Down By The Riverside Draws From African American Spirituals And Stories

Advent Players of Columbus will visit Marion February 3 as part of Ohio State University at Marion's Five Nights on Campus cultural arts series. The 9-member troupe will perform "Down by the Riverside," an original musical written by Advent Players founder, Helen G. Smith. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Morrill Hall auditorium.

Smith said she wrote the musical, which incorporates themes of slaves' quests for freedom and original spirituals, in 1976 at the time the nation was celebrating bicentennial. "I always liked to write and perform," said Smith a former educator. "I was living in the Washington D.C. - Baltimore area at the time and I kept hearing advertisements about the Bicentennial, but I didn't hear anything about spirituals. So, I wrote the play."

Advent Players is named for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, of which Smith and the other actors and actresses are members. Smith's husband is a clergyman of the Adventist church and has been assigned to churches and districts at several locations in the United States. As the Smiths moved from location to location, Mrs. Smith brought the play with her and assembled an acting troupe from local church volunteers and musicians.

The one-hour production is set at a slave gathering as a group awaits a trip to freedom guided by an Underground Railroad "conductor." The "slaves" tell the audience tales of their lives and sing spirituals reflecting their life stories. They are accompanied by a pianist.

The performance will conclude with refreshments served by Taft Middle School students and sponsored by the Black Heritage Council of Marion.

Tickets are available at the door and are $7 for adults and $3 for students. Advanced ticket sales are available by calling Ohio State Marion Office of Community Relations at (740) 389-6786 extension 6279.

Future Five Nights on Campus performances are:

• March 9 - Opera/Columbus performing "Little Red Riding Hood."

• April 27 - Author Lee Abbott

This year's Five Nights on Campus series has received financial support from the Ohio Arts Council, the Whirlpool Corp., Bun's Restaurant in downtown Delaware, GTE, Marion Steel Co. , Wyandot Inc., and WDIF Radio.

Dean's Scholarship Offers Full Ride At Ohio State Marion

Area students seeking a full ride for their college education don't need to look too far from home.

The Ohio State University at Marion is again offering the Dean's Scholarship, which provides full tuition and $600 for books to two high school students who will be graduating in the spring and who meet specific academic qualifications.

Last year's Dean's Scholar winners at Ohio State Marion were Buckeye Valley High School graduate Virginia Dennis and Wynford High School graduate Justin Clay Harris.

To qualify, students must be in the top eight percent of their 2000 graduating class, and earn a composite score of 27 on the ACT exam, or an equivalent score on the SAT college entrance exam. Any high school senior, regardless of school or place of residency, can apply.

While students who meet these criteria typically earn scholarships at Ohio State Marion, this is a special new scholarship opportunity we've designed as an additional financial incentive for the area's top students," said William Lush, financial aid coordinator at Ohio State Marion.

The scholarship is renewable each year for as long as the student remains at the Marion Campus and meets the academic requirements. Those wishing to be considered must file an Ohio State admissions application and a Marion

Campus application by Jan. 28. Applications also are available on-line at www.marion.ohio-state.edu. Scholarship candidates and their parents will be asked to attend a Feb. 19 meeting at Ohio State Marion; students will participate in an essay/interview competition.

The Dean's Scholarship is one of several scholarship opportunities at Ohio State Marion. High School valedictorians also are eligible for full-tuition scholarships.

Ohio State Marion expects to award about $400,000 in scholarships for the 2000-2001 academic year, according to Lush. All students who are considering Ohio State Marion are encouraged to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, contact the admissions office at Ohio State Marion by calling (740) 389-6786, extension 6242, or visit the campus to pick up a financial aid application and Ohio State University admission application.

Ohio State Marion Board Of Trustees To Meet Jan. 13

The Ohio State University at Marion Board of Trustees will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 13 in the Wayne and Geraldine Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery in Morrill Hall, 1465 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Marion. Enclosed is a meeting agenda. The meetings are open to the public.