The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, November 14, 1991 Page: 3 of 8
eight pages : b&w ; page 23 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
the J-TAC/Thursday, November 14, 1991/Page 3
OPINION
Student calls
"House" a
masterpiece
To the Editor:
Those who missed Tarleton's
production of "The House of Blue
Leaves" November 6-9 missed one
of the best productions Tarleton
has performed since I have been
here (1988). Director Richard
Denning definitely put together a
masterpiece,
The billboard outside the Fine
Arts building for the last 2 weeks
said " The House of Blue Leaves.
A Comedy". However, those who
went into the play expecting noth-
ing but a good laugh were com-
pletely shocked by the second act
where the most observant saw se-
rious undertones begin to form.
Those less observant saw vividly
in Act 2 Scene 2 the serious side
of the play take place. Sure we all
laughed at all the good one liners
until the curtain fell the first time,
and as it was raised for the second
time, we were all humored by
more one liners and had a
generally good feeling about the
whole thing.
The acting, though, is where
the play was made. John Holt
was great as an AWOL soldier.
Megan Pricer had a better New
Jersey accent than some residents
of. New Jersey. She also made the
audience love her and hate her at
the same time. And Susan Sloan
as the HOT Corrinna Stroller, was
very funny after her transistor
went out. And how about the
Stacy Smith as Billy Einhom, the
big shot Hollywood producer who
made you feel like some of the big
shots do remember the little guys
later in life. Lauren Mainard
played a wonderful off-colored
Head Nun with followers Andi
Meredith and Lynn Webster. Gary
Lindsey as the Man in White and
Carlos Lleguer as the very stern
Military Police both did good
Letters to the Editor
jobs.
Allison Lawson who played
Bananas Shaughnessy, was abso-
lutely wonderful. She came off as
a completely crazy woman, but at
the same time reached out to the
audience and stole our hearts. By,
Act 2 Scene 2, the audience had
fallen in love with her humor, her
general personality and sure she
was crazy but she was the sweet-
est, most innocent character on the
scene. And Ben Fritzler, playing
Artie Shaughnessy, was humorous
and downright slapstick hilarious
throughout the first half of the
play. Even the last 5 minutes he
seemed a caring, warm gentleman
who was genuinely concerned for
helping Bananas, But in one in-
stance he turned villain and made
everyone in the audience, or at
least one, want to reach up on
stage and strangle him.
As Ms. Lawson (Bananas)
stepped out onto the stage, the
crowd rose to a deserved standing
ovation for her and the rest of the
cast. At that point, I'm not sure
how the actors' and actresses'
knees were feeling, but the
audience was weak at the-knees
and feeling shocked. Some were
even left with moist eye lashes.
Those expecting the ending to be
neatly packed away in a happy ride
into the sunset were given a wild,
unexpected, unwanted but
inevitable ending instead.
If this has perked your interest
and made you wonder just what
could have given the audience such
a shocker of and ending, well, I
guess you'll just have to either
read it or see it when it comes
around again. It would definitely
be worth seeing a second (3rd, 4th,
5th...) time again.
So, thank you cast, crew, staff,
faculty and whoever else helped to
give us, the audience, such a won-
derful time at the theater and I'll
see you the next time the curtains
are raised.
Jim D. Andrews
Senior, Computer Informatior
Systems
More coverage
needed for
cross country
To the Editor
In this week's J-TAC, there was
an article written by Michael Mar-
bach about the cross country team. I
do appreciate and recognize the two
people you mentioned in the article,
but I think you should mention the
names of the team members that
qualified for nationals.
I would also like to mention that
Juavier Garcia has been the top run-
ner for the cross-country team this
year. Please consider putting an-
other article in your next issue about
all of the national qualifiers.
Sincerely,
Paige Dean
Powder puff
story lacked
information
To the Editor
I am writing to express my great
dissatisfaction with the coverage of
the Alpha Sigma Alpha Powder Puff
football game. This is their fun-
draiser for charity and they deserve
at least as much coverage as Delta
Zeta's Step Sing fundraiser received
the week before. Greeks are trying
hard to promote equality, this is hard
when we don't receive equal cover-
age. Delta Zeta hit front page, Alpha
Sigma Alpha was almost on the last
page. Let's give them the attention
they deserve.
Michelle Musgrave ran 3 dashes
all the way back and won MVP of-
fensive. Moni Bryce intercepted
three passes, ran one interception
back for a touchdown, and won MVP
defensive. Coach Mac announced
the game. Mary Jane Mingus an-
nounced halftime activities. Many
more facts and statistics should be
acknowledged, but I was playing
football, not taking notes to write an
article. It is obvious that no one else
was there to take notes to write an
article either.
In conclusion I would like once
again to ask for your help in promot-
ing the greek system. We do a lot fa
Tarleton, Stephenville, and our re-
spective charities. Please stand
behind us in our efforts to put our
best foot forward.
Respectfully,
Moni Bryce
Delta Zeta Sorority
Panhellenic Treasurer
Placement tests
are necessary
at Tarleton
To the Editor
Last week's letter about tests
certainly needs addressing. I agree
that tests are often frustrating and
some should be reevaluated. How-
ever, many students graduating from
high school and college cannot think
critically, express themselves ver-
bally, or write a simple sentence. Is
it because they believe writing cor-
rectly stops when they walk outside
the classroom? Speaking and writ-
ing is a reflection of a person's ability
to think.
First, TSU does not give its (not
it's) own entrance test The tests to
which this student referred are place-
ment tests. TSU tries to place stu-
dents in the appropriate math and
English classes so that they do not
become frustrated and drop out of
school.
Second, business and industry
are screaming, "Give us young gradu-
ates who can think, write, and speak."
Testing is just (me measure used to
determine critical thinking skills.
Usually, if a person can present an
issue logically, they can perform in
other areas. What is dangerous about
testing is that many today feel the
test is just another hurdle to be
jumped. They do not learn the infor-
. mation for juture use. They continue
this procedure until they receive their
diploma. Many students are not
interested in the knowledge, or they
do not have pride concerning their
work. Consequently, both factors
contribute to a work force who is
incompetent.
Instead of being grateful for a
university who is trying to strengthen
a graduate's degree, students like this
young person seek to blame and criti-
cize. This individual would never
ask, "What else can I do to strengthen
my education and skills?" Instead,
he or she asks, "Why do I have to do
this?"
As a member of the writing
department, I can testify that the
writing faculty cares deeply about its
students. Hours are spent trying to
help students become better writers.
Preparing and grading freshman
writing assignments are taken seri-
ously by TSU instructors. In addi-
tion to a faculty that will help stu-
dents personally, TSU has an excel-
lent writing lab that will assist stud-
nets in any writing assignment, as
well as preparing for the Writing
Proficienty exam. If we did not care,
we would "give" a passing grade for
all work, send the studnets out into
the work world unprepared, and
blame someone else when the stu-
dent returned unemployed.
TSU does not give the Writing
Proficiency Test for the instructors.
Very few universities have the stan-
dards for freshman English that
Tarleton does. Requiring a writing
proficiency exam is for the student's
benefit Would any student want to
hang a diploma on his or her wall
from an institution that had low stan-
dards? Accrediting agencies require
that TSU evaluate its effectiveness
to ensure that a degree from Tarleton
is worth the student's time, money,
and effort Even if Tarleton was not
required to meet certain standards,
the administration and faculty here
at TSU care deeply about its gradu-
ates and would seek to strengthen the
academic program for the student's
benefit.
Not only was the logic ques-
tionable in this student's letter, but
the grammatical errors were numer-
ous. Since this individual feds a test
should only be given for a person
with questionable communication
skills, I do not believe it will be a
"blown afternoon" for this student.
Sincerely,
L. Cole
Department of
English
RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS
"SSfes.
-jar. ^
#V*Vk*V
-x*.
rr^"
TO
■<r>
CASH IN
Ws
GRADES
IF YOU ARE A FRESHMAN WITH GOOD GRADES, APPLY NOW FOR A THREE-YEAR ARMY ROTC SCHOLARSHIP.
ARMY ROTC SCHOLARSHIPS PAY TUITION, MOST BOOKS AND FEES, PLUS $100 PER SCHOOL MONTH. THEY
ALSO PAY OFF WITH LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE AND OFFICER CREDENTIALS IMPRESSIVE TO FUTURE EMPLOYERS.
ARMY ROTC
THE SMARTEST COLLEGE
COURSE YOU CAN TAKE.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION COME BY ROOM
108, WISDOM GYM OR CALL CPT STEVE WALKER
AT 968-9188.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, November 14, 1991, newspaper, November 14, 1991; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141764/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Tarleton State University.