KU-Y Enjoys Crazy Evening
By Nancy Razak
By Rutney Razak Absurdity visited the KU-Y Tuesday night and, for the uninformed, the resulting scene in a section of the Union cafeteria would have resembled pure chaos.
For, while the rest of the cafeteria proceeded about it normal meal-time business, the following activities were taking place in the Cottonwood Room:
Adult-sized people were busily constructing tall structures of building blocks while others were just as busily trying to tear them down.
A contented-looking young man, sitting in a yoga position on a center table, was blowing up balloons, popping them, blowing up more, popping them and repeating the cycle.
And, at one point in the proceedings, a young man was chasing a young woman around the room—but with a different intention than usually associated with that action. This young man was trying to paint the young woman's nose brown.
Another person was diligently carrying all of the chairs out of the room into the main cafeteria section.
However, there was method among that madness.
For "Y" cabinet members were participating in a "happening"—a relatively new form of dramatic endeavor, commonly associated with some aspects of the theater of the absurd—which is concerned with conveying, through seemingly incoherent and unplanned activity, symbolic statements concerning various problems that concern today's world.
THE HAPPENING was planned by three cabinet embers—Lynn Payer, Wichita junior, Bonnie Stenzel, Ness City junior, and Dennis Morrison, Great Bend junior—to take the place of the usual program of reports and discussions that generally occupy the cabinet in its weekly meetings.
Their happenings assumed the format of a test in which specific directions were given to participate in activities which symbolized what the committee viewed as modern social problems.
Through such actions as painting black dots on as many cabinet members as could be cornered, placing people wearing certain colors of clothing in various corners of the room, trying to read a Yugoslavian book and building and tearing down the blocks, such issues as segregation, urban renewal, illiteracy, the lack of human understanding, and what one committee member termed, "the college student's isolation from the world and his preoccupation with solving his own little problems" were illustrated.
THE BUILDING blocks and removal of the chairs were to suggest the difficulties faced by urban renewal, the balloon-blowing yoga sitter stood for the isolated college student and the total confusion resulting from all
the activities going on at the same time represented the confusion and frustration caused by many aspects of modern society.
"We wanted to try to make people feel stupid, because so many persons in society are made to feel that way," Miss Payer said. "We also wanted to present ideas which had flown around the cabinet meetings all year but had not really been faced by members."
Few people experienced much frustration, although they didn't want to be pushed into the corners indicated by their clothing because they all had their own projects to work on and, consequently, would constantly try to return to them.
ALTHOUGH THE happening was completely unexpected, most cabinet members expressed their enjoyment of it although the committee members pointed out that the real significance of many of the activities was not grasped until the evaluation which followed.
In fact, the enjoyment of the happening threatened to undermine its functioning. For example, the person in the yoga position didn't want to blow up his balloons—"I'm having more fun this way," he said.
No KU Jazz Will Perform In Oread Fete
No KU group will be appearing in the KU Jazz Festival Workshop this year because "Nobody bothered to enter," said Dick Warner, Lawrence junior and festival organizer.
But four groups have confirmed their reservations. They are: the Rabon Sextet, Kansas City, Mo.; the Benny Watson Trio, Wichita State; a jazz combo from Denver University; and a six-piece group from North Texas State.
THE FESTIVAL, third of its kind, will be held in the Kansas Union on February 26th. The workshop activities will start at 9:30 a.m., when each group will appear before the judges. The public will be allowed to attend this event.
In the afternoon the judges will work with the musicians and select the two groups to appear with them on the night program.
The judges will be Clare Fischer, piano; Donald Byrd, trumpet, and Phil Woods, alto sax. They will perform in the festival program which will begin in the University Theatre at 10 or 10:15 p.m., depending on the finish of the KU-Nebraska basketball game.
Tickets for the whole event will be on sale Monday in the Union and will remain on sale throughout the week.
Fisheaters Unite!
Come To The St. Lawrence Student Center This Friday Evening.
Pascal Offering at 4:45
Piscal Repast at 5:30
Campus Beauties Seek 'Best Dressed' Crown
Fashion flashes into the spotlight next week as 55 KU women turn their concentration from studies to glamour as they participate in the annual Best Dressed Girl Contest.
The AWS Fashion Board, in conjunction with Glamour Magazine, sponsors the affair which will be highlighted by a public fashion show next Thursday. The 10 finalists in the contest, who are called the 10 Best Dressed KU Girls, will model three outfits apiece at this time. The winner will be selected by a panel of judges and announced at the finale of the show.
THIS IS THE 10th year the contest has been held by Glamour and the fourth year KU has participated. The winner of the KU title will be entered in the national contest, and, if she is selected by Glamour as one of
the Ten Best Dressed College Girls in America, will be featured in the August College issue of Glamour.
In 1963, the first year KU entered a girl in the contest, Martha (Muff) Yankey, Wichita senior, was selected for the national honor. She represented Gertrude Sellards Pearson Hall in the KU competition.
The contestants are nominated by the women's living groups, with the residence halls nominating five girls apiece and the sororities and scholarship halls nominating two girls apiece. Each of these girls will model before the Fashion Board Thursday night, after which their number will be approximately cut in two.
The field will be cut for a second time Sunday, when the semifinalists will model and be interviewed about their knowledge
of fashion before a panel of judges. About 10 girls will be selected as finalists, and will model in the fashion show entitled "Fashion Flashes."
THREE OUTFITS WILL be modeled by each contestant in the fashion show. Each will model a typical campus outfit, an off-campus daytime outfit, and a long or short party dress. These outfits are also the basis for Glamour's selection. Photographs will be taken of the KU winner modeling her outfit in each of the three categories submitted to Glamour along with the judges' reasons for selection and information about the girl.
Daily Kansan Thursday, February 17, 1966
TV AUDITIONS
Statewide television program to be seen in May auditioning for campus talent-vocalists, musicians, groups dancers, variety acts.
Hour long program, produced by Corinthian Special Productions and sponsored by Southwestern Bell will be produced on-location against campus backgrounds by video tape mobile unit. Performers will be paid a professional fee.
Tryouts will be held at:
Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall 7:30 to 10:00 p.m., Friday, February 18
SUA
And Musicians Local 512
present
JAZZ CONCERT
By the KU Concert Jazz Band
Sunday Evening, February 20th 8:00 p.m.
At The Union Ballroom
ADMISSION-FREE