Cedars, April 27, 2006

Thursday, April 27, 2006 4 | C EDARS WORLD & CAMPUS NEWS Gas Prices: Cause for Worry As gas prices continue to rise, Americans are adjusting their budgets to compensate for the cost of filling up. Conflict in the Middle East, a shortage of Ameri- can refineries, and increasing demand from the growing economies of China and In- dia have combined to spike gas prices sky-high. The spring and summer months generally increase fuel demand, so President Bush has asked the Energy and Justice Department to in- vestigate rising gas prices to ensure that fuel costs have not been illegally manipulated. Republicans worry that voters paying more than $3 per gallon will blame the party in power. A recent CNN poll suggested that gas prices have caused hardship to 68 percent of Americans, while another poll indicated that many Americans blame Republicans more than Democrats for the rising ex- pense. Statistics suggest that President Bush’s record-low ratings might have to do with this costly situation. Although the price of gas is rarely a key issue on Elec- tion Day, recent trends indi- cate that it may become a cru- cial element this November. ·Heidi Charlton· Staff Writer Bush Ratings Continue to Fall A national survey re- leased Monday found that support of President Bush has struck a new low, as fewer than one third of re- spondents claim to approve of his performance. CNN’s Opinion Re- search Corporation con- ducted telephone surveys of 1,012 Americans on Sun- day. The poll, which has a 3 percent margin of error, in- dicated that only 32 percent of Americans approve of the President, while 60 percent disapprove and 8 percent are unsure. These statistics mirror those of recent sur- veys conducted by the Pew Center, Fox News, and the American Research Group, which have placed approval between 33 percent and 35 percent in recent weeks. Asked whether Bush is “honest and trustworthy,” 40 percent of Sunday’s re- spondents replied in the affirmative, down from 56 percent last April. Asked whether he is a “strong and decisive leader,” 46 percent said yes, down from 62 per- cent last July. Democrats are courting Bush’s waning approval as ammunition for Novem- ber’s congressional elec- tions. Half of registered vot- ers claimed they would vote Democrat if the elections were held now, while only 40 percent claimed they would vote Republican. Survey results accom- pany reports of additional shake-ups in the White House Administration to follow the departures of Scott McClellan and An- drew Card. · Joe Dugan · News Editor C ONTINUED ON FROM THEATRE, F RONT P AGE Detroit Street. With only a few theater organizations located within a reason- able driving distance of Xenia, Monroe seized an opportunity to bring something valuable to his native community. “This town doesn’t have a cultural center—a place where people can go to express themselves in various ways,” said Monroe. “That’s what we want to become.” Since its grand opening over one year ago, X*ACT has produced six shows, all of which, according to Monroe, have been well-received. The theater’s inau- gural production, The Night of January 16 by Ayn Rand, sold out all ten perfor- mances. Since then, X*ACT has regular- ly played in front of a packed house. “Critics say it’s not a big deal to sell out a theater that only seats fifty, but we just keep things in perspective,” said Monroe. “The fact is, people are coming to our shows, and more would come if we had more seating.” Monroe graduated from Xenia High School and attended Indiana University East, where he majored in accounting and business. He has worked in several theater organizations and attended doz- ens of performance and writing-related workshops. While in middle school, Monroe traveled with the Toronto The- atre Guild, the first step in a career that has had more to do with the theater than he ever expected. “I applaud people brave enough to major in theater. It doesn’t always make for a stable career, but I’m happy to be back in Xenia, doing something I’ve al- ways wanted to do,” he said. Though he directs the shows, Monroe is quick to establish that X*ACT pro- ductions are the result of hard work by a group of people, including the board of directors and volunteers. Monroe says the organization has slowly found people to fill the various technical roles neces- sary for a play production. And the cast- ing—which often presents a challenge for small community theaters—has been as good as Monroe could have hoped. “The turnout for casting has been good so far. The talent I’ve seen could match talent in much larger cities. We’ve had some truly wonderful performanc- es,” he said. Monroe dreams of one day expand- ing the organization to include multiple forms of performing art, such as writing, painting, sculpture, and music. Ideally, he would like to see the theater become only one part of a larger art community, all of which could be housed in one cen- tral location. “Art is a tough sell, what with hurri- canes and war demanding everyone’s at- tention. But I want to provide more than one artistic outlet. We need a place where people can come to express themselves in a variety of ways,” said Monroe. In addition to regular productions, X*ACT currently offers several acting workshops, most of which are taught by Monroe. The workshops are tailored to meet the needs of aspiring actors of all ages and experience levels. Monroe be- lieves workshops like these, offered on topics like sculpture, writing, and paint- ing, could attract an array of aspiring artists, both from within and outside of Xenia. “Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to teach classes on pottery or cross-stitch- ing,” he said. “I would if I could, because those are important forms of art, but it will be a while before we can bring in those kinds of things.” Though Monroe and the X*ACT board have dreams of one day fostering a multi-faceted artistic community in Xenia, for now they are content to focus on the upcoming season. Featuring con- troversial plays like Night Mother and Never the Sinner , as well as the commu- nity-friendly staple Our Town , X*ACT’s lineup of productions is designed to ap- peal to a spectrum of theater-goers. “We want a diverse and challenging offering of shows. There aren’t many theaters in the area with such a risky sea- son. Some of the material is downright offensive. But that’s why we’re here—to make people think,” Monroe said. So while he is content, Monroe is cer- tainly not complacent, and he envisions a day when X*ACT productions can take place on a much larger stage. “I’m happy to be where we are,” he said. “It’s amazing what we’ve accom- plished in such a small span of time, but we’ll be moving on in five years. Hopefully we’ll have something that the Chamber of Commerce can put together a brochure for. Something that will make Xenia a more artistic and expressive community.” "7 Ê "* Ê Ê "7 /"7 Ê 8 BLUE JACKET BOOKS 5SED NEW AND OUT OF PRINT BOOKS AT REASONABLE PRICES & ) # 4 ) /. s ./. & ) # 4 ) /. s #( ) , $2 % . 3 #ASH OR STORE CREDIT PAID FOR BOOKS IN GOOD CONDITION (OURS 4UES 4HURS 3AT n 7ED n &RI n 3UN n #LOSED -ONDAY 3 $ETROIT 3TREET 5 3 E MAIL BLUEJACKETBOOKS SBCGLOBAL NET Lisa Partain andrew faglon likes pencils. -lisa Lindsay Stone My roomate wore her underwear on backwards and didn’t know it... Ls Gwendolyn De- whurst “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”--Abraham Lincoln. Hustle out there and get the good things seniors!--Madd Ox Kids Viki Kooiman lydia... i’ll miss you next year. *kiss on the head* viki Julie Otis i want a pet rock Julie Gerhart I love you reserves more than ice cream! I’ll miss you so much next year! Jennifer Lambert To my bestest girl pals, I love you all and we’ve had such a great year...ahhh so many memories. I know it’s gonna be awesome next year too! ~Love ya, J. La Stephanie Stahl To my unit mates for an amazing year. You girls have become my best friends. Thank so much for AL- WAYS being there. Love ya lots! Stephanie Jean