CHANGE OF HEART … there are many theories as to what caused Superintendent of Schools Winfred Roberson to suddenly change his mind and un-cancel the Emerson school play, “A Christmas Carol,” now set for a three-day run in early December …

All we know is that Roberson went to bed Tuesday night firm in his resolve that the decision to cancel the play was the right one, then got up Wednesday morning and penned a letter to the Emerson community declaring that the show must go on … my best guess is that sometime during the night, Roberson was paid a visit by the Ghost of Winter Break Past …

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES … still undetermined about the Emerson production of “A Christmas Carol,” is whether or not Tiny Tim will be allowed to mouth the words “God bless us every one.” … the legal eagles are apparently still deep in study over that one … if Tim closes with “May the Force be with you,” you’ll know why …

TIMELINE IS TELLING … to clear up published claims and counterclaims about when the complaint was received about the selection of “A Christmas Carol,” as the Emerson school play, a look at the timeline involved is instructive … the title of the play was announced on Sept. 21 … on Sept. 24 there was an open reading for anyone interested in trying out … auditions were held on Sept. 26, 27 and 28 … the cast list was posted on Facebook at 8 p.m. Sept. 30 …

The complaint came to the drama teacher via email along about 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, three hours after the cast list was posted … to be clear, there were no complaints prior to the cast being selected … seems to me the time to raise an objection was when the title of the play was announced, not after so much hard work had been put into the play by a great number of students and faculty …

VOICE OF REASON … in all the hand-wringing at the District level about the word “Christmas,” School Board trustee Tim Taylor stepped forward to bring some common sense to the issue … wrote Taylor to Superintendent Winfred Roberson: “I DO NOT SUPPORT cancelling the performances for any of the reasons stated. If we cancel, you are committing the District to cancel any and all such events during the entire month of Ramadan once a single letter of protest is received from any individual(s) who views that holy month as equivalent to the Hanukkah holidays.” …

Wait, it gets even better … adds Taylor: “This is neither a good precedent, nor supportive of the cross-cultural educational values we so desperately need to espouse. Perhaps, most importantly, the Dickens play at issue is simply not a religious play.” … Amen, Brother Tim, Amen …

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS … the good news out of last Saturday’s heart-stopping battle with No. 2 Montana State is that UC Davis proved not only that it belongs in the expanded Big Sky Conference, but also that it can compete with the very best that Division I-AA has to offer … the bad news, of course, is that the Aggies lost to the Bobcats, 48-41 …

SPEAKING OF GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS … the further good news for UC Davis is that this week’s opponent is Idaho State, described by The Oregonian as “helpless” after getting pounded last week by Portland State … the score? … try 77-10 on for size …

Portland State ran for 437 yards and passed for another 321 while using everyone available other than the school president … helpless, hapless, pick your adjective for the banged-up Bengals, who are considering changing their school colors from black and orange to black and blue … and the bad news? … Portland State comes to Aggie Stadium the last Saturday in October …

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected].

Comments

comments