2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Respecting our peers
Joshua H. Wilder. He can be reached at jhwilder@student.umass.edu.
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: Editorial / Opinion
The last four years at this university have provided students, alumni and administrators with a handful of memories they would like to forget. Between post-game riots, late night stabbings and last week's student boycott, UMass just can't seem to find enough mascara to cover up each black eye.
These public relations nightmares portray our university in a bad light, but even worse is the way our student body has seemingly come apart at the seems. Aside from the classic tofu-eating liberals versus George Bush-loving war mongers arguments, students are fighting now about how to spend leisure time.
The Humans vs. Zombies craze seemed to force students to choose sides, with those participating in the game being labeled as nerds and those condemning the game as closed-minded bullies.
With the holiday season right around the corner, this humble columnist was about to give up hope on UMass. An "us vs. them" mentality appeared to be permeating to all aspects of campus life, and things seemed dire.
But an event this weekend gave me hope.
"Unbroken Chain," a weekend symposium celebrating the music and influence of the Grateful Dead, came to campus and revived this columnist's hope for the University. Along with multimedia exhibits and lectures, the weekend featured two concerts in the Fine Arts Center.
On Saturday night, the Dark Star Orchestra performed, and this is when I had my epiphany. The band recreates historical concerts in Grateful Dead history, but perhaps the most interesting sight to see took place outside the show in between set breaks.
There you could find people from all walks of life - students, alumni and others - hanging out and talking about both the Grateful Dead and UMass. While an older gentleman with a tie-dyed shirt and a beard talked about seeing Jerry Garcia as a student at UMass in the 1980s, a current student explained what the scene is like now.
A sense of nostalgia was inescapable that night, as the music and atmosphere seemed to bring everyone to a special moment in time. Speaking of music, the performance was fantastic - a classic Grateful Dead set with sing-along favorites and intense jams.
These public relations nightmares portray our university in a bad light, but even worse is the way our student body has seemingly come apart at the seems. Aside from the classic tofu-eating liberals versus George Bush-loving war mongers arguments, students are fighting now about how to spend leisure time.
The Humans vs. Zombies craze seemed to force students to choose sides, with those participating in the game being labeled as nerds and those condemning the game as closed-minded bullies.
With the holiday season right around the corner, this humble columnist was about to give up hope on UMass. An "us vs. them" mentality appeared to be permeating to all aspects of campus life, and things seemed dire.
But an event this weekend gave me hope.
"Unbroken Chain," a weekend symposium celebrating the music and influence of the Grateful Dead, came to campus and revived this columnist's hope for the University. Along with multimedia exhibits and lectures, the weekend featured two concerts in the Fine Arts Center.
On Saturday night, the Dark Star Orchestra performed, and this is when I had my epiphany. The band recreates historical concerts in Grateful Dead history, but perhaps the most interesting sight to see took place outside the show in between set breaks.
There you could find people from all walks of life - students, alumni and others - hanging out and talking about both the Grateful Dead and UMass. While an older gentleman with a tie-dyed shirt and a beard talked about seeing Jerry Garcia as a student at UMass in the 1980s, a current student explained what the scene is like now.
A sense of nostalgia was inescapable that night, as the music and atmosphere seemed to bring everyone to a special moment in time. Speaking of music, the performance was fantastic - a classic Grateful Dead set with sing-along favorites and intense jams.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Carolyn Garcia
posted 11/21/07 @ 8:14 PM EST
I also had the pleasure of attending the symposium and the concert by Dark Star Orchestra. I found the students generally well behaved, curious, good-looking and reasonable. (Continued…)
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