Ball State University - Orient Yearbook (Muncie, IN)

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President Robert Homecoming Chairman Jeri Meditch, Syracuse senior, leaves the football field after presenting the 1983 Homecom- ing Queen crown to Ana San- chez, Lafayette senior, and her court.Photo by Tom Amiot AS ONE of a twelve member squad, Jed Speakman, Decatur sophomore, tries to keep the crowd's interest and enthusiasm up during the Homecoming game, despite the fact that Ball State was trailing Northern II- linois for most of the entire game. Photo by Tom Amiot 24 Homecoming

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: ’ ; bed races down McKinley got underway. | Throughout the afternoon, the cowboy thats went sailing as team after team raced against ‘the clock and each other for the fastest time down the 100-yard track. Pi Beta Phi sorority cap- tured the women’s crown, and ‘the Delta Chi fraternity Rack Monsters won the men’s divi- sion. While the two champions were relishing their victories, other ‘teams were satisfied with more fundamental accomplishments, ‘such as finishing alive and in one piece. ‘We didn’t crash!” said ‘Jenny Whitney, Greenwood freshman, after her team had run their second race. ‘‘We went off into the crowd last time, but we went straight this time.”’ - Brad Hellman, Columbus, Ohio, junior, had no breath left for such elation after his team’s race. ‘I feel worn-out and out-of- | shape,”’ he huffed. Hellman said the quintet had trained exten- sively for the big event. ‘“‘We drank a lot of beer,’’ he said, and then went off with his exhausted teammates to resume training for next year. | THURSDAY, Sept. 29, 6:15 | p.m.: “If you haven’t got a part- ner, find one! said WTHR-TV channel 13 announcer Nancy Rodgers. ‘‘We’re going to need every pair of lips.”’ Slowly, the couples trickled in- to the giant circle of people on LaFollette Field, ready to dedicate their lips to the cause of setting a new world record for the most couples to be kissing at the same time. The target number was 1,500 couples, but with just 15 minutes to go until kiss-off, the prospects for suc- cess were looking grim. The massive speakers continued to blare music, the crowd waited and the clock kept ticking. 6:20: ‘“‘We’re here ’cause we’re here,”’ explained Lynda Gonza, Fort Wayne sophomore, with her arms wrapped arou nd boyfriend Park Grinder, Hun- tertown sophomore. ‘‘Even if we don’t break the record, who cares? It’s still a lot of fun.”’ 6:25: “‘We’re getting close!’’ said Rodgers, stretching the truth a bit. Meanwhile, gate at- tendants kept handing sticks of chewing gum to newly arriving couples, while a few dedicated couples in the ring began warm- ing up for the crucial moments. 6:30: “For crying out loud,”’ said Rodgers to the bystanders looking on, ‘‘what’s wrong with you people? Don’t you like to kiss?”’ 6:35: Several more sets of badly-needed lips arrived on the scene, but they wouldn’t be do- ing any kissing; it was only the band arriving for the pep rally to come later that night. 6:45: I have some good news and some bad news,” said Rodgers. ‘‘We’re not going to be able to break the record for the most couples kissing, but we can break the record for the longest kiss by the most couples.” Cheers rang out from the more than 400 couples as Rodgers ex- plained that they’d be attemp- ting a three and one-half minute smooch. “T think it’s great, and it’s go- ing to be a lot of fun.“‘ said Jerry Alan Holmes, Anderson fresh- man. At his side, Marla Banther, Anderson sophomore, said, ‘‘I wanted to do it last year, but he chickened out.’’ This time, there would be no turning back. Gea, MMe. WR cs TDs. one... smooch!”’ cried Rodgers. The crowd took a giant collec- tive breath, and with Michael Jackson’s ‘‘Human Nature”’ drifting into the cool night air, smooched their way into history. Afterward there was a ba- nana-eating contest among the football players, a pep rally lead by cheerleaders, and then a bon- fire. As the brilliant flames slap- ped at the dark, autumn sky, couples huddled around the fire and watched the blaze while some practiced for the possiblity of another smooch-off, some time in the future. FRIDAY, Sept. 30: Side-by-- side the two shirtless men sat quietly on a small riser. In less than an hour they would become The lowdown on the hoedown two crotchety old men perform- ing in the musical revue, ‘“‘Make Mine Country Style.’’ But at that moment, they were just a couple of nervous actors about to make their theatrical debuts. “This is just altogether bad,”’ said Gary Russell, Mooresville sophomore. ‘‘We’ve never done anything like this before and I’m pretty nervous.”’ Russe ll would be playing the role of the Muppet character Waldorf, while Mark Martin, Logansville senior, would be cast as his sidekick, Statler. “Tt’s a one-shot deal for us,” said Martin. ‘‘We’ve got some pretty good parts, all of them strategically laced in the show.”’ When the curtain went up the two were in character and as cantankerous as their television counterparts. Kermit and Miss Piggy as well as a menegerie of Muppets helped to entertain the crowd at Emens Auditorium with a little bit of song and dance. Charlie Cardinal joined in as guest star. It was a solid act, one that even Statler and Waldorf had trouble com- plaining about, although they did, of course, have plenty to say about it. Another new role was assum- ed after the show when Ana San- chez, Lafayette senior, was crowned Homecoming Queen. Sanchez represented Alpha Chi Omega sorority. Though she was suffering from a cold that had left her nearly hoarse, San- chez still managed to keep both her smile and her crown in place. ‘‘When it got down to the last runner-up, I didn’t think I’d have a chance,”’ she said, her voice dried from the fever. ‘“‘But I tried to be optimistic.” Earlier in the day, students were vying for somewhat dif- ferent honors at the County Fair in the Village. The local shop windows were adorned with displays, and the Wood Band plucked out country music for the crowd. The event was sparsely attended, but that didn’t put a damper on the com- petition in the pie-eating and CONTINUED CLOWNS may not have been coun- try, but they were still a part of the Homecoming Parade. One such clown stops to taik to children in the crowd as she strolls the parade route. Photo by Ann Hollenbeck MARCHING to the beat of a drum wasn’t easy for some members of the band, especially when they had to carry the drum, too. The Pride of Mid-America was one of the major parts of the Homecoming Parade. Phota by Steve Buchanan Homecoming 23

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) 2 ) : Z j i “? ri) 4 “ tf = . , ‘ : , ae hace ; j ? ‘ 1 | . F 4 @ t| tobacco-spitting contests. Mike Mesalam, Indianapolis fresh- ‘man, won the men’s division by inhaling his pie in the fastest time, while Susan Tingle, Speed- way sophomore, won the ‘women’s competition. The last event of the day was the tobacco-spitting contest. Tom Mitchell, Crawfordsville sophomore, flexed his tonsils for 2 17-foot toss of juice, good 2nough to win the distance com- detition, and John Duncan, Mun- sie senior, realized his own treat expectorations by winning he accuracy contest. It had if not yeen a day of good, Eitogether clean, fun. | SATURDAY, Oct 1: Still wip- ng the sleep from her eyes and ‘he straw from her hair, Marlies oenig, South Bend sophomore, {rose early Saturday morning to jet ready for the Homecoming »arade. “‘We spent the last two days traight working on this thing, nd last night we slept on it,” aid Koenig. The ‘‘thing’’ she ‘eferred to was Menk Hall’s loat for the Homecoming ’arade. Theirs was one of more jan 100 entries to cruise rough downtown Muncie, over Jniversity Avenue and finish on IcKinley. While the parade was pro- ‘eeding toward campus, more jan 200 runners were racing round it in a five kilometer Fun ‘ALLS from the Cardinal’s leading fans |pt the Ball State crowd cheering for the ‘me team. Individual cheerleaders iminated groups for the spirit award before «final winner was chosen from all those iminated. Photo by Renee Gearhart Run. Mike Slaubaugh, Kokomo graduate student, won with a time of 16:22, despite missing a turn and traveling an extra block. “T feel okay,”’ he said after the race, scarcely showing any sign of being winded. ‘‘The field (of participants) wasn’t as tough as it was last year. I don’t know where they all were this time.”’ If he had asked the Cardinal football team, they might have said some of those athletes were helping the Northern Illinois Huskies run over, around and through the Cardinals on their way to a 27-14 victory. Husky running back Darryl Richard- son set a stadium record by cut- ting through the Cards for 252 yards rushing. The last-minute heroics that had pulled out vic- tories over NIU in past years were not in the script this time. Also missing was entertainer Ben Vereen, who had been scheduled to perform as the Homecoming act. But when an injury to leg ligaments forced Vereen to cancel out, singer Rita Coolidge agreed to substitute for him. Unfortunately, Coolidge was not in the best health either. She was still recovering from la- ryngitis when she took the stage at Emens Saturday night. Despite an energetic per- formance, her voice’s occa- sional hoarseness hampered her act. She did two shows before a CLOWNS, FLOATS, a troop of baton twirlers and a variety of other characters paraded through the streets in the Homecoming Parade. The floats varied from the backend of a pick-up to the traditional horse-drawn wagons. Photo by Tom Amiot ‘The lowdown on the hoedown total of 1,100 courteous, restrain- ed people. Opening her act was comedian and juggler Michael Davis, who handled his dry humor as deftly as the objects he juggled. While Davis was busy enter- taining the crowds with his jug- gling on stage, another juggling act had been going on all week behind the scenes. Homecoming Chair Jeri Meditch, Syracuse senior, was still smiling at the end of the week, but it was definately a tired smile. “T got about six hours of sleep this week,”’ she said. She’d been present at all of the events throughout the week, wearing everything from blue overalls and a red handkerchief to a blue dress and a white corsage. Meditch admitted that all the events and the planning that had gone into them had cut into her homework. ‘“‘How many weeks have we been in school?”’ she asked. ‘‘That’s how many weeks behind I am.”’ But she also said she had serv- ed on the Homecoming commit- tee last year, and knew what she was taking on as chairperson. “It’s gone very well,’ she sigh- ed. ‘“‘I know it’s been worth it.”’ For the thousands of students who had joined in the week when Ball State had gone a little bit country, they couldn’t have agreed any more.= by Jeff Rodriguez A NEW BALLOON MAN emerged during Homecoming week. Mike McShurley, Lafayette junior, walks along with the parade selling two dollar balloons. Photo by Tom Amiot Homecoming 295