Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

Page 14 text:

So the birdie is the thingfor which to look! Who can see a birdie with a hght glaring in her face? The last dollar is drained from his weak bank account as this student signs his X to a check and heads for the last lap of enrollment — Nichols gym. Mill 1« -WWE None can escape the north end ot Anderson where the comp- troller takes his semesterly cut of each K-State student ' s bankroll. Rat races weren ' t infrequent in t he lives of your fellow red-blooded K-State students. Many events ranked high for the position of worst, but most students argued that enrollment was head and shoul- ders above the rest. Yes, just about every College event had its own particular little race and idiosyncrasy. Had they all been put together, they still wouldn ' t have beaten enrollment. Homecoming decorations had their runny papier- mache .... Y-Orpheum skits had their originality .... but enrollment presented something worse yet. After several hours of argument with the dean, you agreed that you should have such-and-such a course to graduate .... Okay .... so you reconciled your- self to the idea of having to study for it ... . then The power of concentration is high as advisers try to outwit conflicts, and students try to outwit advisers. A stock exchange? No, it ' s just the up-to-date information on which classes are closed. Late enrollees see almost a solid mass of numbers.

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Lost deans ' cards don ' t stand a ghost of a chance with four people searching for them. Seems they ' re necessary items for enrollment. At this point you found yourself confronted with a grimy fistful of IBM cards and a little man who sorted through them and pointed you toward a table. Gee, did your fellow students ever impress you that day! Why, they slaved more over their collection of cards than you had ever seen them work on a final exam. With pen poised and ready for action, you set forth to put your life history on IBM cards. This proved to be more of a task than you had expected. For one thing, the assortment of colors didn ' t enhance them any in your estimation. They also presented some- what of an obstacle course. After you maneuvered your name and curriculum around the holes on one card, you turned to the next only to find a new set of holes. Life does have its little problems, doesn ' t it? Through Anderson, and your bank account, you next found yourself in the midst of ROTC or Home Ec blanks. Then — your adviser was at last in sight. With altered schedule in hand, you found the end of another line and pulled your class cards. But those lines weren ' t purely a waste of your valuable time. You watched your fellow seekers-of- knowledge .... 5,385 of ' em, to be exact .... come and go. There ' s Jim .... hadn ' t seen him since that rousing picnic over the Fourth .... Five 8 o ' clocks? That ' s a fate worse than death .... ' Can ' hour? .... Sure .... How about 9 and 10? So they said there were only seven per cent more Cats in ' 54 ... . Somebody miscounted .... Surely there were more than that .... Come to think of it though, 1,717 new little Aggies were quite a few. Step up and claim housing and auto cards — while they last. Old seniors ponder the results if they don ' t fill out these cards. Up, down, over and around the holes. Can anyone sue- Spending money never seems quite so difficult, as it is when you cessfuUy, and legibly, dodge the holes on the IBM cards ? sign your life and your folks ' bank account over to the College.

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But my adviser isn ' t here, this student says as he searches for someone to untangle his schedule. An I.B.M. expert would be in se enth heaven with all the class cards. When the holes are empty, helpers turn eager students away to find other classes. what did you hear? .... Sorry. This class is filled. You ' ll have to substitute a course for it. Or you could either take it in summer school or next year? .... fine .... that ' s just what you had counted on to round out your summer. Poor Nichols gym should have rebelled at the pre- posterous activities that went on within it. Gone were the good old days when basketball was the feature event. Its enthusiastic fans and tense atmosphere had been replaced by dejected students and a rather dis- mal atmosphere. Free-throw lines had been created just about any- where that students had a conflicting schedule and wanted to throw the line schedule at their advisers. Personal fouls occurred, but were seldom called, when students charged through the line to pull class cards. But this charging finally led you to a checker who relieved you of remaining cards .... and enrollment was over .... for a semester anyway. First canine jt)urnalist is the distinction given this panting Collie who just followed the crowd, and look where he ended up! Enrollment was over. And it about finished these two freshmen before they even got a good start. Their dreams were filled, no doubt, with items other than enrollment.