Purple and White Proudly waving Oer old Weber An Ensign of truth and right The flag I love, it waves above I love it with all my might Oh, royalty lies in its purple, And purity in its white A king Ill be, if true to thee, And dare to do the right. (Chorus) Oh, Ill be true to thee, O Purple and White And I will stand by thee in any fight For truth and right will always be Close by thee, O flag! All thy children honor thee, Honor thine forever be Thou art mine forever, Purple and White! I will e er be true, O Weber To thy virtues high and rare, I will adore forever more Thy name forever bear. So heres to thee, Alma Mater, For thy glory and thy might Thy flag shall be the flag for me, Forever the Purple and White. William H. Manning, 1917 A Center of Cultural Excellence Gordon T. Allred INTRODUCTION The following article on the cultural history of Weber State College was launched at the request of Dr. Richard Sadler, Dean of the School of Social Sciences. I accepted that assignment with mixed feelings: first, dubiety, convinced that despite my lifelong attachment to Weber State I was not equal to the task; second, excitement, knowing that it would be a rich and stimulating challenge to write on such a subject about an institution and people whom I admire and love so greatly. The problem with the term culture, however, lies in its universality. Where does culture actually begin and where does it end? In launching my research which, among other things, included lengthy interviews with about twenty-five people, I found myself in an enchanted woodland. The farther I explored the more limitless it became. Simultaneously, there was no swift means of turning back, no short cut out. In consequence, the initial result was a whole series of articles (all, incidentally, highly anecdotal) rather than the modest one assigned, and even at that, the exploration was far from complete. I concluded in frustration, realizing that in highlighting some important activities and individuals I was sacrificing many others also highly, perhaps equally, deserving. That concern is even greater with respect to the following article which despite its size is a mere distillation of the original series and, of necessity, restricted to our main performing and visual arts simply because they generally occupy the cultural limelight in most institutions. Finally, the focus is limited to certain key figures who play pivotal roles in these areas with apologies, as mentioned, to many others who have also contributed so much. Copies of the original, longer publication are available in the History and English Departments and the Special Collections Section of The Stewart Library. Gordon T. Allred is a free lance writer and Professor of English at Weber State College where he has taught since 1963.