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

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r ZWW m H Close Quarters The parking lot behind Roberta, Hudson and Perrin halls is full of vehicles. With the opening of the new halls, finding good parking places was difficult for students. Pliolo hi Icninfer Riepe Lunch Rush Students wait in lines in the Bearcat Food Court. The increase in numbers forced ■jome classes to be held in the Station and new residence halls . P io(ci hy Jennifer Riepe numbers increasing • ISD DD

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literally a lot more students, more space Prospective students casually walked across the leaf-covered sidewalks tak- ing in the different sights and sounds of campus life. High school seniors liked what they saw and decided to make the Universitv their new home. Bev Schenkel, dean of enrollment management, said the average size of the freshman class over the last 20 years is 1,200 students. The number of first- time freshman grew by 19 percent and with 1,446 students, formed the second largest freshman class in the Universi- ty ' s history. The largest freshman class was 1,451 students in 1989. Schenkel also said there was a 6 per- cent increase last year in total students and undergraduate enrollment was at 5,661 students, the highest level ever. The University always had a mailing campaign where information was sent home to students ' families as early as their freshman year in high school. The University also started recruiting high school students at a younger age than the tvpical junior and senior. One of the initiatives that we put into place about four years ago was the Early Outreach Program, Schenkel said. We have an educator who goes out and talks to eight and ninth graders about college, actions to take after high school and what they need to do to be prepared for college. This last year we talked to 2,200 students through that program. Schenkel believed that aggressive marketing and ad campaigns helped in recruiting students. The University took out ads in high school newspapers and put up more billboards across the state. We know that a majority of our students travel from about a two hour radius, Schenkel said. So that ' s really where we trv to focus our advertising and billboards. 72 percent of our stu- dents are from Missouri, 12 percent are from Iowa and 9 percent are from Ne- braska. According to Schenkel there were numerous things that helped students ' choose to come to the Universitv includ- ing the laptop program, textbook rental, winning athletic teams and new dorms. The laptop program still differenti- ates Northwest from other state institu- tions. Families and students find a real value in Northwest providing that, Schenkel said. The residence halls that opened this year have also provided us with some great excitement. They had great appeal with our students. Ashley Bailey made the decision to attend the University during her junior vear of high school. She said that the laptop program had a lot to do with her decision and was a big plus but she was excited about the new dorms more. 1 live in Perrin and the rooms are re- ally nice and big, Bailey said. I ' ve seen the old freshman dorms and I ' m glad that I didn ' t get put in those. It ' s pretty cool that I am the first one to ever live in mv room. Bailey really liked the student to teacher ratio since she graduated from a small school. Her main concern was finding a university that wasn ' t too far away but close enough she could still drive home on the weekends and the University seemed like the perfect place. I went to the meeting when they [re- cruiters] came to school and it seemed like a cool place, Bailey said. I ' ve always heard from other people that Northwest is a really nice college. So I kept checking it out and now I ' m here and 1 love it. Eric Carlin said that he came to the University for manv reasons but the size of campus and closeness to home were big factors in his decision. I ' m from Omaha and so a quick two hours and I ' m home which is very con- venient, Carlin said. Another thing that I really liked about Northwest is that the size of campus is big enough that 1 see new people but small enough that I can make a difference on the campus. Carlin believed he made the right de- cision and he would have a good fresh- man year at the University. I ' m enjoying the college life at Northwest so far and I am enjoying all of the opportunities that I have around campus, Carlin said. Things have been reallv fun and I ' ve enjoyed my experi- ence so far. w • Kylie Guier d • Erik Schrader ni2 DD student life

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Rock Out Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix shouts out to the fans at Bearcat Arena. The trio of bands marked the very first sellout concert for Student Activities Council. Photo by Chris Lee maxed out 3,300 cram Bearcat Arena The crowd roared as the band stepped on stage. Fans sang along to every word, and they were crowd surf- ing throughout the show. For many, the concert was the perfect way to unwind before spring finals week. Hinder, the hard rock band known for Lips of an Angel, performed for a sold out crowd of over 3,000 people. The show also included the bands Operator and Papa Roach, known for To Be Loved and Scars. I really enjoyed Papa Roach ' s performance, said Emily Weber. I was more interested in seeing those guys than seeing Hinder. 1 had never heard of Operator before but they did a real good job getting the crowd pumped up for the other bands. ni4 ■ student life DD The concert was put on by Student Activities Council and took place in Bearcat Arena on April 19. The show was sold out, a first for the University. We sold a total of 3,300 tickets for the show, said Kelli Farris, president of SAC. We spent approximately $75,000 for the bands and all other incidentals that are included when we put on a con- cert like this. Numerous hours were put into mak- ing the show happen. The majority of the work was done by students. Even though the concert sold out, many University students were not excited to hear that Hinder was coming. Numerous anti-Hinder groups started to pop up on facebook.com immediately af- ter the announcement was made claim- ing Hinder sucked and the band didn ' t deserve the attention they got. Joshua Embrey joined the anti-Hin- der group on facebook.com and said he would rather have seen a band like Green Day, Rascal Flatts or Toby Keith. Perhaps everyone was pissed because Hinder cannot sing live to save their lives, said Embrey. Despite negative feedback from some students, Alyssa Moore believed many of those in attendance enjoyed themselves and all the bands performed great live. Everyone had so much fun, said Moore. Everyone was really into it. I think SAC did a really good job with the show. w • Kylie Guier d ■ Erik Schrader