Emerson College - Emersonian Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Joseph Johnson (Mass Communications) “I want to be a program director, general manager, and President of Joseph Johnson, Inc.” Kevin Davis (Dramatic Arts) “A better grown up.” Carolyn Thomson (Dance) “Who wants to grow up? As far as a career goes, I’ve got a long list. I’ll prob- ably end up waiting tables, but as long as I have enough to eat that’s all that really matters, right?” Jennifer Togart (Mass Communications Radio) “Produce and research documentaries.” LtMLii Peter Kurey (Political Science) “A person who gets enough sleep.” Susan Carlino (Theatre Arts) “I want to be a clown!”

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David Burchell (Mass Communicatipns television) “A news anchorman and reporter, that should keep me occupied.” Vivian Daunt (Communication Disorders) “A teacher of the deaf; I want to teach parents how to teach their children.” John Barons (Mass Communications journalism) “In front of people, rather than amongst them: I want to move to Los Angeles and do my best to get into films.” William Turner (Creative Writing) “I want to be like the Catcher in the rye. I want to make people laugh. I want to be and live just as I am.” Larry McColligan (Mass Communications) “I will be a sportscaster.” Phil Brehn (Mass Communications Film) “I want to make films, that’s why I came to this stupid college!” 28

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Communication in the Raw Sports have their place at Emerson College Some people are unaware that a sports program exists at Emerson. This could be because there are no practice fields, ice rinks or great- domed buildings named after some well-loved coach or prestigious Alum- ni on the campus. Or it could be that Emerson is a small college emphasiz- ing the communication fields, rather than the athletic fields. But, sports is a form of communica- tion in itself, and as such has a place at Emerson College both as recreation and, well, communication; when an athlete participates in any kind of game, he is communicating with his body. One historian spoke of sports as . . . “ . . . the theatrical representa- tion of the drama of life concen- trated into a short span of time. It is a metaphor for war, religion, and art; there is the combative aspect, the ritual of a religion and the theatricality in both the way the situation is set up and the role of the individual.” Unlike a play, an opera or a ballet, a sports game on the college level has no music or script to cue the specta- tors in on what is happening, yet mes- sages come through. It is communica- tion in the raw — man speaking with his body. Sports are functional, they serve to bring people together. “Sports . . . pro- vide feelings of group unity, a sense of social identification, and a source of personal integrity,” wrote the author of “Sport in Society,” Jay Coakley. This is true not only for the athlete, but for the spectator as well. Yet spectators at Emerson sports games are few, says Jean Peckham, Secretary and wife to the Director of Athletics at Emerson. One contribut- ing factor is that spectator transporta- tion is hard to come by. “The sites are in outlying areas and not easy to get to, the teams themselves even have a hard time getting transportation to their games,” Mrs. Peckham said. Her husband, and athletic Director Jim Peckham, also s ays that during the 1980-1981 season the Athletic depart- ment “ . . . was at the bottom of the totem pole for the van.” The Emerson van is the primary source of trans- portation for most of the college’s de- partments and student organizations. So getting to and from games often depends on privately owned cars. Besides the athletes themselves, how many Emersonians read the sports pages in The Berkeley Beacon, the college’s student newspaper? How sharp is student interest in Emerson sports? Well, knowledge of Emerson’s athletic programs among students, faculty and administrators may be low, but participation by undergradu- ates is not. Among the 1700 under- graduate students, about half of them are actively involved in cross country skiing, soccer, sailing, basketball, wrestling, hockey, baseball, golf or softball. And Emerson’s sports are associated with area intercollegiate leagues, such as the Boston Small Col- lege Conference, New England Inter- collegiate Wrestling Association and the New England Intercollegiate Sail- ing Association. The most popular sport on campus is intramural softball, during the Spring. Teams form up, so that dorms play against dorms, off-campus stu- dents rally their ranks and even some faculty join. Weekend afternoons often see several games both on Satur- day and Sunday on the Esplanade near Massachusetts General Hospital. The teams’ uniforms are T-shirts with the names “Back Bay Bombers,” “Pack Rats,” or some other creative title. These games draw the largest spec- tator crowds of any competition dur- ing the school year, and often end up at the Crossroads or the Pub celebrat- ing after the games. During the 1980-1981 season, fif- teen percent of the undergraduate student body was playing in the in- tramural softball league alone. Sports at Emerson College could be a communicating link for the entire college — for faculty, administration and students. Soccer, basketball and volleyball leagues could be formed, as Mass Communication or Theatre Arts rallies up against the opposition of Communication Disorders or Com- munication Studies. Athletics go beyond competion; they can be a recreational outlet in which people can let loose, enjoying uninhi- bited action and expression. Sports has a place at Emerson College. by Georgiana Drew 30