By Jill Tuthill and Karen Flores, Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor and Staff Writer
Manhattan University’s arts and entertainment groups and events have withstood a century’s worth of students. The Quadrangle has played a role in documenting the different forms of expression of art on campus throughout these 100 years.
Early issues of The Quadrangle did not divide their publication into sections, with poetry and original short stories next to hard news and short scripts for on-campus plays. In the first issue of The Quadrangle, published on Monday, Oct. 27, 1924, the front page was riddled with arts coverage on campus, including “Singers Organize,” covering a casting call for the then-all-male Glee Club. The issue also featured “Dance Orchestra Organized,” which read with the following lede:
“After a long suspension of musical activity in Manhattan, a dance orchestra has finally been started in the college,” The Quadrangle wrote.
From the very first issue of The Quadrangle, the arts were featured on campus – evolving along with the newspaper’s journalistic tradition.
Such was the case in an issue printed in 1927, which featured a story titled “The Dramatic Workshop” by A. N. P. ‘28. The page featured a scene-setting introduction reading, “Young man. / Voice on phone. / Young man’s wife,” a full play script framed by a column titled “Manhattan Cocktails” and a cigarette advertisement.
Students have long used The Quadrangle as a way to write about events that are close to their hearts. In 1990, Helene Hodapp wrote a column called “The Art of Mexico” and thanked her professor for the experience they provided for students.
“Well thanks to Dr. Joan Cammarata on Thursday, October 18th many of us had the distinct opportunity and pleasure of seeing Mexican art presented by Marvin D. Schwartz an expert on Art History from the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Hodapp wrote. “Mr. Schwartz dazzled students with a slide presentation of some of the most beautiful and unique Mexican art. The panoramic survey of Mexico’s visual art consisted of more than 400 works of art dating from 1000 B.C. to the present.”
In 1993, The Quadrangle dedicated a section to MU’s radio station, WRCM, where the newspaper published the station’s weekly programming and added a description of what WRCM would be doing that week.
“WEDNESDAY 10:00 A.M. – Poetry At Plato’s” Open microphone, and great poetry will be recited in this lovely four hour seminar. This week’s special guest is Andrew “Dice” Clay,” The Quadrangle wrote.
In slightly later issues of The Quadrangle, coverage of the arts on campus would be divided into a section entitled “Music Notes” followed by a short briefing on the music ensembles at the time, such as the Glee Club and Orchestra. The Quadrangle subsequently divided itself into News, Opinions, Features and Sports, with some early issues in 2003 nodding its head to an “Arts and Entertainment Coordinator.” Articles in this arts and entertainment section featured stories that largely focused on reviews of current movies or albums and on announcements from the official organization of new performing arts groups on campus. Other articles featured the organization of student bands – something that has varied throughout the years, and has seen a resurgence in recent ones. One example is an article from 2001 featuring a band called “No Way Out,” written by Annie McCarthy.
When reflecting on what students thought of when thinking about the 2000s, current ones might suggest nostalgic movies such as ‘Mean Girls’ or iPod shuffles. While The Quadrangle’s current music column goes by ‘Jasper Jams’, before this name was created, the 2008 Quadrangle had a column called ‘What’s On Your iPod?’. According to the 2008 Quadrangle, Kelly Shine wrote a column where she shared with her peers some of the songs in her music discography.
“Name: Just Dance, Artist: Lady Gaga, Album: The Fame, Rating: This is the perfect song for going out. It’s like a party anthem. Its message is great too. Just dance, and don’t worry about anything else. Be comfortable and have fun. Not to mention it’s probably the catchiest song in the world,” Shine wrote.
The Quadrangle and the arts at MU have seen changes throughout the century in a reciprocal way, and the two have had the ability to grow together.