From the desk of John Duskey '63

Educational programs in high school and college should include an appreciation of the arts. This is hard to do with a top-down approach. The article by Mike Gallagher ’67 and Erick Hoyt ’68 In the October 1966 Campionette introduces the problem. I will explore the subject further.

During our years at Campion, we were given a set of cultural standards. These standards were already established when we arrived. During the 1960s,and into the 1970s, there were many changes, both in the culture at Campion and in the culture of our society at large. Today we see the complex culture of our society. In it we see a wide variety of subcultures which are present in different ways and in different groups of people. We ought to start out by looking at the dictionary definition of the word culture as seen in Dictionary.com:

 (1) Culture is the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, and scholarly pursuits.

(2) Education and various forms of training often lead to the development or improvement of a culture. It is better if education and training lead to an improvement of culture.

(3) There are particular groups of people (defined by social, ethnic, professional, religious concerns, by age or other characteristics) who have shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that are part of their social environment. These are their group’s particular culture. They may be considered a subculture. Some subcultures fit in well with the overall culture of a society, and some don’t. Some subcultures remain a minority segment, and some simply disappear.

(4) Values and typical practices of a business or other organization such as a school. In a large corporation, these values and practices are considered to be their corporate culture. This could describe the corporate culture we experienced at Campion; it could describe the corporate culture of a religious order, or the corporate culture of a company, or any of the larger organizations or communities we have experienced in our lives.

(5) In the larger sense, culture is the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. The word tradition, which is derived from Latin, describes this transmission

There are biological/medical meanings of the word culture. I will set those aside.

In their October 1, 1966 Ette article on Culture, Gallagher and Hoyt praised the efforts of Fr. William Doran, S.J., to improve the school’s culture, by expanding curriculum programming in the arts. An appreciation of music, art, and various forms of literature is important if a school intends to lead students toward excellence in these fields. Gallagher and Hoyt added their voices to encourage this cultural development. They hoped it would become part of the culture of the whole school.

It is not possible to take giant steps forward in a short period of time. Cultural development takes time. Campion had an established culture when each class arrived in September. We’d like to think that the faculty and each group of students contributed something to improve the culture of the school, so that, four years later, at the time of graduation. the school had become better than it had been four years earlier. Looking back at our years at Campion, we wish that could have been true in every case, for each of our graduating classes.

Some of the innovations and improvements “take” and some don’t. Gallagher and Hoyt noted that a 1965 music appreciation program never really caught on. At Campion it was not easy to start an art program and find an art teacher who fit in, on a somewhat permanent basis, to the culture of the school. Jesuit priests were not available for this. Jesuit scholastics would only be able to stay for, at most, three years. It seemed that the fine arts were not a part of the culture of the Jesuit order. Incoming scholastics generally became classroom teachers of English, Latin, History, and sometimes Math. I am happy to state that there were several outstanding exceptions to this pattern. I recall the good work of Mr. Joseph O’Neill and Mr. Paul Megan, the two scholastics who directed the play “Oliver Twist” in May 1963. Gallagher and Hoyt mentioned Mr. Michael Olson, Mr. Robert Roemer, and Mr. James Ewens. Unfortunately, some of these scholastics eventually left the Jesuit order.

In the first sentence, the Gallagher-Hoyt article states “In the curricula of most respectable colleges, you will find courses in music appreciation, literary appreciation and art appreciation.” I would add that these fields of study should be in the curricula of most respectable high schools.

There is an even more important facet of the arts that should not be excluded: Appreciation should be paired with action. Students of Art should become comfortable picking up a paint brush. Students of literature should be comfortable writing in several styles and formats. Their teachers should stress the usefulness and pleasure of recognizing, delighting in, and writing solid, decent sentences. This does not happen by accident. There are practices and habits and a certain sense of alertness that are tools that students should learn to foster a good writing experience for the writer and a good reading experience for the reader.

Students should experience the opportunity to feel thoughts flow from their fingers as they write. Students of Music should be able to experience the flow of music from their fingers as they perform. There is an important relationship between mind and hands, and it is important for students to experience the collaboration that is naturally a part of theater and music. This leads to work that is not just interesting but it leads to processes and results that delight, energize and quiver with the gift of life. These are, or should be, important elements in the curricula of the most respectable high schools and colleges.

One of Campion’s strengths was in the appreciation of Literature. The four year sequence of English classes gives evidence of this. The experience of seeing films and live performances of drama were also a part of this appreciation of literature. Credit should be given to those teachers and students who took part in drama, print media, debate, forensics, and other means of bringing rhetorical skills to action. They enhanced their own education and added significantly to the culture of the school. This shows that “extracurricular activities” are just as important to education as what goes on in the classroom.

Another of Campion’s skills was Music, even though the 1965 plan to have a specific class in music appreciation did not develop staying power. Still, musical performance was able to touch the lives of students through concerts and performances at assemblies and through the choir at Mass. We grew to appreciate the works of Joseph Olivadoti and John Philip Sousa, even though we didn’t spend classroom time on them. The contribution of teachers like Prof. S. S. deRanitz and those students who performed in Band, Glee Club, and other singing groups added to the education of the student-performers and, in a special way, to the culture of the school.

Gallagher and Hoyt drew attention to the sense of separation between the music in the school’s program and the music they heard (in the 1960s) on WLS radio. Such a separation, which appeared to be real, ignores the basics of cultural change. Some of the music we experienced in our concerts was actually quite popular in the 1930s and 1940s. The advent of radio in the late 1920s facilitated these changes as popular music went through several stages: the big band era, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, among others.

Cultural change does not happen all of a sudden; it does not happen by a decree from some higher authority. It starts in a subculture, defined as the distinctive values and behavioral patterns distinctive of a particular group in a society. Such a group has social, economic, ethnic, or other traits that distinguish it from others within the same culture or society. What starts as a small group, a subculture, may end up as a major cultural force for society in general. Many subcultures have become influential as a part of the entire society and have beneficial effects. Those that do not have beneficial effects, we should hope, will get cast aside in favor of those more beneficial to society. There will be disagreements about what Is beneficial.

The whole history of cultural development in music is beyond our scope here. But it is worthwhile noting that “Rock and Roll” started out as a subculture and had devoted fans among young people in the mid-1950s. There was noticeable conflict during this time of change. Young people were taking a larger position in the marketplace and artists like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis were growing in popularity. Then there were fans of Perry Como and Frank Sinatra. It was like a simmering feud for several years. No competent authority could decide to keep or to forbid Rock and Roll, though there were probably a few efforts in that direction. If President Eisenhower and Congress had tried to enforce a position on the question, they would have been losers no matter what position they took.

In February 1959, Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valens died in a plane crash, and poet Don McLean recalled the incident in the 1971 song “The Day the Music Died.” But the music didn’t die in 1959. It became more popular. Still, in Chicago, those who wanted to hear Rock and Roll music had to turn to WJJD-1160, a station that went off the air an hour past sunset. In 1960, ABC owned WENR radio in Chicago, was sharing the 890 radio frequency with a “country station,” WLS. ABC bought WLS and dropped the WENR call letters. WLS had a clear channel on 890, and became nationally well known as a rock-and-roll station. This was a marker of a cultural change, and it happened throughout the country over a period of years. The marketplace drives management decisions. Those decisions may reflect, and also bring about cultural change.

There were significant differences between the Hoagy Carmichael version of Heart and Soul and the version performed by the Cleftones in 1961. There was a song Deep Purple performed by Larry Clinton and his orchestra in the 1930s. Newer versions, like that of Nino Tempo and April Stevens, were released in the 1960s. This change of style came into play for many of the songs from the 1930s and 1940s. Yet, at the same time, the work of artists like Perry Como, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and others continued to appear on the popular lists. If anyone had suggested that the older styles of music should be outlawed, they would have been regarded as lacking in knowledge, experience, and ultimately, culture. Today, the popular music of the 1960s, both the older and newer styles, are generally highly regarded. New artists sometimes perform some older songs. Some of these are included in popular films, TV shows, and even in TV commercials.

Culture continually grows, expanding into different styles, and different methods. Even today, we study and admire the great works of previous centuries in literature, in the visual arts, and in music. Sometimes they might generate less interest than originally. Some people might see them only as curiosities. On the other hand older cultural elements can give great enjoyment and give people something to think about. .

When Ronald Reagan, an actor, was elected president, there was renewed interest in films he had made, like the 1951 comedy Bedtime for Bonzo. Commentators openly stated “Film is Forever” even though it seemed embarrassing to see Mr. Reagan in such a role. This works for film and for music, too. Popular music that is included in films is even more likely to remain in the public eye, or, more to the point, in the public ear. When something becomes a part of culture, it seemingly lasts forever.

Particular groups of people (defined by social, ethnic, professional, religion, age, or other characteristics) who have shared values, beliefs, and behaviors have their own cultures, which are handed down from one generation to the next. They, most likely, become subcultures in our larger society. Accepting the existence of these diversities is what makes a society strong. Those who want to eliminate diversity in legitimate subcultures, often contribute to unnecessary conflict and this can lead to larger problems.

In any case, recall that culture is the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, and other scholarly (and liesurely) pursuits. We need to study culture, and we need to understand culture and cultural change.

In summary, it is important for educational programs both in high school and at the college level, to include appreciation of the arts, and even more important to have action taught, in the main fields of the arts, that is Literature, Music, and the Visual arts. Educated students need to be familiar with their culture, what is good, what is better, and what might better be ignored.  But you can't create a trend in culture simply by legislating or otherwise imposing changes. Organic growth is needed.

It is fitting that we remember Michael R. Lovell, President of Marquette University, who died June 9, while on a visit to Rome. During his ten years as President, he made many contributions to the improvement of Marquette and to Jesuit education in general. See his obituary at Marquette.edu

Campion alumni may remember that Fr. Peter A. Brooks was president of Campion 1934-37. He later served as provincial, and eventually was named president of Marquette University in 1944. Like Michael Lovell, he died in office. Fr. Brooks, during his years as a student at Marquette, had advocated the establishment of a Student Union on the Marquette campus. His work was successful and for many years Marquette had the Brooks Memorial Union building on 14h street. His death by heart-attack in 1948 was a tragic loss felt throughout the Missouri Province. The Campion coat of arms is included in a mosaic on the wall of the new Student Union building at Marquette. More about Fr. Brooks at this site:

https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3359&context=mulr