University of Virginia Library

Long-Haired Ushers

350,000 people attended the Woodstock
festival last summer. They heard the best of
rock music, played for 48 hours on end. They
were wet and hungry. Most were using drugs.
There were practically no incidents.

A like number marched on Washington last
month. It was bitter cold, and they were
bitterly angry at an Administration that
continued to wage war and paid no attention
to their protests. Again, there were only a few
untoward incidents.

Last Saturday, 6,000 people went to hear
Janis Joplin in University Hall. They were
seated comfortably in a warm building. The
sound system was good enough to let
everyone hear everything that was played. Yet
there were disruptions, culminating with Miss
Joplin walking off the stage in disgust. Why?

Perhaps it was due to a certain crudeness
on the part of Miss Joplin which infected the
audience. Perhaps it was an inherent crudeness
on the part of some of the students here, an
explanation that is a bit more plausible.
Certainly these factors had something to do
with it. But there was one element present at
Woodstock and Washington which was conspicuous
by its absence Saturday night in
University Hall, and that was the type of
security force employed.

It must be understood that a rock-concert
is more than a group of people gathering to
hear music. In these times it has become, as
Woodstock and Washington were, an affirmation
of the existence of a new youth culture
and demonstrations of the solidarity of that
culture against the mores of the older
generation it seeks to displace. Performers like
Janis Joplin are, in a sense, the prophets of
that cultural revolution.

But, there in front of the stage Saturday
night were the representatives of the older,
inimical generation, complete with ties and
crew-cuts. They were telling the kids where
they could and could not sit. These men
meant well, and the rules they were trying to
enforce were sensible rules. But they were the
wrong people to be enforcing them. Such
characters as they symbolize the objects of
the youth revolution. Their rules, therefore
become objects of the youth revolution at a
gathering that celebrates that revolution. It's
no wonder that the rules were disregarded.

Concert sponsors and the proprietors of
the University Hall are going to have to recruit
new ushers if they wish to keep the lid on
future concerts. If the ushers have long hair,
wear mod clothes, and obviously enjoy the
performers they protect, we feel that the
audiences will recognize that the rules are
there so that everyone can enjoy the concert.