October 4,1984 Page 6
ENTERTAINMENT
The University Daily KANSAN
Fear, stress, tradition return students to religion
By CHRISSY CLEARY Staff Reporter
After almost a decade of dislike and distrust of churches and religious organizations, students are showing an increased interest in religion, many religious leaders
reasons for the switch back to religion range from fear of nuclear war to a national trend reverting to traditional values, they say.
Arnold said that when a political movement fails, at it did in the late '60s, the people involved tend to question why the movement failed.
William Arnold, associate professor of sociology, said that the late 1960s helped mold students' perception of religion.
"They usually come to the conclusion that they were not good enough." Arnold said. "They decide what they really need is a change of heart and mind. The Jesus people, mass baptisms and new charismatic religions evolved from this."
In explaining why some of the charismatic, healing faiths are becoming popular today, Homer D. Henderson, senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., referred to John Naissib's book, "Megatrates," which made a reference to a high-tech world needing a non-technical, personal religion
The church didn't immediately benefit from the new religious groups, Arnold said. But students coming to the University of Kansas since 1976 haven't been led into the political circle so they have more time for religion.
*u* they can't change things politically, maybe they think can change things internally," Arnold said.
Arnold cited the stress students are under now as another factor for increased religious interest
"Discipline and control are stressed in our society, and religion, rightly or wrongly, is associated with discipline." Arnold said. "People have that order and structure in their lives."
"This is a time of recovering roots and stability," said Henderson. "I see that in the return to traditional wedding ceremonies. And this is a time of tremendous turbulence with the threat of nuclear holocaust and economic instability."
Student involvement at Plymouth has definitely increased in the last five years, Henderson said.
The same thing is happening at The Free Methodist Church, 802 W. 22nd St. Terrace, said Pastor Harold Bishop.
"The these are sharp, bright kids. They go away and they are not satisfied with what they've been offered." Bishop said. "There is something in the hearts of students that makes them reach out for reality which is God. However they may not know what they are reaching for."
Students have been attending services there for more than 15 years, but the number of students has increased over the past two or three years to more than 50. Bishop said. The reason is that many churches are preaching the philosophies of man rather than the word of God which is what students want to hear, he said.
The same trend is visible in the Islam religion, too, said Hamed Ghazali, president of the Muslim Students Association, especially in the Muslim groups in the United States.
"Because of the nature of the law of the United States and because of the freedom of the United States, our religion has spread," Ghazali said. Here, people have the freedom to choose and worship as they want, and many have chosen Islam.
"The number of Muslims has doubled in this country, and people in the United States are also becoming Muslim," he said. "Two Christian priests are becoming Muslim."
The St. Lawrence Catholic Center, 1631 Crestrd Rent, had to move from Smith Hall to Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union and add another mass to its Sunday morning
language barrier that separated them from most other people in the United States. But mostly it has grown, he said, because the United States offers a religious freedom that is new to many in the Islamic religion.
The Muslim Students Association now has more than 290 active members, and that number is increasing, partly because the group is becoming more active on campus, Ghazali said. The groups is also growing because the members are overcoming the
schedule to keep up with the increase of student members, Father Vince Krische said.
Krische, director of the center, said that about 1,500 students attend mass on weekends. The upward trend has been continuing for the last few years because of renewed interest in matters of the faith, he said.
"Ten years ago, the church was in a lot of upheaval and students were caught in that." Krische said. "Moral questions were more clearly defined. In the 70s, people were asking all kinds of questions that caused low, now, students are more open to answers."
But, he said, Jewish people were finding more religious activities on campus. Seder meals to celebrate Passover are more common, not only at the Jewish Community Center, 917 Highland Drive, but also in the residence halls on campus.
Mark Wallman, president of the Jewish student group. Hillel, does not see religious increase as prominently in the Jewish community.
Marantha Campus Ministry has more members although the actual number hasn't gone up that much because members participate, said Brian Wagner, Togosian junior.
Wagner, a member of Marantha, said that students are looking for more in life and eventually turn to religion to find what they are looking for.
"I don't see a large trend back to the church in Hillel," said Wallman, Fairview Heights, Ill., senior, said many Jewish students practice their religion because they feel an obligation to their 3,000 year history and heritage.
Choon-Kyu Oh, professor of linguistics,
said that at least 10 students were Jehovah's
women.
Students make up about 25 percent of his congregation during the school year, Cobb said, and only about half of the students are Bantist.
Jimmy Cobb, pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church, 1917 Naismith Drive, said the student swing toward religion coincides with the mood of the country.
"Students are not satisfied with materialism," said Oh, who is the advisor for Jehovah's Witness. "They turn to religion to fill the void of spiritual need.
"College students are still seeking answers to problems as nuclear war. There is fear hanging in the air now."
"People are becoming more concerned about basic values," Cobb said. "There is more genuine, honest searching. Students in the 1970s were saying 'I want to prove you wrong,' now students are saying 'I hope you're right.'"
Hashingercatering arts to residents
Staff Reporter
By ERIKA BLACKSHER Staff Reporter
Amy Bartsch, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, and William during a rehearsal of the play "Bus Stop." The play will run Volupt, Topeka sophomore, polish up their performances from Oct. 19 through Oct. 22 in Hashinger's theater.
A young man stands at the front desk waiting for a postage stamp. Two students lunge on the couch in their sweats chatting about the day's classes. Elevator doors open and shut, taking a steady stream of residents and visitors to their destinations.
It appears to be an average residence hall — but wait
An upbeat Manhattan Transfer tune jams on a stereo at the desk. To the right and around the corner, students rehearse for their fall production in the hall theater. Two floors down, practice rooms are filled with chairs and tables, practicing the piano and weaving fabric.
THE LOBBY IS deceptive because this is not the average KU residence hall — it’s
Hashinger, which opened originally as a hall for women in 1962, became a coeducational hall in the fall of 1972 for students interested in the fine arts.
Remodeling in 1971 and 1978 created practice rooms, allowing students to pursue their creative interests, and turned the space into a workshop where they allowed them to put on master productions.
"At Hashinger there is an outlet for people who enjoy the arts," said Jan Frayers, program coordinator for the hall. "We share a common interest. The hall offers not only the facilities but the staff to meet that interest."
Frayers is directing the hall's first play of the year, "Bus Stop," written by William Ings in 1958. The production will be presented Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. in Hashinger's theater.
A SPRING MUSICAL, art exhibits and dance workshops are also included in the hall's annual activities. Frasuer said.
Fred McElhenne, director of residential programs, said Hashinger was converted into a fine arts hall during a time when many
universities were specializing residence halls.
The fine arts was chosen as an area of specialization because of the great interest in them.
Hashinger residents pay an extra $100 a year to pay for the ongoing activities and pay for other expenses.
It's like a coffee house where students get together once a month and perform on the spot, said Mona Peabody. Atchison junior and resident assist at Hashinger.
"Sneaky Pete's" ranks among the more
fun and enjoyable activities at Hashinger
NOBODY CARES if you're good on anything, as long as you get up there and do something," she said.
"When you're ready, you get up and do whatever you want to do." he said. "It doesn't have to be a polished piece."
Second City actors bringing lampoons to campus
During the crescendo of this year's National League pennant race, one can hardly avoid noticing a certain Chicago group — the nine men running the Wrigley
By RICK ZAPOROWSKI
Staff Reporter
But another group from Chicago, this one with only six players, will try to upstage the Cubs tonight and draw baseball fans away from the television to a place where tobacco-spitting ballplayers are out of their league.
The Second City National Touring Company will perform at 8 p.m. today in Woodruff Auditorium. Tickets are available at the Student Union Activities' box office. They cost $5 or $4 with a KU identification card.
LAST YEAR the touring company was well received by audiences at the University.
"Our best audiences are college audiences," said Joyce Sloane, producer of The Second City.
sity of Kansas. The company travels
being a trading at trade shows,
benefits and collages.
The comedy troupe plans to throw a few curves at the audience, scoring with laughter instead of home runs.
In the past the actors have poked fun at President Reagan and his wife, Christian Scientists, militarism, pollution and prepies.
The Second City is a 25-year-old comedy improvisational group that performs sketches which lampoon modern times. Their show consists of rehearsed skirts designed to satirize contemporary social and political events.
SLOANE SAID that this year's show was different from last year's but just as funny.
"We've gotten great reviews across the country," she said.
The group does not use many props or costumes. The players rely on their wit and the other actors to keep the show moving.
Sloane said to expect at least a mention of Reagan and, of course, the Cubs.
irr show also features some improv-
ation, which could also be called
For example, the performers ask audience members to call out a particular setting, such as a job interview or a grocery store. The actors take on characters which also may be seated in the situations, however ridicules they may be.
THESE IMPROVISED performances are often funny because the cast members act on impulse and quickly develop some outrageous circumstances.
The Second City was started in 1959. A
group of students from the University of Chicago spent several years trying to form a theatrical company, but they all failed financially. Then, in the fall of 1959, some of the original players and a few new actors rented an old Chinese laundry. This building was the birthplace and became the home of The Second City.
SINCE ITS BIRTH, The Second City has toured America and formed permanent companies in Chicago and Toronto.
Their debut was successful, and the company gained a reputation for its improvisation and satire.
In 1976, The Second City began production of its own television series, "SCTV," which was distributed in 55 U.S. cities and later picked up by NBC.
The name. Second City, comes from the title of an article printed in The New Yorker magazine. The article scouted at The New York, saying it was second to New York.
Hall attitude result of art, residents say
By ERIKA BLACKSHER Staff Reporter
Pink flamings — 16 of them — decorated the hall's front lawn.
"We go out of our way to be noticed," said Jon Hobble, a Sedgwick school who has lived in Haskinger for five years. The pink flamingos are an example of that.
To some, that might be an unusual welcome to Hashinger Hall - but not to the people who live there. The pink flamingo is their hall mascot.
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT involved in the arts sometimes view the actions and behavior of artists or performers as unusual, said Jan Frayer, program coordinator for
Their attitudes and actions are sometimes more open and unconventional, and they usually do not hesitate to be themselves despite what others might think, she said.
The hall, which houses about 400 students, has a reputation that reflects the openness and expressive nature of people involved in the arts.
"Because you are performance-oriented, you enjoy performing and being on stage in everyday life," she said, "as well as on stage."
Many people also assume that homosexuality is a common trait among people who have sex.
Hobble said the hall got the image of being a place for homosexuals during the 1970s. During the heyday of Hashinger, which was a time when women were very outspoken and very outrageous, he said
JULIA BURLINGHAM, Overland Park park senior, who has lived in Hassinger for five years, says that Hassinger's reputation for offering a diverse program out the atmosphere has changed drastically.
because people here are of the artistic temperament, they can get away with just about anything," she said. "A lot of people just don't understand that."
Brian McCalpin, Brentwood, Mo., senior,
said that when many people found out he
lived in Hashinger, they assumed he was
weird.
"It has a reputation as a place for women," said one resident who didn't take that reputation too seriously.
PLAYING UP THE fine arts image is fun.
McCaplain said, "Sure you like a lot of stares,
and you should get them."
"On, 'Wear Blue Jeans If You're Gay Day,
we all wear blue jeans," McCalpin said. "It
doesn't mean that much here if you're gay
another part of that person's
character."
Mona Peabody, a resident assistant at the hall, said that she thought there were no more homosexuals in Hashinger than in any other hall or living group.
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