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

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“Living off cam- pus didn’t feel like | was going back to my little cell. In a sense, it was more like home.” Students weigh pros and cons when choosing their home away from HOME To live on campus or to live off campus? That was the question many students debated over at least once during their collegiate careers. For freshmen, the answer to that ques- tion was obvious. They were required to live in the residence halls their first year, unless they were 21 years of age or older, lived with parents or peti- tioned to get off campus. But for upper- classmen, living on or off campus was entirely their decision. “I decided to live off campus be- cause I got older and tired of cam- pus life,” Mike Walker said. “I also got tired of putting up with the campus rules.” Students found that living off campus was more like living at home. “Living off campus didn’t feel like I was going back to my little cell,” Sally Sanborn said. “Ina sense it was more like home.” Scott Higgenbothem said living off campus gave him more privacy. “It felt more like home because there were other rooms I could go to besides my bedroom,” he said. “I didn’t have to share the bathroom with 50 other guys.” Most agreed the primary advantages for living off campus were to have more freedom, to have a cheaper cost of living, to eat better and to have pets. “It was a lot quieter than the dorms,” Higgenbothem said. “You didn’t have people screaming their heads off or play- ing golf and other games in the halls.” Walker admitted that living off cam- pus had its drawbacks. He said the condi- tion of many off-campus dwellings was -Sally Sanborn considered poor and dealing with land- lords was, at times, difficult. “If something in the apartment broke down, it took a while to have it fixed,” Walker said. There were other disadvantages, Higgenbothem said. “You didn’t have janitors cleaning up after you like in the residence halls,” he said. “You had to do it yourself.” Students said cooking for themselves, walking or driving to campus, doing laundry and not having access to a com- puter proved to be major disadvantages. “The biggest problem for me was hav- ing monthly bills,” Jennifer Urban said. “Having to come up with the money every month was hard .” According to Residential Life Coordi- nator Wayne Viner, students stayed on campus for reasons of accessibility to campus resources. “The majority of students chose to stay oncampus because of convenience more than anything else,” Viner said. Kevin Houlette was one of these stu- dents who felt on-campus housing was more practical. “Tt was more convenient in the halls because it was easier to get to the library and other academic buildings,” Houlette said. “You had more access to everything on campus.” Anita Fischer said the main reason she lived on campus was not having to cook. “| didn’t ever have to worry about cooking,” she said. “If 1 was hungry, I just ran over to the Union and got some- thing.” Although students chose whether to live on or off campus due to specific advantages and disadvantages, they made their final decison on where to live based on the way they wanted to live. I BY ANGELA TACKETT

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IN STEP, Leading the way, Bobby Bearcat and the Northwest Cheerleaders march in behind the ROTC Color Guard to start off the parade. Shawn Wake, who portrayed Bobby Bearcat, was also a Homecoming King finalist. Photo by Todd Weddle ODIE'S CHAIR. Delta Chi’s Garfield and Odie group costume rests against a chair before the parade began. David Shephard wore the costume which was held up by suspenders, keeping Odie’s feet from dragging the ground. Photo by Scott Albright WAY OUT THERE. Delta Zeta float chairman Denise Ibsen walks beside the sorority’s float, “The Jetsons.” They spent nearly three hours the morning of the parade making last-minute preparations. Although they did not receive first for their float entry, the sorority won parade supremacy. Photo by Scott Albright WHAT'S DUCK. Sarah Warren waddles down the parade route as DuckTales character, Uncle Scrooge McDuck. The Delta Zeta entry placed second in the papier-mache clowns sorority division. Photo by Todd Weddle ROYAL COUPLE. Reigning over the Homecoming festivities, King and Queen Mark Gerling and Julie Wilmoth greet the crowd lined up along College Avenue. Wilmoth and Gerling were dating each other when they were crowned. Photo by Todd Weddle HomeEcoMING 25

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RUB AND SCRUB. Room- mates Julie Moeller and Marci Gregg work together on the after dinner clean up. Along with increased freedom, stu- dents living off campus gained numerous responsibility. Photo by Mike Fernandes HI, IT'S ME. After a long day of classes, Angie Slider calls a friend from her dorm room. Students living on campus were spared the expense of phone installation and were provided with voice mail. Photo by Patrick Mahoney JUST LIKE HOME. Room- mates Leslie Leake and Jodi Peterson watch TV in their apartment. Many students en- joyed the more spacious living quarters and less restricting tules that off-campus housing offered. Photo by Jon Britton DEAL THE CARDS. Perrin Hall residents are joined by some friends in a heated game of cards. Residence halls gave students an opportunity to build strong and lasting friend- ships. Photo by Patrick Mahoney Housinc 27