Kari Aldrich

The Directing II class will present 4 sets of performances from April 29 to May 1 in C.D. Smith Theatre. Each student in the class has chosen, cast and directed a short play. While these will not be fully mounted productions, and in fact focus is on the text of the play more than technical aspects, all of the directors have worked to assist one another and crew for their peers' plays. Some students in the class will be using their plays as their senior projects in theatre.

The annual Alfie Awards ceremony will occur Saturday, May 1 in Holmes Auditorium.

The end of the year event celebrates student, faculty and staff contributions to campus life, and recognizes everything from entertainers to athletes to new and returning campus events. The evening will feature performances and skits associated with this year's 1950's theme. Winners, as always, will receive the treasured King Alfred bobble head statuette. Students, faculty and staff are all welcome to attend, and dressing for the show is encouraged, though not required.

Toward the end of his Jan. 27 State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama drew attention to the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that in the 1990s resulted in the loss of credit for ROTC students at AU.

"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," Obama said referring to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. "It's the right thing to do."

Zombies are everywhere, and AU Professor of English Dr. Allen Grove is officially part of the phenomenon. Students who pick up a copy of the recent "Heirloom Edition" of the strange mash-up novel "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austen and Seth Graham Smith can flip to the end of the faux-leather volume to find Grove's afterword on the novel, which addresses the reasons behind the recent popularity of zombies and the ways in which it actually fits right in with Jane Austen's texts.

"Widows," a 20th century drama by Ariel Dorfman in collaboration with Tony Kushner and directed by Steven Crosby, will open at Alfred University on Nov. 18.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, Harry and the Potters will play at Alfred University.

The concert is part of a Harry Potter-themed weekend, which will also include a Quidditch Tournament and three showings of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the latest film in the series.

In my time as a student at Alfred University, I've heard a lot of noise about the lack of school spirit on campus. While I haven't heard anyone suggest a complete absence of it in the student body, there seems to be a general consensus that the lack of attendance at AU events, and athletic events in particular, signifies a disturbing deficiency of school spirit. While I do not by any means discourage active participation and support of athletics at AU, I would also argue that disinterest in school athletics is not the same thing as disinterest in the school itself.

"The Heart of Art," a two-act satire written by Michael Weller and directed by Professor of Theater Becky Prophet, opens at Alfred University on September 30th.

On the evening of Thursday September 17th, author Brock Clarke read from his recently acclaimed novel, "An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England," and one of his short stories, "Plowing the Secondaries."

AU Professor of English Juliana Gray introduced Clarke, who is originally from a small town in upstate New York and now teaches creative writing at the University of Cincinatti. She described Clarke's hapless characters as "sad guys and lonely women" with dark stories that Clarke infuses with his particular warmth and ironic humor.