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

Page 24 text:

The Year cont Why do they call it spring semes- ter, when you know it ' s going to snow for months before it even thinks about warming up? The Coliseum was predictably freezing when students returned in January for the continuing battle of registration. After bull sessions on the floor, endless lines and closed class sec- tions, Tech once again settled down to the books. But not just the books. Tech was in the midst of an exciting basketball season, with star Mike Russell stirring up the adrenalin for a close SWC finish. Tech barely man- aged to .squeeze into the SWC Tourna- ment before being ousted by Houston. The Raiders, however, did score a win at the tournament: the SWC Sports- manship Award for 1977-78. IS-lja Ventsna

Page 23 text:

Winter Wonderland If a visilor happened to be at Tech on a certain Friday in February, he might wonder if he was in the right state or at the right school. On that particular Friday, Feb. 17, mature college students were acting like 10- year-olds. The reason? A nine-inch snowfall that closed the campus down for a day. Students awoke that morning to learn there was no school and im- mediately they poured into the icy streets and the Aquatic Center fields to play in the white stuff. There hadn ' t been that much action on campus since the A M all-night pep rally in the fall. Snowball fights dominated the majority of the action. You couldn ' t walk by the Wiggins Complex without being bombarded by snowballs thrown by a dozen people or more. Most joined in the fun to wait for the next unsus- pecting victim. Some people tried to venture out in their cars, but to no avail. Those that did make it out were pulling car skiers around Memorial Circle. People with skis managed to make it to the Aquatic Center and the Lubbock hill there to practice their ski techniques and jumps. Some ended up looking for snow snakes — head first in the snow. Guarding several of the buildings on campus were snowy figures. Everyone enjoys building a snowman, and they were numerous that day. If you happened to get by Sneed, Gordon and Bledoe Halls, you might have seen the igloo that the residents built. One in- novative group used a trash can to mold a statue of Star Wars robot R-2 D-2 in front of a house on Main Street. After a long day in the snow, every- one came in out of the cold, took off wet clothes and hung them up to dry. A cup of hot chocolate (or hot buttered rum) was quickly downed and students began to sing softly to themselves let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Page 25 text:

Really, the Saddle Tramps had more to do with it than anything else — the courtesy, meeting the players at the airport ... Susan Robinson, Tec h cheerleader and a member of the Sportsmanship Committee, said. Each school has 4 votes. Texas gave us all 4 votes! Robinson said the only negative comment came from the A M delegation, concerning Kent Williams ' broken jaw. More and more students began to throw themselves into the alcohol issue. When the Feb. 3 Regents ' vote was taken — a crushing 7-1 defeat of the proposal — more than 1,300 Tech stu- dents crowded into the UC Ballroom to air their views. Election time was getting close, and Lubbock candidates seemed to recog- nize the power the Tech vote could have. Students participated in rallies, voter registration drives and cam- paigns for city elections and for the primaries in May. Campus elections were another problem. The Student Association and the Residence Halls Association fought low turnouts and rules infractions before final election results could be tallied. Oh, and it snowed. And sleeted. And iced up. Students were heading for the mountains of New Mexico every weekend until April, but a few tried their hand on campus slopes. Ski- ing at Tech was, at best, difficult — even in the record 10-inch snowfall in February. A few brave souls, however, forgot their inhibitions and cross- countried across the campus. For those looking for an escape, there were concerts — almost a record number. Several popular entertainers trekked to the Hub, some playing to sell-out crowds. Jerry Jeff Walker, a favorite at Tech, performed at the Municipal Auditorium April 7. And there were movies, too. It seemed that everyone was having a close en- counter of one kind or another. An- nie Hall took top honors at the Academy Awards. Richard Dreyfuss won hearts in The Goodbye Girl. And Lubbock was the site of Gary Busey ' s premiere in The Buddy Holly Story in May. It was a busy year. In fact, it ' s a wonder Tech ever found time to study. But finals were closing in again, and suddenly spring break was over and term projects were due. Time to mail out graduation invitations. Time to figure out which side the tassel goes on. Time to pack up and go home for the summer. It ' s been real.