Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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THE TOWER LIGHT jingoists that war is inevitable, one may consider himself unusually lucky that he can find mental relaxation or fortitude in any walk of life. How shall we free our cooped up, our restrained emotions? How may we relieve our gnawing hearts? Were I extremely pious I would turn to my God, but what can I, who am a sinner, do. What did the people of old do? What can you do? I believe I have found my way out. No. I need not fight. I need not engulf my emotions within me. I love music. I love art. I love dance and movement. Can these help me out of my difficulties? Yes, they can and they do. But the drama is the outlet through which I maintain mental and physical fitness. The following is the first in- stallment of a series of articles which will be presented in the hope that you too will find that needed something through the appreciation of and participation in the drama. The drama is the world's most ancient art. In man's earliest days, he worshipped his deities by music and dancing. A little later came man's earliest attempts at poetry and we nnd the beginnings of panto- mime. But man was still dissatisfied, he felt the urge of something still stronger, so he introduced prose into the ceremony. Of course this is not the aesthetic drama as most of us see it today, but is that upon which the modern drama is built. Even before man learned to speak, he accomplished the art of act- ing. In order to communicate with his neighbor, he used gestures 5 and even until the present day, we still find that in the lowest classes of savages nearly everything is expressed through pantomime and sign language. The element of magic played an important role in the portrayal of the earliest drama, which came in the form of ceremonies and religious rites. If rain was needed, the warriors danced to appease the spirits. To make a buffalo hunt successful, one needed but to disguise himself as such and go into his dance. When a warrior wished to annihilate an enemy he had but to make an image of his adversary and destroy it, htm in the belief that he had done away with his tormentor. These are the first elements of acting or imitation. Primarily they were religious, for to primitive man, magic was a divine process and to invoke magic was to appeal to the gods. This was very practical, for it aimed at im- mediate results. Man is born with the sense of rhythm. Only in civilized man is the sense of rhythm deficient. CNow, fellows, you have an excuse for your awkward dancingj Civilized man writes prose but the savage is limi- ted to verse. The savage man knew how to give vent to his emotions. Do you? I. COHEN, Fourth Year Senior. 15

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THE TOWER LIGHT Conflict E grow up in high school, buoyant, trustful, ambitious, and confident that the world is good. We shall achieve fame, suc- cess, happiness. We shall contribute greatly to the welfare of our fellow men. Love, honor, and respect will be accorded us by allg our memory will be treasured by posterity. In fact, all the beautiful fantasies of high school life are to be preserved through all our days. One by one these illusions fade away. They become uncertainly transparent, as waves of air above a heater. Then they vanish utterly, and we look upon a harsh, real world. We realize the futility of aim- ing for a great place in men's affairs. The earth's stark poverty beats upon our resentful senses, and we shudder and fight it back. It is not pleasant, this pitiful, hope-starved desert of frustration. We long again or those other days when bare realities did not torment us. Discontent, restlessness seize every youth. Wretched humanity is all too Cplentiful. We would like to do something, but what? Morbidly we rea every journal, every book which pictures the misery rampant. And all the while we harbor the subconscious feeling that if others could only understand how we feel, something could be accomplished. We are submerged in a choking, tumultous, internal struggle. There is conflict in the world around us, and conflict within us, too. We may shut our eyes for a time to the world but from the relentless goading of internal strife there is no escape. ' Where are we to stand? What ideals shall we hold? We cannot rest in the past, but willing or not, must face the future. Youth at the crossroads-civilization at a crisis. Where can we turn? To what can we cling in this maelstrom of life? p c. c. M. iwi The Way Out ODAY, in our changing civilization, with all its toil and burdens, we feel the Ipressing need of enlightenment. You who find uplift- ing in simp e everyday life are very fortunate. With me it is quite different. What with the talk of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict, the Hit- leric anti-Semitic activities, and the pessimistic prophecies of the war 14

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THE TOWER LIGHT Do Something ! Live! Feel! Suffer! Face the corners! Meet retorters! N Do something! Be! Are you hiding? No! You can't. Life is fleeting! Hurry! Meet it! Get in front, Be pushed around, Have something happen- Don't be a coward- Don't look forward- Take time now. Grasp your chances. Love-have romances, You won't be sorry- E'en though your smile is And your eyes are full. Thank the heavens You've been doing. You have dreams- Memories linger and You'll soon find You are glad You've been free- You've been jostled- You've been hustled About. And yet, forced You know, you've been in it! You've lived! So, do something! M. M., Soplo. 2. 9l After the Storm Lit. Digest 1of23f19o9, from Troy Time: The farmer drives his plough In a soil that's stiff and tough, His horse is lame as hough And has a wheezing cough. -16