A Cappella

My new group that i was assigned to is the A Cappella group. I found a website called acoustikats.com that is the website for one of the a cappella groups on campus. 

On this website you can find anything from pictures, events, and contact information. The Acoustikats were founded in 1993 by Dr. Jefferson Johnson. This group of ten men have been on shows such as " The Sing-off" and have preformed in multiple venues across the United States. The Acoustikats upcoming events include preforming at the Henderson Area Arts Alliance, Men's Chorus Fall Extravaganza, Telethon of Stars, Lexington Singers and Diana Evans School of Dance Concert, and Male Chorus Day. To be apart of a group like this one, you also have to be involved in choir at the University of Kentucky. 

When i talked with my group today we planned to go to the Acoustikats rehearsals. I think this would be a very good thing because we will be able to video tape them for our documentary and get live footage of them. Also we are going to set up an interview with one or more of the Acoustikats to get information on what its like on a day to day basis to be apart of a group such as this one. How time consuming is it, and does it have any effect on other Fine Arts classes such as choir?  Do they get a lot of attention around campus because of the fact that they were on a hit tv show?

This is a picture of the Guignol Theatre that I took on Friday at the Fine Arts Building.
After class on Friday, Megan and I walked to the Fine Arts Building and went inside the Guignol Theatre. Right when we walked in we got an instant eerie feeling, that there was a ghost there. It may be us being paranoid or having the thought of a ghost in our head because of this project, or there could have actually been something there. I want to email someone at the Guignol Theatre and see if it is possible to maybe spend the night in the theatre and do some investigating. If this topic is chosen for the documentary a group should definitely make a trip the the Fine Art Building to see this theatre. The group should conduct a series of test, like the flashlight test, the Paranormal Studies Organization didn't record theirs but I think someone should video the entire visit to see if anything strange happens. Also there is a website that sells EVP, and EMF devices for fairly cheap, it would be really cool to get some actual evidence, since there is no previously recorded data on the ghost at the Guignol Theatre. To find out who the ghost might be we should look in the campus archives. Our class will be taking a trip there soon, so i think it would be cool to see if there are fires related to this one, maybe it wasn't and accident.

Shark Tank Refection

I was very nervous for my Shark Tank presentation, but over all I think it went very well. I went about making my power point, by selecting the main topics out of my written proposal. The main points I went with for the presentation were, the fire, the Paranormal Studies Organization, and the ghost sightings. Finding the pictures to go along with my main points was easy, becuase I used real historic pictures from the Guignol Theatre, and also some fun ghost pictures.  I think the way I wrote my proposal, and the way I organized my powerpoint, are strageties I've always used throughout high school. My weak spot for this entire project would probably have to be the writing portion, I'm not very good at getting my words out on paper, even though I know what I want to say it doesn't come out that way sometimes. Although I was very nervous when I was standing in front of the class presenting, I felt confident in what I was talking about, so I would have to say that was probably my strongest part of the presentation part of the project. The strongest part of my written proposal was all the back ground information I used and the organization of my actual paper. I think that for my next major assignment, I will take more time constructing my paper so that everything that I want to be said get said. I can't wait to find out what topics got chosen for the documentary so we can get started working with our groups.

Guignol Theatre

I found a book online called "Haunted Colleges and Universities" by Tom Ogden.

The entire book talks about many different colleges, and universities that have been recognized as being haunted. On one page of the book the Guignol Theatre is brought up. Tom Ogden says "the performance center has an otherworldly presence". Although no one has been able to recognize the ghostly figure, or identify him and what era he came from, he shows up all over the playhouse. Even when students can't see him, they know he is there, they can feel another persons presence even when there is no one else around, and can hear the unexplainable banging of the pipes.

Can we just go investigate the theatre for ourselves? Everyone claims to have seen a ghost, or feel his presence but no actually data has been collected. This would make such an interesting documentary topic because there are so many pieces of evidence that you could collect while investigating a spirit. EVP(electronic voice phenomenon), EMF(measures fluctuations in electromagnetic fields), pictures, and video are all things we could be doing to get proof that a ghost in the Guignol Theatre exists. Also we could dig deeper into the fire that happened in 1947, who this spirit is, what role at the Guignol Theatre did they play if any, and why they are there. How did they die? Why are they still hanging around? Do they want to tell us something?

Guignol Theatre

I found the University of Kentucky's informational page about the Guignol Theatre on                      fine arts.uky.edu. 

On this page it talks about the history of the Guignol Theatre, and the success it has had over the years. Built in 1927, the theatre was named after the popular Grand Guignol Theatre in Paris. The idea for creating the theatre came from a student lead group called the Strollers, who produced their first play in 1910. When first opened the theatre produced five major productions a year and each were only fifty cents, although the number of productions has stayed the same through out the years, the price has risen to fifteen dollars per show. After serving the campus’s needs for 20 years, The Guignol Theatre at the corner of Euclid and Martin Luther King Blvd burned down in 1947. Three years later it was reopened in the Fine Arts Building.

I really want to find more information about the fire in 1947, but I have searched newspaper archives and have gotten know where. Im kind of lost as to what i should do next because i feel like this is a great topic and deserves to be put into a documentary, but the most important part of the ghost story is the fire that started it all. Maybe I can go to the library and actually look in public records to see if I can dig up facts about the fire, and the people that died in it. Why is it so hard to find archives about the Guignol fire of 1947? Is something trying to be kept a secret?

Guignol Theatre

I found an article online at kykernel.com called " Paranormal Club Investigates Spirits of Campus" by Corey Elam.

This artilce talks of a night when a group of about 20 students in a paranormal club on campus visits the Guignol Theatre to do some investigating. Before going they looked at public records and found out that in 1947 the theatre had burned down, and people had been killed. Knowing this, the students preformed a test, commonly known as " the flashlight test". They set a flashlight down on a center chair in the very back row of the theatre turned off, next they explained to any spirit that might have been there that when they ask a question to turn the flashlight on. One by one they started asking the spirit questions, at first nothing happened but then all of a sudden when asked a question the light turned on.  Things got interesting as the flashlight began to dim, and flicker, which none of the other students could reenact. Things like these are what they call personal experiences, but are things that can't actually be recorded, such as an EVP, also known as and electronic voice phenomenon.

When I Read this article I instantly began thinking of the idea of looking at public records to see who actually died in this fire. Every witness has said that the ghost they have seen has been a man. I wonder how many men died in that fire, I bet I could narrow it down and find out who the ghost might be. Also I really want to go to the theatre and try my own flashlight test and see if I could get a reaction out of this spirit.

Guignol Theatre

I found an article called " Folklore from Generation to Generation" by an unknown author on haunted campuses.worldpress.com.

This article talks about the history of Lexington Kentucky, and a particular building on campus that is supposedly haunted. The building is The Guignol Theatre. In the theatre there is a light, called "The Ghost Light", the light stays on all night long and the legend is, if you turn it off at night then something bad will happen the next day. Cheyenne Holbert is a theatre major, and she is living proof of this legends truth. During a recent play the light was turned off, when asked what happened the next day, Cheyenne replied that the drummer had slept through his alarm, and missed the first 10 minutes of the show, and a crew member forgot half the words to a major song. Other than The Ghost Light, there is a possibility that there is a ghost currently living in the theatre. According the Ghosthunters.com, witnesses felt as if they were being watched, heard strange banging noises, and some even claim to have seen a ghostly man wondering the catwalk.

I'm excited to do more research on The Guignol Theatre, and find out if there really is a ghost, or if this is all just a myth. I think that I would be able to do some really cool investigating, by visiting the theatre and getting a feel for it. Maybe I would be able to interview Cheyenne Holbert, and ask her about her experience the day after the Ghost Light incident.

VIP Center

I found an information page on the University of Kentucky's about the VIP center.  The VIP center is located the lower level of Frazee Hall, next to the student center.

This website talks about all the precautions taken to keep the University a safe place for students, and facaulty as well.  Such as resources given to those who have been involved in some sort of violent act, including harassment or sexual assault. This group has invented a tool called "The Green Dot." This is a way of stopping violence on campus. Instead of red dots ( being rapes, robberies, fights) green dots are any choice, behavior, or action that stops a crime, such as stepping in between a fight, or protecting someone who is being taken advantage of. An event that will be held is "Jeans for Justice", it will be held april 18, 2014 and it is to raise awareness for sexual assault.

I think this program is very useful to the well being of the University, and supplies essential help in a time of need. This website made me realize that even if i haven't been a victim of a violent act such as harassment or rape, some students have, and it concerns me that at any moment something could happen. The people you pass on the sidewalk could be dangerous, and you have no way of knowing until after something happens. Its good to know that there are resources out there available to students, but what happens is the universities budget stops covering the needs of this group? What will happen when the crime rate becomes to much for this campus run group?

Topic: Rupp Arena
I found an article online at wordpress.com by Christian Sullivan called " What does Rupp Arena bring to Lexington."

Sullivans article talks mostly about the economic side of Rupp Arena and all the business that is has brought to the city of Lexington.

When most people think of the University of Kentucky, they think basketball, but what they don't think is where it all began. Rupp Arena started its legacy in 1976, and seats more than 23,00, but its more than that. Rupp Arena has had an enormous impact on the city of Lexington, creating events that keep the economy stimulated. Before Rupp Arena was established lexington there was almost no business around the area but now that has all changed. Aside from the economic stand point, the arena has held some of the greatest events including basketball games, concerts, circus's. Many people are upset by the fact that the majority of the money and event time is spent on the men's basketball team, yes they have won NCAA championships, but are they all the university has? what about the art department? What about the countless workers that put all their time and effort into the arena? When do they get recognition?