George,

The article on censorship at an NYU film class brought back memories from the late 60's and early 70's at dear old UVA.

In the era of perhaps the biggest cultural sea-change of the century, coats and ties disappeared from the lawn almost overnight. Sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll - and their many manifestations such as black lights, strobe lights, radical thought, porn, and electronic music - ruled on Grounds as at most college campuses. And college officials did whatever they could to try to plug up the holes in the dike of propriety and traditionalism.

Donald MacInnis taught a course in 20th Century Music which I, like many of my fellow students, took as a pass-fail fun elective (pass-fail courses being another sign of the demise of academic life as we once knew it). The main course project involved small groups of students designing and executing "multi-media" projects- usually involving music, film, performance art, and whatever else your smoke-addled collective mind wanted to contribute.

The class projects were then "presented" on multi-media night in Old Cabell Hall, an advertised event that drew a large and disparate audience. Professor MacIinnis had a rather laissez-faire approach to these projects - he didn't inquire as to what you were doing and there were no previews.

Multi-media night finally arrived and the house was packed. While my group's presentation was interesting, challenging, and innovative (although I must admit to having no recollection of what it was about) it didn't hold a candle to some of the surprises in store that night. One group set up strobe lights around the auditorium, climbed into the auditorium ceiling (which for some reason has windows at the apex), turned on the strobes and dropped wet spaghetti down on the unsuspecting audience. It was a great effect which drew much applause -- from everyone but the Cabell Hall maintenance crew, which had to spend days cleaning the now-dry pasta off the auditorium carpet.

Another group's project featured an old 8-millimeter film set to some mondo-bizarro music. The film involved a woman and a German Shepard, and I need say no more. It was much fun for us wacky Wahoos, but a little troubling to the Lane High School music teacher who brought her young class to see what we college geniuses were up to.

Well, everyone got good grades except Professor MacInnis. He was called on the carpet (hopefully clean by now) by UVA officials, and the word on the street was that he almost lost his professorship. New rules were established that required all such projects for public consumption be reviewed and approved in advance by a faculty committee.

While the necessity for this action cannot be denied, it did have the effect of taking much of the fun out of the fun-n-games of "20th Century Music." Multi-media night lost its panache and much of its audience. Professor McGinnis taught on for many years, but has now passed on.

-- Jim Heilman (December 17, 2003)

Editor's Note: "Donald MacInnis, 80, of Charlottesville, died April 20, 2003. He was an associate professor emeritus of music. From 1950 until his retirement from U.Va. in 1994, he taught courses in theory and composition at the McIntire Department of Music. He held appointments as conductor of the University of Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the U.Va. Men’s Glee Club, and later founded and directed the University Singers." (Inside UVA, May 9-15, 2003)