PCC Courier, October 31, 1962

When Gobbling Roamed the Country! Wicked witches, ghastly ghosts, and grotesque gob¬ lins will leave their haunted abodes tonight, and overrun the country, demanding a “trick or treat.” It’s halloween again! Year after year, spritely mon¬ sters celebrate this special day — but how did it begin? Back when the Druids inhabited the British Isles, the words “Why I remember the time I saw a ghost ... !” might have been heard. Of course, the Druids would not say this just any night. The eve of Samhain was re¬ served for story-telling. The Celtic year ended on October 31, or the eve of Samhain, and was celebrated with both religious and pagan rites. Samhain was likewise the “end of summer” and a festival of the dead. Recounting their personal experiences with ghosts, the Druids would light bonfires to keep the wandering spirits away, and then discuss the possibilities of death, identities of future marriage partners, and chances of good fortune. In those days there were no established calendars; therefore, no date for this special occasion could be set until hundreds of years later. Finally November 1 was designated as All Saints Day, and since then October 31 has become All Hallow’s Eve. Tradition has carried down through the years and Halloween still holds the atmosphere of ghosts and gob¬ lins, but many other things have been mixed in. Pump¬ kins, nuts, and apples are holdovers from Roman festi¬ vals, as are the jack-o’-lantern, the annual “trick or treat,” and the scary ghosts are all symbols of the celebration. Pranks and mischief were also common to earlier Halloweens in rural Ireland and England. Wandering groups blocked doorways, carried away gates, tapped on windows, threw vegetables, and covered chimneys with turf to keep the smoke inside. Because the people were superstitious, there were many tense and exciting mo¬ ments. The contemporary “trick or treat” custom resembles an ancient Irish practice. Groups of peasants went from house to house demanding food and other gifts in prepa¬ ration for the evening’s festivities. Everything nice was assured of liberal donors but undesirable gifts and threats were given to the mean, stingy people. The festival did not become popular in this country until the later part of the 19th century. At that time, numerous Halloween traditions appeared in the United States. The witch, black cat, pumpkin heads, candles, apple bobbing, “trick or treat” custom, masks, parties, and especially pranks made their debut. Eventually, the mischief became quite common, and everybody felt sure American youths were becoming juvenile delinquents. Fences were built across roads, wagons placed on top of barns, outhouses overturned, and farm animals hidden. In the cities and towns, “spooks” placed porch furniture on top of telephone poles, over¬ turned garbage cans, opened water faucets, and soaped windows. Of course, that was in the 1800’s. Now, these Haloween pranksters have thought up more ingenious gadgets. So developed the tradition of Halloween. Its history is long and varied, but the idea remains the same. It is a time to have fun and to share good times. People have celebrated in many ways, some good and some bad, but the festivities were and still are to be enjoyed by all. PCC Coufoi&t VOL. 17, NO. 8 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 31, 1962 Meeting Held on College Curriculum Dr. Catherine Robbins, presi¬ dent of Pasadena City College, at¬ tended a Community Curriculum Committee meeting at Los An¬ geles State College recently. The conference provided college administrators and members of the community an opportunity to meet and discuss the LASC cur¬ riculum. It was noted at the meeting that LASC is a comprehensive college because of its profession¬ al schools in nursing, business ad¬ ministration, engineering, educa¬ tion, public service and public ad¬ ministration. Although LASC is generally a liberal arts institu¬ tion, it has an extensive elemen¬ tary education program. In addition to a wide curricu¬ lum, the school is able to attract a gifted faculty due to its metro- olitan location and its opportuni¬ ties for faculty members who want experience as consultants in their fields of study. Figures were presented which showed that 35 per cent of the persons at LASC are graduate students. Holder Announces Finance Revisions Articles in PCC’s finance code have been revised by Bruce Al¬ len, commissioner of finance, and Business Manager Earl W. Hold¬ er. The alterations in the code in¬ clude a change in club allotments. In the past, on-campus organi¬ zations and commissions have been granted a full allotment for their various activities at the be¬ ginning of the fall semester, oft¬ en leaving these commissions with little or no budget for the spring semester. The new finance code provides that the different organizations be given only one-half of the budget per semester unless spe¬ cial permission is granted by the commissioner. A refund rate on textbooks has been reviewed in order to protect the student. If a student drops out of school during the first week of classes, he will receive the full purchase price of the book. The second week a dollar will be subtracted and from the third week on there will be a re¬ duction of 50 cents. Each stu¬ dent must present a card which verifies him officially dropped from school to the College Bank before such refunds. Also revised were the articles concerning lost or stolen articles at student body functions and the allotments for meals at various off-campus functions, such as con¬ ferences and athletic competi¬ tions. No Music Hour There will be no Music Hour this Thursday because of mid¬ term examinations. The next program will be November 8. — Courier Photo by Paul Poduska SCOPES TRIAL — Matthew Brady, played by Lloyd Steele, has been called to the witness stand in the play “Inherit the Wind," which depicts the famous trial of 1925. Lawyer Henry Drummond, played by Kevin Fishburn, quizzes Brady as the jury looks on. PRESS CONFERENCE Construction Nears Completion John E. Twomey, administrative dean in charge of the day col¬ lege, told Courier reporters in their weekly press conference that the women’s physical education building and the Campus Center will be ready for occupancy sometime this month. The press conference can be heard over KPCS (89.3 FM) Thurs¬ day night at 7:45. Dean Twomey pointed out that the building delay was due to problems with sub-contractors. He also attributed part of the delay to February rains and summer strikes. According to Dean Twomey, “Contractors are awarded school projects on the basis of the lowest bid.” He noted that the cost for phase A was “approximately one and a half million dollars,” with financing for this rehabilitation at PCC coming from a 1958 bond issue. Dean Twomey stated that the ASB has, over the years, set money aside for a Campus Center. Approximately $30,000 of this money is being used for furnishings in the new center. Inherit the Wind’ Presented Nov. 2-3 “Inherit the Wind” will be presented by PCC’s Theater Arts Association Friday and Saturday at 8:15 p.m. in Sexson Auditorium. Written by Jerome Laurence and Robert E. Lee, the play is based on the famous Scopes trial of 1925. “Inherit the Wind” opens with the jailing of the local biology instructor for teaching Darwin’s theory in his classes. The townspeople, who reject the idea of evolution as “anti- God,” are howling for blood. The town has taken on the air of a re¬ vival meeting, and Matthew Har¬ rison Brady, played by Lloyd Steele, is being feted as the prose¬ cutor who will make everything right. SHORTLY it is discovered that the teacher has written to the Bal¬ timore Herald of his plight and that the newspaper is sending “somebody” out to defend him. The somebody turns out to be E. K. Hornbeck (played by David Gruell), a famous reporter, and Alcoholism Talk Set for Tuesday Dr. Nicholas J. Khoury will speak on “Alcoholism Is a Dis¬ ease” at the health education as¬ sembly Tuesday at noon in Sex- son Auditorium. Dr. Khoury, head of the Alco¬ holic Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles and chairman of the AMA Alcoholic Committee of Los Angeles County, will be intro¬ duced by the director of the Pasa¬ dena Alcoholism Information Cen¬ ter, Mrs. Laura McLaughlin, who will provide pamphlets on the topic. Scheduled on the same pro¬ gram, under the student direction of Larry Topjon, is a series of slides and a question-answer pe¬ riod on alcoholism. Henry Drummond (played by Kevin Fishburn), a famous law¬ yer. The townspeople, though awed, are firmly confident that no one can shake Brady, particularly in this “Bible belt.” Thus the stage is set. An actual revival meeting is held on the eve of the trial; hatred and recrimina¬ tion are rampant. The trial starts — all of Drummond’s scientific evi¬ dence is ruled out, and with pure reasoning, psychology, and high dramatic effect, he proceeds to pull Brady apart, bit by bit, until he is a shaken, distraught man. In the end, even his own fol¬ lowers are paying little attention to him. THE LOCAL jury gives the teacher such a small fine for be¬ ing “guilty” that he, himself, won¬ ders what the decision has really been. With Brady dead from a heart attack and the teacher acquitted, the town is shamefully silent in its own shadow of guilt; it is left for Drummond to pronounce the benediction, the epitaph, as he bal¬ ances two books — Darwin and the Bible — one against the other, slaps them together side by side, and takes them with him. Director Donald Liercke said, “The presentation is superior, not only dramatically, but it contains a message. It shows problems — narrow-mindedness, to be specific, therefore aiding the alleviation of such problems.” Counseling Begins for 2nd Semester Metcalf Discusses Guatemala at Tuesday Evening Forum James Metcalf, a professional photographer, will narrate a film on Guatemala at the Tuesday Evening Forum in Sexson Audi¬ torium at 8 p.m., November 6. This session, concerning Guate¬ mala and its relation to the ten¬ sion in the Caribbean, will be par¬ ticularly timely in view of the recent developments in that area, noted forum officials. Metcalf’s wide background in Latin America qualifies him to as¬ sess both cultural and political developments. He has gained much first hand knowledge of affairs in Latin America. During World War II he traveled extensively for the Army Ordnance Corps, producing technical manuals and training films. Metcalf, who has been a profes¬ sional photographer for almost 20 years, majored in chemistry at the University of Michigan. He also studied commercial photog¬ raphy at the professional school at Winona, Ind. At the present he is under contract to produce a series of motion pictures for Coronet Instructional Films, Inc. Among the countries he has filmed are Canada, Yucatan, Mexi¬ co, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hon¬ duras, Cuba, Venezuela, Colom¬ bia, and the West Indies. James Metcalf . . Forum Speaker Counseling for second semester classes will begin November 19, Dr. Irvin G. Lewis, dean of guid¬ ance, announced recently. Sophomores (those with identi¬ fication codes 5 or above) may re¬ port to the information window in 138C to make counseling appoint¬ ments, beginning November 8 at 8 a.m. and continuing through No¬ vember 13. Freshmen will make appoint¬ ments in Harbeson Hall Novem¬ ber 14 through 16 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and in 138C from 5 to 9 p.m. All students may make appoint¬ ments at any time in 138C begin- ginning November 19. A new feature included for the first time this year will be the is¬ suance of letters to Honors at En¬ trance freshmen inviting them to program for preferred times with the sophomores.