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| (B.W. photo) |
One has to shudder because the memory of last year's seemingly endless winter ought to be indelible. At the present time, mid-September, one can still enjoy a walk or bike ride on the trail system east of town. What an asset that is for Morris.
We just got through UMM Homecoming 2023. I did not attend anything. My enthusiasm wanes about the U. Or maybe the loss of enthusiasm has a broader element connected to what's happening with colleges in general.
My priority over the last ten years has been to try to assist UMM music. I was discouraged prior to fall classes, hearing that students would not be a part of the Homecoming concert. Powers-that-be at UMM would of course have excuses for this. What would you expect? I felt disconsolate in a similar way last spring when I slipped in for the start of UMM graduation. Over the long stretch of time we have assumed that UMM band and choir would perform for graduation. My friends and I might exchange notes on how well these groups performed. But it was a given that they would simply be there.
My late father lost enthusiasm about attending graduation because he was discouraged that his "UMM Hymn" was not being performed. Perhaps it would cheer him up to know that at present, there is no band or choir presence for graduation. Thus there's no issue with the Hymn. But there is an overriding issue with the scaling-back of the graduation ceremony.
I never could have foreseen this. The discouragement doesn't end with music. Perhaps an even bigger issue was the lack of printed graduation programs. This rather screams that UMM is watching nickels and dimes. Which would lead to what in the long-term future? Closure of the institution? Colleges in general are certainly not on an upswing. Anything but.
It doesn't help either that our football team has given up over 40 points in each of its first two games, both losses of course. You would think the mighty U of M could see to it we got just a few more resources to be more competitive at our admittedly modest level of play. But no.
Where there's a will. . .
If the problem with Homecoming was that it was scheduled early, well then why was it scheduled this way? Too early? If UMM still has a decent stable of talented music students, could not the students be self-starters and make sure something dynamic was done? Aren't we supposed to be special here at UMM? That's always been the talk.
But higher education faces continuing headwinds. I guess the primary reason is cost, the kind of debt that gets rung up. Should we as a nation try to reduce the burden somehow? Have costs shot up precisely because of government efforts to "help" in the first place? That's a scenario I have read about. Any time the government subsidizes something, the cost of that thing goes up. Try to "help" colleges and they raise tuition. For a long time they were in an "arms race" with amenities to offer students.
Not a bellwether but. . .
I realize that St. Cloud State ought not be viewed as an example for what is likely to happen here, but let's not rule out extrapolating some. SCSU built a new football stadium in 2004. SCSU decided a few years later to cut football. Curiouser and curiouser. That kind of cut might be suggested here, not only because of UMM's trouble showing competitiveness but with the overarching concern about the safety of the players everywhere.
SCSU has gotten big headlines over its cuts. A banner headline on the Star Tribune's front page in fact. But now the SCSU theater program is falling victim to the ax. Can we envision any kind of reversal in such a trend? UMM's retrenchment is evident in how it handled graduation. Oh my, a "recording" of "Pomp and Circumstance." You've got to be (expletive) me. I mean, really. Again, people at the top of UMM would have a way to "spin" this. That is what they do.
I inquired about a program at the entrance to the P.E. Center or whatever it's called now. I wasn't prepared to be told there were no programs. The attendant at the door said people were supposed to "use their smartphones" to access a program. I am not at all illiterate with new tech - I have a YouTube channel, four email accounts and two blogs. I am not clueless but I have no clue when it comes to using a smartphone for accessing a graduation program. So I went without.
I'm sure many people like to have the program as a souvenir. Think of the many grandparents coming from near and far who'd like to rely on the simple paper program. Plus they would love to hear the robust sound of the student musicians, just like what was the norm for so long. The norm.
What's next for getting the ax? Get ready.
Maybe we'll end up with a music program like at Crookston: a music minor only and with ensembles composed of a combo of students and community persons. Not to say they don't all have a good time with this, up in the desolate region where Crookston is located. Wait a minute, that's the way a lot of people describe Morris.
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| An HFA scene from winter (B.W. photo) |
Whither our music department? The choir not to perform my father's UMM Hymn looks like total small potatoes now. To use a popular word, UMM music may face an "existential" dilemma. When I was a young person, the word "existential" was considered the ultimate "50-cent word." Best not to use it.
This morning I got an update from a friend on how UMM fared with the Homecoming concert. Like me this person did not attend but he was filled in. First of all, this friend told me that a promo poster in a downtown business window did not announce the time of the concert.
This individual said the quality of the concert was actually good. But it did not involve "current students." Well, that negates everything, doesn't it? I mean, really. Students are where it's at. So what really was the point?
No doubt certain faculty members can perform boffo. Students should always be the main showcase. My friend said the musical fare was by "all faculty and a couple alumnae."
"The new choir director sang a South American folk song."
A major black mark that was reported to me, was that the admission price for the concert was ten bucks! And this with students not involved in the performing. Outrageous. My memory tells me that UMM Homecoming concerts have been typically if not exclusively free admission. My father had a nit-pick one year: the band performed "dissonant" (modern) music. He felt the program for the Homecoming concert should have crowd-pleasers. What would Dad think about this year's arrangement? Well he grew up in the Great Depression, youngest of five boys, high school graduate of 1934, so he learned to watch his wallet pretty closely.
Ten dollars? Oh of course the spin would be that a "fundraiser" needed an infusion. Schools of all kinds are always looking for money. The campus ought to be user-friendly for an occasion like Homecoming weekend, minimal and maybe no charge for everything. Be thankful people want to show up and show support.
The U of M Foundation gets plenty of dollars from the Scrooge McDuck types. I know, I have hung around these events some, have learned to act like a big shot myself. Actually I'm pretty humble.
Not heartening
All the current trends have me feeling far less enthusiastic for supporting the U here. And then the crowning blow came a few days ago when I received a critical email from Sue Dieter, who has some sort of job at the Welcome Center. Well, it appears things did not work out for her at the local newspaper and then she parachuted to Collin Peterson's office for a time, but Peterson was not long for this world as congressperson. Republicans have seized total control of rural western Minnesota.
My theory is that the usual suspects with the local "women's lib" crowd worked on UMM administration to hire Sue because she was one of them. That's how these things work. I have spent most of my life being trampled upon by "liberated" women who feel part of their mission is to humiliate men. I could give you the names of three women, Sue being one, who rode herd over me to make sure I'd never feel any self-esteem in the workplace.
I worked under a female editor once who took an off-the-street rumor from a known eccentric and put it on Page 1. The paper quickly had to run a "correction and apology" on Page 1. The editor was propped up by the local feminists. She was untouchable. I would have had sheer hell to pay if I had shown the same kind of dereliction in judgment, so bad I hate to even write about it. But here I am, drowning in my sorrows as it were.
Our custodian said to me "people would be laughing at you if you did that."
Drifting away
My experiment of trying to get in the flow with U of M interests is over. I am switching to the Morris Area School Foundation. And if people alienate me there, I will be cast totally adrift. I sort of feel that way anyway. My critics would say "no one cares what you think." Well, Mongo just pawn in game of life. And could the UMM football defense get just a wee bit stabilized?
On a happier note, I quote the joy about early fall weather from this email from Patty Wetterling this morning (Wednesday):
The sharing of support is strengthening. Words matter. Kindness matters. Yesterday I received an amazing note in the mail and it made me smile. I went for a walk just before sunset and watched as an eagle soared high above me, circling our road as the sky turned glorious colors.
“Thank you, God.”
May you and your family enjoy this very special time of year. Soak in the glorious colors and don’t miss an opportunity to share love and gratitude each and every day.
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| A nice fall photo that I took around Morris. |
- Bran Williams - morris mn minnesoita - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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