september 5, 2017 issue 2 ~ volume 103
a student newspaper of the university of tulsa
Ballet in Studio K: members elaborate on art of dance before opening performance
Tulsa alum Ray Bachlor shares his story Ray Bachlor, who began at TU in 1943, shares stories from his life with the Collegian. Alex Garoffolo Student Writer
The Collegian met with two dancers in the upcoming program “Creations in Studio K” at Tulsa Ballet to discuss the art-form in terms of what people think of it and what it really is. Ethan Veenker Variety Editor Across the street from a library, packed into a corner of sorts, the Tulsa Ballet stood proud but unprovoking. A small statue of two dancers stood out on the front lawn, and a few bright splotches of color travelled around the building’s interesting architecture. It certainly didn’t reflect the posh, artsy stereotype that has been associated with ballet as an artform. The lobby was small but inviting enough. A couple televisions played a recording of what I assumed to have been a past performance. I watched a man in a bright shirt turn away from a more darkly dressed man, looking ashamed. A couple women seemed to console him and to coo in his ears while a desolate tune of piano and strings gave
the sensation of a fall from grace. The other man stormed off the stage after a few welltimed pirouettes. After a brief talk with a receptionist and the company manager I ended up in an impromptu tour of the building before landing in a small conference room. Perhaps the room wasn’t small, but more that the massive table at which I sat took up most of the space. Lining the walls were several floor-toceiling glass cabinets with dozens of balletrelated figurines and statuettes, made from porcelain, wood and probably more materials I couldn’t discern. I’d walked into the room with Regina Montgomery, a full-time dancer for Tulsa Ballet as well as their shoe coordinator, the latter of which she described to me in brief by stating “all the shoes come through me.” A few moments later we were joined by Daniel van de Laar. He’s Dutch, hailing from the Netherlands originally, and beyond being a full-time dancer he choreographs and does photography on the side. We spoke briefly about an upcoming event being hosted at Tulsa Ballet: a program called “Creations in Studio K,” in which both dancers will be performing.
photo by Ethan Veenker
The show runs Sept. 15–24 at Tulsa Ballet with tickets starting at $25 for students. The piece is notable as it’s choreographed by an all-female team of three: Helen Pickett, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Young Soon Hue. “It’s a lot less common for choreographers to be female; most are male,” Montgomery said. “Not just the choreographers,” van de Laar added, “also the costume designers, they’re all female.” They described these details as supportive of the program’s celebration of feminism. From feminism comes the subject of gender, so the discussion traveled to the subject of gender ratios within ballet. Where choreographers apparently tend to be mostly male, dancers are unsurprisingly and overwhelmingly female. “I think a lot of guys get bullied,” Montgomery said. “A lot of guys don’t want to do ballet. … When you think of ballet what do you think of? You think of a ballerina.” Van de Laar, being the male ballet performer in the room, weighed in: “I often get the question ‘Oh are you wearing pointed shoes? Do you wear a tutu?’”
See Ballet, page 10
TU Administration adds positions to attract and aid more student veterans The University of Tulsa continues its efforts to accomadate student veterans with new staff members and responsibilities. Michaela Flonard Managing Editor Last week, The Collegian reported that Tom Russell, a TU alum, had donated a large sum to TU, part of which went towards the creation of three new permanent staff positions to help student veterans navigate their college and professional careers. Two of those positions are currently filled: a director of TU’s veteran’s affairs and a veteran recruiter. For Cindy Watts, the Director of Veteran Affairs, Russell’s donation meant a title change. Watts has worked at TU for 30 years, serving most recently as the Associate Registrar. Now she is the Associate Registrar and the Director of Veteran’s Affairs. In Watts’s case, the title change does not
affect her duties. The Director of Veteran’s Affairs is expected to fill out the paperwork necessary for the various GI Bills veterans come to school with, so that they can get tuition payments or stipends for housing and books. Before her title change, however, Watts performed these duties for TU’s veteran’s population and any dependents or spouses who were also covered by GI bills. While her workload is currently manageable, Watts said if the population of veterans increases, which is the university’s goal, she will leave her associate registrar duties. “I’m not superwoman, I can’t do it all,” she said. Over the years, Watts has noticed a slight increase in the amount of veterans attending TU, but hopes next fall the school will see a larger increase. Watts was also part of the original push for TU to become a Yellow Ribbon school. Without this designation, the VA caps the amount of tuition paid at $22805.34 for an entire year for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, including fall, spring and summer semesters. As part of the Yellow Ribbon program, TU
splits the remainder of the cost with the VA; half is paid by TU scholarships while the VA pays the other half of the veteran’s tuition and fees. “At first, we put a cap on the number of people who could attend,” she said, but the university erased the cap, so an unlimited number of veterans can attend. In the case of the veteran recruiter, the story is different. Will Rojas, the new transfer admissions counselor and veteran recruiter, just began work at TU six weeks ago thanks to Russell’s donation. Previously, Rojas had worked for a community service council initiative, where he was helping to house homeless vets. “It was a holistic type of program. We not only focused on housing but we also looked at getting employment, making sure any VA benefits they were eligible for they were enrolled in, and any other services, such as mental health, they were getting,” he explained.
See Veterans, page 5
In 1943, the TU campus was much smaller. Where the Old U is now, there was a circle drive that had the library, Tyrell Hall (for music), and the engineering building (currently Phillips Hall). Behind the library stood Chapman Hall. The campus was so much smaller that a private neighborhood existed between it and Skelly Field. It was in 1943 that Ray Bachlor started at TU, right after legendary all-American tailback Glenn Dobbs left. Bachlor, like many today, studied petroleum engineering at TU before being drafted into the army in the summer of 1944. He was assigned to a paratrooper unit for the invasion of Japan but the army recalled the assignment after America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1948, Bachlor returned to TU to continue his studies, while concurrently staying in the Army Reserve. In 1950, he was recalled to active duty for the Korean War effort, eventually coming back to Tulsa in 1954 with a wife and two kids in tow. Bachlor found a job at an engineering firm in town, working on the B-47 bomber. His work turned to research and development on intercontinental ballistic missiles as a viable means for delivering nuclear warheads to the intended target. Once Sputnik happened, Bachlor’s firm quickly became focused on getting into orbit. In 1960, he graduated with a degree in Physics due to his new focus in life. Eventually Bachlor became the Program Manager for Special Space Programs with NASA, following his firm’s work on the Delta project that saw him working on a program that launched the first weather satellite, Tiros, into low-earth orbit. At NASA, Bachlor worked with teams to test, manufacture, design and market thirdstage hardware for NASA launch vehicles like the Atlas/Centaur, Atlas/Agena and Thor/Agena. After NASA, in 1977, Bachlor went to California after purchasing an automobile franchise. He worked on cars, inspecting, fixing and servicing cars at a time when they were switching away from carburetors and condensers to the chip and computer systems we have in today’s vehicles. Bachlor eventually became president of the company, managing 200 nation-wide franchises. This afforded him the unique opportunity to work with a few notable people in marketing and launching products: George Hurst (creator of the Hurst Shifter, for you muscle car aficionados), Al Lapin (founder of IHOP) and Leon Panetta. Following the car business, Bachlor operated a macadamia nut and avocado grove for 15 years, selling the business in 1996 and leaving California when water rationing hit in 2001. He currently lives in Tulsa at the Zarrow Pointe Retirement Center, remaining very active in many activities there. Bachlor conducts a weekly discussion of current events in science, medicine, local and foreign Affairs, conducts a monthly book club and is a member of the Board of Directors. Bachlor also works to sponsor STEM speakers at local schools and initiated and advised on a residence parking cover/solar cell installation (70 kwh) and two 100 kwh rooftop installations. He credits his education at TU for much of his success, especially in the areas of geology, physics and engineering.