Malcolm, known by many of us as the greatest librarian who ever walked the earth, was a fixture behind the reference desk from the very start of the school. He was also a playwright, writing several musical comedies about "Wintergreen College."

Seeing "Eat the Sun" dozens of times became almost a requirement for being part of the Evergreen community in the 70s. The final line in the film is spoken by Malcolm, "If they are old enough to pee, they are old enough for me." It was weird to see this film then take a short walk to the library, where within a few minutes you could see the screen guru in his solid-state librarian guise.

Some other films we saw over and over worth mentioning: Phosphenes, by Frankie Foster (1972), The 31st of September, by David Parrish and others (1973), and Voodoo in Budapest (197something. I can't find any info on this one, although I think David Worman had something to do with it?)

[via email]

Partners in Prevention Education is gearing up to host the Premier of "Downtowners" at the Capital Theater on January 13th. In preparation for the event, we are writing letters to solicit for sponsors and to ask local media resources for their "on-air" or "in-print" support.

I am writing to ask if there is anyone willing to do some research on updating contact information for local radio and print media around Puget Sound. We have a fairly good list of media outlets, it's just in need of updating. Most of which could probably be done on-line through web-surfing. If anyone has the time and willingness to take this task on, please email me and I will gladly forward you the information we already have complied.

Rosalinda Noriega, Facilitator
Partners In Prevention Education
(360) 786-5775
Websites at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~partnersinprevention
http://home.earthlink.net/~rosalindan

This feeling is probably a result of being overexposed to these devices during my years as a student at TESC. The giant puppets creep me out so much that I could easily change my mind about a cause I otherwise would support. On one occasion I visited the Bread and Puppet Theatre headquarters in Vermont, the mothership of these hideous inventions, and I think the experience scarred me for life. Maybe this all traces back to Howdy Doody, the kiddie TV marionette of my childhood. He creeped me out too.

The bullhorn is the other obnoxious feature of protest rallies. Especially if the "Repeat After Me" ploy is used. I drew a cartoon for the CPJ a long time ago. It had a student with a bullhorn and he was chanting, "Repeat after me, 'Question Authority!' Repeat after me, 'Question Authority!'"

It was Dec., 1974. He had a calendar in his hand. During the entire quarter he documented the weather. "Look at this! Look at this!" and he ran his finger across the little squares, each one representing a day, and each one with a one-word description of the climate: "Rain. Rain. Rain. Overcast. Overcast. Rain. Rain ... How do you guys stand it? I'm going back to Chicago." Yes, back to Chicago, the city with subzero winters, humid summers, filthy air and lots of wind. He thought it was better than this and he did indeed leave Evergreen after only a few months. I wonder how many others from out-of-state were short-timers at TESC for the same reason? The fact that the College was still under construction also meant lots of mud to go with the rain.

Another natural aspect of Cooper Point catching new arrivals by surprise were the slugs. The slimy animals seemed to regard all concrete walkways as their highway, and they were hard to avoid. Cartoonist Jim Chupa, who adopted the style of Robert Crumb, used slugs as his regular characters in his CPJ comic art. Around 1977, when I lived in ASH (Adult Student Housing, now called Cooper Glen or something like that), I had a roommate who was fascinated by slugs. This was the same guy I mentioned in Part 27 who uttered the phrase that started the cult on campus. He was a native of Michigan. He captured two big slugs and named them Jobbo and Bonobo. And then he kept them in a giant jar with a tinfoil lid poked with holes. After a week or so, the inner surface of the jar was incredibly disgusting, and it didn't smell so good either. After a few days the slugs were constantly hanging around the lid, attempting to break free. The pathos of this situation had a strong impact on my friend, who decided to set them free one evening. But the next morning he had second thoughts, and ran out outside yelling, "Jobbo! Bonobo! Come home! Come home!" It was not be, and our lives seemed emptier as a result. Their frisky presence no longer warmed our domicile.

Although the prevailing religious attitude at TESC during the early years was one of secular humanism, there were some groups on campus that made their presence known. There was a Breatharian who visited the school every once in awhile, spreading the word that food was not really necessary in order to live. The Moonies made sweeps in the early years, and took away one of my friends, Alison. Before Heaven's Gate (the suicide cult that hitched a ride on Hale-Bopp in 1997) was given that name, they were known as followers of "The Two." They came through Olympia ca. 1975 and seemed surprisingly calm and normal looking. SGI/Nichiren Buddhism appeared to have a big following on campus during this era.

Occasionally generic street corner Christian evangelists would show up and start spreading the Good Word right in front of the CAB. They liked to pick nice, sunny days. As we all know, days like that are at a premium during the school year and such spiritual shouting would get annoying. On one such day a very earnest man was waving a Bible around and proclaiming, "There is no question this book can't answer!" And some smartass student yelled out, "What's the capital city of South Dakota?" And the poor guy actually tried to answer it before realizing it didn't really matter. Come to think of it, I might have been the student who shouted the question.

This evangelist had the misfortune to plant himself next to a table where a student was selling t-shirts for KAOS-FM. And the KAOS kid had a real knack for taking advantage of the situation and feeding off the sermons. The preacher would proclaim, "You are all going to Hell!" "And while on your way," the KAOS seller would add, "Wear a KAOS t-shirt!" But finally, all fun things had to come an end. TESC Security showed up, stopped the speaker, and the officer addressed the crowd. He told us he had several complaints about this preacher disturbing a nice, sunny day. But he left the decision up to the students, thumbs up, or, thumbs down? Shades of ancient Rome! I was a thumbs up, since I enjoyed the entertainment, but I was in the tiny minority. So everyone was happy. The preacher could claim civil martyrdom and students finally got some peace.