Ohio University - Athena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

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I he class of ' 76 is leaving. The class of ' 79 has entered. Each group has its own views of what University life is all about. Some freshman echoed the views of seniors. I thought it would be harder than it is, stated freshman Cheri Hipsley. Senior Ervin Ball said, It wasn ' t as rigorous as I thought it would be. The atmosphere is conducive to studying only if you know what you want to do. Otherwise it is a dead end. On dorm living, views were mixed. Some, like Ball, liked it. Dorm life did have its natural drawbacks, but the dorms helped me a lot while I lived in them. Freshman Joy Lehman said, They ' re not bad. I ' ve done worse things than live in dorms and I ' ve also done better. Senior Eric Salo felt, They were noisy. I think they should change all the dorms to some order of apartments. I live in an apartment now and I find it cheaper to live here than the dorms. ' Why do students come to Ohio University? Salo says, Academically O.U. is higher than average. I ' ve had some good instructors and some poor ones. On the whole I ' m satisfied. Freshman Michelle Stubbs pointed out what she likes about campus. Relationships on campus are informal and liberal. I like that. Sue Cairo

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Entering this strange microcosm It sounds like an audio version of War of the Worlds. He hears the stereos from the left, from across and from the right. He is a freshman at O.U. and is only beginning to experience the differences between home and Athens. He entered this strange microcosm on a Friday when there were no taxis running from the bus depot and he had three suitcases of various sizes and a duffel bag with a broken zipper. By the time he had walked to where he decided his green was, he was wondering if it was really worth it. The weather soon became another problem to confront. He found out that it was impossible to predict the weather from one day to the next (unless you just said cloudy ). It was such a shame to see his relatively new shoes slowly disintegrate from the wear and tear of hills, steps, mud and rain. Food was provided by the local cafeteria, which at first seemed adequate. But soon the selections became monotonous, and later came comments such as Geez, what is that? The novice student is introduced at the quarter ' s inception to the pizza- funding methods, where your still friendly acquaintances combine their meager finances and coupons (everybody has ' em) to order pizza. After — oh, forty-five minutes of waiting, he ' s so ravenous that he is about ready to kill (lest someone take his half with the mushrooms). Yet, this is a short-lived vice, for funds are limited (Dear Mom and Dad, . . .) and the price of Clearasil is prohibitive. From the start, he is carried along with the wave of over- zealousness for companionship of the opposite sex — even to the point of calling any 594 and begging blindly if a female voice answers. Soon, this, too, may prove to be both a waste of time and money, as both are becoming more scarce. The classes and courses follow a general rule — you take what you get. The explanations of available courses are brief, to say the least; and friends can offer little assistance, for they are all in the same boat — a new and strange one. In the end the freshman or freshperson goes on his customary path, or the one that fits his immediate needs and desires. Some opt to continue riding on the wheel of fun and freakiness, a la Athens. Some withdraw into a cocoon consisting of classes, library and back to the dorm, exhausted from such academic concentration. Others seem to acquire split personalities; Monday through Friday they whiz through their classes and exams just so they can let loose on their just reward — Friday and Saturday evenings. John Elliott

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A year without conflict BY DAN SEWELL As the nation entered its Bicentennial year, the revolutionary spirit was dying at what was once one of the most vocal of the nation ' s campuses. In the late 60 ' s, O.U. gained a nationwide reputation as a hotbed of student activism. Increased United States involvement in Indochina spurred a strong anti- war movement on campus, culminating in a 1970 student take-over of Lindley Hall, which housed the campus ROTC, Riots later in the year, following the Kent State incident, in which four student protesters were killed by National Guardsmen, and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, forced the University to close for the year in early May. After the 1970 peak, student activism cooled considerably. In 1972 O.U. government professor Robert Whealey opposed conservative Republican Congressman Clarence Miller for the 10th District House seat. However, Whealey, running on a liberal, anti-war platform, was unable to marshall any substantial student support and received only 26 percent of the vote in the general election. With the end of U.S. involvement in Indochina in 1973, student activists directed their efforts inward. In 1974, Those Concerned for Quality Education (TCQE), Concerned Black Students (CBS) and the Student Workers ' Union (SWU) all were formed by University students. TCQE, consisting of about 20 seniors, worked against academic budget cuts, particularly in the areas of study in which the group ' s members were enrolled. However, the group exerted little influence during formation of the University budget and it lasted less than a year, mainly because