'Church Mice' form family that works, plays together
'Church Mice' form family that works, plays together
STACEY GREEN
Staff Writer
The microwave is running, and someone is in the kitchen singing "Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat."
Two others are sitting at a nearby table, reading with highlighter markers in hand.
It's like you are watching an old Cosby Show re-run, one in which Vanessa and Theo are doing homework, Rudy's singing in the kitchen and Cliff's nuking something to eat.
This isn't Hollywood, though.
This is a real family, functional at that, on a normal Wednesday night.
Only this family is not biologically related at all.
The members are all college students, college students living at a church.
At St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, located in downtown Auburn, a group of six called the Church Mice have found a way to bring all aspects of college life together, including church, social and domestic responsibilities.
One stereotype of college life is that religion and higher education can't or don't exist together.
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Linda York, a doctoral student in her late 40's studying history; Jeffrey Bibbee, a 21-year-old history major; Natalie Duke, a 20-year-old hotel and restaurant management student; Sharon Lewis, a 20-year-old art major; Robert Carter, a 28-year-old forestry doctoral student; and Kathleen Bynum, a 26-year-old journalism major, break from stereotypes and live together at St. Dunstan's.
"Number one, this is a family within a family," Rev. John Cruz of St. Dunstan's said. "It's effectiveness as a living place begins (with) people getting along with each other, talking about their problems with each other."
This family, which sits down to dinner together whenever possible, talks to each other, listens to everyone and jests playfully.
These six students requested and were chosen to live and work at St. Dunstan's. People don't necessarily have to be Episcopalian to live here, but it "works better if they are," Cruz said.
"That's sort of your training. You've got some concept of what this place is about," York said.
"The Mice do more than just live here. They're really responsible for keeping this place up-and-going on a day-to-day basis. They're also peer ministers," Cruz said.
The Mice pay rent comparable to University housing, but they get a discount because of the chores they do.
Each week, the Mice are in charge of cleaning the downstairs community kitchen, the community room, the sanctuary and Cruz's office.
The Mice also assist Cruz in his weekly services.
Above the sanctuary at St. Dunstan's where the Mice work is an apartment complex with two small living areas, a kitchen, two bathrooms and four bedrooms.
Here the four females and two males live together among PMS jokes and Monty Python posters.
Unlike those living areas in movies about monasteries and nunneries, the area isn't a drab, stark room.
Instead, the apartments are filled with "Kermit Klein" posters, history books and CDs featuring everything from Nine Inch Nails to Alex Beaton's "20 Hits of Scotland."
In fact, the Mice are what most would consider normal college students Ñ they like to go out to eat, they like their music and they like being together.
Some of the Mice lived by themselves before moving to St. Dunstan's.
The switch to becoming a real life version of MTV's "Real World" was a little tough, they said.
Living with other people meant dealing other people.
"We're all pretty much blunt enough to get along," Bibbee said.
Lewis said, "We're all so butt-headed; we don't have a problem communicating."
The Mice may not have problems dealing with their arrangement, but some others aren't quite sure about the whole set-up.
It's not always well received when you tell friends that you live at church.
"They look at you like you're a Jesus freak," York said.
"I call it 'the convent.' All of my classmates thought I lived in a home for women. They looked at me like, 'Oh, she's a nun,'" York said.
"Some of them won't come up here. They think it's just so odd. And then the ones who do come find out it's a regular place, and it's kind of neat," she said.
Bibbee has had friends who had never been to St. Dunstan's. When they did get here, they "walked in and immediately became reserved, watched their language, didn't say anything," Bibbee said. "And then they saw the sign that says, 'Street girls bringing sailors must pay for room in advance.'
"They realized maybe this place isn't as reverent and holy. Upstairs isn't as sacred as everybody thinks."
Living at church isn't as drastically different from the average apartment life as some would imagine.
"I don't think it's too terribly different," Bibbee said. "It's not so much that if you walk in here, you would go, 'Oh my gosh, I'm living in a church.'
"Nobody can say this place is tamer than College Park," he said.
Some feel religion can be judgmental. But here, "you find it's not immediate guilt infliction," Lewis said.
Cruz said, "There's more of a sense of a home" at St. Dunstan's than at some huge apartment complexes.
It's a place where "nobody's going to reject you for being yourself," Carter said.
St. Dunstan's may not be a typical place, but the students' apartments show that college students can co-exist with males and that family units can co-exist with society.
This family makes the effort to take interest in its members Ñ their social lives, educational lives and spiritual lives.
They've found out it actually works. Bringing religious life and secular life into one place is ideal.
"It's a practical atmosphere for Christian living," York said.
Photo exhibit honors Birmingham
Mandy Martin
Staff Writer
To help celebrate the 125th anniversary of the city of Birmingham, Ala., the Birmingham Museum of Art is displaying a series of photographs that present the personality of the "Magic City."
The exhibit, titled "Birmingham 1988: The Birmingham News Centennial Photographic Collection," was first shown in 1988 when The Birmingham News celebrated its 100th anniversary.
To celebrate this special occasion, The Birmingham News hired six internationally known photographers from November 1987 through January 1988 to study and photograph the spirit and culture of Birmingham.
The result was a compilation of various views and interpretations of this historical city.
Architecture, landscapes and the people of Birmingham were highlighted in the exhibit.
The styles of the photographers were diverse.
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Duane Michals, who specializes in creating images with strong narrative content, uses people of many professions and ages to describe his view of the city.
His attempt to take the viewer into the lives of the citizens is a successful one.
Perhaps the most prominent photographs in the exhibit are those taken by Bruce Davidson. He uses both black and white and color photographs to show the human condition in Birmingham.
He is different from the other photographers in that he is not afraid to go to extremes with his subject matter.
His risky attempt at showing the desperation and fear humans are sometimes reduced to is an excellent example of the reality in which we live.
Phillip Trager, an architectural photographer, presents the growth of Birmingham through photographs of its buildings. He captured the changing styles of architecture from 1883-1987.
The only Birmingham native, William Christenberry, exhibited his view of the city in color photographs of surrounding landscapes.
The ministers and parishoners in Gordon Parks' work demonstrate the religious side of the South, while Robert Frank from New York captured genre scenes with a bizarre twist.
The exhibit is a well- presented one that should not be missed. It will be on display through March 2, 1997.
AU Singers provide range in diversity
Lee Davidson
Assistant Intrigue Editor
They danced, sang, stole our hearts and they literally made us "Get Happy."
The AU Singers Fall Show provided sensational music ranging from Elvis hits to country ballads. The strength and soul of the group lies in its diversity and range of style. The AU Singers are in their 25th year at Auburn.
The show began with a crowd- pleasing, upbeat song titled "Believe in the Music," and believe we did! The energy was constant throughout the entire performance.
"Get Happy" from Summer Stock was next. They performed with grace and assurance and kept the audience's attention. The choreography was well-planned and executed with precision and finesse.
Next, the singers and instrumentalists introduced themselves to the audience hoping the crowd would get to know the singers on a more personal level.
I particularly enjoyed the 'Cinemagic' portion of the show. The singers came out dressed in ornate costumes. All the famous stars were present. "Night Fever," "Where the Boys Are" and "Footloose" made the crowd tap to the beat. Elvis Presley made a quick appearance singing "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear."
Then a smaller group of singers, The Singers Band, entertained with a rendition of "Holding Out for a Hero" which was a crowd favorite.
Ashley Killion, a junior in political science said, "It was great. I wanted to clap my hands with the music and loved every minute of it."
Then a traditional quartet, comprised of singers David Hamm, Adam Hose, Edward Funderburk and Derek Merriman, sang "If I Ever Loved You" with harmonic style.
The group presented a variety of singing and musical talents. The singers danced chorus lines and ballroom spins, all the while singing their hearts out. The band was also wonderful and provided steady support and guidance for the singers.
The soloist performance of Sarah Catherine Brooks, a first year singer, was incredible. She sang "How Could I Ask for more," by Cindy Morgan.
I spoke with Brad Harris, a junior in public relations and a tenor in the group. He said, "I love the people, the singing Ñ the whole atmosphere is inspiring." This is his second year with the AU Singers.
Rob Wiltuck, a junior in management information systems, said, "It was one of the best shows I've see. I liked that they took a moment to recognize the alumni in the audience."
