Fort Hays State University - Reveille Yearbook (Hays, KS)

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During the banquet, various types of entertainment that were typical of the English Renaissance are presented, A harpsichord player set the mood for the Madrigal Dinner, As a greeting to their guests, the Madrigal performers sing tumes welcome. Follow- ing this, the guests were led by the singers up the castle stairs to the banquet hall.

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At 6:15 p.m. the trumpets sounded. All eyes were on the winding staircase as the lord and lady of the manor descended. With a regal air, the lord paused only long enough to be in- troduced. He then welcomed the subjects of the realm. Hear ye, hear ye, subjects of this realm, you shall be witnesses to the Toast to the Christmas season by his excellency, the Lord of this Manor. Let no man come into this hall, groom, page, nor yet marshal, but that some sport he will bring withal! For now is the time of Christmas. His welcome completed, the lord turned, and with his lady, proceeded up the staircase. The lord ' s subjects were then beckoned to join him at an event in which tradition blends with contemporary — the Madrigal Dinner. The lord ' s subject numbered in excess of 700 for the three nights of the madrigal performance, Steve Wood, Memorial Union director, said that although ticket prices were slightly higher, he did not think the increase was the reason all three performances did not sell out, as they have in the past. We get some people who come every year. It ' s an annual event for them no matter what, Wood said. Then there ' s the other group who either didn ' t like the dinner or who enjoyed it but don ' t want to go again. To add variety to the Christmas celebration, the menu of the five course dinner is changed in some way. Wood said that the changes are usua lly very slight because a majority of the people attending the dinner look forward to the traditional meal ' Some of the dishes Madrigal guests were treated to were broil- ed rainbow trout, carved top round and Yorkshire pudding, cornish game hen and English taf- fee trifle. Presiding over the holiday festival as lord and lady of the manor were Dr. and Mrs, Robert Luehrs (Dr. Luehrs is a professor of history.) Along with the ser- vants, serfs, musicians and singers and court jester, approximately 100 people worked to bring a touch of Old England to the modern world. — Leslie Eikleberry Finalizing the details for the Madrigal Dinner, ARA food director Cathy Getz instructs the servers how and where they should serve the banquet. Students who volunteered to work the banquet were members of MUAR Ambassadors. Trumpeters sounded the arrival of the Lord of the Manor, The Lord, Dr. Robert Luehrs, greeted his guests and announced that the feast would begin. During a break in the action of an other- wise busy Madrigal Dinner schedule, Steve Bomgardner takes time to rest. The Madrigal singers put in numerous hours of rehearsal before the dinner was presented. dinner

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Referred to as “overzealous,” “a social criticism” and “a great exaggeration,” the popular novel is read as much in 1984 as it was read During the year of 1 948 You get out of your transportation device and enter a large building swarming with people busily going about their tasks. As you look up, your eye catches a small telescreen which flashes messages to your con- scious and subconscious mind. Milling through the hordes, you come to a larger screen. On this screen are images that are absolutely captivating. Soon you seem to be entering an almost catatonic state of euphoria. This description is not something out of George Orwell ' s novel, 1984, but rather a distillation of an average day at the Memorial Union - 1984, The transportation device is a car, the small telescreen showing messages is CommuniKate, and the larger screen is the big screen TV, with people avidly following All My Children or Days of Our Lives. , Orwell ' s novel, penned in 1948, told of a cold world filled with op- pressed people who did not even realize their plight. From the signs proclaiming Big Brother is Watch- ing You and War is Peace, to the Thinkpol or thought police, every citizen was constantly scrutinized and kept in check. Since the beginning of the year, virtually every publication in the United States has had something to say about how accurate Orwell ' s predictions have proven to be. Many of these stories have dealt with in- dividual ' s reactions to the way the world is today as compared to Orwell ' s portrayal of life in 1984. I read the book back in high school, at about the time it was writ- ten, Bob Maxwell, assistant pro- fessor of English, said. From what I recall of the book, I think Orwell lit a candle to help us guard against becoming a frightened, oppressed world. He warned us against something that might have happened, but to my way of thinking, it hasn ' t happen- ed, Maxwell said. Jack Heather, director of closed circuit television, said that Orwell was correct about communication systems becoming more widespread, but incorrect when he suggested that the technology would run people, rather than people running technology. There are over a thousand TV sta- tions today, and in 1948, television was virtually unheard of, but nobody is forced to watch and listen to TV, Heather explained, Teresa Gross, Hays senior, agreed that Orwell ' s doomsaying proved to be overzealous. Little, subtle things in society are comparable to the book 1984, but there really aren ' t many similarities, 1 suppose some govern- ment surveillance goes on, but it ' s not a major problem. At least one instructor make the reading of 1984 a class assignment. Dr. John Kiier, professor of history, had those enrolled in his World Civilization since 1600 class read and discuss Orwell ' s novel. The course has a lot to do with the rise of totalitarian governments in the 20th century, and this book worked into the class perfectly, I think that it ' s a red herring to say that George Orwell wrote the book to predict something about the future, Kiier said, He wrote this book as a social criticism, as a way to critique his own post-war society. The part in the book about rationing closely parallels what was going on in Orwell ' s England following the war, and other situations parallel what happened in Russia under Stalin, Orwell wasn ' t trying to be a prophet or predict the future. Uniforms for each section of the society is a large part of 1984. Today, these uniforms can be paralleled in the three-piece suit for businessmen, and jeans for students. I think that people, perhaps because of the availability of clothes, don ' t really try to find a wide diversity of fashion, Philip Martin, Natoma senior, said. Plus, there are so many norms that people are afraid to breech that they all try to keep within certain styles of dressing. It is like a uniform. Harold Peterson, assistant pro- fessor of communication, believes that we are slowly moving closer to Orwell ' s predictions, although it was always meant to be a great exag- geration, as a warning, Peterson said, In my high school class, this book became popular as a topic of discus- sion, Peterson said. It formed many of my ideas about the future. I have always weighed the present against 1984. Words are also being changed, as in 1984, Peterson added, In- dividualism, at one time, was a positive word in the American con- text, but today it is equated with selfishness and the ' me ' generation. If Orwell had lived until 1984, he himself could judge how competent a job he did as a soothsayer, but Orwell died in 1950. He died before Senator Joseph McCarthy led the House Un-American Activities Com- mittee investigation, and before the wiretaps of Watergate. Maybe 1984 was just a novel, based on a silly man ' s flights of fancy, but remember world: George Orwell is watching you. — Sandy Jellison I think Orwell lit a candle to help us guard against becom- ing a frightened , oppressed world.” — Bob Maxwell ;eorge Orwell ' s 1984