• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1983-06-30_Vol48_No02_01

Inside New Degree Program At WCU See Page 2 Biology Professor Returns From China See Page 3 ** Atlanta Drafts Carr See Page 5 Western Carolinian Volume 48 Issue 2 June 30, 1983 Free James Named Conference A thlete Of The Year Anthony James, Western Carolina University two-sport all-conference standout and a native of Hartsville, S.C. has been named the Southern Conference's 1983 Athlete of the Year. James was named after a vote of the league's sports media association and he won the balloting by a 10- vote margin. James outpolled The Citadel's standout baseball pitcher Mike Cherry by a 24 to 14 count. Furman's nationally recognized golfer. Brad Faxon, was third in the voting with 13. James had a super 1982-83 sports year. As a senior tailback on the Catamounts' 6-5 football team, James rushed for 741 yards, a conference-leading 15 touchdowns and 116 yards a game of all-purpose running. He was twice named the league's offensive player of the week and he ranked fourth nationally in scoring with 90 points. He was a prime reason Western finished third in the 1982 league football standings. In his football career, James had 2,060 rushing yards and 3,756 yards in all- purpose running. He also scored 29 career touchdowns. In track and field, James won the league title in the indoor long jump (23'8") and set a new North Carolina collegiate indoor long jump record of 25' 1W in a meet at Chapel Hill, N.C. in February. That jump broke the old mark set by Olympic champion Bob Beamon set in 1966. James qualified for the NCAA Mountain Heritage Center Awarded Workshop Grant OPI — The Mountain Heritage Center of Western Carolina University has won a $10,900 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts/ Folk Arts Program to conduct a two-day workshop on the folk arts of Southern Appalachia and Irish-Americans. The workshop, which is open to the public free of charge, will be held Aug. 26- 27 in conjunction with the opening of a major new exhibit, 'The Migration of the Scotch-Irish People," funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Both days will feature afternoon performances of music and dance, a lecture on the musical traditions of Northern Ireland and demonstrations of Irish roof thatching and Appalachian shingling. A free concert of Irish and Appalachian music and dancing will be held the evening of Aug. 26. The list of performers includes an Irish piper and other Irish-tradition fiddlers, singers and stepdancers from Chicago, Boston, New York and Philadelphia. With them on stage will be traditional musicians and dancers from western North Carolina. The folk traditions of these two groups are different, but they are bound by common roots, said center folklorist Micheal Ann Williams. Appalachian music and dance, she explained, is derived partially from traditions brought to the region in the 18th century by the Scotch- Irish, Scots who moved to Ireland, and in this case, eventually migrated to America. Irish-American traditions, on the other hand, descended from native Irish people who came to America a century or two later and settled in large urban areas, she said. One Irish-born performer who will be at the workshop is.Mick Moloney of Philadelphia. Moloney, who is coming as a workshop consultant and singer, is one of the leading authorities on traditional Irish music in the United States. Also serving as consultant, as well as a performer and a lecturer, will be David Hammond of the British Broadcasting Corporation in Belfast. Continued on page 3 Indoor Track and Field Championships and he was also the conference's fourth best in the league championship triple jump. During the year he made the all-conference football and indoor track and field teams and he was recently honored as WCU's Most Valuable in both sports. He has also been recently honored as Western North Carolina's Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Ironically, James has had his tremendous 1982-83 senior season after he had undergone lower back surgery in the spring of 1982. That surgery nearly ended his career and required a five-month period of rehabilitation. Catamount football and track and field coaches were not sure he would even be able to compete. James is the second Western Carolina University athlete to be named as the conference's Athlete of the Year since the Catamounts have been a member of the Southern Conference (1976). Forthe 1977-78year, Catamount baseball- football standout Wayne Tolleson, now a starting second baseman for the Texas Rangers baseball team, was named as Athlete of the Year. Tailback Anthony James compiled 2,611 total yards in three seasons as a football standout. Robinson Speaks Out On Teacher Educational Programs The scathing report on American schools by the National Commission on Excellence in Education blames teachers and school too much and parents too little, the head of a North Carolina university with a major teacher education program said Thursday night. Dr. H.F. Robinson, Western Carolina university chancellor, also said President Reagan's reaction to the report, in which he called for the federal government to get out of the schools, is "inappropriate." Instead, he said, America's public schools need more involvement and support from the federal government, as well as from state and county governments. "We are not going to get the federal government out of public schools, nor the state government...nor the county government," he said. While acknowledging that many criticisms of public schools and teachers made by the national commission are valid, Robinson said, "as far as I am concerned, we, the parents, are going to have to assume about 70 to 75 percent of the blame for the problems that exist in our schools today. "The home life has changed-there is an increase in the number of single parents, two parents are working, the children come home and are on their own. They turn on the television and watch it until time to go to bed. Homework is neglected. Many, many things about the home result in problems for the children that leave those in the schools with little opportunity to do the job they are supposed to do." He spoke to a gathering at WCU of administrators from the Buncombe County public schools, who were holding their annual administration conference at the university. Robinson said teacher education programs in universities must share the blame with public schools, he said, because generally speaking, teachers are simply reflecting in their classrooms what they experienced as students throughout their education, including their experiences at the college and university level. Both the colleges and the school systems must face the question, he said, of whether "we '11/ v-*** Chancellor H.F. Robinson have allowed people to enter into the field of education who are unprepared, unsuited, and have a lack of commitment to education." During the period of the 1950s-1970s the rapid expansion of public school enrollments and college enrollments demanded an increase in the number of teachers at a rapid rate. Robinson said. "A considerable number of people entered the teacher education programs who should not have been in the teaching profession. It was quite understandable that this occurred, but now we must pay the price," he said. "We must make hard administrative decisions with regard to exercising whatever selectivity we can to remove unfit teachers. This is another reason for having merit pay for teachers to reward the excellent ones," Robinson said. In contrast to just a few years ago, Robinson said, the number of persons who want to enter education today is relatively low. We must make the teaching profession more attractive to entice into it our best minds," Robinson told the group. "The professional working life of a teacher is, on the average, unacceptable today. Teaching salaries arc too low to attract a sufficient number of competent people," he said, citing the commission's report. Fallen Angels Current STA Production Proves To Be A Marvel Darrell Beck Entertainment Fallen Angels, the Department of Speech and Theatre Arts' current production, is an example of how STA continues to present marvelously funny and entertaining material. Directed by Dr. Jim Epperson, the play is a lively fun British comedy, presented in a rather unusual tradition known as theatre-in-the- round. *** British comedy presented in-the- round is no new concept to either STA or Epperson, as was shown by last summer's equally amusing and enjoyable Table Manners. Epperson displayed his ability to direct the fast, funny pace and captivating personalities so necessary to sustain the flow of British humor in that production. Now, he commands that ability again in his direction of Fallen Angels, in which the circumstances are somewhat different from the other "Brit-com," but the essential style and drive are wonderfully familiar. Of course, the play must be seen in order for Epperson's contribution to be fully perceived and appreciated. *** Written by the accomplished British playwright Noel Coward, wo was "considered to be the foremost dramatist of his generation in England before he was , thirty," Fallen Angels is the story of two English women, Julia Sterroll and Jane Banbury, who learn they are going to receive a visit from a mutual lover from their past. This lover, a Frenchman named Maurice Duclos, knew both ladies intimately before they were married. Now, with Julia and Jane's husbands Fred and Willy, respectively out of town, the ladies enthusiastically prepare for Maurice's arrival. During the wait, the women engage in some marvelously hilarious conversations, speculations, and drunken arguing, all to the minor dismay of the Sterrolls' prim but astute maid, Saunders. ". . .a lively, fun British comedy, presented in a rather unusual tradition known as theatre-in-the-round." It is, of course, the wonderfully talented and creative abilities of the cast which brings these characters so fully and believably to life. So successful was the cast at this that I often actually saw the characters rather than the performers. Tops on the list, naturally, are the ladies. Tonya Lamb showed an amorous and occasionally sultry Julia, equally appealing whether the character was in a romantic daze or a nervous frenzy; the actress handled her role most admirably. Kate Marshall (who was in last summer's Table Manners) once again engages her magical technique of combining a charming British accent with a pert, sparkling personality as Jane. Beautifully entertaining and believable in her role as Saunders, Betsy Bisson conveyed a feeling of "looking down on" the "eccentrics" she was working for, particularly in the way she played off the other ladies' personalities; exuding such a subtle comic touch is certainly one of Miss Bisson's admirable talents. Peter Phillips, a promising actor with a natural, appealing technique for comedy, gives his relatively small role as Fred certain humorously human qualities that the character itself might not have had otherwise. Dean Biasucci, as Willy, displayed an interesting combination of his snappy personality and his ability to utilize a subtle type of humor with his character. However, I was most impressed by the remarkable "transformation" of Richard Dudley into the character of Maurice. Being an acquaintance of Mr. Dudley and knowing that he is regarded as somewhat of a "villainous" character type in STA acting circles, I was very pleased to see him portray such a considerably different type of character here;not bad for his first role in a major STA production.Though at times his own Alabama accent seemed to overlap his character's French accent, it was not annoying. Well done, Richard. The contributions of the production crew are to be commended as well, particularly those of technical director Chris Zink (who I'm told literally lived and slept in the theatre's shop for a couple of days in order to have construction completed in time) and scene designer Richard Dudley. The set, though small and relatively simple, was well-designed and constructed, as were the special rows of seats erected in the Little Theatre for the "in-the-round" effect. In summary Fallen Angels is yet another example of the STA Department's continuing capacity for presenting excellent entertainment. Once again, folks, well done.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1983-06-30
  • Date digitized: 2019-01-31
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 6 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1983-06-30_Vol48_No02
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library