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Acclaimed
hat-maker Alzie Jackson gave a great deal to the brothers of Tau
Epsilon Phi in the 40 years he served as the fraternity's house
father, chef, and friend ["Alumni Profiles," June]. So
it was only fitting that one of the late milliner's grandsons, College
sophomore Ari Johnson, was the first recipient of an annual scholarship
created in his name. After collecting $120,000 in donations last
spring, the fraternity and its alumni presented a scholarship of
approximately $1,500 to Johnson, also a TEP member, at a special
ceremony in November. "Not only is this an honor but a blessing
to receive this scholarship," said Johnson at the event, attended
by many members of Jackson's family and reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Johnson will receive the scholarship until he graduates. Then, the
University will select future recipients based on criteria that
pay homage to Jackson's diversity of interests and perseverance
in the face of adversity. Jackson died in 1997. Steven Lerman, W'69,
the TEP alumnus who chaired the scholarship committee, said he hopes
to continue raising money in Jackson's name; he has set a fundraising
goal of $500,000 by June 30, 2002. With that size endowment, he
says, it would be possible to fund a $25,000 annual scholarship.
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Dr. Barbara Freed,CW'63, Gr'78
Land of Light and Art
 Henri
Matisse described the light there as "soft and tender, in spite
of its brilliance," and credited it for lightening his palette.
Paul Signac wrote to his mother about "the golden banks of the
gulf, the blue waves coming to rest on a little beach, my beach, below,"
and declared, "I have enough here to work on for the rest of my
life. It's absolute joy that I've just discovered." Continued...
Andrew Gold, C'94
Internet Tour-Guide
With his family spread out from New York to Greensburg,
Pa., to the San Francisco Bay, Andrew Gold, C'94, thought it
was important for his parents to learn to use the Internet so they could
all keep in touch. But the Silicon Valley pro was having trouble convincing
David Gold, C'57, an attorney, and Nancy Gold, a busy volunteer,
to enter the strange new world of hypertext and electronic mail. Like
most of his friends' parents, they didn't grow up with computers and
felt it would be nearly impossible at their ages to learn their way
around the World Wide Web. Continued...
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Raqiba Sealy (right),
with Lauryn Hill. |
Raqiba Sealy, C'94
Happy Campers,
Responsible Kids
The kids -- some 2,500 of them -- showed up on Halloween
to tour a haunted mansion in East Orange, N.J., and catch a glimpse of
recording artist Lauryn Hill. But before they left, many had also received
free health screenings and signed up for medical insurance. That was no
coincidence, according to Raqiba Sealy, C'94, executive director
of the Refugee Project, which co-sponsored the event. In fact, her non-profit
organization specializes in sneaking in education and social programs
while the children it serves are having fun. Hill, who first became famous
as the lead singer of the Fugees, founded the Refugee Project
in 1996. She brought Sealy on board last March.
Continued...
 Dr.
Fredric Schiffer, C'67
Better than Rose-Colored Glasses?
Mark, a graduate student, was struggling with a psychosis
which had first paralyzed him with so much anxiety that he couldn't
attend class, and then, until a brief hospitalization, convinced him
that he was Jesus, misunderstood by the world. One day his therapist,
Dr. Fredric Schiffer, C'67, asked him to put on a pair of special
glasses that blocked most of his vision except on his far-left side.
"His face screwed up and he said, 'I don't trust you doctor.'"
Then Schiffer had him wear another pair of glasses that permitted vision
only out of his far-right side. "He becomes absolutely normal,"
Schiffer recalls in wonder. "He laughs. He says, 'Of course
I trust you doctor.'" Continued...
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You
may have heard about Ray Evans, W'36, and Jay Livingston,
C'37, the Penn alumni duo with a prolific songwriting career
that earned them three Academy Awards for "Buttons and Bows,"
"Mona Lisa", and "Que Será, Será". Arthur Iger,
W'49, a retired advertising executive, an adjunct professor
of communication arts in Long Island, and "a passionate collector
and archivist of popular music," turned up numerous other tuneful
alumni in researching his new book, Music of the Golden Age,
1900-1950 and Beyond: A Guide to Popular Composers and Lyricists,
(Greenwood Press). Here is a partial list of some more hit songs
that owe their existence to Penn alumni:
--"Mr. Sandman" the number one chart record in 1954, written
and composed by Francis Drake "Pat" Ballard, who attended
Penn in 1918 and 1919.
--"Route 66", "Snootie Little Cutie", "Daddy,"
written by Robert (Bobby) William Troup Jr., W'41. The latter
song topped the charts in 1941, having been written for the Freshman
Mask & Wig show of 1940.
--The Cradle Will Rock, a play with music authored by Philadelphia-born
composer/lyricist/pianist/lecturer Marc Blitzstein, C'23.
Perhaps his most memorable work was the English translation of Bertolt
Brecht's famous 1929 opera, The Threepenny Opera, with the
music by Kurt Weill -- known principally for the song "Mack
the Knife."
--"I'm Flying," "I've Got to Crow," written
by Mark "Moose" Charlap, C'50, for Peter Pan
on Broadway.
--"Moonglow," "Heaven Can Wait," "String
of Pearls," written by Edgar DeLange, who attended Penn in
the 1920s and later became a Hollywood stuntman.
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