University of Idaho - Gem of the Mountains Yearbook (Moscow, ID)

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ippies to Yuppies The “me generation looked for stability, security In the ’60s, students on Ameri- ca’s college campuses were trying to ‘‘find themselves.’’ Today, their college-aged children say they also want to find themselves — preferably behind the wheel of a BMW following graduation. As college costs increased and conservative attitudes stretched into new areas of the nation, stu- dents flocked from traditional liberal arts majors to the job secu- rity of business and engineering disciplines. ‘Increased student interest in career-specific majors such as bus- iness has been accompanied by ris- ing materialistic and power values, while decreased inter est in educa- tion, social science, the arts and humanities are reflected in declin- ing alturism and social concern,” said Alexander Astin, co-author of The American College Fresh- man: Twenty Year Trends, 1966-1986.’’ During the past 25 years, stu- dent attitudes have changed dra- matically, he said. Changing Student Attitudes 28 Majors 1967 1960 1971 1973 1975 1979 1977 1961 1983 1985 = ee ee eee Doveloo a meaningful philosophy of Me Be financially well off ‘“Twenty years ago,”’ Astin’s survey said, ‘‘83 percent of college freshmen were attending a univer- sity to ‘develop a meaningful philosophy of life’ while in 1986, that number had dropped to 29 percent and the percentage of stu- dents in higher education to ‘be- come well off financially’ had risen to 71 percent.’’ According to Kenneth Green, Astin’s partner, students have be- come preoccupied in insuring that their futures will be secure. ‘ A lot of what we see is port- folio building,’’ Green said. ‘‘Stu- dents are thinking, ‘I don’t want this type of risk in my future. I want to be sure everything is go- ing to be okay.’”’ Meanwhile, a Carnegie Founda- tion study concluded that in- creased college costs have left students concerned about getting jobs that would allow them to pay off loans. “There is, of course, a well- documented’ shift towards careers,’’ the Carnegie study said. But this may simply reflect the students’ concern about their in- debtedness and a hard-headed recognition that the job market is changing. Indeed, there is some evidence that students who take sizable loans may major in such fields as business and engineering, that offer higher salaries.’’ Galen Rowe, dean of the Col- lege of Letters and Science, agreed that economics determine a stu- dent’s curriculum more often than not. Students can’t afford the lux- ury of just going to college for the sake of going anymore. This forces them to make their career decisions early on — often not in an area they are very interested in,”’ he said. ‘ School is too expen- sive to not get a job out of it right away.”” In Moscow, students like ar- chitecture major Todd Buschorn said that potential career earnings influenced their choice in a major. I did pick a major I liked, I’ve Continued » A Sea of Mortardom The next step for graduates after leav- ing the Kibbie Dome was going into the real world.’’ Liberal arts majors could look forward to lower opening salaries than that of their fellow graduates in en- gineering and business. (Hayes)

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Black and White Continued Charlotte Buchanan, Mardi Gras co-coordinator, said the event continues to grow each year. This was the best Mardi Gras we have produced yet, and it will definitely add to the credibility of our press releases.”’ The Mardi Gras parade was more than a university event. It encompassed the entire Moscow community. “‘We had teenagers there through people in their 60s, so I’d say we had a really good represen- tation of the community,’’ Bucha- nan said. “‘It was a riot,’’ said Ken Bux- ton, Latah County sheriff. ‘‘I’d estimate the crowd at 8,000.”’ The crowd represented half the population of Moscow, the WLLS-New Orleans reporter said during an on-camera interview. Despite dire predictions by fore- casters that rain or snow would greet parade participants on Satur- day morning, the sun shined on 23 hand-carried floats and a number of other entries. Entries included everything from the UI Juggling Club to the Law School Briefcase Brigade. Some paraders showed up at the very last minute. “ ‘We won’t keep anyone from participating,’’ said Esther Louie, co-coordinator of the festivities. While the parade crowd brought few problems to authorities, another Mardi Gras entity did. The culprit? Black and white paper. “It was hard going through it,’’ said Catherine Rouyer, vice presi- dent of the Mardi Gras Board. “‘At 4 p.m. the day before the ball, we were told just about all the decorations, which cost a total of $12,000, had to come down. It was a gut-wrenching experience for David and me.”’ Students said they were disap- pointed about the decision, but re- joiced when given a chance to deck the malls’’ with black and white. They filled the Palouse Em- pire Mall with various life-size paper statues and a fountain, in commemoration of the upcoming ball. Giese called the project ‘‘a teas- er of what the Beaux Arts Ball is all about. ‘ We think this is an excellent vehicle to grab people’s atten- tion,’’ he said. According to Buchanan, the pre-ball hype worked to attract a large turnout. ‘There were over 2,000 people at the ball this year, considerably more than 1,300 last year,’’ she said. Fresh off a three-week hiatus, the Crazy 8’s from Portland found it ‘‘in the cards’’ to make their se- cond appearance at the event. Their return, according to Andy Hairston, helped draw a larger ball audience. T heard that the Crazy 8’s were really good last year and I decid- ed this year I’d go and see for my- self, as did several other people I know,”’ he said. Dancing wasn't the only draw at the ball. New activities helped spread the spirit of Mardi Gras throughout the entire second floor of the SUB. The Associated Miners, in con- junction with the Washington- Idaho Symphony, convinced par- ticipants to ‘‘dig deep’’ and gam- ble for high stakes with sym-phoney”’ money in a casino set up in the SUB Appaloosa Room. Next door in the Silver and Gold Room, a live cabaret show com- pleted the image of a traditions) Mardi Gras on the? ussissippi Del- ta. The show featured the dixie- land band Snake River Six and was staged by students in the Theater Arts department. To avoid problems inherent to a party atmosphere, buses shuttled bar-hoppers from one watering hole to the next. Five establish- ments joined in the shuttle program. On Sunday morning, the more unfortunate participants tried to locate themselves and figure out why they weren’t in their own clothes. Giese, however, could be found outside the SUB, picking up crepe paper discarded during the evening’s revelry. Said Giese, ‘‘Part of the art of the whole thing is the temporal na- ture of it. The work is more pre- cious, for the time that it’s here.’’ Several activities were added to the M ardi Gras celebration, ac- cording to organizers, to increase participation in the whole event. During the Mardi Gras parade, a mask exhibit and sale was held at the Biscuitroot Restaurant. (Morgan) Doing their best lip-sync to “Surfin? USA,” the Beaches came in second at a Show sponsored by the Moscow Downtown As- sociation, KZFN, and Theatre Operator's Inc. (Jones) The Beaux beth ip Dati weal Soper b um wi ai SUB, partly through the introduction of a casino sponsored by the sr oihiget Associated Miners club and the Washington Idaho Sym- phony, (Fritz) Mardi Gras 2]

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Plan tO major In USiness, Plan to pursue elementary or secondary teaching careers, yo70 From “The American Cofege Fresh man: Twenty Year Trends” by Alexander Astin and Kenneth Green Scholarly Slide Diminishing interest in the liberal arts was Illustrated by decreased class size in subjects like philosophy. Nick Gier’s world religions class only attracted five students for the spring semeste r. (Hayes) Majors 29