THE VOLUME 90 | ISSUE X
ANCHOR
November 28 2016
© The Anchor 2016
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016
“Messiah’s Got Soul” comes to Providence GIANNA ROCCHIO
I
A&L Editor
n a town bursting with a wide selection of holiday performances to attend, finding one that achieves a balance of both traditional and modern values can be tough. Whether it is the voices, the songs or the overall style, these performances can become monotonous. On the other hand, shows sometimes try to modernize themselves too far from the very basic concepts of the holiday season. Fortunately, a local, nonprofit community group, “Reaching People Through Music: Voices of Rhode Island” (RPM Voices), is producing a performance for its annual advent concert whose music honors the season with sounds both old and new.
music, a diverse sound that is otherwise unfound in other areas of music. Dr. Thompson recognized the need for such a group and was able to utilize the community-wide enthusiasm to rekindle these unique musical traditions on a multigeneration level.
This year, the organization adapts Quincy Jones’ widely popular “Messiah’s Got Soul,” an interpretation of George Frideric Handel’s famous 1741 Christmas oratorio, “Messiah.” Produced in the 1990’s by
Jones, this contemporary gospel performance is unlike any other Christmas musical. It embraces a variety of African-American rooted genres of music, including hip-hop, jazz, R&B, blues, ragtime, and spirituals. The organization has over a decade-long history of entertaining audiences while maintaining its traditions. Through engagement and education, RPM Voices cultivates social bonds between diverse groups of people while emphasizing
the African-American perspective and experience. This group represents over 26 faiths and has given voice to over 500 people over the years through performances and workshops. Having appeared in front of audiences both large and small, RPM Voices has received critical acclaim in addition to a variety of honors and awards. With an eclectic lineup of songs, “Messiah’s Got Soul” offers something for everyone in the audience, regardless of age, gender, race, or
religion; the labels which all too often attempt to divide us. To see for yourself, this show “full of innovative twists and new sensations” is performing on Saturday December 3 at 7 p.m. at Beneficent Church on the corner of Weybosset and Chestnut Street in Providence. The show is $20 for adults, $10 for children ages five to twelve and free for those under age four. Funds will continue to support this local non-profit arts organization.
Started in 2003 by Brown University professor Dr. Clarice LaVerne Thompson, RPM Voices aims to preserve sacred and unique AfricanAmerican choral music. Both Brown University and Providence communities expressed a great passion for sustaining and promoting the folk traditions of African-American concert
Faculty make feelings known about advising TAYLOR DAME
A
News Editor
report created by the Advisement Committee makes clear the issues facing faculty when it comes to academic advising at Rhode Island College.
The report issued by the committee, which was made up of a College Representative, a Union Representative and the Faculty Advising Director, laid out the shortcomings of the current advising system
at RIC. RIC currently has a split advising model with OASIS and faculty splitting responsibility. However, as the report says, “while OASIS staff are still involved in advising, they are currently advising only ‘exploring majors.’ This has lead to an increased demand on faculty advisors.” This increased demand has been difficult for some as the union agreement created a 30 advisee limit. The report says that in some schools there is a problem of too many students and
not enough faculty resulting in 19 departments having at least one person with 31 or more advisees. In the Social Work Department, the average number of advisees is 68 and in Management it is 61.
Other issues looked at in the report include timing and the scope of advising topics. Faculty have issues with the timing of advising as it usually falls around midterms. This causes issues for faculty who are often dealing with exams and simply do not have time
to meet with every student or to hunt down stragglers who have not yet made an appointment.
The report mentions difficulties faculty have in regards to advising properly. “The scope of advising topics is quite broad, well beyond academic and career advising. Faculty possess limited knowledge of topics outside of specific program information for their majors.” The report recommended shifting to a shared model of advising in which
professional advisors and faculty share advising duties. This model is used by a vast majority of colleges. Results show 60% make use of professional advisors compared to just 18% for those institutions that use faculty-only advising.
Improving advising at RIC is an area of focus for the new college administration. The college has asked for $600,000 in next year’s budget to look into utilizing professional advising at RIC.
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