reins, Fugard reminded me that sometimes I just need to stop and gather my rosebuds while I may.
(09/27/00 3:48am)
During the worst night of the school year thus far (in terms of weather) I decided to treat myself to an evening out for dinner at a place that might serve something to warm me up. Fortunately for my companion and I, Siam House was the perfect place.\nUpon entering, we were the only patrons in the restaurant, so the host took us to the warmest space in the dining room. We were surrounded by windows full of plants and various trinkets of Thai art and icons. Unfortunately, the flowers at the table were fake.\nWe began with coffee for my companion and Jasmine tea for myself. My friend found the coffee to be strong, but warm, and I loved the tea. It was the perfect thing to warm us up. Both the tea and the coffee creamer came in quaint teapots, which added to the overall ambiance.\nThai food is much like a cross between Chinese and Indian. The textures, looks and ingredients are reminiscent of Chinese, but the flavors are closer to Indian. It makes for a nice mix of cultural flavors.\nThai food can also be daunting to order since it has not been Americanized, and the names of all the dishes are Thai. But, the menu at Siam House has brief explanations of all the dishes. Our server was willing to help us choose by giving his own experience with a dish and by telling us what the chefs cook especially well.\nThe menu is extensive, ranging from 15 appetizers to more than 50 entrees including three meal soups (or stews). As appetizers, my companion and I chose Ka Nom Bueng Yuen and Yum Nur. The first appetizer was a crispy crepe stuffed with a whole shrimp served with a tangy sauce. It was quite delicious, and my companion devoured three of the four.\nThe Yum Nur was something I'd had before at a different Thai restaurant. It is like a shredded beef salad on lettuce with tomatoes, cilantro and a minty-lime juice dressing. It was a great combination for the shrimp crepes, because one was hot and crispy, and the other was a cool palate cleanser.\nFor our entrees, we ordered an old favorite (so to speak) and a bold choice. My companion ordered the Pad Thai -- a noodle dish served with a choice of meat and spice level and white rice. I ordered Lamb Pad Kroeng which is "sauteed sliced lean lamb with Thai spices, green beans, zucchini, bamboo shoots, lime leaves and sweet basil."\nIt also came with white rice.\nThai food is generally served in a fashion where the dishes are meant to be shared, so we sampled each other's choices. While all of the food was especially flavorful, nothing was particularly spicy, which was good because hot spicy food is better suited for a hot day. (The sweat from hot food cools the body off.)\nThe Pad Thai had a nice consistency in the noodles and spices and didn't overpower the dish. The lamb dish I had was juicy, fresh and a nice balance for the noodles.\nTo finish the evening, we ordered two desserts: a fried banana with vanilla ice cream and Thai pie "made from taro root, coconut milk, eggs and brown sugar." The banana had an interesting, tangy flavor.\nThe Thai pie is really a piece of textured custard, which, if one is not a custard fan, one should not try.\nOverall, Siam House is now a favorite of mine and with the large amounts of leftovers I have from the other night, I won't miss it for very long.
(09/25/00 6:40am)
While the Brown County Playhouse season is usually made up of plays and musicals that are little more than diversions, last year's season ended with a comedy with substance in "Lost in Yonkers." The 2000 season is no exception with the final production of the summer A.R. Gurney's "Sylvia."\nWith a cast including Equity actors and former IU master of fine arts in acting graduates Sarah Louise Turner and Rob Johansen, Brown County Playhouse regular Diane Kondrat and associate professor of acting and directing at IU Bruce Burgun, the show is a poignant comedy about life, love, gender issues and pet owners.\nThe play is about Greg (Johansen), who finds a dog named Sylvia (Turner) in the park in New York and brings her back to his apartment to be his pet. Sylvia, who talks and is understood by the characters in the play, is a threat to Greg\'s wife Kate (Kondrat), her relationship with Greg and her plans for their future. Throughout, Greg and Kate get advice and help (perhaps misguided) from Tom, Leslie and Phyllis (all played by Burgun).\nTurner's performance as Sylvia was impressive. She moved and carried herself as a person playing a dog, and her facial expressions and emotions were as simplistic and sincere as a dog's. Her performance was dead-on and moving.\nJohansen and Kondrat had wonderful chemistry that allowed for each of them to be three-dimensional characters instead of falling into the trap of one being the protagonist and the other the antagonist. \nIndividually, Kondrat created a wall around herself with Kate. It was this wall that allowed for the sympathy with Johansen's affection toward Sylvia when, in all reality, he was ignoring and disregarding his wife.\nJohansen tapped into an emotion that many feel: the need to feel alive rather than just blandly exist. His heartfelt need for that richness was what made his love for Sylvia understandable and condoned.\nAdding comical moments to the play was Burgun with his three characters. Each character added to the underlying gender theme. His first character was a chauvinistic male dog owner, his second, a characature of a New York upper middle-class woman and his third a character of such eccentricity that it must be the audiences' decision to decide gender. Burgun brought out each character's comedic aspects with impeccable timing.\nThe show's design worked extremely well. The set, designed by Christopher Berg, reflected the big-city atmosphere with images associated with dogs juxtaposed with Greg and Kate's posh apartment. Marie Shakespeare's lighting enhanced the depth of the play by creating intimate moods even in an outdoor park atmosphere. Alumnus Ansley Valentine's costumes perfectly reflected the character's personas. Kate's wardrobe screamed school teacher while Sylvia's costumes helped the audience to identify with her emotional states proving the old saying that clothes do make the man, or dog.\nThe play is more than a modern comedy, and director Bill Kincaid was able to bring out the underlying issues such as gender asymmetry, a person's need to feel alive rather than just exist and the love that owners can feel for their pets in a way that was subtle with substance.\nThe production epitomized what is possible from a show at the Brown County Playhouse, great theater in an intimate, unorthodox setting.
(09/25/00 6:40am)
The Elixir of Love," the first IU Opera Theater production of the year, elicits mixed emotions. Gaetano Donizetti's opera is a lovely piece filled with lyricism, beautiful barcaroles and cavatinas and some very truthful emotional moments.\nUnfortunately, the IU Opera Theater production could not bring these to their highest potential. But there were moments of absolute brilliance from performers, orchestra and production design.\nTo recap the story of the opera, Nemorino, a peasant, is in love with Adina, a well-to-do, capricious young girl. To torment Nemorino, Adina decides to get together with Belcore, a soldier. In despair, Nemorino goes to Dr. Dulcamara for a love potion that will make him desirable to Adina.\nMore than the elixir, it is Nemorino's truthful heart that finally attracts Adina.\nThe opera began with a quick prelude from the Concert Orchestra, conducted by Imre Pallo. At first, the balance seemed off because the upper strings were a bit top-heavy, not allowing the beautiful solo lines from the flute and oboe to be fully realized.\nThough the opera's pacing was on the slow side, it was a choice that did not take away from the opera's overall quality. In fact, the patience of Pallo's conducting showed sensitivity for Donizetti's lyricism.\nAs the curtain opened, Professor Emeritus of Music Robert O'Hearn's set came into light. O'Hearn, chairman of scene design for IU Opera, used perspective to create the idea that there was much beyond what the set showed. The colors he chose showed that the opera was a light affair.\nIn the second act, paper lamps were used in the middle of the street scene to create the festive atmosphere of the wedding scene, which usually takes place in a tavern. The choice to use only a single set helped the show because it allowed for all of the action to be unified to one place.\nAssistant Lighting Designer for the Musical Arts Center Mike Schwandt's lighting for the opera was inconsistent. During the first act, while the day began sunny with a clear blue sky, it looked as if it was going to rain with the backdrop lit very gray by the end of the day.\nAlso, the use of spotlights on the individual singers seemed to distract from the scene more than it added to it, especially during Adina's asides to the audience. But in the second act, the evening scenes were much sharper and the singers were revealed in a much clearer way.\nThough the costumes in the show were designed by O'Hearn, they were for a production of "The Elixir of Love" at the Metropolitan Opera House and not for IU. Therefore, they did not fit with the production's new design. Their design and color choices were too cartoonish. Because the set seemed very realistic, the costumes needed to reflect it, and they did not.\nGood vocal performances in the opera came from graduate students Kristine Biller as Adina and Sheldon Hughes as Nemorino. While both seemed to lack at the start of the opera, they gained their strength quickly.\nIn Nemorino's second act "Una Furtiva Lagrima," Hughes reached the greatest point in his performance by bringing emotion to Nemorino in addition to the beautiful music.\nThe best performance overall came from graduate student Chris Burchette in the role of Dr. Dulcamara. After his great performance in "The Barber of Seville" this summer, his role in "Elixir" was full of quirky characterization mixed with Burchette's lovely basso voice. He was fun to watch and a joy to listen to.\nDirector Vincent Liotta had some interesting scenes in the production, but there were some points in the opera where the direction seemed fuzzy. For instance, in certain scenes, Adina would be placed on the stairs leading to her home and Nemorino would be center stage and they'd be having an argument or a conversation from 20 feet away, which did not seem natural.\nAt other times in the opera, such as Nemorino's drunken scene or the scene in the second act where Belcore convinces Nemorino to join the army, the scenes were staged very well and had interesting layers to them.\nOverall, the opera was a nice experience because Donizetti's opera is a joy to hear. While the production at IU had its various faults, the evening was an enjoyable aesthetic and entertaining experience.
(09/22/00 5:01am)
Classic "bel canto" (good singing) is what some would call IU Opera Theater's first production of the 2000-2001 season. Although Gaetano Donizetti, the composer of "The Elixir of Love," is most known for his dramatic works "Don Pasquale" and "Lucia Di Lammermoor," his lighter fare is also highly popular and contains some of his most beloved music.\n"'Elixir' is very much a valentine. It's an opera that, unless you are in a mood to not be charmed, has got to charm you," said professor of music Vince Liotta, stage director for "Elixir." "It's about young love. It's about nothing too weighty -- nobody's being cruel to anybody, nobody's dying, and especially after the heaviness of last year, I think a little icing on the wedding cake is fine sometimes."\nThe opera centers around a peasant, Nemorino, who has a true simple love for a woman named Adina. Adina, who does not recognize Nemorino's love, instead turns to Belcore, a swashbuckling soldier. \nNemorino, in despair, goes to Dr. Dulcamara, who has a special potion -- an elixir of love that will make anyone who drinks it fall in love with the first person he or she sees. Nemorino buys the elixir for use on Adina -- but Dr. Dulcamara thinks he is foolish for buying merely wine.\nNemorino goes to the bar to use the elixir on Adina and what ensues is a comical love story that anyone can appreciate. \nThe production this year will be sung in the original language of Italian.\n"Singing an entire role in the language that the opera was originally written in is an absolute in a singer's education," said graduate student Weston Hurt, who will play Belcore in one of the two casts. "Not only does the original language help with the vocal line, but it gives the young singer an opportunity to grow as an artist."\nIt is also a brand new production. Professor Robert O'Hearn built the new sets. Using light color tones and designed in the style of a Tuscan village, the period set was designed to be multi-faceted for the show's different locales as well as beautiful to look at.\nO'Hearn, who designed "The Elixir of Love" for the Metropolitan Opera House, said the costumes from the show will be those he created for the MET.\nBecause this season is made up of many well-known operas, the student performers find it important to come and watch from the very beginning in order to keep interest piqued.\n"I think that (opera) lasts because it is an art form that is always evolving through work and love of the directors, designers, technicians, musicians and the audience," said graduate student Anita Rollo, who will play Adina. "As students here, we have such a great opportunity to expose ourselves to something so worthwhile." \n"The Elixir of Love" will play at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and Sept. 29, 30 at the Musical Arts Center. Tickets are available at the Musical Arts Center box office, and range from $10-$28. For more information, call (812) 855-7433.
(09/22/00 3:40am)
To finalize this summer's Brown County Playhouse season, the Summer Stock Theatre of more than half a century has chosen to go out laughing. Using two of its former graduate students, a community actress of much repute and a current IU faculty member, IU and the BCP are looking to end its season with fervor and fun.\nThe show is A.R. Gurney's comedy "Sylvia" and it opens Friday and will play four consecutive weekends -- Fridays through Sundays -- until it closes Oct. 21. One very unique aspect of the show is that current associate professor of theatre and drama Bruce Burgun shall return to the stage as an actor having previously worked exclusively in recent years as a director for both Brown County and the University.\nBurgun will be working with two of his own former master's students -- fellow cast members Rob Johansen and Sarah Turner. Relationships in the cast are of the utmost importance, and for Burgun to work with former students has been a pleasure because he said he respects their work both on and off the stage.\n"Acting on stage with Rob Johansen and Sarah Turner as well as with Diane Kondrat is an absolute joy and a distinct honor," he said. "Not only are they wonderfully acting partners and peers - they are my best friends."\nBurgun said he is enjoying his return to acting. \n"How does it feel to be back on stage? Great, wonderful, exciting, challenging, terrifying and extremely edifying," said Burgun. "To truly be able to teach an art form, you have to practice it to honestly and accurately know what the experience, processes and demands are.\n"You don't have to be great at it, but you do have to know it from the inside out or, as a teacher, you lose touch with the process."\nBurgun, who got his master's degree in acting from Northwestern University, has taught at IU and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. He has also worked as an actor in Chicago at various locales including the Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf. Although this is a return to the stage, Burgun said he feels his challenges are not going to be so difficult.\n"Everybody keeps asking me how is it different to act rather than direct," Burgun said. "The answer is simple: as an actor I don't have to think! I don't mean that literally, but I do mean I don't concern myself about anything but the moment I am playing. Actors are artists of the moment. And it is extremely liberating and gratifying."\n"Sylvia" is a play for actors. Rather than being plot-driven, it focuses on character, which is evident in the relationships exposed between Greg (Johansen) and his wife (Diane Kondrat), his dog Sylvia (Turner) and the three characters played by Burgun.\nEssentially, the play surrounds Greg's empty life and the fact that he found this stray dog Sylvia who stimulates him in a way that he has not been in quite some time. His wife does not like it, and therein lies the conflict of where his life will take him because of the unconditional love he receives from Sylvia.\nThere are various locations for this piece, so flexibility in the costuming, setting and especially lighting are quite important to the believability of the piece.\nLighting designer Marie Shakespeare, wife of associate professor of theatre and drama Robert Shakespeare, must differentiate between these locales, and still create a suitable environment for the action to take place.\n"Designing the lighting and sound for 'Sylvia' has been a delightful challenge," said Shakespeare. "The lighting and sound also underscore special moments in the production -- moments that transport the audience out of the confines of time and space and into the psyche of the playwright's characters."\nDirector Bill Kincaid from Southern Illinois University, who is no stranger to the Brown County Playhouse, came in to take the reigns over the show. \n"Sylvia" by A.R. Gurney opens Friday and runs at 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, Ind. Tickets are $12.50 Sunday and $14.50 Friday and Saturday. For children 12 and under it is $6.50 and $7.50, respectively. Tickets are available at the IU Auditorium Box Office 855-1103, the BCP box office 988-2123 and all TicketMaster locations or by phone 333-9955; (317) 743-5151.
(09/22/00 3:21am)
My family is very much rooted in Bloomington. The first one in Bloomington was probably my great, great uncle Ely back in the 1920s when he came here to earn his degree after World War I. He started a progression of family members to Old IU: my great uncle got his master's degree in the '30s, another great uncle, class of '35, and his brother (my grandfather), class of '39.\nMy father, his cousins and my mother earned their undergraduate degrees here in the late '60s and early '70s. My aunt earned her master's degree in speech and hearing sciences in the '70s, and my uncle taught here in the early '80s.\nNow, I am here studying.\nThrough it all, my family members have always been fans of IU basketball. My grandfather, may he rest in peace, saw the first national championship back in 1940, just after he graduated. From then on, until the day he died, Thursday, March 5,1987, he was "tried and true" for the old Cream and Crimson.\nMy parents, despite never having a championship team during their careers as students, witnessed the 1953 championship (granted they were three and five years old). They also bared witness to the next three that came after the hiring of (I'd never thought I'd say this) former IU basketball coach Robert Montgomery Knight.\nWhen IU made the choice to hire Knight to replace Lou Watson, after the famed Branch McCracken era was over, my parents did not praise the University for hiring a man who would bring greatness to an established program. They did not laud the University for hiring an accomplished coach from Army; rather, my parents looked at each other and exclaimed, "But he's from Ohio State!?!"\nNevertheless, my parents swallowed their skepticism and allowed this Buckeye to run our Cream and Crimson program. What happened could not have been foreseen. The rest need not be said— championships, titles, NBA players, a clean program and many great additions to society in the last 30 years.\nWhat has always made me sad is my grandfather (Grandpa Kenny), who died of cancer at age 69, never saw that Keith Smart shot. He died only two days before IU won the Big Ten title. He never saw what became of IU basketball and its leader.\nWhat I now know is it didn't matter. Sure, my family thought and probably still thinks that Bobby Knight is the greatest basketball coach living in America today, but IU basketball has been around since our first loss against Butler, Feb. 8, 1901. And since that time, people have cheered.\nMy Grandpa Kenny cheered for us. My parents did. And we shall. It might be hard to know what is in the future (we knew with Knight that we would have good seasons), but we are still IU basketball fans. We should not abandon our team.\nIndiana, Our Indiana. Indiana, we're all for you. We will fight for the Cream and Crimson, for the glory of Old IU (IU!). Never daunted, we cannot falter. In a battle, we're tried and true. Indiana, Our Indiana, Indiana, we're all for you.
(09/14/00 10:39pm)
In the first restaurant review I did for the IDS, I wrote about Japanese food at one of the few local restaurants that serves that particular cuisine. This week, I revisited Japanese food at the Ekimae Japanese Restaurant.\nHaving had mixed feeling about the last Japanese restaurant in town, I tried to prepare myself for a similar experience.\nTo my knowledge, it is difficult to get the necessary ingredients to prepare quality sushi in Bloomington, so the selection and quality is limited. In comparison to the other two restaurants I know (Mikado and Domo), I would recommend Ekimae.\nThe atmosphere of Ekimae is intimate and comfortable. The art and trinkets on the walls, while seemingly commonplace, evoked a feeling of a family-run business.\nBesides tables and chairs, there was a traditional Japanese tea room where one would have to sit on the floor and remove his or her shoes during the meal. Having that option was nice.\nI chose to sample the assorted Sashimi appetizer. Having grown up with long-established Indianapolis businesses, I have short patience when it comes to the quality of sushi.\nBriefly, sushi actually refers to the rice preparation. Sushi is a unique and time consuming method of preparing rice in such a way and at such a temperature that it is sticky and easy to work with. The fish is only part of the puzzle.\nFish must be at sushi grade in order for it to be edible raw. There is usually a fine line between proper sushi fish and border line sushi grade fish.\nEkimae and its sashimi platter (slices of assorted raw fish) surprised me. The tuna was tasty and easy to eat. The white fish and salmon had one piece that was questionable, and the octopus was a little too chewy. Nevertheless, for the price ($6.95), it was worth it.\nAs far as the dinners, Ekimae offers a wide variety from sushi to hot dinners, noodles to a whole list of vegetarian menu choices. Prices range from $7.95 to $13.95, but provide a lot of meal for the money. \nMy companion chose the Beef Teriyaki ($10.95) and I chose that night's special ($11.95). Both dinners came with a bowl of rice, miso soup and a salad. My dinner had a chicken teriyaki breast and 4 pieces of nigiri sushi ' a ball of rice with a piece of fish atop. \nIt also included a mixed platter of shrimp and vegetable tempura -- Japanese deep fried vegetables and shrimp -- and a four-piece California roll made of avocado, cucumber and crab rolled in rice and seaweed. The beef teriyaki was a 10-ounce New York strip steak thinly sliced and marinated in teriyaki sauce.\nThe beef was very tender and tasty (and was indeed prepared medium as my companion ordered it), but it was fatty as well, and much of the steak was cut away. My companion enjoyed her rice, miso soup and pineapple juice, but we both agreed that the salad needed some work. The dressing was nothing special, and the lettuce used was not carefully chosen as I have seen in many other local restaurants.\nIn my meal, the chicken teriyaki was wonderful and tender. The tempura was nicely assorted and came with a hearty dipping sauce. It did not seem to be fresh out of the fryer, but it was crispy. The sushi continued where the sashimi left off. The tuna and salmon were the best, and the white fish remained neutral.\nAt the end of the meal, little remained, but we were both stuffed. We decided to sample the two different ice creams they offered -- green tea and mandarin orange. Halfway through, we decided we liked each other's choice more and switched. I love green tea ice cream. And Ekimae's was nice with its one scoop served in a traditional ice cream cup with a cherry on top. The mandarin orange ice cream was served with pieces of mandarin orange and made a nice finish to a quaint, worthwhile meal.\nOur server was very nice and was willing to explain what different menu items were. Once again, more than Domo and Mikado, Ekimae delivered a palate-pleasing aesthetic experience that I might actually go back to, if I can't get to Indianapolis.
(09/09/00 4:30am)
Athol Fugard, an internationally renowned playwright, will visit IU from Sept. 10-23. The author, whose works first spoke out against apartheid in South Africa in a dramatic, very public arena, will make two public appearances, as well as hold a workshop for students of acting and directing. He will also teach four sessions of an honors course on his plays.\nFugard is visiting this campus especially because he is the class of 1963 Wells Scholars Professor. His visit comes at the same time as the Lilly Library's purchase of many of the playwright's original papers, manuscripts and comments on many of his plays. In addition, English Professor Albert Wertheim, who is most responsible for Fugard's visit, will release a book on Fugard and his plays in the next week.\nNow, students, faculty and the Bloomington community will have the opportunity to meet a man whose art has been praised as some of the best of the century.\n"Fugard is emblematic of the kind of writer that was hated and feared by dictators and oppressive dictators around the world," said Dennis Reardon, theatre and drama professor. \nReardon, himself a playwright, said he considers Fugard to be one of the most important playwrights of this generation. \n"He's why artists are suppressed, why they're hounded, persecuted in countries where injustice is rampant," Reardon said. "There's probably been no playwright in the 20th century who has been more emblematic of the function of art as social engineering than Fugard. He had the bravery, the courage, the decency to speak out against the Afrikaner-imposed apartheid." \nApartheid, now an issue that has been mostly alleviated, concerns some of the same racial segregation issues that existed in U.S. history. South Africa has a large native population mixed with a population of white Europeans who occupied the area during British Imperialism.\nThe result was hatred and prejudice between the races which led to great injustices and years of inhumanity between the white and black populations. The apartheid government restricted the rights of the dominant black population and also lead to discrimination between the people.\nFugard was one of the first and few playwrights to not only write about these horrors and injustices, but also to employ black actors at his theater.\n"For me, he is really important because during the dark days of apartheid, he was one of the lone voices that got an international audience," said Murray McGibbon, associate professor of theatre and drama. \nMcGibbon, a South African, teaches acting and directing at IU and has directed Fugard's play "Master Harold … and the Boys" in his home country.\n"Fugard himself had a lot of trouble getting his worked produced. And if it hadn't been for the Market Theater in South Africa, I don't think it would have been produced because it was flagrantly disrespectful towards the government of the time," McGibbon said.\nBut beyond reading or performing his plays, the IU community can now meet the artist. The University Theatre will play host to two public events ' the first a public reading of some selections of Fugard's work and a public conversation between Fugard and Wertheim.\n"His plays touch almost magically the important issues, not just of South Africa, and not just of our time, but of race, human psychology and human interaction and the very meaning and power of art," said Wertheim of Fugard. "What we usually have, with any writer, is the artifact ' the play that we see, the play that we read, the poem or the novel. This is a chance to meet the author and to find out why he writes what he does, how he writes what he does, where he is now and where he is going ' to see and to hear the man behind the art."\n Students of acting and directing will also get a special opportunity to meet Fugard through a closed master's class taught by him. His contribution to theater, which includes such plays as "The Island," "Bloodknot," "Boseman and Lena," are examples of how art can be a vehicle for social and political commentary. Fugard\'s works are on many high school and college required reading lists not only for the respected artistic qualities, but also for the message that his art teaches.\n "The legacy of apartheid is going to continue through many generations ' my children are going to suffer from it," McGibbon said. "And it's not just black people who were affected of prejudiced by apartheid. As a so-called privileged white person, I was also impoverished by apartheid because what it was very successful at doing was keeping people apart. \n "Blacks and whites didn't get to know each other, we grew up in separate communities, separate societies, so really it was a divided nation. And, theatre can help to unite; it can help to heal. So, for an IU student, I think his plays have great relevance because apart from the Holocaust, apartheid was the greatest evil that has been committed human to human"
(09/07/00 5:23am)
The other day, my father sent me an e-mail I had seen a few times before. The first time I read it, I deleted it. When I received it this time, I kept it because it piqued my interest. Here is what it said:\nQuestion 1: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, had syphilis, had eight kids, three of whom were deaf, two of whom were blind and one of whom was mentally disabled, would you recommend she have an abortion?\nQuestion 2: It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts. Whom do you choose? Here are the facts about the three candidates:\n• Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians and consults astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks eight to 10 martinis a day.\n• Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.\n• Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks only an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.\nWhich of these candidates would be your choice?\nCandidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.\nCandidate B is Winston Churchill.\nCandidate C is Adolf Hitler.\nAnd by the way, if you answered "yes" to the abortion question, you just killed Ludwig von Beethoven.\nI am not, by any standards, a political columnist, but I do have a political opinion. I try to base my political decisions on real facts and real issues 'just like every other idealist in the world.\nI really do believe we in the media have given politics a difficult mountain to climb. Because of our nosiness and our insatiable need for people to read our work, we have caused the office of the presidency to fall into disrepute. We now look for character flaws before we hear the real political agendas.\nFor instance, the day presidential hopeful Al Gore announced Sen. Joe Lieberman as his running mate, America Online message boards were filled with anti-Semitic remarks. The man had not even accepted the nomination, and none of his political opinions had been made public at the national level. Yet already he was condemned.\nTo hear FDR had extramarital affairs does not surprise me. What does surprise me is that 60 years later we are not condemning him, as we are prone to do these days. But because FDR is considered to be among the nation's greatest presidents, his personal faults have been overlooked by the test of time.\nAt the same time, Hitler was a gentleman who led a respectful personal life and was a war hero. But, that does not diminish the fact that he maniacally persuaded his nation to kill its own countrymen (and millions of others as well).\nWhat I am trying to convey is that 60 years ago, these men were judged not by their personal lifestyles, but by the choices they made while in office. Similarly, I believe our current leaders and those we choose to have in office in future years should be elected or remembered purely by the issues they represent or have represented.\nAnd as a final thought, I can't imagine the world without the music of Beethoven.
(09/07/00 3:20am)
This summer, a grandmother took her son, daughter-in-law and 4-year-old grandchild to the Musical Arts Center to see "The Barber of Seville." Knowing the grandson would not be able to sit through it, they decided that they'd leave an hour after it started and they'd come see it again another night. \nAs the opera began, the child sat in awe of the events happening in front of him and the music he was hearing for the first time. Never before had this child experienced opera. After the first act, his grandmother said it was time to go and the child pleaded to stay because it wasn't over yet: He could tell. They stayed to watch the rest of the performance and the child remained fixated on the opera during the 3-hour duration of the show.\n The wonder that this child found in the opera is something IU opera has been able to accomplish during the past 51 years. Opening in the former East Hall in 1949, IU opera was founded by former Dean of the School of Music Wilfred C. Bain and Herman B Wells as part of their new School of Music project.\nNow, the IU Opera Theater is considered the best collegiate opera program in the country and one of the best in the world. This year, it is producing one of the most ambitious and grandiose seasons in the history of the institution.\n"IU Opera Theater is one of the best opera production companies in the country," said Sylvia McNair, an IU alumna and world-renowned opera star. "Just like IU basketball has been a dominant force in sports, so has the IU Opera Theater been in the music world. Why not experience some of the best talent America has to offer while you can? When you leave Bloomington, you'll have to pay a lot more money to see quality like that."\nMcNair has been recorded in many operas and is a regular at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She studied in Bloomington with Virginia Zeani, a star in her own right. \nThe Romanian-born Zeani, who was the grandmother of the aforementioned 4-year-old, had a 34-year career in opera throughout the world (though never recording much) and was one of the most coveted starlets between 1950 and 1980. She was such a star that when Pavarotti had his debut at the Met, she was the lead in the opera, and he was afraid to come up and speak to her. \nZeani spoke fondly of IU Opera Theater. "Here, we have great singers. I go around the world and I find that American voices are the best," said Zeani. "Opera represents a unique way of loving and speaking about love or dying with (the singers') own sounds. This charm of your sound is the best sensation that a singer can have." \nThe aesthetic experience that opera has, as well as the quality of IU's program has prompted students from all over the country and the world to come to Bloomington to study. The students who work on the operas give hundreds of hours on their time to present the masterpieces. While they are gaining experience for their careers, they are also giving of themselves to the audience for their enjoyment.\n"This season is very special to me because of the possibilities it offers to a voice type such as mine," said graduate student Chris Burchett. "There are several bass-baritone roles in this year's season which are considered some of the larger or more important in the repertoire. It's very exciting to have the possibility to perform some of these works here at IU."\nThis year's season is one of the most ambitious seasons of IU opera history. Beginning with Gaetano Donizetti's "The Elixir of Love" ' an opera never before performed at IU ' the season promises to represent some of the best of the operatic cannon. \nThe season continues with Mozart's comedy "Cosi Fan Tutte" followed by another opera never before performed at IU, Carlisle Floyd's most famous work, "Susannah." This opera which is fairly recent (30 years old) explores a purely American story with American music. \nIn the spring semester, IU Opera will present one of the most loved operas of all time, Gounod's "Faust" based on the dramatic work by Goethe. Following "Faust" will be one of the most popular operas of all time, "Rigoletto" from one of opera's most celebrated composers, Guiseppe Verdi. To close the year, IU Opera will present a masterwork from America's classical music star ' Leonard Bernstein's "Candide."\n"To me, opera has always been the most fulfilling of all the 'seven lively arts' because it is the only one that can encompass all other art forms within its productions," said history professor Irving Katz. "Just think, an opera can offer its audience a dramatic plot, acting, individual singing, ensemble singing, a ballet, a stage set and a full symphony orchestra. When these come together, the emotional excitement and aesthetic satisfaction are unsurpassable."\nKatz, who has attended IU opera for 30 years and is not part of the School of Music, said he believes the art of opera is essential to IU students' learning experience while here.\n"In talking to IU students over the years, I realized that most of them have little or no knowledge of what an opera is and have had no exposure, either at home or in their schools, to any operatic production. Compulsive pedagogue that I am, I nag my students constantly to enrich their cultural lives while at IU. Operas should play a major role in that enrichment process," Katz said.\nEven with the encouragement of non-School of Music professors, singers and the lure of a huge season, IU Opera Theater is still a mystery to many students. Some students are afraid of the big building many refer to as the MAC (Musical Arts Center). Since its construction, it has been home to some of the world's foremost stars before they were stars, like Elizabeth Futral.\n"Students at IU have a rare opportunity among students in this country to the art form on display at a very high artistic level," said Futral. "I think that opera, the art form itself, is one of the most exciting arts forms because it is the merger of theater and music and instrumental music as well as vocal."\nThough Futral is now a major opera star and has sung and created many roles in her career, she herself knew relatively little about the genre she was studying.\n"I do remember the first time I ever heard a Wagner opera at IU. It was something completely different and new to me ' I found it compelling and way over my head at the same time," said Futral. \nWhile it was a difficult thing to grasp, it also was a hook and made her want to know more and learn more. Now, her knowledge and work has made her one of opera's most successful singers.\nMore than the knowledge, the entertainment and the music, people who have devoted their lives to studying, teaching and performing opera do it for the joy it brings them.\nIU students have the opportunity within opera to find some of that same joy these people have.\n"This year I will implore the public to come to see these operas ' even the ones who have never seen an opera in their lives ' this is the best year to come," said Zeani. "If you feel an attraction a little bit for an aria, go. You will be forever happy"
(09/06/00 3:58am)
Though Indiana is not known for its strong regional theater companies, Indianapolis is not void of them. Of the three professional houses in Indianapolis, the Phoenix theater tends to focus more on numerous new productions of some of Broadway and off-Broadway's greatest modern successes.\n Along with the new productions straight from New York, other playwrights whose works are known mostly in the Midwest have pieces in the theater's season lineup. \nFrom Eve Ensler's biting "The Vagina Monologues" to "The Santa Land Diaries" by David Sedaris and "Seven Guitars" by August Wilson, the season promises to be an interesting mix of plays only an hour away in downtown Indy.\nThe season begins Sept. 7 with "Snakebite" by David Marshall Grant; it will play until Oct. 8. Grant played Joe in the original Broadway production of "Angels in America." The play, which takes place in Los Angeles, is the story of three friends who try to take control of their lives. \n"'Snakebite' is about a moment in time when people try to take a step forward," Grant said. \nThe next production is a one-man show that is part of the Urban Experience Series as well as the solo series. "The Gathering: A Hip-Hop Theatre Journey to the Meeting Places of Back Men" is written, acted and directed by the ironically named Will Power. The show is sweeping across the country and is a blend of many facets of African-American culture and entertainment. The show plays Oct. 19 through 29.\nAfter Ellen McLaughlin's "Tongue of a Bird" premiers in the Midwest on Nov. 2, Sedaris' "The Santaland Diaries" will run from November 22 through December 30. Adapted from his NPR shows, the play is said to have "enough impish wit to last you through the twelfth night," according to the press release. The play is part of the Solo Series and will appear on the Underground Stage in its Midwest premier.\nAccording to New York Magazine, "playwright, author, radio star and retired elf David Sedaris may be the most brilliantly witty New Yorker since Dorothy Parker." \nOn the Mainstage during the winter holiday season, the Phoenix will feature a new play based on essays of Robert Fulghum. The play, conceived by Ernest Zulia (of "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten" fame) and David Caldwell is about many of the winter holiday festivals including Christmas, Chanukah and New Years.\nThe Phoenix theater offers a package of four series called the Urban Experience, Women's Circle, Solo and Politics of Sex. Individual tickets are $20 per person per show. The season continues into the spring beginning with "Bluff" by Jeffery Sweet followed by Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" and ends (after a body of other works) with "Seven Guitars" by August Wilson.\nFor more information about the theatre, contact (317) 635-PLAY (7529), e-mail phoenixt@oaktree.net, contact www.phoenixtheatre.org or request a brochure at Phoenix Theater, 749 Park Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46202.
(08/30/00 4:01am)
Some like it hot, and that some would be me. If I'm in the mood for spicy food, I want it to be fiery. I don't want it to be palatable, I want it to challenge me. Spicy food, as chauvinistic as it might seem, is a test of my manhood and my ability to stand it.\nSo, for my father's birthday, we went to Me Oh My O's, 106 W. 6th St. The restaurant, open for all three daily meals, offers a unique blend of Southern American cuisine ranging from the bayou of Louisiana to Savannah, Georgia.\nWhen we entered, I had not expected the decor that I saw. Instead of the nitty-grittiness I anticipated from a place that boasts fried green tomatoes and jambalaya on its menu; what I saw was a classy '90s cafe look. The ambiance didn't seem to fit the food. In fact, I almost felt wrong eating the dishes we ordered in that sort of atmosphere.\nNevertheless, food was ordered. To start, my father and I shared a cup of chili blanco, fried green tomatoes and alligator eggs. The chili was neither as spicy as it had boasted on the menu, nor as hot as our server had told us.\nThe fried green tomatoes did not look very green; in fact, many looked red, but underneath the batter in which they were fried, it did not matter. They came with a hot dipping sauce (probably cayenne and vinegar) and two cornbread silver dollar pancakes to help with the heat. I must say, they were very tasty and did warm me up for the rest of the meal.\nThe alligator eggs were by far my favorite of the appetizers. While many now know of the jalapeno popper craze, Me Oh My O's takes it to a new level. They were stuffed with crab and served with two unique sauces (one looked very much like cracked mustard seed) which not only tested my tongue's heat scale, but were also incredibly tasty.\nNext came our entrees. I ordered the blackened shrimp over dirty rice and my father had the coconut shrimp over garlic mashed potatoes. Now, the kitchen did apologize because both menu items were supposed to come with dirty rice, but they ran out. As compensation, they offered to take 50% off of both entrees, which was very generous.\nThe shrimp came in a seasoned cast-iron skillet with a bed of rice and shrimp swimming in a zesty beer-based sauce with red onion and red pepper. The taste sang in my mouth and the heat came, but mildly. The fun part was that it did not leave.\nMy father's coconut shrimp was a healthy serving of dipped shrimp served with a butter dipping sauce. While not as zesty as what I sampled, it had a nice zing that did not overpower at all. It would be recommended for those not wanting something very hot.\nOther menu choices that looked very appealing were the jambalaya, the asparagus crepes and the extended version of the fried green tomatoes with pasta. Crab cakes (which was one of a few major menu items not available that night) also looked attractive.\nMe Oh My O's is a very interesting dinning experience. I would question as to why certain regional dishes (such as gumbo) are not included on the menu and why such a cultural presence has to be mild even in the Midwest. But, Me Oh's has plenty of time to rework and improve on what looks to be a very spicy start. Look for their fall menu changeover in mid-September.
(08/28/00 3:11am)
good friend of mine is a resident assistant in Briscoe this year. As we chatted this week about our summers, I asked her why she had decided to become an RA, especially in Briscoe. There's nothing wrong with that, but I was surprised because she seems more academically oriented. During her first two years, she lived in the Honors section of Ashton Center. \n It seems she didn't have a choice. She was placed in Briscoe, but she was excited for the year ' or at least had been. She felt dismayed about her first floor meeting, because she felt she had been preachy and kind of mean. Being on a co-ed floor, her responsibilities are extensive and the time commitment high.\nNevertheless, she was still interested in the semester ahead of her. That is, until a floor-occupant asked where they could go to "smoke up." Another disheartening question came from a floor resident who asked what would happen if she came home "wasted." \nBeing asked these questions came as a shock to her because she had expected her floor members to, at least, keep quiet about those activities. But the other shock came from knowing that the students didn't even think twice about these illegal activities.\nIf I were the RA, my answer to the "smoke up" question would have been "Jail!" No one is above the law, and sooner or later many people are caught, or at least it catches up to them. Whether I or anyone else in the world condones marijuana use is irrelevant. Though I personally believe it not to cause any permanent physical harm, other than the killing of brain cells, it certainly isn't conducive to getting an education.\nThe question about coming home wasted troubled me at first, but I know that under-age consumption of alcohol is something nearly every student at IU has done or will do at some point. If I had been the RA, my response would have been, "At least you came home." \nIf you're intoxicated and underage (women especially), the best thing for you to do is come back home to your dorm. While intoxicated, you are vulnerable to the law, to yourself (driving while intoxicated) and to other people who might take advantage of you (rape). \nAs a person who has a general respect for life, I would rather see a student home and safe, albeit "wasted," and not easy prey wandering around campus. But, as a person with a strong moral center, I still have problems with students who act or think similarly to those mentioned above.\nIU is a strong educational institution with a plethora of opportunities and courses in everything from The Beatles to genetic engineering. The money I pay for my education is dear to me, and I hope that I do everything I can to make sure the money is well spent. \nWhy spend upwards of $10,000 on an education here or anywhere if it's going to be jeopardized by illegal activities? As far as I know, one can go out and get messed up, wasted and high without spending so much money.\nWhile I wholeheartedly believe the college experience should include socializing (and drinking, which I'll admit to doing), it shouldn't be the first priority when asking an RA questions about campus and the rules. It is sad to hear the first questions from a new student's mouth focusing on being high and wasted.\nCherish this school and the years you have here. If you take advantage of your opportunities, they're worth every penny you spend.