Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Rivalry 11

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rf You either liked the Cy- clones or Hawkeyes. But no matter what choice you made, someone wouldn ' t like it. Leslie Hutchins 1 A Rivalry Seeing red Rivalries go beyond state lines here they went, walk- ing down the street, all decked out in Big Red sweatshirts, Hawkeye hats, Sooner T-shirts and Missouri back- packs. Some called it spirit, while others called it asking for trouble. Showing spirit for a college football team could get a little carried away for some peo- ple, but others were just telling everyone who they were. When fall hit campus, football and college rivalries couldn ' t be far behind. College foot- ball was big and Northwest was no exception. With students from all parts of the Midwest, the spirit of their home state was brought with them, including Tiger Terrorism, Hawkeye Havoc, Big Red Fever and Sooner Syndrome. People learned to love certain colleges and hate others. At birth, some parents might have looked upon their newborn son and said, He ' s going to be a Cyclone. Daugh- ters were no exception. Mothers might have trained their little girls to grow up to become Golden Girls. Whether they were in the stadium or just at home in front of the TV, a die-hard col- lege football fan might have been all decked out in his favorite school colors from Henry Husker underwear to Missouri Tiger socks. Initials, like OCJ for Oklahoma, could have been tattooed on the cheeks or carved into the hair of die-hard Sooner fans. Nasty little comments like Better dead than Husker Red were printed on the chests of some Husker Haters, while bumper stick- ers on the rears of some cars said, If I owned hell and Oklahoma, I ' d live in hell and rent out Oklahoma. A friend could have been found when one wore a certain T-shirt. Needless to say, an enemy would also be at close range. I was wearing my Hawkeye sweatshirt and this really good-looking guy started talking to me about how great the Hawks were, Vel- ma Reed said. Later on another guy walked up to me and told me I needed help in pick- ing my clothes because he said he would never be seen alive in a Hawkeye sweatshirt. In certain areas of the country, there were particular rules people made up over the years concerning cheering for a college. You either liked the Cyclones or Hawkeyes, said Leslie Hutchins, a native lo- wan. But no matter what choice you made, someone, somewh ere, wouldn ' t like it. Stereotypes often came out of college rivalries. People often made first impressions about people they met when they found out what state they were from. In some cases, it became a part of the whole communica- tion process. When I was introduced to someone and they found out I was from Missouri, the per- son giggled or cracked jokes about the Tigers, Dan Adams said. Whatever was said, nothing bad was meant. Just because one was from a certain area didn ' t mean that person had to support his football team. One student, Kim Fichter, from Iowa really wasn ' t concerned with an Iowa team. 1 was always a Comhusker fan, Fichter said. I had a lot of close friends that went there and I really liked sports. Nebraska had an excellent sports program. For many people, following a college foot- ball team became a way of life for them. It was their personality. When someone gave me a bad time about being a loyal Iowa fan, Reed said, I just said, ' You can take me out of Iowa, but you can ' t take the Iowa out of me ' . Many students left their home states phys- ically, but not spiritually. What college spirit couldn ' t be stuffed into a suitcase or duffle bag remained in students ' minds - at least un- til game day.D Kevin Sharpe Even though they go to school at Northwest, college rivalries still existed among many students. Warren Jones, Kathy Armstrong, Mike Nelson and Tami Haddox show spirit for their home state. -Photo illustration by Scott Trunkhill

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The ceremo- ny actually didn ' t seem big enough for the accomplish- ments. ' ' Tom Cairns Grad-ification A new degree of accomplishment Commencement Day. The date was marked on students ' calendars for months--perhaps years. It was a day many had worked for all their lives. They had envisioned a per- fect spring day on which to celebrate their accomplishments, but instead they got pouring rain. The weather added to the confusion of lin- ing up more than 560 graduates in alpha- betical order. Originally, the students were to line up outdoors, but the downpour drove them into the basement of Lamkin Gym. Here the students dealt with heat and humid- ity, wet caps and gowns and a variety of other difficulties. One problem was trying to find where to put my umbrella, Julie Tavernaro said. 1 couldn ' t exactly put it under my cap and gown. But all the confusion and bad weather couldn ' t overshadow the mixed emotions graduates had about the day. Most of the people around me said they couldn ' t even listen to what was going on, Tavernaro said. They were just thinking about the future, their friends and what life held for them from that point on. Many realized, though, that meeting the future meant leaving old friends. We were excited, but we were also sad be- cause we knew everyone would be going their separate ways, Joyce Espey said. Espey agreed that friendships made the accomplishments even more special. It was pretty exciting to see friends walk across the stage who had struggled through those four years with me, because I knew we had shared the same experiences, she said. Mow the graduates shared their last ex- perience together as college students: the graduation ceremony itself. They listened as President Dean Hubbard announced funding had been received to transform Northwest into an electronic cam- pus. They laughed as Dr. Shaila Aery, who addressed the graduates, jokingly expressed the hope that the next funding approved would be for a multipurpose building where graduation could be held without roasting the participants. In some respects it was much like past years. However, unlike past years, com- mencement was held in the morning instead of the afternoon in order to avoid excessive heat. This also allowed students with long distances to travel to leave earlier. For the spring graduates, the long journey toward a degree was over. However, some students were just entering the last leg. For them, summer commencement, Aug. 7, was their night to celebrate. Unlike the spring graduates, summer degree recipients had no trouble with rain or heat. Air conditioning kept almost 270 graduates comfortable during the evening ceremony at Mary Linn Performing Arts Center. Despite the differences, though, it was still a day to say good-bye and celebrate achieve- ments. It was also another opportunity to honor those who had served the university. While the university honored those who contributed their money, graduates remem- bered those who had contributed their love. 1 remember being very glad it was finally over and thinking of all the stuff a lot of peo- ple besides me had gone through, like my wife and kids, said Tom Cairns, who received his master ' s degree. The ceremony actual- ly didn ' t seem big enough for the accomplishments. However, both speakers and students real- ized that accomplishments didn ' t end with graduation. It ' s really a starting point rather than an ending point, Tavernaro said. Formal education was over; life ' s education was just beginning. D Dawn Williams 12 Graduation ■