Truman State University - Echo Yearbook (Kirksville, MO)

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The Beat of the Fu- turehh springs to life as Up With People cast members perform the Russian HGopak . The production involved a cast and band of 130 from 16 counties. Z 9 CB ho CD v 0 KO 9 The beat ofa 50$ hop ex- cites the group during the rock and roll history portion of the concert. The audience was led through the age of rock from 1.950 to 2050. thhat Color Is Godhs Skin ?L' is an aII-time favorite Up With People ballad; A cast member sings God has a Skin ofmany colors to Seth F enton. f w g. w?aw MK... 51$ng $ h .96cm

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Diversions From Classes The spice of a ,studenVs life was tasted by each of us during a year of dances, moviesand , parties; The, nighttime and weekend activities , pr'OVi'ded a, Welcome, briaakgfmmj thejrigors bf Aopunw uoxgo $953 suoH Student Life - 'l '1

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1 l 1 1 Jr 1;t l ' l 11 m l W : l i l 1 t l p L l iiItls the Beat of the 1 Futureil is the title of V the musical program performed by the more than 100 members of the Up With People cast. Several NMSU students will have the beat of Up With People in their future when they begin to tour with the group. The cast of Up With People is com- prised of a group of young men and wom- en from around the world who stage their musical show in various countries. iiThe program gives us the opportu- nity to travel and to meet people, i, junior g Gwen Aslakson, who was picked for the program, said. iiNot only to travel but to la get into their culture. Itls an outreach to E people around the world Her major is philosophy and religion, and she says meeting people is especially appealing to her. Meeting new people is easy with this group. In addition to making friends with other cast members, the performers stay with families who provide food and lodging for them while they are on the road. Like other students who applied for the elite group, Aslakson, in addition to an interview, filled out an application of five essay questions, which had to be re- turned to a selection committee in Ari- zona. Prospective members had to ex- plain why they wanted to join, how their career goals fit into the organizationls mission, and how they would fund the trip. Although members stay with fami- lies while touring, they still must pay tu- ition of about $7,500. Up With People is a non-profit organization, but yet they must pay for the transportation of five casts all over the world, senior Doug te Duits said. When Up With People is on the road, they stay with families who 1 The Songs From Many Nations segment of the program exposed the audi- ence to traditionaI songs and Z dances from foreign lands, 3 including this number from leSOABLOIQ wow provide food and lodg- ing. itBetween $7,000 and $8,000 a year is kind of steepf, Al Srnka, as- sistant professor of speech and director of Franklin Street, said. iiAn individual has to weigh the cost for himself. If they think theylre going to get their moneyis worth out of it, thats the important thing? Besides Visiting exotic places, the group also promotes good will world- wide. The cast performs one day in the cities they Visit and also entertain at schools, nursing homes, prisons and homes for the handicapped. The perfor- mers divide into three groups, setting up, performing community work and con- ducting a program for students. There is also a break day. Although the company performs, a musical background is not necessary, and there are no auditions. iiThey dont even care if you can sing or dance? te Duits said. iiAll they care about is how you present yourself and your leadership ability? Constantly traveling from city to city, the members are kept busy, so busy that they dont have time to think about being homesick. iiI love my family but if Ilm in exotic places in Europe Pm not going to miss them enough to come home? Aslakson said. Aslakson hopes to go on tour with the group starting in J anuary 1989. She will graduate in May, which will give her seven months to raise the money, she said. Te Duits is unsure of his future plans also. They both said they thought the ex- perience would be fun, and they would like to have it as part of the future. A Karen Klingemann Up With People - 43