Emerson College - Emersonian Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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In Praise of Expression by Terry Waller Since October 1981, there had been a self-imposed muzzle preventing Emerson administrators from discuss- ing issues with students. When con- fronted by students with pertinent questions concerning the status and future of the college, their ambiguous replies only compounded student anger and frustration. Whether it was discus- sing the shortage of performance space for student organizations or the con- founded student activity deficit, the ad- ministration did not give students ac- cess to information. However, that epoch of silence ended Tuesday when eight administrators and the President of SGA held a press conference. Organization of the session was spearheaded by Phi Alpha Tau member Peter Mones who collated the schedules of the participants and brought them to the Union’s Faculty Lounge. The selection of the panelists was to represent a cross section of the Emerson community. Those par- ticipating were: President Koenig, Vice-President and Dean of the Col- lege, Dr. John Zacharis, Vice-President for Administration and Student Ser- vices Dr. Suzanne Swope, Chairperson of the Massachusetts Communication Department, Dr. Frances Plude, Direc- tor of Athletics Coach Jim Peckham, Professor of Theatre Arts Harry Morgan, Professor of Social, Behavioral and Applied Sciences, Dr. Edna Ward and President of SGA, Michael Mendenhall. They brought out the minicams, con- nected the microphones and turned on the tape players, as Emerson students finally began to practice what they had learned in class. Representatives from the Berkeley Beacon, WEIV-TV, and WECB were there to record the con- troversial and sometimes heated dis- cussion. Unlike the Open Forums, where the panelists had to dodge student invec- tive, Tuesday’s press conference was organized and exemplary moderated by Communication Studies Instructor Nick Burnett Yet, this conference did have its mo- ments of tension. It occurred when Alpha Pi Theta President Andrew Lawrence was addressing the ar- bitrary revocation of the Tavern’’ to Dean of Students Ron Ludman. For a split second, there was an instan- taneous “deja vu’’ of past Open Forums. However, both parties realized that resolution of that par- ticular problem would come at subse- quent hearings. Though viewed successful, there were some faults to this conference. One of these was the poor student at- tendance. Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, students had unrelentingly aspersed the administrator ' s policies. Yet, the es- timated thirty-five students who did at- tend, should be commended for their concern. Perhaps one reason for a low turnout was the time of the conference. Many students had to choose between attending the conference or missing a crucial class before final exams. Let’s hope the brothers of Phi Alpha Tau schedule the next session at a more convenient time for students. Also, the sixty minute time limit did not permit everyone to ask his or her question. Possibly expanding the time limit to ninety minutes would eleviate the problem. There had been emerging a growing antithesis of the communication ethic among the administrators, but it was encouraging to see and hear the bureaucrats of the nation’s leading communication college asservate their policies. So it appears the motto of Emerson College, “Where expression is neces- sary to evolution’’, may have some validity. Let’s hope this metamorphosis of student administrator dialogue will continue. It’s prolongation will une- quivocably benefit the entire Emerson College community. Berkeley Beacon December 13, 1982 27

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Berkeley Beacon November 8, 1 982 Part Of A Continuing Tradition Dr. Kenneth Crannell “You can reconize an Emersonian anywhere,” he states with certainty. “There’s an inner something. ..a bizarreness that a lot of people would find frightening. They’re very individualistic. They say just what they mean, sometimes they are frightfully wrong, but they still say it.” by Barbara Szlanic When Professor Kenneth Crannell began teaching at Emerson a quarter of a century ago, he became part of a con- tinuing tradition in speech and perfor- mance. Like Professor June Mitchell (also known as Momma Mitchell) and Frances LaShoto, who did their un- dergraduate work at Emerson, Dr. Crannell fell in love with teaching and performing Crannell, who was recently honored at a reception for his service, is described by other faculty members as ■‘warm,” “dedicated, and wonder- ful His students in written and oral evaluations, offer high praise for him and his teaching, but note the degree of difficulty of his oral interpretation Courses. A dedicated teacher,” “chal- lenging,” and “very critical” typify these evaluations. But Crannell considers his student evaluations to be only one part of diverse class reactions. “I’m not in- terested in being popular, he asserts. “When students talk about a teacher and say ‘I love him or her ' or ‘I hate him or her,’ that’s a good response. To say ’She ' s OK ' or ’He’s O.K.’ is the biggest put down a teacher can get. If you’re a teacher who causes excite- ment, you ' ll demand a strong response.” Crannell views his students and his teaching in terms of the “Emerson Ex- perience,” which, he says, is different from any other college education Hav- ing been a student at Emerson in the 1950 ' s (during which he was an SGA President) and having decided to re- main here as a teacher, Crannell characterizes Emersonians as students who are energetic, inquisitive and creative ”1 know it sounds Poppinesque,” he offers, “but I stay here for the kids. They do have a quality that’s Emer- sonian “You can recognize an Emersonian anywhere,” he states with certainty. “There ' s an inner something. ..a bizar- reness that a lot of people would find frightening They’re very in- dividualistic. They say just what they mean sometimes they’re frightfully wrong but they still say it.” For Crannell, teaching is the cons- tant development and improvement of the “Emersonian” in all of his students. “1 let them have it the first few days,” he explains. “I give them the business, and I’ll bet they go home say- ing, ' My God, this man is crazy!” “Some get out and others stay. It’s the one who stay who will work and will realize that I’m just an actor.” A self-described old time school teacher, Crannell believes in the traditional teaching methods. ”1 wear a coat and tie, no sneakers, and 1 take at- tendance. You learn by being present and by hearing and watching other kids The only aspect of the student body that is disappointing to Crannell is the decline of speech quality. He cites the “junior speech exam” from the days of yore,” which used to be an impor- tant part of Emerson’s graduation re- quirements. It forced students to ex- hibit proficiency in extemporaneous speaking, oral interpretation and public speaking before a panel of three or four professors. “The speech exam pushed the com- munication process to the forefront of one’s education,” he explains. “It worked beautifully, but some depart- ments had problems with it Some stu- dents couldn’t pass it. 1 would love to see that inaugurated again ... for the kids.” Besides teaching Crannell also loves directing shows and working with stu- dents outside of the classroom. His love for performance stems from his childhood radio and T.V experience. “An old song and dance man,” as he calls himself, Crannell is currently directing the oral interpretation production of St Joan In selecting a cast, he looks for the “good kid,” not necessarily one with a lot of performing experience, he stres- ses, but one with strong academic and artistic skills. Describing his goal as a director, Crannell says, “I want to have an im- pact on these kids on some level. 1 listen to their input and if it ' s a good idea, 1 steal it. But. I give them credit.” “I don’t deal with stars. I don’t relate to them. We work together as a unit and we develop a good rapport.” “I’ve always said that if you trust me, we’ll at least put out a ' triumphant faiire,’ which is a respectable show. It’ll never be a ' conventional disaster ’ ’’ Like those before him, Crannell is continuing in the tradition of Emerso- nians. Energetic, inquisitive and creative, his only goals in life are to continue learning from students and to be healthy enough to perform and teach. “It’s the kids,” he says, “That’s why 1 stay That’s why I come back for more 26

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Cheers At the Bull and Finch Reprinted with permission from The Berkeley Beacon, October 25, 1983 by Faith Girdler When I first phoned the Bull ind Finch I’uh to make an appointment for an interview, I got a soft, Latin-flavored voice indii ating that yes the manag- er would be in at 1 2:i0 and if I wanted to come in then for an interview, it would be fine. No, it wasn ' t necessary to leave my name. Right away, that should have tipped me off. Why would he nut want me to leave my name? Well, when 12:30 rolled around and I pronif)tly appeared at the Bull and Finch as per our arrange- ment, I had my answer. Not only was the manager not around, but many of the waiters, waitresses, and customers were also quite absent. The one waiter I managed to find had no idea what I was talking about. Interview? Man- ager here at 1 2:30? What? It turns out that the man I talked to on the phone was the cook, not the man- ager. The cook had only been in the county for a few months, and didn ' t speak-a-da English so well, y ' know? Fortunately for me, however, the waiter that I found knew just about as much about the Bull and Finch as the Manager, and I could interview him. The Bull and Finch, long a favorite Emerson hang- out, had been picked by the producers and direc- tors of NBC-TV as the model for one of this year ' s promising shows, namely the series Cheers. Cheers airs on Thursday nights on NBC at 9:00 p.m. According to Bill Shapiro, a waiter who ' s been there for the past eight years (the Bull and Finch has only been open 1 3 years) the producers picked the Bull and Finch because of the general ambiance, the character and flavor of the place. It was exactly what they were looking for. And exactly what they were looking for? A real neighborhood bar, a real slice of life type place. The kind of place where when the phone rings, it ' s a like red alert. The waitresses always yell before answering the phone, Ok, who is not here? Part of the special flavor of the Bull and Finch is the fact that not only are all the waiters and waitres- ses each totally unique characters, ( Good restau- rant people Shapiro calls them) but also the clien- tele itself is totally unique. We ' ve got our own very regular, very special crowd that comes in almost every night, and especially on Saturdays , commented Shapiro. On Saturdays, people drive for miles, |ust to come here , he added. When asked exactly what kind of person goes to the Bull and Finch, Shapiro replied, Well, I don ' t like to generalize, and in the Bull and Finch, you really can ' t. We get every type of person in here. This ranges from many of the young professionals who come down from the Hill to have a drink after work to the average, man on the street type, one who is quite so affluent. Also, Emerson is apparently not the only college that frequents the establishment. According to Mr. Shapiro, there are also many students from B.U., Northeastern, Emmanuel, Simmons, and even sometimes as far away as Bos- ton College and Pine Manor. When asked exactly how the Bull and Finch ‘ came to he picked as the model for the show in- stead of the innumerable other bars in the area, Mr. Shaf)iro explained that Danny DeVito, from the show Taxi, was quite instrumental. All the pro- ducers and writers were in the area checking out Photo by Laura Sawyer different bars, and Danny DeVito kept coming back here. It was he who ultimately decided on the Bull and Finch, said Shapiro. Cheers is one of the most popular shows on NBC this fall, and is one of the few with real promise. And with good reason too — it ' s written by the Charles Brothers, Wes and Glen, both of whom have written many scripts for M A S H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and have won three Emmy ' s for their work on Taxi. The real charm of Cheers flows from the fact that the humor comes from having distinct, solid characters on the show, rather than having a string of nine or ten joke writers writing one liners for the show. The director of Cheers is |im Burrows, who him- self won two Emmys for his work on Taxi. The difference between Taxi and Cheers is subtle, but important. ‘ ' Taxi , Glen Charles said, is popu- lated by people who dream of getting out of the garage, out of the neighborhood. The people in Cheers are there because they want to be. Mr. Charles went on to say that there ' s an emo- tional experience that goes on in a bar that doesn ' t go on any place else, and it ' s not just the drink. It ' s also camaraderie, the charm of the old neighbor- hood pub. Ifthis show has a certain philosophy, it ' s that a bar seems to tap as close to anything we can find to contemporary society. When asked if Cheers was very similar to life at the Bull and Finch, Eric Betts, the wine and food steward replied Oh, extremely. They (the produc- ers) have been very careful. But we are the real Cheers, the real people. We ' re more realistic. But as far as the sets and scenery go, it ' s almost identic- al. They even filmed the front of the building for the lead-in at the beginning of each show. In addition, business has picked up immensely since the airing of Cheers. Ya gotta remember, Mr. Betts drawled, slowly peering out from under his large, consuming gray cap. Ya gotta remem- ber that this show is seen nationwide, and we have a large number of out of town tourists who come in just to see if our place is really like the place on TV. OUR business has always been good, but now it ' s booming. We are open for lunch every day, and are packed every day. Before we couldn ' t even consider opening for lunch. I then asked both Mr. Betts and Mr. Shapiro what their reactions were to having their place of em- ployment used as the model for a TV series. Did it change life at the Bull and Finch very much? Were they excited about it? Well, at first, we were all pretty excited about it, explained Mr. Betts. It was pretty glamorous, having all those producers and directors running around, and having all those stars like Danny De- Vito and Shelley Fong here, he added in. Yeah, but pretty soon we all got sick of it, said Mr. Shapiro. After all, all the producers would do is constantly order us around, and disrupt life in general. Also, Mr. Betts replied, there always seemed to be another g( ' % critic or journalist looking for another interview or reaction! The Bull and Finch has been voted Best Neigh- borhood Bar by Boston Magazine as well as Best Bloody Mary IN Boston by the same magazine. In addition, they were voted the Best Hamburger In Boston by the Herald American. The Bull and Finch is actually a close replica of an English county pub, and was designed and crafted over in England. It was shipped over here bit by bit in the mid-sixties. It ' s located at 84 Beacon Street, directly under the Hampshire House, and is open for lunch and dinner, Monday thru Saturday.