Ball State University - Orient Yearbook (Muncie, IN)

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Established in 1953 Kappa Alpha Psi was the oldest black fraternity on campus. 26 Black Functions Their best foot forward Unity Week highlighted the 1984 social black events he audience sat quietly for the moment, each person too shy to speak first during the program’s ‘‘Open Mike’’ ses- sion. Then Alvin Piers, In- dianapolis junior, stepped for- ward. He leaned toward the microphone, cleared his throat, and spoke softly. “It’s very nice to see all of these people come together to honor a great man like Dr. Mar- tin Luther King, Jr. But we must remember that his fight for civil rights was for everyone, not just for the blacks at the back of the bus. That’s why we’re here, and this is what Unity Week is all about.”’ The group applauded Piers’ comments and then, one by one, other students followed him. Cassandra Allen, Gary senior and chairwoman of Unity Week, said later, ‘‘At first, getting everyone to participate was hard. But suddenly the spirit of unity started to flow.”’ The flowing spirit was typical of the many functions sponsored by and held for black students on campus during the year. Ac- tivities ranging from the solemn to the celebrated gave blacks on campus a chance to display their cultural pride and just have a good time together. Some of the key events of the year included Jabberwock, the Ebony and Ivory Halloween Party, the Miss Black Ball State Pageant and, of course, Unity Week. Phillip Burton, Black Student Association, BSA, president, said black events during the year had been successful. “‘There’s been a little more progress, but apathy is still pret- ty heavy,’ said Burton. “‘We tried to get an earlier start on getting organized, but many students still didn’t want to come out and help.”’ The lack of volunteers didn’t diminish the success of the featured events of the year. The week-long Jabberwock celebra- tion featured pageantry, music and games. Events included a “Family Feud’’ match, dances, and also featured a fashion show. The week concluded with a semi- formal dance on Saturday featuring the spectacular line dances. The men of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity were presented with a trophy for their outstan- ding performance. The Ebony and Ivory Hallo- ween Party was a classic display of unity between blacks and whites. Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity combined with Alpha Tau Omega fraternity to spon- sor the weekend festival. Also participating was Sigma Gam- ma Rho sorority. A convocation with the Rev. Charles Williams was also a feature of the week. Stephon Jones, Indianapolis senior and president of the Alphas, said ‘“‘Since last year we have been able to open the doors of com- munications with white frater- nities and sororities on the cam- pus.”’ Still the highlight of the year once again was Unity Week, held Jan 8-15 in honor of the late Dr. King. It was a week of musical performances, fund- raising events, social gatherings and p rayer. A high point of the week was teh the International Dinner held at the Minority Student Develop- | ment Center. Yezid Diahiou, Senegal, Africa, graduate stu- — dent, noted proudly, ‘“‘It was the | first time in the history of Ball State that these two groups have | joined together for such an ac- | tivity.” Later in the week, the annual © memorial service for Dr. King was held, and Sen. Julian Bond, D-Ga., also gave a lecture. The remainder of Unity Week © concentrated on fund-raising © events, including bowling and basketball tournaments and a candlelight ball. Erich Ward, Richmond so- | phomore and BSA vice president of political affairs, headed the | steering committee that planned Unity Week ’84. Ward noted, ‘‘We sent letters out to all cam- pus organizations to notify them of Unity Week. But no white fraternities or sororities par- ticipated. If they had, that would have made Unity Week ’84 a true success.”’ But success was evident in most all of the events sponsored and organized by black stu- dents, and they were not lacking in social opportunities. | Burton said that there had been improvements made dur- ing the year, despite the apathy and lack of interaction with whites. The year provided black students with several op- portunities to strengthen their - unity and enjoy themselves at | featured events. 1 As Jones noted after the | Ebony and Ivory party, “‘We’re trying to set an example for the | rest of the campus.”’ = by Robin | Mills and Jeff Rodriguez

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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

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SEN. JULIAN BOND, D-Ga., lectures for the Unity Week participants in Emens Auditorium. Bond urged students to vote for Walter Mondale in the 1984 primaries. Photo by Tom Amiot JABBERWOCK gives Tyrone Johnson, Muncie senior, a chance to dance in the line dance competition. Photo by Dave Schild AN ART FAIR, sponsored by the Black Student Association featured student works depicting unity between races. ‘Mr. 10,” Odell Smith, Indianapolis soph- omore; Miss Black Ball State, Sandra Chapman, Fort Wayne sophomore; and Julie Work, In- dianapolis senior, ready the display for viewers. Photo by Brad Sauter THE UNITY WEEK DANCE celebrates the combined efforts of both black and white students and also helped to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Photo by Sue Wilden Black Functions NO