Elon University - Phi Psi Cli Yearbook (Elon, NC)

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Above: The polls were not always as slow as is shown; heavy voter turnout was reported. Upper right: Peanutmania swept the country! Right: Many rooms had as many dif- ferent opinions as there were occupants.

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 A New Face in The White House When October of last year rolled around one could always find some discussion about one of the major issues of the day. The biggest issue on campus at this time was the up- coming election. Everyone had an opinion though reasons varied; some had no opinion and their reasons are always the same. For some strange reason a larger percentage of students on campus were voting in this election than in past elec- tions. All had their own reasons; some wanted to bring about a change in the country, some to keep the country on the same path, others just felt that it was time to change the statistics of all the people who never voted. Many people had firm reasons for voting for their par- ticular candidate. All these would be shared at most any time with anyone who cared to listen or could be cornered into listening. Many voted for the man, many for his record, and many because their parents were voting one way or the other. The intensity of the elections increased until the second night of November when at 3:45 A.M. on the morning of November 3rd it was projected by the television announcers that Jimmy Carter had been elected the thirty-ninth president of the United States. Below: Dean Rhodes exercises his basic right to freedom — the right to vote. Upper left: Some people didn't decide on whom to vote for until they were in the booth. Left: Self-explanatory! castes

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Who Got Burned? Spring evenings at Elon are usually rather laid back and quiet. Such was the case Thursday evening April 6,1976 until a fire broke out in a room on the third floor of Carolina Dormitory. What started as a routine night ended up as one of the most memorable on our campus. Several students remained on the hall to help fight the fire and make sure everyone exited safely. These were the only students to suffer from smoke inhalation. One boy panicked and jumped from a third floor window, breaking a leg. However, many students left the third floor safely after the student jumped. There was never any immediate danger to the students’ lives. Several area volunteer fire departments responded to the call and even those as far away as Burlington were on the scene. There was some confusion in finding the dormitory but the firefighters managed to contain the fire to one small section of the hall. Many rumors have floated about concerning the late arrival of the fire departments and their performance. But the truth is they handled the situation very well considering the state of confusion they faced. After it was over all of the residents were asked to assemble in Whitley Auditorium. Dr. Young took over and conducted all of the proceedings of the evening. The original plan was to provide accommodations for the students in local motels. But upon hearing about the boys homelessness, members of the community volunteered their homes for the night. There was enough support from the neighbors of the college to make the motel plans un necessary. Students who slept in cars or on floors did so by choice. The next day students went back into the dorm and col- lected their undamaged belongings and arranged to move to new, crowded rooms for the remainder of the year. There was much smoke and water damage on the third floor of the dormitory. Therefore there was much repair work to be done. Some of the students requested to be housed in a school-owned house which was scheduled to be a fraternity house in the fall. This request was denied due to zoning negotiations which were being carried out between the school and the Town Council. The local media distorted some of the events surrounding the fire. It was reported that the school reneged on its promise to provide motel accommodations for the students when in fact the change in plans came about because of community people volunteering their homes to house students for the night. There were also articles falsely maligning fire departments on the scene and student behavior was unfairly criticized. It was due to these unresearched stories which were printed that false rumors cropped up. The fire was thought to have been set by overturned candles in a student's room, though the exact cause has never been verified. We do know that since that time the school has taken additional precautionary fire measures and implemented fire escape plans. Students and school officials alike learned some valuable lessons from the incident. Many students joined the local fire department and students and administrators alike realized the importance of cooperation and organization.