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THE
Clarion Call CLARION UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1913
MARCH 1, 2012
VOL. 98 ED. 17
Boys choir gives concert at university Alizah Thornton NEWS EDITOR CLARION, Pa. - The AfroAmerican Music Institute Boys Choir visited Clarion University Saturday, Feb. 25. The choir, consisting of all males ages 5 to 23, sang a collection of songs to students, faculty and community members in the audience. The show titled “Soulful Journey Through Afro-American Music” included music selections from a variety of music genres such as black art music, blues, gospel, pop, spiritual and jazz. Dr. James Johnson is the executive director for the Afro-American Music Institute of Pittsburgh, located in the Homewood area of the city. Dr. Brian Roberts, assistant professor of English at the university, opened the event. Founded in 1982, the AAMI was started as music school based for the community “with a mission to preserve the cultural tradition and quality of a music that is widely recognized today as an original American art form,” according to
Lunga Bechtel / The Clarion Call
Members from the Afro-American Boys Choir sing in Hart Chapel. the program brochure. The AAMI’s Boys Choir was founded in 1990 by Pamela Johnson, wife of James Johnson. Roberts currently studies music under Dr. Johnson at the institute. “You’re never too old to learn,” he said.
The AAMI Boys Choir opened the show with the song “Life Every Voice,” also known as the black national anthem. “I’d like to take you back to Africa,” Johnson said before he introduced the next song titled “We are
the Drums,” which included original raps composed by two members of the group. Johnson entertained the audience between songs with history about the meaning of the song before it was performed. The group’s Associate
Director Howard Alexander accompanied the choir and Johnson on the keyboard throughout the show. Jocelind Gant, assistant to the President for Social Equity and associate vice president for Inter-
national Programs, presented Johnson and his wife Pamela with a special award. Gant gave the award recognizing the couple for their “distinguished community service and dedication.” The event closed with a song titled “One Big Family.” Johnson, member of Phi Mu Alpha, invited the members of Clarion University’s Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia chapter to join the group in this final song. The song was a representation that everyone should learn to live together as one, Johnson said. “If we don’t learn to respect one another, and one another’s races, we are going downhill fast.” Special thanks for the production of the event go to: Dr. Hank Alviani, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Chartwell’s Catering, Clarion University Admissions Office, Clarion Student Association, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Student and University Affairs, Department of Athletics, College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Music.
History professor publishes sixth book C l u b c o l l e c t s p r o m Rachel Farkas dresses for high school students STAFF WRITER
CLARION, Pa. Robert Frakes, professor of history at Clarion University, recently published his sixth book, titled “Compiling the Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum in Late Antiquity.” Frakes most recent work analyzes the “Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum,” or “Collation of the Laws of Moses and the Romans,” which is a legal compilation put together by an anonymous editor at the end of the fourth century. The original work “compares laws from the Hebrew Bible with corresponding passages from Roman jurists and Roman laws to form discussions on 16 topics, including homicide, adultery, homosexuality, incest and cruelty toward slaves,” according to an article on the university’s website. Frakes said he became interested in the “Collation of the Laws of Moses and the Romans” while doing research for an earlier project. In order to do research for this book, he visited various archives in Germany, Holland and England to examine both medieval and early modern manuscripts of the work. “The staff members of
Brittany Bender STAFF WRITER
Courtesy Photo / The Clarion Call
Professor Robert Frakes’ book analyzes fourth-century legal compilation. the libraries in Europe were quite helpful to me as a visiting American professor, although I had to wear special gloves to turn the pages of the manuscripts,” said Frakes. “The Leopold Wenger Institute for Ancient Legal History at the University of Munich was especially welcoming and allowed me to work in their collection for many months.” There has been some debate about the religious identity of the collator. Some earlier scholars believed it was a Jewish author. Frakes concluded it was more likely a Chris-
tian author after tracing the collator’s quotes to a Christian Latin translation of the Bible. Frakes said the Christian collator was likely a lawyer writing in the late fourth century in an attempt to “draw pagan lawyers to seeing the connections between the law of a monotheistic God and traditional Roman law.” This book is written for a scholarly audience, in the fields of Roman history, Roman law and the history of Christianity, and is intended for use in research libraries.
Four of Frakes’ previously published works similarly focused on ancient history and were intended for scholarly use. He has also written a textbook, “Writing for College History,” that he said has done “fairly well with student and general audiences.” After publishing his sixth book, Frakes said he still enjoys remaining in research and writing. “I feel that conducting research keeps my teaching up-to-date both in the content of my field as well as in teaching historical research and writing.,” Frakes said.
CLARION, Pa. - With prom season just around the corner, some high school students are starting to think about their attire for the event. However, prom dresses, tuxedos and accessories can be expensive for students in high school. Some of them may not have the monetary resources for prom, and may not attend.. The Clarion University dance team is participating in the Allegheny County Human Services Department’s Project Prom. This program offers free prom attire including gowns, accessories such as shoes and jewelry and tuxedos to eligible students free of charge. Items come from donations from businesses and individuals. Donations were accepted up until Feb. 29, and the dance team members donated many of their
THIS WEEK’S EDITION
Inside
INDEX
Former “Mafia” member speaks to students. FEATURES PAGE 5
Profile of Melissa Kuntz “Caravans” exhibit. ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 8
EWL wresting preview. SPORTS PAGE 10
News Opinion Features Classifieds Puzzles & Comics Arts & Entertainment Sports Standings
own prom gowns from when they were in high school. The students wishing to receive the items collected from Project Prom will go t h r o u g h a n application process, and those selected will receive items on March 6, in plenty of time for prom. “Doing the Project Prom allows the Dance Team to get involved in other communities outside of Clarion. We enjoyed donating our prom dresses, even though some were hard to part with. We hope that next year, we will be able to have more involvement with this project,” said Kristen Hatch, co-captain of Clarion University’s dance team. The dance team plans on participating in the fundraiser again next year, and encourages others to get involved as well. More information about Project Prom can be found at the web site www.alleghenycounty.us/ dhs/projectprom.aspx
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