Oregon State University - Beaver Yearbook (Corvallis, OR)

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DHIHIK WEATHERS Heather Scheibner, sophomore in Education, stands patiently during one of the O.S.U. Marching Band routines for a performance at the halftime event of a Beaver home game. Helping lead their column in a song in the halftime show of the U.C.L.A. game arc Tina Bartell, freshman in science, and Kimberly Karns. freshman in business. Jackie Hastings, junior in Science, participated for the first year on the OSU Flag team. DEBBIE WEATHERS MARCHING BAND • 1 1

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assembSed PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOR BAND MEMBERS AS THEY PROMOTE SCHOOL SPIRIT T j HE OSU MARCHING band is one of the most exciting, the most vital, JLthe most active, and the most challenging organizations on campus said a newsletter mailed to students asking them to become a part of the band program. It has been acclaimed by critics across the land as one of the finest marching bands in the nation. It was something each member was proud to belong to. Each had his or her own instrument which made each an instrumental part of the group. Nobody took anyone for granted because they all needed each other to make the whole. If one part was out of synch the entire thing could be thrown off balance. The marching band’s annual trip in 1987 was to Seattle to perform the halftime show at the OSU-Washington game and the Seattle Seahawks-Minnesota Vikings game. Thousands of people, wished they had been able to get tickets to see this game. The band went in for free, got to perform their music and the rest of the time they were allowed to watch the game and enjoy it with the rest of the ticket holders. If such dedication to something reaped rewards as bountiful as this, anyone of the members would tell you it was all worth it. “It was really exciting to play in the Kingdome.” noted Lisa Sanders, freshman in Pre-Medicine. With all of the exposure they received, friends and family in the audience and at home in the living-room watching them on television, the members of the band could proudly boast of their claim to fame or “brush with greatness. “The trip was a blast. exclaimed Jennifer Pearson, freshman in French. I can’t wait until next year to go on another trip. If these were the kind of trips they could expect it was a pleasure to spend the countless hours practicing the same music over and over again. Besides going out of town, the Marching Band did some pretty special things right there in Corvallis. Despite the score on the scoreboard, band members could start a positive audience reaction every time they marched out onto the playing field. The marching band performed at all home games. The group performed at halftime and also tried to keep students’ spirits up during games by playing “The Fight Song. or “Tequila.” “The marching band is a tight family situation. explained Mary Wood, one of the student directors and drum majors. “It really doesn’t matter what the team does because we have fun anyway.” With a group as large as they, one would think it would be difficult to perceive it in a family sort of situation, but members agreed that it was almost exactly that kind of atmosphere in which they worked and played together. The band practiced five hours a week. One hour was held in the classroom, but the rest was done in Parker Stadium, marching on the field. The practices were held in the evenings to avoid conflicting with classes and dinner. Sometimes it seemed as if one would rather just stay home for the evening, finish that paper that was due Monday morning for class or call up a friend and do something fun for a few hours, but practice had to be maintained. Having the closeness of the group inspired members to come to those practices and made them want to be there. Mr. Douglass does a good job keeping us on task and keeping rehearsals short.” said Sanders. If participants did what was required of them and remembered what they had learned from previous practices, they could cut short the hours that they were asked to stay. It all depended on how- much work they wanted to put into it before they could see what quality of performance they would get out of it. Their dedication to perfection showed every-time they entered into a practice situation. In October at the Akron game, the marching band hosted Northwest High School Band Day. Approximately 40 bands from Washington, Oregon and Idaho were represented. A large parade of the high school bands was held in the morning and then at halftime of the game a mass band performance was held, including the OSU marching band. To conclude the season, the band held a banquet and dance at the former officers’ club at Adair Village. The band and OSU President. John Byrne, honored Band Director Jim Douglass for his 20 years of service and self-sacrifice at OSU. Douglass was the man who had really made the difference in whether or not the band was going to get the recognition it deserved, and he knew that to gain that recognition he had to pull through with a powerful and professional sounding group. If they didn’t sound good, people would not want to hear them. If they didn’t want to sound good, they wouldn’t practice and the progression would continue until the Marching Band became just a figment of everyone’s memories. He must have proved to his classes that to be good required their time and effort. Many instructors would love to be able to possess the talent to motivate a student to do his or her utmost in the class. Douglass also encouraged doing the best they could while away from school and from band. OSU really has a good band program with a lot of opportunities. remarked Sanders. Those who had chosen to take advantage of the opportunities were very glad they had. It gave them the chance not only to broaden their cultural horizons but also taught them a little something about the way things should be done if it was to exemplify the very best. “Band is a lot of fun, really exciting and a good way to get involved,. concluded Pearson. I’m really glad 1 did it.” □ by Kami Smith 1 0 • MARCHING BAND

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COMMITTEE BRINGS NEW ACTIVITIES TO TRADITIONAL HOMECOMING OW UCLA, NOW You Don’t was the Homecoming theme which brought an event-filled week to OSU campus. The week began with the celebration of Benny Beaver’s birthday in the MU Quad. The 35-year-old mascot received a new costume over the summer. Some wondered if this were an extravagance, something that could have been put off and its funds used for more beneficial means, but with all the complaints about the old Benny many felt the money was very well spent. A homecoming court was also selected and for the first time included the selection of a King and Queen. The court was made up of five males and five females. A new selection process was used to select the court, which included an interview and the writing of an essay. This allowed participants to express their views in a more relaxed fashion through the essay and then in a somewhat formal situation during the interview. ‘‘I thought it was a lot more fair.” said Homecoming Court member Sonia Stern. “This way you went through essays and an evaluation process by a well-rounded body of judges.” The court toured Corvallis and had a luncheon with the Mayor of Corvallis who spoke on the history of OSU. They also toured Portland where they appeared on A.M. Northwest, had lunch with the Portland Beaver Club, met the Portland Mayor and did a radio spot for Q105. The events really helped publicize OSU.” said Stern. Another event was the Bruin Hunt. Clues were given out during the week and then there was a drawing at the end of the week. Friday night began with a Homecoming parade which included the court, rally. Benny and Bernice Beaver, the marching band and lighted floats. Our house always participates in the parade.” said Kami Sackett. freshman in Interior Merchandising, of Azalea House. “It's part of being in the house and being at OSU.” “I wanted to see what college homecoming would be like so I decided to come see the parade, commented Margie Arnett. freshman in Biology. The parade led to the bonfire and fireworks display. The fate of the bonfire was unknown for awhile when rain failed to fall. Luckily, enough rain fell the weekend before homecoming to allow the fire, a tradition dating back to the 1920’s, to occur. “With the kids to support us there’s no reason why we shouldn't win this game fair and square,” said football coach. Dave Kragthorpe at the bonfire. “You’ve got to get out there and get behind us.” “We’ve been working hard all season and we’d like nothing better than to have one of the biggest upsets of the year,” noted co-captain Rich Haggerty. Following the bonfire there was a sock hop at Gill Coliseum which featured Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts. Also there was a jazz festival in the MU Forum featuring the OSU State of Jazz and Rebound Quintet. All of these activities helped promote the feeling of pride in OSU, a feeling some people had let slowly drift into apathy. On Saturday, the thrill of the Homecoming events led to some disappointment as UCLA rolled through Corvallis and delivered a 52-17 defeat. This didn’t squelch the festivities too much, though, as at halftime the marching band per- formed and the court was introduced and presented with flowers. At the game anyone wearing orange was given a ticket for a drawing. Four numbers were drawn and prizes were awarded. At 9 a.m. on Sunday. Homecoming week concluded with the Post Clash Dash 5K run which began and finished in the MU Quad. People from campus as well as all over the community participated in this athletic event. Jogging, being such a trend of these times, seemed a perfect ending point for the week of festivities. We basically started all over. said Eric Anderson. Assistant All University Events Chairman on the planning of Homecoming. “We tried to get creative and tried to get people interested.” If the creativity of activities keeps up, the interest can only follow suit. □ by Kami Smith JOKI. MOTKOWSKI McNary Hall's entry in the Homecoming Parade Float Contest won first place for depicting Benny Beaver and the Air Express. 1 2 • HOMECOMING