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

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FAMILY DAY Celebrating ami Bo Parents and siblings experience cainpus life. by Megan Heuer amilies flocked to campus on a warm fall day to sample Bearcat life. Family Day allowed parents and siblings a chance to see what college life became to their students. Parents built lofts in residence halls, made trips to Wal-Mart and toured campus before football tailgating began. Siblings joined brothers and sisters to enjoy time together. They ' re awesome, freshman Lindzy Croisant said. They don ' t get to see me very often now that I ' m here. So, 1 loved having them here. Croisant enjoyed her siblings on campus for a visit, and her parents thought the visit introduced the kids to what college would be like. She ' s got lots of brothers and sisters here that are getting a taste of it and getting excited about thinking about coming up here, Croisant ' s parent Kelly Coplen said. Families packed into the Sprint Bearcat Zone before the game against Central Missouri State Universif. Sept. 20. Hookslide, an a Capella group, serenaded the crowd as they lined up to eat chips and hot dogs. The group entertained the audience with oldies, pop and barbershop music. Hookslide pulled student LcsIk Griswold out of the ser ' ing line and sang to her. When he sang to me it made me feel like the center of attention, but it was embarrassing at the same time, Griswold said. The lady next to me said, ' Aren ' t I pretty too? ' Then, he started singing to borli of us. Campus organizations created an upbeat atmosphere with booths including balloon animaN and university gear. It ' s keeping everyone ' s spirits up for the game, Bearcat Sweetheart Jamie Roberts said. The Alumni Association named the Stephens family of Diagonal, Iowa Family of the Year. Parents Carleen and John Stephens graduated from the university and were active Greeks. They can tell us what it was like whenever they were here, daughter Abby Stephens said. Older siblings Alex and Abby attended the university and youngest brother Adam planned to graduate Diagonal Community High School in the spring and head to campus. The Stephens family spanned four different Greek organizations, which they said brought them together. Abby turned in the Family of the Year application because she believed her family was closely bonded. Her family was very excited when they found out they had won. The Stephens family received special attention on Family Day for wirvning the award. There were two ambassadors who made sure we had everything we needed, and they gave us free concessions at the game, Abby said. They treated us really nice Alpha Sigma Alpha sisters cheer tor the Bearcats as they play Central Missouri State Universirv. The sorority sat together to celebrate family jay and their 75th anniversary- phowin Theresa Chiodiru :3 »«fPM -o,: 3

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a She ' s got lots of brothers and sisters here that are getting a taste of it and getting excited about thinking about coming up here. Kelly Coplen yy As the ROTC Color Guard paused on the held, player Adam Otte srands with his hands oxer his heart, singing the national anthem on Family Day. Otte played on Family Day all four years, to a packed stadium- photo by Theresa Chu ' dim Universiry President Dean Huhhard awards the Family of the Year plaque to the Stephens family, during the halftime of the game. Ahhy Stcphcn nominated her family (i inm K hU Dm- jr ' S+uicfeK+ Jh cA-ic

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ANNUAL DANCE SHOW Spotlight toward Center Stage Anthony Rupnow embraces Chnstmt Miller in the dance entitled Resurgence of Faith performed to Hand Me Down hy Matchbox 20. This was my first dance show ever, Rupnow said. I thought It would he fun and it w,is really creat phow by Mike Dye Student run organization proves long hours and hard work a success. by Megan Heuer he theater tilled with emotion as dancers expressed their inner most teelmgs to hringing to life dances that meant so much more than their actions could display. The Northwest Dance Company entertained the crowd with their annual dance show Oct. 24 with the theme of Midnight Masquerade. Styles of dance included lyrical, modern, jazz and tap mixes. Founding company meinhers choreographed and coached all 10 dances. Student officers carried the weight as new and old dancers prepared weeks before their final performance. NWDC began spring trimester 2000. By spring trimester 2003, student officers completely ran the NWDC. There are a lot of decisions that have to be made that don ' t make everyone happy, Dance Company President Ashley Tyser said. Along with making tough decisions, officers, choreographers and the more experienced members showed leadership by helping out the companies newest dancers. We feel bad giving them constructive criticism, but they seem to take it well, member Danae Jacobs said. Taking criticism in stride, freshman Karen Beard had minimal dance experience before she auditioned for NWDC and said the first practice tested her dedication. We all got up there and were trying to do all these technical things, Beard said. It was so hard. None of us really knew what we were doing, and I walked away just so frustrated just thinking ' 1 ,im not made for this. There is no way I can do it. Beard said the second practice changed her mind about the company. While most dancers believed their career ended in high school, NWDC gave them a chance to continue. As a young child, I started dancing, and when 1 came here 1 thought that 1 wasn ' t gonna dance anymore, and then I found the company, Tyser said. The people involved in it just made me really want to keep staying involved and to do more. Tyser said choreographers looked for confidence, determination, work ethic and facial expressions from women who auditioned. After weeks of two-hour dance classes, NWDC worked with the theater department to create lighting designs for the performance. The final product satisfied Tyser. From a choreographer and an exec board standpoint, (the best part is) seeing the dances come together and just seeing what we have w orked so hard all year to do come alive on stage, Tyser said. 2J .S-ftAc ewf a e