I scream ice cream!
Page 4B
Friday, June 1, 1984
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SPRING FILMS 94
T-BONE
iURNETT
BIU A RVV HI K
I The Cultural Forum's anonymous nine I
It's hard not to notice what they' do.
Throughout the year, they have brought to
campus the weekly beer gardens and films.
The Clash. Reverend Chumleigh. the Aper
ture Photo Gallery, the annual Willamette
Valley Folk Festival. Hunter,Thompson.ljazz
gigs, the Holiday Crafts Fair and many other
diversions. Arid they do it with consistent
quality and variety.
Yet. paradoxically, they work in virtual
anonymity.
.They are the nine volunteer student
coordinators of the EMU Cultural Forum who
sponsor and promote educational and enter
tainment programs for the. University
community.
With help and advice from Frank
Geltner. Jan Warren and Sheila Nice of the
EMU Program Consulting Office, the coor
dinators plan events in seven areas, which in- ‘
* elude contemporary issues, film/video,
heritage music, performing arts. popular/)azz
concerts, visual arts and-the program com
mittee. This past year the coordinators have
5t:ory by David Carbon
done their work on a $67,884 budget; money
that comes from Incidental Fees — the $56
fee that students pay with tuition every term.
Since the Cultural Forum is a non-profit
organization, all income from programs is
kicked back into more programming. Univer
sity Program Consultant Geltner says.
Because of this. Cultural Forum members
collectively handle huge sums of money For
instance in 1982-83. over $250,000 in income
and near that in expenses passed through
the Cultural Forum's books.
- This monetary responsibility is only the
beginning of d Cultural Forum s coor
dinator's work. Tim Schiafbuch. this year s
popular and jazz concert coordinator, finds
his job challenging in many ways. I do.
everything from contacting agents'and adver
tising. to meeting bands at the airport and
partying with the band after the show*, he
sdys. t
With such varied demands. Geltner says
potential. Cultural Forum members are
carefully screened through an extensive app
plication and interview process every April.
The positions are coveted by students and
competition for them is keen — even though
the jobs don't pay.
Why are these positions so desirable'
even though there is no pay. little recognition
and a heavy time commitment?
Schafbuch. who works as much as six
hours a day for the Cultural Forum and was
responsible for luring The Clash to the
University this'week. says he does it because
. it s a lot of fun. \and;because of the profes
sional expenericeVie gams.
"It's a hardcore business environment
where ! get to talk to professionals in New
York. L-A. and Portland....it's a rare opportuni
ty, " he says, adding that handling money is a
big part of what he does: Schafbuch was
responsible for the $30,000 in expenses in
volved in The Clash agreement.
Schafbuch says he hopes to turn his
Cultural Forum experience into a career in
the entertainment business as others before
him have done; former Cultural Forum
member Shane Tappendorf is now the chief
promoter for Double Tee promotions in
•Portland.
Professional considerations aside, con
temporary issues coordinator Wendy Stoltz
says she works for the Cultural Forum to ex
perience camaraderie and for personal
satisfaction.' The $1 1,500 budget that she
receives from Incidental Fee allocation is the
largest of the seven Forum areas.
Stoltz. an interruattohal studies major,
says she has tried to bring am. international
perspective.to her area. With programs such
as Eyewitness to War. featuring journalists
covering Afghanistan. Ireland and Cambodia,
and with speakers such as Irish nationalist
Bernadette, Devlin McCaliskey. Stoltz has
achieved just that.
Not all her Cultural Forum experiences
were on a serious note, however, as" Stoltz
recently discovered when she sponsored
qotvo journalist Hunter'S. Thompson of bad
craziness'' fame.
i. "His. agent told me I'm supposed to kick
him under the table if he starts rambling.''
she said. Through his agent. Thompson also
requested that he have tw.o bottles of Wild
Turkey on stage and a desire not to have din
ner with men; he wanted big-busted women,
says Stoitz.
Stoltz. like all Cultural Forum members,
has almost complete. control over the pro
grams she brings to the University. While
some people criticize this policy and say the
Cultural Forum risks not meeting the desires
of the University community. Stoltz says that
personally she tries to achieve a balance.
"You bring in your own personal in
terests. plus you're in tune with the interests
of the wider student bo$y." she says;
John Nafsinger. the film and video’coor
dinator for Lhe last two years, agrees^
"I have a good feel for the student
population and try to show a wide variety of
films such as shopping mall (popular) films,
art films, classics and foreign films." he
-.says,
Nafsinger says an interest in experimen
tal films inspired him to make a policy of
showing short films before the feature. "I feel
it's an obligation to bring abstract, ex
perimental short films. I love to hear people
boo and hiss when they don't understand
them." he says.
Perhaps a lack of understanding at Fri
day night films is due to overindulgence at
the weekly beer gardens. Tim Kelley, along
with Lori Salzarulo and Craig Baker, make up
the Cultural Forum program committee,
which co-sponsors the Friday gardens with
the EMU Food Services.
Kelley. who,books the beer garden.enter
tainment'. says he tried this year to change
the format to more of a concert atmosphere.
Most people go to socialize, but I have
more interest in the music part of it. I tried to
bring bigger ideas to it. but Food Services
wants low-key background music instead of
a concert. " he says.
Dealing with headaches and conflicts
like these is-the norm for the Cultural Forum,
whose other members include heritage
music coordinator Jamie MckpHop. perform
ing arts coordinator MartT-McCrary. and visual
arts coordinator Carol Ten Eyck. Usually
though, the coordinators' work involves more
enthusiasm than problems. "You .worry aboCit
your program’all the tune, says Kelley. It's
your little baby "