Nicholls State University - La Pirogue Yearbook (Thibodaux, LA)

Page 69 text:

a, ffl

Page 68 text:

EB present : Vanety through the yearg Vanelli 0111 profit-maker As a branch of student government, the Stu- dent Entertainment Board CSEB5 had to submit its semester budget for approval to the Student Sen- ate. The senate rejected the budget the first time, but passed it the next week, after clearing up questions about the payment of bills. But the delay and frustration ot the first week mirrored the fall semester, which ended in the resignation of SEB Chairman Lyndel Williams. For all the work Williams and his various chair- men put in to resolve the problems, the semester was characterized by losses on concerts, and mixed reactions to the charging of admission to dances and movies. Pennington Beginning the second half of his term as chair- man, Williams worked for Ha movie every Wed- nesday, a dance on Thursday, one big lecture and a concert each month. However, low student turnout, lack of incoming revenue and apparent disinterest caused some serious thinking about the usefulness of a student entertainment board. Williams, a graduate student in psychology, allotted the largest part of his budget 312,800 to Concert Series Chairman John Wilson, Other chairmen were Clarence James, dance series, Loel Hofmann, movie series, Ray Ftoy, lec- ture seriesg Raymond Williams, public relations. Louisiana Man Doug Kershaw was sched- uled as the first concert of the fall, with the Copas Bros. Band as the back-up performers. Playing to only 600 persons in Shaver Gym, the SEB brought in 51400, on a concert which cost 35,900 to put on. No explanation could be given for the low turn- out, but the same problem was felt at the second concert. With '50s music a strong attraction in the area, John Wilson brought in Flash Cadillac and His Continental Kids, the band which guest starred on ABC's Happy Days series. To take the crowd back a few years, Larry Jon Wilson, The Dutchman, was the warm-up per- former. A folk singer, it had been five years since a folk act had appeared at Nicholls. A Greaser Contest was also held, with prize money going to the three best greased cou- ples. Students turned out in T-shirts, sunglasses and greased back hair for the judging. Couples paraded onstage before the audience, to the ieers and insults of other participants, which brought about a reaction from some con- testants already seen in American Graffiti. When the comments and boos from the nearest segment of the audience became too loud, several greasers turned around and mooned them Can act which consists of turning the back to the audience and dropping the pantsj. None of them won any prizes. Still, a show costing 55,000 took in between S400-S500 admission from the 400 persons who attended. The apathy is unbelievable in this area, John Wilson said in a Nicholls Worth interview the week after Flash Cadillac appeared, Loel Hofmann tried to reason it as students no longer into big sound, but the board was left with only S3,500, not enough to bring in a big name concert. In other departments, several economy changes had been made, like the charging of 25 cents admission to movies. Loel l'Fox Hofmann, movies chairman, White Witch's lead singer portrays Pan in one of the many theatrical numbers done in the three- band concert at the end of the fall semester. Gayle Erickson, bass player for the all-woman band Vixen dazzled the lights with her costume and singing.

Page 70 text:

Flash Cadillac has low turnout: 400 explained the change was needed to meet unex- pected expenses: a new screen in Peltier Audito- rium, two new lenses and replacing a projector. Films themselves ranged from The Sting and Airport to Charles Bronson's Death Wish, Blue Water, White Death and the musical Camelot Non-students going to dances in the Student Union ballroom on Thursdays or after a Saturday night football game were met by collectors at the door, charging admission. In the past, a sizeable number of non-students had been attending SEB-sponsored dances. Not all dances charged admission, as a special '50s band was hired to play the night of the Homecoming Parade, with discount beer offered. Under the student government constitution, the SEB chairman is elected in November, so he and his committeemen can attend the National Enter- tainment Convention in Washington, D.C. in Jan- uary to get contacts for future entertainment. As the campaigning began for the spring semester, Chairman Lyndel Williams made his own decision. Attending graduate school at night, holding a full-time job and the directing SEB proved too much as he turned in his resignation the week before the election of the new chairman. SGA President John Weimer described the res- Doing a limbo between the legs of the bass and sax players, the Continental Kids even stretched out on the floor on their backs and continued playing. Stage antics were an important part of their show. After a lapse of several years, Mark Henley, a singerfsongwri- ter, brought back the coffeehouse evenings with two per- formances in the spring semester. Many students had never attended a coffeehouse before. 66 Vlash Cadillac :-I: ignatlon as unfortunate, but said Williams did the right thing. John Wilson was sworn in as interim SEB' chair- man to finish Williams' term. His only major act was to complete and stage the last concert of the semester, a three-act per- formance featuring an all-female band, Vixen. While the concert was late in starting Bus Riley, a local Thlbodaux band, began the evening. Vixen came on second, nearly an hour behind schedule. The concert attracted as many curious stu- dents as concert-goers, since none of the three bands were well-known. White Witch followed, beginning their perform- ance after 11 p.m., when only the strongest and hardest concert fans were left. Two students filed for the position of SEB chair- man for the spring, Tommy Lyons, a senior com- munication arts major and Larry Palestina, a sen- ior education major. The campaign of both candidates centered on how they would improve the SEB and what they believed the problem was during the fall. Lyons said a problem of communication