Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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Students Fiddle While Tech Burns Campus fires, student apathy, more fee increases and a national president- ial election gave students plenty of things to read about in the newspapers in an unusally eventful and active year. President Gerald R. Ford made a campaign stop in Lub- bock April 30 in his quest for a victory in the Texas primary. The visit was the first ever made to Lubbock by a presi- dent while still in office. In an address before a full house at the coli- seum, Ford discussed his agricultural and defense policies and fielded ques- tions from the audience. The President also met with some 25 student leaders after his speech at the Hilton Inn. Ford ' s stumping ap- parently didn ' t help him much, for he lost Tj n d e n handily to Republican Challenger Ronald Rea- gan in Texas ' first presidential pri- mary. The win marked a turning point in Reagan ' s sagging campaign and threw the race into a neck-and-neck contest. On the Democratic side, front-run- ner Jimmy Carter carried Texas by a wide margin over favorite son Lloyd Bentsen. Ironically, the primary had originally been established as a means of advancing Bentsen ' s campaign, which had already ended by May 1. Only three of the original 12 Demo- cratic candidates remained in the race after Texas, and Carter looked like a good bet to sweep on to his party ' s nomination. National economic recovery, like the earlier recession, appeared to have little effect on Tech students. The de- creasing job market for college grad- uates, however, did begin to cause more students to think about their majors and chosen career fields in a new light: getting a job after school. Fees, predictably, went up. On campus, voting turned out to be the major issue of the year for the Student Association as it mounted ! a great show of Texas hospitality ' and respet l for the Presi- dent. 5.000 people got up and left during his speech. The incident was probably due to bad timing more than anything else; by 1:30. students had to gel back to classes and businessmen back to work after extended lunch hours. an intensive drive to register students to vote in Lubbock. After a slow start, the drive picked up and succeeded in getting several thousand students registered. Unfortunately, student voter turnout remained about the same President Gerald R. Ford drew a good crowd for the first visit to Lubbock by a President in office. Here the President mingles with a group of well wishers at a meeting with campaign workers at the Hilton (left I. Below. Ford attacks his opponent, Ronald Reagan, and affirms his support oj farmers. Weymouth Hall sponsored a car bash that resulted in the sledgehammering death of a couple of old autos. Mur- dough-Stangel kept up its reputation as the most active dorm complex by holding such diverse events as West- world and a Pig and Pepper Day. The UC topped it all at Homecoming with such age-old contests as goldfish swal- lowing and phone booth stuffing. But the year was not without contro- versies and frustrations. The proposal for alcohol on campus went before the Board again in September and went out just as quickly. Regent Don Work- man proposed setting up a screening committee for campus speakers after a controversial speech by feminist Florence Kennedy. Some of the local as in previous years: sparse. Lubbock firefighters had two op- portunities to practice their trade on campus. In October fire broke out in a sixth floor room of Wall Hall (LIFE, p.24). On May 12, when most students had finished finals and head- ed home, fire trucks returned to battle a blaze on the third floor of the Ad- ministration Building. The fire had apparently been burning for some time before its discovery and destroyed some 240,000 fee records. Fortunately, no injuries resulted from either inci- dent. In addition to the usual events, a few oddities dotted the Tech calendar. Leonard c itizenry began calling for censorship after the UD published a story on sex. Students were again denied the use of Memorial Circle for Little 500 and the Carol of Lights while administrators made plans for a cattle drive around it as a Bicentennial event. The Bicentennial itself produced few new activities, though it had its name attached to quite a few old ones. Still, with all the other things happen- ing in an active year, students will doubtlessly remember 1975-76 as a great time to be at Texas Tech. T 8-La Ventana

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