William Paterson University - Pioneer Yearbook (Wayne, NJ)

Page 32 text:

Red Ryder Draws Packed Houses October also ushered in the annual pledging antics for the fraternities and sororities. Everywhere in the caf- eteria, pledges could be seen selling candy kisses and raffle tickets, wear- ing everything from jackets and ties to old army helmets. The Pioneer Players presented Mark Medoff ' s When You Comin ' Back. Red Ryder? at Hunziker Stage II for seven performances in early October. It was a tense drama balanced with a dark humor in which a disaf- fected young man, Teddy, played by Tom McCormick, terrorizes the occu- pants of a small diner in southern New Mexico. The closeness of the actors to the audience was to the play ' s benefit. When Teddy stabs a butcher knife into the counter top and demands that Stephen Red Ryder ' (Paul Sansone) cut the tattoo, Born Dead, right out of his arm and give it to him, we could only pray that Teddy would stay onstage and not come into the audience and tell us to do the same. Rounding out the play were Jac- queline Merkel as Angel, the counter girl. Lyie, the owner of the motel and gas station next door, was played by Michael Mulcahy. Richard, and his wife. Clarisse were portrayed by Jack Petty and Karen Corrado. respectively. Andrew Sinatra was Clark, the owner of the diner, and Jean Cavanagh was Cheryl, Teddys girl friend. Although the play had some minor lapses Into unreality, the packed houses every night attested to the actors ' fine performances. Across the campus at Willie Pees Disco, fist fights broke out for the second week in a row. The week before Bill O ' Neill was arrested by police officers and later released. Campus security was doubled In an effort to eliminate any trouble, but fighting broke out again. The Dean of Students, Dominic Bacollo, was called back on campus and canceled the discotheques indefinitely. Bacollo said. It ' s a shame that a maiority of students who enjoy this function will be deprived of this weekly happen- ing. If WPC students are involved they will be severely dealt with; if outsiders are the root of the prob- lem. I assure you that full legal reprisal will be taken against them. The next night Tau Delta Phi held the first beer blast of the year. The music flowed from Crystal Palace and the beer flowed from the kegs as a smaller than expected crowd danced to some old fashioned rock and roll. On October 8. the Programming Board brought Mirabai to the Stu- dent Center Ballroom as part of the Creative Concert Series. Mirabai. who takes her name from an Indian princess, hypnotizes the crowd with her spiritual songs. Even though the majority of the audience didn ' t know who Mirabai was at the beginning of the concert, most of them left happy and enlightened. Her theme song, Mirabai and a very different Stairway to Heaven were among the highlights of her performance. The next afternoon more than four hundred people jammed the Ball- room to listen to Fredric Storaska ' s lecture How to Say No to a Rapist. Storaska, who holds a black belt in karate, began by saying Tm not here as your protector against rape but to show you that you can defend yourself. He warned that weapons weren ' t always handy and that screaming usually led to the victim ' s death. Instead he suggests that women should play along with the man and catch him off guard. He points out that the martial arts were very effective, and a woman should poke out her attacker ' s eyes at the first chance. Storaska finished with two observations. The first, that noth- ing justifies rape; and that a woman Is no less a person after she has been raped. 38

Page 31 text:

BELOW LEFT: Pam Fctzpatrick — We played our best game. BELOW: Kris Sandbo Dn her wav to victory against Marianne Citer of Rutgers. RIGHT: Members of the RSB and the Committee to Fight Tuition hfikes organ- ze the successful afternoon rally. BELOW RIGHT: 5GA president Ron Sampath speaks to crowd about the ills of a tuition hike. could not be persuaded to join the marchers. Feelings about the rally were mixed, ranging from enthusiasm to apathy. As one student put it. This isn t going to work. You have to get Trenton ' s attention, but I hope this rally proves to have some kind of effect on the increase! Later that day hearings concern- ing the possible tuition hikes were held in the Student Center Ballroom. Only forty students were present at the hearings but SGA President Ron Sampath said, ... I think the grip- ing, the expression of frustration, and the recognition of the problems did come out. •H. •» .» f

Page 33 text:

TOP RIGHT: Jacqueline Merkel and Jack Petty in a scene from When Yoj Comin ' Back, Red Ryder? TOP LEFT: Tom McCormick as Teddy terrorizes the occu- pants of a small diner in New Mexico. LEFT: Mirabi hypnotizes the small crowd with her spiritual songs. ABOVE: Fred Storaska explains, a woman should poke out her attacker s eyes at the first chance. 29