A serious subject got treated to a rowdy and raunchy introduction as the Peabody Cheerleaders from Hell and Peabody Marching Band stirred up the crowds attending the kickoff event for the 1998 United Way Campaign, held last Wednesday on the Homewood campus.

Not to be outdone by his students, Bob Sirota, director of the Peabody Institute and one of three university chairs for the campaign, got into the act as he played along with the band on his saxophone. Accompanying him on drums was Provost Steven Knapp.

Bob Sirota and Steven Knapp make beautiful music together.

The event, however, did take on a serious tone when Sirota; Knapp; Judy Peregoff, director of the Office of Faculty, Staff and Retiree Programs; and United Way beneficiary Jackie Cornish spoke of the importance of giving to the United Way and helping the Hopkins Institutions reach their combined campaign goal of $1.6 million.

Speaker Jackie Cornish and her 11-year-old son, Michael.

Cornish had addressed the Hopkins event years before--speaking about her only son, who had been shot and killed in a random act of violence. This year, she cheerfully shared the podium with her 11-year-old adopted son, who had been brought into her life as a drug-addicted infant by a United Way agency.

Students in Black strut their stuff in front of Shriver Hall.