Fort Hays State University - Reveille Yearbook (Hays, KS)

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ENROLLMENT ' 8 1 ■ n the waning days of a summer so hot no one I could remember its equal, a record number of | students arrived at the campus for the fall se- mester, Clad in the attire of a summer gone by, 5,863 students entered the balmy classrooms for the start of school. In just a year the enrollment had increased by 219 students. The expansion typifies a trend which began five years ago. The fall enrollment was nicely complemented in the spring when 5,222 students were present for enrollment. Why are more people venturing to western Kan- sas for their college education? The reason cannot be precisely pinpointed because it involves a vari- ety of factors. These factors range from efforts by the Admissions Office, to a campus-wide project by faculty, staff and students. Recently, college employees have focused their attention on the need to recruit students, For the past two years there has been a conscious effort by faculty and staff members to maintain campus pop- ulation, as well as to recruit new students, Dennis Schamber, assistant director of admissions, said. The employees recognize the need to maintain the population and therefore they have been making an effort to bring students to the campus. Another factor contributing to the increase was the growing state-wide respect for the university, Some of our enrollment increase stemmed from the quality which has come to be associated with many of our campus programs, Registrar James Kellerman said. This factor lured many students to the campus. Both Kellerman and Schamber agree that current students played a major role in the enrollment ef- fort. Satisfied students are the best sellers we have, Schamber said. Students who are pleased influence not only their younger siblings but also other high school students, Along with the other factors, world affairs includ- ing inflation, unemployment and rising prices con- tributed to the increased enrollment. Early in the summer, Uncle Sam made himself known once again. This time the issue was draft registration. Even before its acceptance, the regis- tration was the subject of heated controversy. With reinstatement, the United States took a big step toward a military draft. Many men saw the necessity to make some provisions to protect them- selves from the draft, and education was one solu- tion. Although the number of young men influ- enced by the reinstatement cannot be precisely calculated, Schamber said he thought the registra- tion played a major role in the enrollment increase. During the summer, prices continued to soar higher, while more people were either released from their jobs or simply could not find employment. For some, additional education seemed to be the logical answer. With more formal education people out of work figured they would have a better chance of obtaining employment. The final reason for the increase is an area of great concern to the college. Currently in Western Kansas the high school population is showing a steady decline. On the other hand, at the university level there has been a steady increase. The ground- work for a paradox of great concern to the school is layed because Western Kansas provides the major recruiting reservoir for the college. President Gerald Tomanek offers what he thinks is keeping the enrollment steadily increasing — despite the population decrease in Western Kansas. A higher percentage of those people graduating from high school are going on to college than in the past. One of the schools feeling the increase is Fort Hays. The future holds many challenges in store for the college. Wi ll the population continue to grow? Can the efforts of the staff and faculty continue to sup- ply enough new students? To cope with some of these questions the univer- sity is already initiating new recruiting programs in the urban areas of eastern and central Kansas. In the fall students were Familiarized with the campus when the Admissions Office sponsored student bus- ses to the campus for a weekend. To keep the trend alive more programs like this have been planned for the future. If similar programs and efforts remain strong, perhaps the answers to the proposed questions will be positive, and 1982 will signify the sixth year of the population trend.

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Two costumed Tiger Paws hostess at the Halloween dance on Oct. 31, Rock and roll entertainment was provided by Savan- nah. The three-piece group. The Tunes, was the featured band at the Oct, 17 dance. SPECIAL MUAB keg parties experience ups and downs S un tanned bodies of new and familiar faces crowded in the Memorial Union Ballroom on Aug, 22 for the Welcome Back Dance, Spon- sored by the Memorial Union Activities Board, Resi- dence Hall Association, Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic, the first dance of the semester was a scene of discussing summer activities, drinking beer, dancing to the rock and roll beats of Chatauex and planning the coming year. Although the turnout for the dance was strong, the trend for MUAB dances did not continue, “They were not as popular this year as in the past, Dave Brown, MUAB program director, said, “We talked to several people, but no one seemed to know why. In December, the MUAB scheduled the first All- Campus Formal, However, low advance ticket sales forced its cancellation. A rock and roll atmosphere was set at each of the nine dances with such familiar band sounds as Sa- vanna and natural Gas, The evening entertainment was highlighted by the addition of films, including “Mash,” “Alice and Wonderland’ ' and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ,H We packaged our dances, Brown said, “We built an evening around them by showing a film before and after them, Organizations who join the Memorial Union Activities Board in sponsoring a dance serve as hostesses in the refreshment line, Michelle Shank ' s attention diverts from a filling pitcher of beer to the person waiting for the cool draft. 12 MUAB Dances