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

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During a Sunday evening fellowship, Phil Sizer lead, he students at the Wesley Foundation in song Sv iS Lubbock sometimes is referred to as a Southern Baptist center of the Bi- Ble Belt because many West Tex- ans are affiliated with that religious denomination. In a non-scientific student survey in which I 50 people were polled, it was found that manv Tech students do consider them ' - selves Baptists. Many other Chris- tian groups, however, such as Ca- tholicism and Methodism, also are popular among Tech students, (Artwork hy Gerald Kelleyi 1 f!T l ' ' Presbyterian 2 Baptist 6 Christian v3 utner Non-Denominational 4 Episcopal Methodist ' ' ' ° ' 22 -- Bible Belt sa ' - . ' ' JiiDI %t s TcHW 1 |! 1 U li k .J. — • v V i i ' •

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% COLLEGE LIFE IN THE BIBLE BELT Peer pressure is strong among college students. The pressure often deals with drugs and alcohol, but at Texas Tech there also is a different type of pressure — the pressure to go to church. William Conover, a Horn professor of statistics and sponsor of the Chi Rho Catho- lic organization, said many Tech students are more conscious about religion than oth- er students across the country. Conover said this is partly because Lubbock is in the Bi- ble Belt of Texas. He said it has become a social norm to go to church. Why do you think people dress up on the Tech campus but at West Texas (State University) and Canyon, the stu- dents don ' t dress as nice? Conover said. It is because of peer pressure. He said Tech seems to have a better par- ticipation in religious activities than other universities. My daughter had gone to a college in San Antonio, but she later transferred to Tech. She said the Tech students are better behaved and more religious, Conover said. She said there seem to be less drugs and more pressure to go to church. Betsy Heffner, director of Christian edu- cation at St. John ' s United Methodist Church, said the Sunday School depart- ment has a regular attendance of 30 Tech students. This is up from last year ' s statistics, but down from the ' 70s, Heffner said. In the e A ' 70s people went through a period of getting in touch with themselves, and many of them did so through spiritual means. Barbara Riker, president of Chi Rho, said one reason students may attend church more at Tech is because Lubbock churches cater to the college students. First Baptist on Broadway has a 9:30 a.m. service just for college students, and if you look down Broadway from the Tech seal you can see at least four churches of differ- ent denominations. Riker said she thinks students are less religious than they use to be but that reli- gion is moving up in importance among stu- dents. Christy Shipman, a member of the All- Greek Bible study, said going to school in the Bible Belt probably does not have an effect on students. People are going to do what they want to do, Shipman said. The town is not that conservative. You can ' t go to a liquor shop inside the city limits, but you can buy liquor at any club in Lubbock. What ' s the differ- ence? Shipman said if students are brought up going to church, they probably will contin- ue to go even when away from home. A big part of the Bible Belt are Southern Baptist churches, but that does not mean Baptists are the only Tech students who go to church. There are 1 9 registered religious organizations on the Tech campus. Non-religious organizations seem to par- ticipate in the religious scene, too. Sorori- ties, fraternities and academic organiza- tions attend chapter church, usually once a month. This is when the entire sorority will go to church together, and then we may go do something afterwards, said Jana Rhea, chaplain for the Chi Omega sorority. — Lisa L. LaBrant Religious organizations such as the Catholic Student Association serve meals to students for the purpose of acquainting them with the church and each other. Students April Slaughter and Debra Weldon help out with a Sunday dinner at St. Elizabeth ' s church. I Photo by Barry JohnsonI Bible Belt — 23 Designed by Lora Luiz