Editor's note: Ralph Beasley, A&S '69, MD '73, also wrote to identify Michael, then Michael contacted us personally. Calling from his home in Chicago, he explained that keeping track of him might have been difficult since he changed his name after graduation. Because another performer was working under the name of Michael Morton, our Michael selected the last name Laird, in honor of Helen Laird, the head of the musical theater department at CCM. "Helen taught me everything I knew," Michael says, "and she didn't have any children. So now she has a Michael Laird."

Although Michael doesn't remember the exact reason the photo was taken at UC, he does recall that Steve Allen came to campus in 1968 in connection with a "big event at the Pavilion Caprice." Michael and Pamela Myers, two of nine graduates from CCM's first musical theater class in '68, sang at the event. He suspects the photo was staged in conjunction with the visit, but he cannot remember the name of the female student with him.

Michael has performed at many cabarets and lounges since those days and currently plays piano and sings at Maggiano, a large Italian restaurant in the Chicago area.

A better focus

Fred Schoenfeld may have selected pop films and maybe classic ones at Tangeman University Center while he was a student [mentioned in the article "The Last Picture Show," January 2001], but Steve Gebhardt was the overall student chair of the UC Film Society when he was a graduate architecture student at DAA [the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning today].

Now he teaches in the evening college, is preparing a CD-ROM for opera at the College-Conservatory of Music and is actively still directing the Cincinnati Film Society, what the University of Cincinnati group became.

They recently brought Jud Yalhut [well known for creating experimental films in the '60s] and the film of the 1967-68 Spring Arts Film Festival for a showing and lecture as a part of the TUC closing festivities. Jud just presented this at the Whitney Museum in N.Y.
Joan Rieveschl, Ed '53
Director of TUC in the '60s
Tucson, Ariz.

Editor's note: Rieveschl attached an article published in March 1968, and written by Michael Porte, chairman of the University Film committee at the time. In it, Porte praised Steve Gebhardt's efforts and noted, "Mr. Gebhardt has developed one of the most active and successful film societies in the country, with weekly showings in three separate series: classic films, popular films and international art films. In addition, profits go toward the independent film-makers series, which brings the best available talent to the campus to discuss their films."

Still not dead

I was very interested in the article about Sander Hall's demise since I was involved in the discussion about whether to build it in the first place. As a fairly new member of the staff of the dean of men under Dr. Bill Nester, I and the rest of the Student Affairs bunch were called into a meeting to discuss the building.

At the time, all the dean of men and dean of women staff said that it was not needed for student living. We further stated that its design was outdated, and it was an eyesore. You may rest assured that no one thought that students wanted to live in Sander Hall.

Nobody could figure out who was making the decision to build Sander. We all walked away scratching our heads, but we all dutifully tried to take care of the students once it was up.

As predicted, Sander was an albatross from the beginning. Its design of suites was detrimental to studying, promoted conflict and was very costly. We could never figure out why it was built.
Gary Sweeten, PhD (Ed) '75
Cincinnati, Ohio