FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2001
What do you
Super Bowl
"Baltimore will win."
Carrie Spaulding
Science, 08
had no idea that these two teams would
be in it...it's about time there are new
teams playing in the superbowl...it's good
to see Ray Lewis doing so well."
Greg Carter, Business Management, 04
Behrend honors
Jazz legend Ellis Marsalis performs and speaks for packed Reed Commons
by Liz Hayes
news editor
He has a legendary reputation, but
his attitude was unassuming while
mingling with college students. He
was soft spoken in his presentation,
but his music communicated
volumes. He has performed in front
of thousands, but he admitted to
nerves over a solo piano
performance in front of a small
college gathering. In short, Ellis
Marsalis made quite an impression
on the Behrend commune',.
Marsalis' visit to Behrend on
January 15 began with the Annual
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Celebration, "Celebrating a
Movement Through Music," at
which he contributed the closing
remarks.
After the celebration, students,
faculty, administration, and guests
dined with Marsalis at Logan House.
Everyone was given the opportunity
to converse and mingle before the
dinner, but Marsalis said very little.
During the dinner, conversation
continued to flow in the two dining
rooms, but Marsalis, in the seat of
honor in front of the fireplace,
allowed the words to flow around
him and seemed to enjoy listening
to the buzz rather than participating
in it.
While dessert was being served,
Mr. Ken Miller, director of Student
Affairs, asked Marsalis to treat those
attending the dinner by playing a
selection on the baby grand piano
that graces the formal parlor in
Logan House. Almost everyone
gathered around Marsalis as he
played.
After the dinner Marsalis was
matchup?
Mathew Kepler
Environmental Systems Engineering, 04
driven to the Reed Commons for the
day's finale. "The American Dream
in the New Millennium" Speaker
Series. After an introduction by
Provost and Dean Dr. John Lilley,
Marsalis was seated at the piano set
up in the center of the Commons and
immediately proceeded to play. By
the time Marsalis arrived in the
Commons, there was standing room
only as more people attempted to
crowd into the room.
After finishing the first selection,
Marsalis gave the audience some
background on what he had played.
The first piece was entitled the
"Jitterbug Waltz" and was written by
Fats Waller. Waller was a singer
songwriter, pianist, and "all around
musician." According to Marsalis,
Waller's talents were not very
appreciated during his lifetime due
to his status a black American, and
he eventually drank himself to death
in the 40s.
The next election Marsalis played
was "Jangle," which he said was
written by Dr. John Lewis for a
Belgian guitarist. Lewis was a very
influential musician, known for his
creation of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
The MJQ has the distinction of being
the longest running and arguably the
most successful jazz group to date.
Next Marsalis moved to the works
of Duke Ellington, probably the
most well-known jazz musician.
Marsalis indicated that one of the
greatest things Ellington did was to
play with younger, innovative
artists, thereby crossing generation
lines. Marsalis seemed most
impressed by the concept of playing
with contemporary musicians: "My
wife doesn't let me hang out, so I
have no idea what young people are
think of the
"I think it will be a good game
I think the Giants will win."
Calvin Clayton
MET, 08
"I wouldn't have expected that matchup.-
Chad Stevens,
Environmental Resource Management, 08
think the Ravens will heat the Giants...the
Ravens defense is g00d...
they play more intense football.-
Ellis Marsalis plays the piano for a standing room only crowd in the
Reed Commons, finishing off the day's Martin Luther King, Jr.
celebration.
doing. I don't even know what
middle-aged people are doing."
Ellington and his Duke Ellington
Band created a sound that has been
impossible to duplicate, according to
Marsalis. He stated that the band
was known for being a dance band
and displaying Ellington's mastery
of melody, harmony, and rhythm.
The first selection of Ellington's that
Marsalis played was "The Mooche,"
which Marsalis himself recorded on
an early album. He was careful to
mention that this was his own
individualized version of the song
due to the impossibility of emulating
Ellington's sound. Marsalis also
played "Come Sunday," a brief song
of Ellington's.
Marsalis then played a number by
Randy Weston titled "Little Niles,"
SAVED
GEIDC. However, while Behrend
will be receiving $936,000 from
PennDOT for the property the cur
rent center is situated on, the col
lege still owes $451,000 from the
purchase and renovation of the ex
isting center. Mr. Ken Miller, direc
tor of Student Affairs, stressed that
this new building will have no ef
fect on student tuition.
The decision to continue offering
child care services did not come
overnight, however. Many in the
Behrend community have been
working to keep child care a prior
ity for months now. Toward the end
of last semester, the announcement
was made that when the current
center was razed during the con
struction of the Eastside Access
Highway, the funds might not be
available to rebuild. Since that an-
nouncement was made, protestors
came from the far reaches of the
Behrend community to rally for the
continuance of child care facilities
on campus.
In late November two meetings
were held to discuss the Child Care
Center's uncertain future. The first
was sponsored by the Women's
Commission Liaison Committee
and the second by the Child Care
Center Parent Teacher Organiza
tion. Also instrumental in the de
bate were Dr. John Rossi and the
Faculty Council Ad Hoc Commit
tee he chaired that was created to
deal with the dilemma.
At these meetings many sugges
tions to keep the Child Cale Cen
ter in operation were made, but the
end of the fall semester came and
went with no secure plans for the
future. The committees had a Janu
ary deadline to give their recom
mendations to Dr. Lilley, Provost
and Dean, for the continuation of
the center.
The Faculty Council completed
extensive research into the impor
tance of child care facilities on
campus. It found that colleges and
universities providing child care
have improved recruitment and re
tention of both students and faculty.
which was named for Weston's son
Aza.leen. Weston was a jazz pianist
and composer. Marsalis finished
with a number of his own titled "Zee
Blues."
After his performance, Marsalis
stayed for a brief question and
answer session from a handful of
aucPcnce members. Several of the
questions asked centered on
Marsalis' four sons who have
follcwed their father's footsteps into
the music scene: Wynton (trumpet),
Bradford (sax), Delfeayo
(trombone), and Jason (drums).
Marsalis seemed to enjoy the
question of whether or not he forced
his children into music by
courtering with the quip, "Did you
eves try to make children do
anyning?" Marsalis indicated that
FROM FRONT PAGE
Behrend students working at the Child Care Center entertain the
children with a came of dominoes.
The committee also learned that
most of the schools that Behrend
uses for comparison and competi
tion offer child care.
Dr. Rossi, associate professor of
history, added that "by providing
this socially important service the
College sends a message that it
cares about the personal lives of its
students, faculty, and staff, and that
it is willing to help them achieve a
productive balance between work
and life."
The Student Government Asso
ciation also played a role in the con
siderations. As representatives of
the student body, SGA realized the
need to take a stand. Throughout
the fall semester definitive deci
sions were tabled until further re
search could be made. Members of
the senate were expected to inter
view various students around cam
pus and come to a general conclu
sion. The consensus was that stu
dents supported the idea of a new
building.
With this in mind, at the SGA
meeting on January 10, 2001, a mo
tion was put forth to support the
new Child Care Center. The mo
tion passed with an overwhelming
majority. SGA senator Keenan
his boys gradually entered into
music and both formal and informal
training. He also said that the
atmosphere of New Orleans, where
they are from, was a great motivator.
He also related that he began
studying music when he was about
11 years old. He said that little was
open to him due to his race, and that
he wasn't really cut out for sports.
"Then I found out I could play
saxophone to a pop record and girls
liked it," and his path was paved.
One other audience member asked
what the most memorable
experience Marsalis had of
performing on stage or what his
most nervous experience performing
was. He said that he didn't mind
when he was performing with a
band, but he was much more
uncomfortable performing solo on
the piano because there is "nowhere
to hide."
Marsalis was recently the subject
of a Ken Burns documentary that
was aired as a PBS Black History
Month special, "Jazz is Spoken
Here." He is currently the head of
jazz studies at the University of New
Orleans, as well as a panelist, grant
evaluator, and board member for the
National Endowment for the Arts
and the Southern Arts Federation.
Marsalis has long been acclaimed
for his teaching efforts in music and
is considered the patriarch of the
"first family" of jazz.
The "American Dream in the New
Millennium" Speaker Series is
sponsored by the Office of Student
Affairs and is partially funded by the
John Nesbit Rees and Sarah Henne
Rees Foundation. This lecture was
taped for broadcast on AM 1450/
WPSE, Penn State Erie radio.
Hansen then offered to compose a
resolution stating that SGA sup
ported the construction of a new
Child Care Center. The resolution,
presented to Dean Lilley, Dr. Rossi,
and members of SGA, stated that
SGA urged the college to support
the building of a new center and to
call on all available resources to
fund it, including approaching
alumni.
In a recent press release, Dr.
Lilley commended the work and
research done by the various com
mittees supporting the Child Care
Center: "the committee of faculty,
staff, and students who studied this
issue have drafted a first-rate report
that details the value and impor
tance of child care to the commu
nity. My thanks go to the entire
committee and especially to John
Rossi . ."
Dr. Rossi also complimented the
college's decision to rebuild the
center. "Child care is not some
thing that only benefits employees
or students. Businesses have found
that offering 'family-friendly' poli
cies such as child care reduces ab-
senteeism, increases productivity,
and ... users' loyalty and commit
ment to the institution."
MLK JR
now understand the struggle a
lot better." She added that she
hoped students would not "cel
ebrate King Day just on the
holiday, but try to make a dif
ference everyday on campus
and in your community back
home."
The celebration ended with a
presentation by Marsalis, who
played several selections on the
"Don't celebrate King
Day just on the holi
day, but try to make
a difference everyday
on campus and in
your community back
home."
-Mila Cooper,
Director of Educational
Equity Programs
piano in the Reed Commons , and
gave background on the music
he played and his life.
Also on display for the cel
ebration in the Reed
Wintergarden was the artwork
of Diehl Elementary School stu
dents and the writings of Penn
State Behrend students, ex
pressing their take on the hav
ing a dream. Beside those writ
ings was the entire "I Have a
Dream" speech of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., displayed on
large white poster board against
a black background.