James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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ross socializes wilh Tracy Flodin. . himons replaced the mushroom a meeting phice for students. vid .Slankard. ii member of ihc band ;ryihing, enjoys performing for stu- ns on the Commons. When the weather . nice, bands entertained students dur- lunch hour on Mondiiys and I ' ridiivs at Top: Phi Beta Sigma brother. Lindscy Baker, performs for a captive audience. The Black Greek Caucus traditionally held two step shows a year. 1 he world that students looked out upon was at a crossroads. People wondered if a new world order was emerging, replacing cold war with cooperation. Revolutions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet bloc brought opportunities for either growing democracy and reform - or counterrevolutions and instability. Would cooperation come in time to save a troubled environment? The students ' own country had seen close to a decade of economic expansion despite constant worry and doomsday claims, but indicators began to point to a real recession. In a shifting world, the political parties faced changes in identity and platform and the abortion issue raged on. These issues were affected by the appointment of an apparently conservative justice to the Supreme Court. The country found itself at the head of a multinational. United Nations force defending its interests and ideology, a situation that could have repercussions that would last for years. The school itself was facing new situations and decisions as well. Budget cuts had students doing homework on VAX accounts rather than on expensive handouts, and it became impossible to get extra garlic bread with Steak House dinners. The Music building added its new sights and sounds to the Quad while the office of Career Services moved to the stylistic Sonncr Hall on the lake. Shorts, Eagle, and Chandler Hall residents woke up every morning to the sounds of the construction of a new $9 million Business building, as renovations continued on Burruss Hall. Talks continued about the expansion of JMU to the other side of Interstate 81 as well. Racial and women ' s concerns were of particular interest on campus and Earth Day mugs were prevalent... Opening 13

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X hough all these elements were important to the complete personality of JMU, perhaps most important were the people. There was no single way to describe them. They were not only the students, the faculty, the alumni or the surrounding community. They were anyone affected by the university - whether by a class they took, an experience they had, or a friend they made. The only generalization one could really make about JMU students was that they were all different. Each had their own interests. Each had their own attitudes and values. And each had their own ideas. And hopefully we all respected these differences in each other even if we didn ' t always agree. Because we realized that without such diversity, there would have been little true interaction of students and we wouldn ' t have had the experience of learning from one another. And the personal growth one experiences at college wouldn ' t have taken place. JMU changed each and every one of us. As we left to go out into the real world we left with a greater understanding of ourselves. We had learned more about who we are and who we wanted to be. And we gained a sense of personal peace and allowed ourselves to be ourselves and allowed others to see us as we were. And that ' s who the people of JMU were. 14 Opening