NEWS

The New Hampshire

Friday, February 28, 2014

#BAMUNH

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Catie hall/staff

The UNH class of 43 gave the university the 246-bell Grand Symphony Carrillon as a class gift in 1983.

T-hall Bells

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throughout campus.
Urquhart tried to explain why
the signals go through telephone
lines instead of wirelessly.
This was built in the 50s,
he said. If it aint broke, they
dont fix it. Now, its really broke.
But wireless especially now would
be subject to all sorts of other
things. Youd hear everyones telephone conversations coming from
T-Hall, or police communications so they have a dedicated
telephone line. But apparently,
somethings wrong with it.
In the Alumni Center conference room there are four tall
wooden boxes standing against
the wall. A wooden frame and
glass face showcase what actually
makes the sound you hear from
the Thompson Hall tower.
And its nothing youd expect.
It was a big deal in its time,
and I guess still might be, Urquhart said, examining the Carillon,
a 43 class gift. Its very carefully
organized and done. And its an
electronic, mechanical device.
He pointed to long metal bars,
thinner than pencils and longer
than a foot each. The metal bars
represent bells, Urquhart said. Solenoids, which resemble goldenwrapped Rolo chocolates, strike
the metal bars.
Theyre all played off
that keyboard there, Urquhart
said, walking over to an encased
keyboard. So this was an alumni
class gift to the university. And
there are plaques that describe it.
Before Urquhart was the
carillonneur, he could hear the
difference between the electromechanical device and the sound of
real bells.
The music department hasnt
been too involved in the bells
for 30 years, because for quite
some time Frank Heald was his
name. He lived in town. Everyone

knew him. And he was the UNH

carillonneur for ages.
So I heard the carillon when
I first got to UNH, Urquhart said.
Something bothered me, something in my ear told me this was
not a sound Im used to. Id heard
bells before. I approached to ask
him about the carillon, in part because of that annoyance in my ear,
and partly because I had freshman
theory students who were writing
little exercises. And I thought
[we could put those exercises]
on the big bell. Give them some
incentive.
Heald and Urquhart then
worked together to give students

There was a time

when the actual

starting and ending
of classes ran by the
clock.

Guy Eaton

Facilities Communications
a chance to have their songs play
through the Thompson Hall bell
system. Not only did Urquharts
class learn about the bell system,
but so did he.
I also learned what bothered
me about it [when I first heard it],
Urquhart said, Which was accurate. I was hearing the somewhat
artificial nature of it So it was
a useful instrument to introduce
my students to, so every two years
or so I would bring another class
down there and [Heald] loved having students come by.
Since taking over for Heald
as the UNH carillonneur, Urquhart has put in songs by students,
himself and other composers.
I try to cycle through my
lists pretty evenly, Urquhart said
in an email, since if someone is
actually listening (as you implied
they do, although Im still not

sure), they would hear repetitions

with only about 120 songs in
active use.Ok, I think I play the
Couperin harpsichord pieces, the
English Renaissance sets and the
American Folk Hymns more often
than some of the others. But the
most common song remains the
Alma mater. Really.
Some students can think back
on the time they heard Hedwigs
Theme play throughout campus
for Homecoming 2013. What
people may not realize is that it
was Urquhart who arranged, composed and played that song.
I got this somewhat unusual request to help the student
committee having to do with
homecoming, Urquhart said.
They wanted to do something
about Harry Potter. I thought, Oh,
I cant do that. I dont know any
Harry Potter, I dont know the
theme. So I had to ask my daughter. She whistled the tunes at me.
Originally, Urquhart said no
to the request to play Hedwigs
Theme on the bell. But, he eventually decided to do it. Collectively, Urquhart said he worked about
eight hours, thinking about it,
composing and talking to people
about it.
To put the Hedwigs Theme
in, yeah I wrote the piece out
because I really had to compose
it, Urquhart said, because I knew
that arranging for this particular
carillon, I had to have sort of a thin
harmony and not ask too much of
the harmony for it to work.
Lately, since theres an
unknown problem with the bell
system, Urquhart hasnt been able
to program new songs into the
system.
However, if theres a sparkling of curiosity brewing in your
bones, this rich history is accessible to those who wish to take
part. Eaton isnt afraid to share his
stories.
Whenever someone wants
to go up [to the Thompson Hall
tower], Eaton said, I take them
up.

The New Hampshire Serving UNH since 1911

were telling of their isolating and

often frustrating experiences at the
university.
Students discussed the routine
insults that they faced regarding racial identity and stereotypes and acknowledged that, while most people
dont intend to be offensive, the impact is still there.
Its like a paper cut. You get
one and it starts to heal, then you get
another one, junior Janice Disla
said, explaining that small slights
add up to extreme hurt.
#BAMUNH tweets provided
perfect examples of these routine
insults. For example, one student
tweeted, When professors assume
youre either on the basketball team
or the football team, while another
said, When someone begins to talk
about Latinos and then uses the
word Mexican to describe them
all.
[That] comment might be just
one of 50 that that person has heard
that semester, Douce said.
During the discussion, students
shared very personal moments in
the safe zone. Many had been
bullied for their race, religious practices, gender identity and/or sexual
orientation, and felt that there is
much work to be done to create
a more inclusive environment at
UNH. Several students cited the
hardships they experienced simply
for being different, and also said
that the majority groups sometimes
seem apathetic to their plight.
Students debated about when
it was appropriate to speak out
against offensive speech and also
about where the responsibility lies
in terms of educating the majority
about minority struggles.
On Twitter and in the forum
as well, students expressed their
frustration with the overt lack of
diversity on campus. One student
tweeted Being in a classroom of
200 white students and youre the
only person of color, while another
said, Feeling like departments that
promote diversity unfortunately
take a back seat to all other departments on campus. One tweet in
particular seemed to sum up many
students feelings: Where we value
diversity but cut programs and staff
that promote it.
President Mark Huddlestons
official statement regarding diver-

Randall hall

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It is still under investigation,

Executive Director of Public Safety
Paul Dean said. The most important
thing when this happens is that people call us if they know something.
Gilly Barbato, the Upper Quad
hall director, said that she would not
comment on the matter at this time.
Dean said that any individual
who is found guilty of this crime as
well as others similar to this could
be looking at some serious consequences.
Its a privacy violation, its a
misdemeanor, he said, referencing New Hampshire Statue 644:9.
They could be looking at up to a
year in jail or a $2,000 fine.
Dean said that if the person

sity, the entirety of which can be

found on the UNH website, includes
Our deep commitment to diversity,
and to the values of civility and inclusiveness that nurture diversity, is
central to who we are.
However, this is not something
that resonated as true for many of
the students at the event.
Douce admitted that the UNH
administration does not always
seem to consider addressing issues
of race and diversity a top priority.
He cited the fact that the university
routinely cuts funding for programs
such as OMSA but plans to spend
$25 million on a new football stadium.
That sends the message that
its not a priority, Douce said.
Senior Aysia Thomas is an active member of several organizations on campus, including OMSA,
the Black Student Union (BSU),
and Mosaico (UNHs Latino/Latina
organization). Thomas also feels
that more could be done to ensure
the continuation of diversity efforts.
Yes, the budget is tight, but
when you drop programs, courses
and departments that helpas resources fordiversity andequality,
[it] puts people in a bind, and just
reinforces the hurt and disconnect.
It affects us all, even when you
dont see it, Thomas said.
Going forward, Douce said
that its essential to continue the
conversation and dialogue around
creating a more inclusive campus.
Being afraid to engage in uncomfortable conversations and sweeping issues under the rug only perpetuates the struggle.
Its still there under the surface, Douce said.
Larry Brickner-Wood, chaplain and executive director of the
Waysmeet Center, acknowledged
that it can be difficult for people of
privilege to feel comfortable tackling such issues, but that it is also
critical to build honest and open
relationships with people outside
of ones peer group.
Yes, it can be very hard and
awkward to discuss these things,
Brickner-Wood said. If I feel awkward as a person of privilege, imagine how folks in one-down groups
feel? When people of privilege express or state that they feel silenced,
it can be incredibly diminishing
to those without privilege they
have often felt that way their whole
lives.
Visit TNHonline.com to view the
#BAMUNH Storify.
found guilty is a UNH student, they
could also face dismissal from the
institution.
Were not always sure that
these people are students, he said.
But weve been proactive at trying
to avoid these strangers who come
in and dont belong here.
With the bulletin states that
UNHPD and Campus Services Officers will be increasing their patrols
of the areas; Dean does not believe
that another incident like this will
occur in the near future.
[An incident like this] is not
unheard of and probably happens at
least two or three times a year, he
said. Its not uncommon, but its
not a regular occurrence.
Anyone with any information
about the incident is encouraged
to contact the university police department immediately at (603) 8621427.