Letters to the Editor

Editor,

I attended the opening night performance of the Gran Folklorico de Mexico and was appalled by the behavior of some of the students from USU. Obviously, these students do not understand the reason they were required to attend thisevent for their Creative Arts class. I was particularly ashamed of their laughter during the Dance of the Deer. If you have never seen a deer grazing or have never seen an animal in its death-throes, you would not realize just how well the dancer portrayed the deer. What was more reprehensible was their laughter when this same dancer made his curtain call. This artist was given a place of honor in the curtain call as an invited guest and soloist, but was laughed at because narrow minds didn’t understand the importance of this dance to the culture of the Yaqui Indians in the Sonoran region of Mexico. “This is killing me!”, “This music is giving me a headache,” and “They should just skip intermission so we can get this over with,” were some of thecomments I overheard during intermission. I applaud the young mother who brought her two little boys. Those two boys showed much more maturity as they watched the performance than many of the students seated near me. Bravo, I say, to that mother who wanted her sons to broaden their minds by allowing them to experience this type of cultural event early in their lives. When attending these events, suspend for a few hours your need for instantaneous gratification. Keep your derogatory comments to yourself, at least until you leave the venue. Open your minds and hearts and think about someone other than yourself. By doing so you may gain something from the experience. At least you won’t ruin the night for those around you who attend the event without being required to do so. There is so much talk of embracing diversity, yet, when we are presented with an opportunity to do so, too many of us come up lacking.

Olan G. Mikkelsen