Zoe Colton

You’ve definitely heard her name around campus or at least seen her and her hard-to-miss hairdo crossing the quad on a mission. Frankly, if you haven’t, you don’t even go here. Carmen Rios, current director of Women’s Initiative (WI) is a staple on American University’s campus. She’s got wild hair and a feisty attitude to match. 

When I met Carmen outside of the Dav on a gloomy Monday, she had a smile on her face and the love of her life in her arms, a sweet black Chihuahua mix named Eli. She was surrounded by friends and chatting up a storm, while we tried to snag a table. Carmen’s a social butterfly by nature. 

What may be a normal day for Carmen can be considered one of an average college student’s busiest days. She manages to balance a full course schedule, representing WI, and a part time job at a childcare center. After watching some wake-up TV and snuggling with Eli, Carmen scurries off to campus where spends most of her day in meetings or classes, but mostly meetings. She relies on a healthy caffeine intake and the little time she gets to relax with her friends during the day to get her through. Carmen’s evenings are usually occupied with homework or events with WI, but when she gets a free night, you can find her at happy hour. 

While all of you were busy unpacking your rooms, saying goodbye to Mom and Dad, and saying hello to a new semester, the cast and crew of the fall musical were hard at work on The Who’s Tommy. All of their efforts came to fruition during the final two weekends in October. The show premiered on Thursday, October 20 followed by shows on October 21-22 and 27-29.  If you didn’t get a chance to see it, you really missed out on finding your inner “Pinball Wizard.” 

Yes, to answer your question: The Who is the famous rock band, The Who. Don’t worry; I had no idea Pete Townshend had written a musical either.  

This production was not one of AU’s more family-friendly shows because of the mature themes and some rather graphic scenes of child abuse and murder, which I’m sure created some awkward moments for freshmen families with younger siblings who went to see the show during All-American Weekend.  

The rock opera follows Tommy (4-year-old and 10-year-old played by Brandon Deane and older Tommy played by Eddie Leavy), who, after witnessing his father murder his mother’s lover in their home at age four, becomes “deaf, dumb, and blind” and faces a life of sexual abuse from stereotypically pedophilic Uncle Ernie (Tim Harmey), cruelty from malicious Cousin Kevin (Matthew Rubbelke), and parents (Hilary Morrow and Brian Slayton) who try everything in their power to correct their mistakes. It is not until Tommy tries his hand at pinball that things begin to turn around for him. Tommy soon becomes a pinball superstar and manages to overcome the tragedies he’s experienced.