By Michael Todd

Sterling Beckwith (right) and Michael Herren as Mozart and Salieri

Two York professors will sing in a new Canadian production of Rimsky-Korsakov's one-act chamber opera Mozart and Salieri. The opera debuts at York Oct. 5 and 6, as part of the worldwide celebration of the Pushkin Bicentennial Year 1999.

This Russian classic, based on one of Pushkin's "little tragedies in verse", was set to music a century ago. The brand-new English adaptation, a York 40th anniversary project by York Professor Emeritus Sterling Beckwith, has restored both the musical score to Rimsky-Korsakov's original intentions and retranslated Pushkin's Russian text.

Michael Herren, a York distinguished research professor of classics and humanities plays Mozart; Beckwith takes on the role of Salieri. A simple staging is being devised for the 45-minute work to simplify taking it on the road. The show will have a mini-tour of several Canadian and US campuses including Buffalo, Princeton and Cornell.

"I guess you could say this opera deals with aspects of art and genius," said Beckwith. "It's about genius that doesn't care that it's genius [Mozart] and those artists who have to work long and hard to achieve some level of competence [Salieri]."

Pushkin has often been called the Russian Shakespeare, and this particular Pushkin work, though brief and tightly condensed, makes the case well. A modern morality play, it explores the heights and depths of the creative mind at work. Over the years it has become a favourite with Russian audiences, as well as a goldmine for analysis among intellectuals and artists of every stripe (Mozart and Salieri were close friends, but only Salieri had success during his lifetime). The play was a major source for Peter Shaffer's stage and screen hit Amadeus.

Set in 18th century Vienna, the opera revolves around the confrontation between two leading composers of the day: the celebrated Antonio Salieri and the irreverent young upstart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Central to the story is the intriguing question: did Salieri kill Mozart and if so, why?

Even when sung to Rimsky-Korsakov's music (rather than spoken or read) Pushkin's text, written in Shakespearean blank verse, is both revealing and accessible - qualities Beckwith says he sought to preserve.

"I think any audience, and particularly those interested in the creative arts, would likely profit from a discussion of its themes and implications, before or after hearing it performed," said Beckwith.

Stage director is Myra A. Malley, who teaches in York's Theatre Department. Musical director is Mila Filatova, with design coordination by Marjorie McColl. Period costumes are designed by Dora Rust-D'Eye, on loan from Opera Alelier.

Performances are at McLaughlin College Performance Hall Oct. 5 at 6pm and Oct.6 at 12:30pm. Other performances this Fall will be hosted by the University of Toronto, the Toronto Mozart Society, and the University at Buffalo.

A Web site for Mozart and Salieri is currently under construction, and can be found at http://www.utoronto.ca/crees/pushkin.htm.

By Michael Todd

Every spring, up to 20 York students got together to crawl around the dirt under a hot sun, looking for buried treasure, and last spring was no exception. While it's not gold they're looking for, what they find - pieces of chert, pottery, traces of old firepits and post holes - is still valuable to Bob Burgar's eyes. Burgar, an archaeologist, is always eager to uncover more clues to the movement and lives of Ontario's aboriginal peoples.

It's hot, dirty work by York students like Isabella Fuschino, then a third-year English major (with a minor in anthropology seem to love it. "This is great experience!" said Fuschino, who had a tan most of us would die for from long hours in the sun. "It's enjoyable, interesting work."

Officially, Burgar is supervisor of the joint York University/ Toronto Regional Conservation Authority's (TRCA) archeological digs. While he's employed by the TRCA, the York geography grad. (BA'80, MA'85) is also course director for York's archaeological field school, a full-credit course that students complete in an intensive four weeks.

I met with Burgar and his team last spring out at the "Lost Brant" site near Lake Wilcox, but each year York students help excavate another important site, known as "Seed-Barker", south of Kortright Conservations Area on one of the upper branches of the Humber River.

"Aboriginal peoples almost always settled on or near water or waterways," said Burgar. "It makes sense to find archaeological sites here. People needed water and arable land which was usually found on the flood plains of rivers like the Humber or Don. Rivers were routes from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and points further north like Lake Huron."

Burgar said York and the TRCA initially set up the field school for "teachers upgrading their qualifications", but response was so great from students that eventually the course was geared to them.

The TRCA's role is to essentially preserve sites "in the ground", said Burgar. "You might think, as an archaeologist, that I'd be doing the opposite - identifying and digging up as many sites as possible, but that's not the way it works. Our mandate is to identify and document our cultural resources. We usually only excavate a site if we're in danger of losing it to housing or road development or if we need to see whether it, in fact, should be preserved undisturbed."

The age of the sites in the TRCA's jurisdiction range from about 10,000 BCE to 500 CE, Burgar told me. "The last people at the Seed-Barker site probably left somewhere around 1520-1570."

Sites usually come to Burgar's attention because of farming. "Plowing turns up artifacts," he said. To prepare a site for a student dig, it's first re-plowed, then surveyed and staked out in metre or two-metre squares. Each student excavates one of more squares a day, digging down a few inches at a time until eventually the square is about a foot deep. All the soil is placed in bucket and then carefully sifted (the way you'd sift flour) through metal screens that catch any fragments of bone, pottery or chert.

For Burgar, the work is a glimpse into a people and way of life long disappeared: "What we have here is a record of 10,000 years of human culture."

By Colin Rous

Please allow me to introduce myself.... You may recognize this as the opening line of a Rolling Stones song. Well, I'd like to introduce myself, but both by nature and by profession I am someone with little "Sympathy for the Devil".

As York's manager of Information Security, I am responsible for helping to secure York's administrative systems, those supported by Information Technology Services and Management Information. To the extent that my time allows, I am also available to consult on security measures for the rest of the York community.

In this new Gazette feature, I hope to provide information which will help you protect your own computers as well as those of your friends and family. Today the topic is "Protecting yourself against viruses", usually caught through Word or Excel macros which arrive as e-mail attachments.

The usual advice, widely published in the wake of the Chernobyl and Melissa viruses, is not to open attachments from anyone you don't know or trust. This is good advice, as far as it goes, but I'd like to add an important qualification: Don't open attachments unless you know and trust the sender AND you trust their technical knowledge and skill.

There are a number of people I trust totally - a friend of twenty years and my first girfriend, for example - whose e-mail attachments I still don't trust because I'm not confident that they know enough to protect themselves against viruses which they could pass on to me. It is not uncommon for me to e-mail back to them and ask what the attachment is, where they got it, etc. before I will open it. In fact, there are probably only a half dozen people in the world whose attachments I will unconditionally open, and most of them also work in computer security.

Of course, even with these precautions, it is still possible to receive a virus in an e-mail attachment, which is where your second line of defence comes in: a professional and up-to-date anti-virus packages permanently running in the background. Anti-virus packages are like backups; they're a pain, but after a problem you'll kick yourself for not having taken the precaution. Check regularly for updates to whatever package you're running and make sure you always have the most recent version. (When a new virus is discovered in the wild, it is usually only a matter of days before the major anti-virus suppliers have updated their packages.)

Finally, in the case of macro viruses contained in Word documents or Excel spreadsheets, you can turn off the automatic execution of macros. In either Word or Excel, click on Tools/Options/ General and make sure the box for Macro Virus Protection is checked. Now when you open a document which contains macros, the program will warn you of this and ask you whether you want to open the document with or without the macros. Without this measure, any macros in a document will be opened automatically when you open the document. If the macro is a virus, you will be infected.

There is also the question of being a good e-mail citizen and protecting others. Because of the current mistrust, I try not to send attachments, especially Word documents or Excel spreadsheets unless absolutely necessary. For example, if I am sending a Word document for information purposes where fonts and formatting aren't important, I will save it as a text file and either include it in the e-mail or, if it is too long, attach the text file. (Text files cannot cause damage - at least, not yet.)

There are no guarantees that these measures will protect you one hundred per cent, but the odds will be with you. Someone in the world has to be among the first half dozen people to contract a new virus which no-anti-virus package will detect, but chances are it won't be you, and if you've taken the precautions recommended here, your chances of contracting one of the known viruses will be small enough not to worry about.

In my next column, I'll discuss some of the measures to take to protect against malicious software arriving via your Web browser. If you have any questions on information security, or would like to suggest topics for future columns, you can reach me at extension 70645 or via e-mail at crous@ yorku.ca

Colin Rous is manager of information security at York University.

Abella new president of Canadian Historical Association

Irving Abella, the J. Richard Shiff Professor of Canadian Jewish Studies at York, has been acclaimed president of the 1,000-member Canadian Historical Association (CHA). He is the first Jewish head of the organization in its 85-year history.

The CHA is the national representative body of Canada's historians and is dedicated to research and scholarship in all fields of history. It oversees a vigorous publication program; lobbies government, archive and museum officials on issues relating to the preservation and availability of records; organizes conferences in various parts of the country; and offers prizes and scholarships to recognize and promote excellence in historical scholarship.

Abella is the author or co-author of seven books, including None is Too Many, the fifth edition of which will be published in spring 2000. He is the past national president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, a recipient of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Theatre prof named first Canadian chair of international theatre technology commission

John Mayberry, an assistant professor of theatre production at York's Department of Theatre, is the new Chair - and first Canadian - of the Technology Commission of the International Association of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT).

In fact, Mayberry is the first Canadian named Chair of the six OISTAT commissions.

The Commission links theatre technicians, manufacturers and suppliers around the world. OISTAT is an international umbrella organization with centres in 37 countries working to promote the sharing of information on all aspects of theatre design, technology and architecture.

Prior to his chairmanship, Mayberry was the Canadian delegate of OISTAT's Technology Commission. He joined York's Department of Dance in 1998 and has, since 1976, worked professionally in theatre production as a carpenter, properties builder, performer, choreographer, and writer.

He is a member of the Health and Safety Commission of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, acting as a liaison with its Education Commission. He is also a folksinger and member of the Toronto Morris Men, specializing in traditional English Morris dancing.

By Cathy Carlyle

Stephanie d'Albret and Corby Anderson, co-coaches of York Cheerleaders

Corby Anderson is a man on the move in more ways than one. He has the energy and enthusiasm of a whole cheerleading squad. In fact, for the past two years at York he has been the cheerleading coach and, prior to coming here as a student, was a cheerleader himself in high school.

He has thrown himself into the field with verve ever since he discovered, on a dare, that he couldn't do a particular cheerleading stunt that "looked so easy". Called Toss Chair, you are required to lift a girl up so that she is sitting on your hand. "I was so shocked that I couldn't do it that I kept on trying until I got it right. From that, I just got hooked on cheerleading," said Anderson. He became so involved that he joined Power Cheerleading Athletics, a Canadian organization that educates and instructs people in the fundamentals. He became an instructor himself in 1992.

Anderson spent his first year here playing rugby, in his spare time from taking his Honours degree in Kinesiology and Health Science, and from taking his certificate in Sport Therapy. Then in 1997 word got out that he was big on cheerleading, and he was asked to help out as coach. "I said that I thought those days were behind me, that I'd hung up my shoes and all I had left was my memories," he joked. The pull of cheerleading was so strong, though, that after he'd helped out at a game, "I felt that I was getting that bite back again". His sister and girlfriend occasionally assist him in the coaching.

York's cheerleading squad of the '80s dissipated after the coach left and was reborn in 1996. It has been gathering steam ever since, with 17 males and females on the squad this year and more clamouring to join. Still, many people are aghast to learn that cheerleading per se is in vogue at all. They remember the days of short-skirted, pom-pommed girls going through their prettily-choreographed routines... all an anathema in these days of political correctness.

"There's been a huge drive to break from the old mindset about 'bimbo' cheerleaders," said Anderson. "Most universities have co-ed teams these days, and Western even has more males than females on its squad." He allows that females still often wear short skirts and shell tops, though sometimes they don shorts. Outfits for males are shorts or windpants and T-shirts. "But no pompoms, unless it's for a competition." He said the emphasis now is more on the athleticism and acrobatic skills of the cheerleaders, who need to have top "strength mechanics" for their pyramid and partner stunts, though cheers and choreographed routines are required to provide grace and drama.

"We have amazing sports teams here at York, incredible men's and women's volleyball, ice hockey, field hockey, track and field, football, basketball... We've got to have a cheerleading team here! I've seen the importance of having school spirit and having a cheerleading squad is all part of that matrix."

Unless having a job interferes with his plans, Anderson plans on returning next year to see the team into the new Millenium. "I've found my niche in cheerleading and in making it all part of York sports."

SCOTL Teaching-Learning Development grants provide funds to support specific research projects in the area of teaching and learning. Release-time teaching fellowships are also available, both separate from and in conjunction with the grants. Members of the YUFA bargaining unit are eligible - with recipients selected by a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning. Applications from academic departments or the Centre for the Support of Teaching (111 Central Square). The deadline for applications is Friday, October 29, 1999. For more information, call 736-5754 or e-mailmthakoor@yorku.ca or edolan@yorku.ca.

Effective Sept. 30, 1999, the University's "blanket" liquor licences, under which all liquor is sold at the Keele and Glendon campuses (except for the Student Centre and York Lanes), expire, and will not be renewed.

Instead, a number of campus pubs, caterers and restaurateurs have applied to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for individual liquor licences for selected areas of the campus. These areas are:

* Atkinson College:
The Petal Food Services
Cafeteria
Patio
Liaison Room
Harry Leith Room
Harry Crowe Room

* Calumet College:
On The Edge Pub &
Coffee Shop
Patio
Common Room
Conference Room (212)
Conference Room (308)
Senior Common Room

* Founders College
Cock n Bull Catering
Patio
Junior Common Room
Senior Common Room

* Osgoode Hall
Cosmos Catering
Faculty Common Room
Osgoode Pub (JCR)

* Ross Building
Central Square Cafe
Event Field
Faculty Club
Patio

* Schulich School of Business
The Financial Post
Coffee Shop

* Vanier College
Open End Pub
Junior Common Room
Senior Common Room

* Winters College
Absinthe Pub &
Coffee House
Patio
Junior Common Room
Senior Common Room
Art Gallery
Creation (Kosher Deli)

* Glendon College
Cafe de la Terrasse
Patio
Bistro
Dining Hall
Proctor Field House

While some of these licences have been granted, others are still pending. Once granted, these are the only rooms that will be permanently licenced and only the assigned licensee can sell or dispense liquor in them.

Other previously licenced spaces can be used for temporary liquor service by any of the campus licensees holding a "caterer's endorsement", provided that they meet municipal, health, fire, police and building code requirements. The licensee must, however, inform the municipal authorities 14 days in advance of use. It is imperative, therefore, that those individuals responsible for making arrangements for functions in these unlicensed areas, plan well ahead of the event to allow the licensee sufficient time for notification.

A revised University Alcohol Policy and Procedures Manual is in preparation and will be issued from the Office of Student Affairs in the near future.

Norman D. Crandles

Director, Hospitality, Food & Beverage Services