Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Lower thermostat chills By Scott Kraft My God. its cold in here. I ' m sorry, sir, but we don ' t have campus Sunday martyr any control over the supply, talk to . . . It ' s a socioeconomic problem. Hey, I don ' t care about your socioeconomic problems — I just want light and heat. Is that too much to ask ' ? In a day and age when it is possible to purchase nearly any service or commodity, Americans are finding it increasingly frustrating to adjust to colder building temperatures, power failures, and the demand-depressing effect of high gasoline prices. At the K-State front, the energy problems ranged from intense to mini- mal. Energy task forces and the like have appeared at K-State since it was learned in early October that the Uni- versity ' s energy supply would be cut down. K-State ' s energy supplier ' s sup- plier was cutting down. The energy task force was estab- lished on campus, and a concerted effort was made to conserve energy. But, as so often happens during a time when energy is being conserved, stu- dents and faculty became more sensi- tive of the temperatures around them. Verbal attacks on the people who set the heat were often heard. I ' m burning up In here and we ' re supposed to be having an energy cri- sis. 28 — Energy 1975

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III II II II III II • II II II I II • 11 II II II Flash, Tracy zap Wednesdays free of charge By. Linda Reed Lights dim and cheers sputter in the close-aired theatre. People wiggle deeper into their seats, maybe prop- ping a foot to find comfort. The projec- tor gains speed and flickers. Music up . . . scant images . . . the words roll by . . . FOREWORD CHAPTER FIVE FLASH and Rohe capture a Ming ship and force the crew to fly them to Ming ' s palace and . . . To the delight of middle-of-the- week woefuls . and the K-State stu- dent body in general, Flash Gordon leaped into action — not once, but three limes — every Wednesday! As before, the ever-competent Union Program Council managed to add a little zip and zowie to the aver- age student ' s life by offering the Free Films series. Each week ' s show con- sisted of one feature serial adventure with several old, and usually moldy, short subjects. Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy. stars of those Saturday morning nickel flicks Mom and Dad raved about, each headlined a semester ' s cast. Playing once again to packed houses, these daring, unspoiled heroes out- fought, out-foxed, and at times, out- hammed even their foulest of foes. The sight of such wholesome good- ness and evil evilness drew spontane- ous commental outbursts from ticket- holders: hisses and boos for the rotten guys — cheering encouragement for the more civic-minded characters. Flash Gordon and his crew of earthl- ings tooled through the Universe in wobbly, bullet-like space ships, keep- ing track of the cruel Emperor Ming. Through ten installments, these mortal enemies chased each other in efforts to save and destroy, respectively, the kingdom ruled by Princess Aura and Prince Barren. Prince Barren? Oh well, Flash felt the guy was worth saving so he continued to foolhardedly risk his neck. And how could he possibly lose with the help of pretty Date Arden, who, as her female foes discovered, could handle herself quite well under pres- sure. But then what superhero, and ex-Olympic swimmer. like Buster Crabbe, couldn ' t punch out a whole regiment of Mingites who resembled over-stuffed Munchkins with a bit of Robin Hood ' s merrymen mixed in? Second semester Free Film buffs were treated to the antics of Dick Tracy and company. Acting as calm, cool, and collected as Katie Winters, Dick battled modern day baddies with success and sap equal to Flash. Tracy ' s number-one fiend was The Spider , a cripple armed with a myste- rious pocket flashlight that marked his victims quite appropriately with an illu- minated spider. This no-good wrong- doer was aided by the terribly mis- guided physician and hunchback Mol- och. Definitely not as classy as an !gore. Moloch ' s big thrill was rearrang- ing brains with his own special method of cerebral surgery. His operations usually left few scars but had the uncanny knack of skunk-striping the patient ' s hair. Cohorts of Tracy included Gwen and Junior, that drab devoted duo always ready to remind their idol and boss just exactly how much the free world needed him. Where Flash relied on elaborate weaponry, Tracy employed a simpler tactic. He smiled his enemies into submission! Those ivories could even do a number on audiences! Supplementing these two serial adventures were an aged assortment of short subjects. From the Keystone Cops to what seemed to be at least one sample each of the Our Gang-Lit- tle Rascals remakes, the shorts served as warm-ups for the really good stuff . While UPC provided the nostalgic medium, student viewers added their own collegiate flavoring with audible sighs of Oh, Flash! or a heartfelt Way to go, Dick! . And when the action or dialogue became too much to swallow, a good, long belch helped put things back into proper perspec- tive! Free ticks — 27

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While others were saying. It ' s so cold in here I can ' t grasp my damn pen. And the discrepancies between rooms and buildings were often called into question. Posters with notepads attached were displayed in every cam- pus building with the inscription: Are you uncomfortable? Too Hot or Too Cold . If a person was uncomfortable. he was asked to fill in the time, loca- tion, date, and room. The task force was seeking the misuses of energy in buildings. Budding architects still trekked to Seaton Hall on Sunday afternoons to sketch and work on drawing projects. budding chemists still trudged through snow-blown sidewalks to laboratories, and budding journalists still braved the cold January winds to make it over to Kedzie Hall — but something was dif- ferent. The heat had been turned low for the weekend, not to be turned on again until Monday morning. More ' than one student wore a beanie cap on Sunday afternoons. Campus lights were turned out early and building hours were cut down all just to cut back on energy usage. Five to ten years ago, when oil com- panies and other energy suppliers were warning of the impending energy crisis, few would listen with a serious ear. Now, some of the major oil com- panies are being castigated for their high profits, resulting from the high price of gasoline. A need to develop incentives for deeper and more pene- trating research in seeking energy stockpiles has surfaced Some conservative economists were calling for an end to the fuss over windfall profits. What the country needs to do, said these people, is to increase oil company profits. They reason that it is the oil companies that will need to search for alternative sources of energy. And so the answer to our fluctuating energy crisis seems simple — alterna- tive sources of energy. However, there are several problems with this simple solution. First, any new energy form is bound to be more expensive than the 50 to 60 cents per gallon people were screaming about in 1974. Social costs involved in switching to another form of energy would be high. In a country that can ' t even switch its system of measurement, the probability of mak- ing an energy switchover without too much chaos seems slim. Inasmuch as strict governmental controls are not a favorable alterna- tive, the second problem with an alter- nate source of energy is that someone must do the necessary research someone with an incentive. And it is looking like that incentive will have to be fabricated by the government. For an incentive system to work, the price of gasoline would have to start reflecting its demand. While skyrocket- ing prices at the pump would be reces- sive in its burden, it would provide an indication of the true value of the energy we are using. These solutions still untried, the country entered 1975 in a state of stalemate — no gas rationing, but lots of threats. People were beginning to wonder what happened to the signs of the sixties: Live Better Electrically or Use Gas — It ' s Cheaper . Both gas and electricity are products of the energy producers, and the price of both was kept artificially low for years. Only now are the true prices of natural resources being borne by the con- sumer. But the issue is both social and eco- nomic. Socially, we cannot allow rising energy costs to price persons on fixed or low incomes out of the energy mar- ket — because it is a market of sur- vival. Everyone needs heat, light, and gasoline. A rise in the price of energy products will have an inflationary effect on the rest of the energy-con- suming public, and especially on the energy-consuming businesses. If America wants some form of energy in the next 50 years, it must bear the monetary burden now. Ameri- cans are finally realizing that resources are scarce and assessing the real costs of these resources to the consumer IS something that should have been done long ago. K-Staters seemed doomed in 1974 to a life in dark rooms and packed car- pools, with the ever-present invigorat- ing mid-January chill sifting their hair and bringing goose-bumps to the sur- face of their skin. Energy 1975 — 29