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

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B LeslcN Thacker They hold hooks. Ala Dine Cards, planners, wallets — c cr thing needed to sur ive the day. It was no wonder that some students hags and hackpacks began to take on li es of their o n. w ith unique meanings and histories. Differences in personal expression were big reasons for the uniqueness of bags as well as fashion and durability. The handmade bag that hung on the back of her w heelchair had sentimental alue for Jade Gordon. My aide made this for me because she got tired of seeing me carry mine around my neck, Gordon said. I really, really cared about this bag. ..because a lot of feeling went into it. Kimberl Boley ' s canvas bag was also a handmade gift. Her sorority mother decorated it with sunflowers and sorority letters. My bag showed part of my personality. Boley said. I was really outgoing and I was a really social person. Luralei Martin carried a large, brightly-colored PlaySkool backpack. She also said she thought her bag. ith ail of its pnmary colors, expressed her personalii . I thought that it said that I was a fun-lo ing person, Martin said. It ' s PlaySkool, it s Sesame Street, it ' s the Electric Company: it s all these things wrapped up in one. .A good value was also a nice incentive w hen students choose their bookbag. I ordered some books and they gave me a free bag, ' Shelly Walker said about her floral tote. M backpack got chewed up b my Alaskan malamute. 1 graduate this semester and I didn ' t want to go buy a S15 backpack, so 1 just used this to get me by. Nathan Diefendorf carried more than books in his knapsack. The neighbor kids lost a puppy and I went chasing after it. Diefendorf said. When I caught it. I had to put in my back- pack. Diefendorfs pack had weathered other unusual happenings in the two years he owned it. It had been run over by a truck before. ' Diefendort said. We (my friends and I) were putting all of our stuff in the back of a truck. I thought that one of my friends had put it (my backpack ) in the back, but he had sat it beside me, by the wheel. We backed up and felt a bump, so we looked and there was my backpack, sitting there on the ground. Backpacks pro ided a fun way to express personal styles. .Although there were as many different reasons to carry back- packs as there were Northwest students, one thing was agreed on: students lived out of their backpacks, making them neces- sary for sur ival. From necessity to pack fashion into a ons Lugging Pains Crick, crack there went the back. As students piled on the weight in their back- packs, annoying back pains shot through their spine. Discomfort and sore shoulders were the effects of carrying loo many books loo often. To deal w iih the problem of stress and strain in the neck and shoulders, students were advised to change shoulders or wear it (the backpack) on both shoulders to equalize the load, Greg Thomas, chiropractor, said. Time spent socializing with friends or walking to class while lugging heavy packs around also threatened healthy backs. Although there were no reponed cases of back pains specifically related to carry ing around the heavy backpacks, Thomas said it could be a contributing factor to something bigger. It could be affecting people down the road, he said. Symptoms of carrying hea y backpacks varied from person to person. The common ailment of students suffering from back stress were headaches and stiff necks. According to a University of Vermont study, most back problems developed when people entered their 20s and 30s. 0 erstraining the back early could have damaging effects later in life. Staying balanced and taking a load off made all the difference in the quest for a happy, healthy back. Backpacks 11

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Lea ing Ihe Bearcat Bookstore. Dawn Stahl relric cs her backpack from £ the cubbyhole where all students are required to place their bags before entering the store. Bookbags were a necessity for some; for others they i- pro ided a way to express their personalities. Her bookbag tossed carelessly on the library table, Lori Neihart works late into the night. Because it w as difficult for off-campus students to go home o between classes. man foiiiKi ilicniscKcs li irii oui of their hookhass. q. Student Life

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Fim 3 cause alarm By Mike Johnson Residents ' calls k action prompts safety codi Fire timeline March 15: Garrett-Strong— When an electrical box exploded, the high rises were left w iihoiit power for 24 hours, the vaxes shut down and B.D. Owens Library was evacuated. The box was replaced and power restored. June 26: A G Pizza— The fire started in the grill area. Becau ' e of the extent of the losses, there were no plans to rebuild the business. Aug. 2: Rex and Ralph ' s Tire Shop— The cause was a radio shorting out and catching fire. The fire spread and caused $50,000 dainage. The shop was open for business the next day and rebuilding was ongoing. Aug. 10: China Garden— The fire started when someone poured lighter fluid all over the building and lit it. An arrest was made and investigation was ongoing. There were no plans to rebuild the restaurant. Aug. 22: Woodruff Amoid— The fire started in the Dumpster. Rebuilding began almost immediately after the fire and the construction company was not harmed because many of the building materials were already at the sites. Sept. 23: 116 N. Buchanan (apartment complex)— The cause was an accidental electrical fire. The apartment complex was rebuilt from the ground up. Sept. 28: 114 E. 3rd (apartment above Accent Printing) — An electrical fire caused by faulty wiring completely devastated the apartment and printing business as well as damaging the buildings on either side. Accent Printing relocated to another building. Crowds gathered to watch, photographers snapped pictures and firefighters fought to save property, li es and hinnes. Business and educational facilities went up in smoke. The rash of fires caused the loss of many businesses, millions of dollars in damage and homes and the formation of a fire code committee. Contrary to what many believed, a mad-cap arsonist was not to blame for the fires. Keilh Wood, Maryville Public Safely director, said the number of fires was coincidental and did not stem from negligence. The year began the night the lights went out on campus when an electrical fire in the utility tunnel west of Garrett-Strong was caused by a box, containing several high-voltage lines, exploding. Students were working in the computer lab when they noticed the lights flickenng. After reporting it to Campus Safely, they noticed smoke coming from the ceiling and sounded the fire alarm. B.D. Owens Library was evacuated, the vax was shut down and the four high nses were left without power for one day. Basically, in the halls, residence assistants look care of the problems resulting from the power outage, Christina Pallas said. They came by ihe rooms and did wake up calls so there were really no major prob- lems. Students lost two places to eat when A G Pizza and China Garden caught fire. China Garden was the only major structural fire caused by arson. Fred Pettlon. Sports Page owner, said it looked like they (arsonists) used lighter fluid and set the place on fire. The business suffered so much damage it did not reopen. 1 owned the Sports Page so I was going to add on to that, Pettlon said. When I got that opened, I added a dance floor and had DJs every once in a while. The expansion doubled the size of the building. As, the sun rose in the morning sky, another fire consumed a business. The fire at Woodruff Arnold Home Rent-It Center, a 50-year-old, family-owned business, began in a Dumpster and quickly spread to the area around it. Arson was ruled out as the cause by investigators. .• thick veil of smoke encompassed the area around the business as 55 firefighters worked on extinguishing the flames. Wal-Mart, located next 10 the lumber yard, stayed closed until the afternoon, but the building itself was not damaged. The next month, another fire took .Accent Printing and damaged the surrounding businesses, including D S Western Wear and Paradise Donuts. The businesses and apartments suffered extensive damage from smoke and water. Tasha Godreau ' s apartment was located above Paradise Donuts. While the smoke and fire caused some problems, the process of fighting continued to page 14 12 Student Life