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

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Homecoming 29

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OU defeats ' Cats, but PURPLE PRIDE Prevails For a university with a bleak football history experiencing another losing season, Homecoming provided K-Staters the opportunity to display their dormant school spirit. For many people, both students and alumni, Homecoming was the peak experience they had in school spirit during the fall. The strong spirit during Homecoming surfaced on Friday of Homecoming week in the Union Courtyard for the finals of the spirit competition. Several hundred spectators and participants cheered the various teams vying for the overall spirit award. Cheers echoed from every corner of the Union when Kevin Knaus, senior in journalism and mass communications and master of ceremonies for the competition, announced the individual team winners. The crowd was really enthusiastic, Knaus said. Everybody really got into the activities and made my job a lot of fun. The overall winner of the spirit competition in the residence hall category was Putnam Hall. In the living group category the winners were Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Delta Theta. Individual team competition winners were Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon in the body-building event. Winners of the yell-like-hell event were the team of Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Upsilon and Theta Xi. Those who came to the Homecoming football game against the University of Oklahoma did not get to see K-State victorious — the Sooners pounded the ' Cats, 41-6 — but they did experience the exuberence of cheering fans involved in the excitement of the event on a stunningly clear fall afternoon. Nobody will remember 10 years from now that Oklahoma beat us, but maybe some will remember a beautiful fall day and a wonderful Homecoming that was a very special event, said Lori Shellenberger, sophomore in history, political science and modern languages. Shellenberger and Terry Hallauer, junior in marketing, were named the new K-State Ambassadors during halftime. Centering attention on the spirit of the event was indicative of how most students and alumni remembered Homecoming. We couldn ' t have cared less about who won the game — that ' s not what we celebrated Homecoming for. Homecoming was a time that really brought the University together. For once, everybody got involved, William Janner, Class of ' 79, said. Homecoming is a great way to get everybody involved in school spirit, especially since the football team is not doing well, Connie Ensley, sophomore in marketing, said. I like Homecoming because we seem to be losing school spirit, and Homecoming brought us closer together. I think people like the deep-seated, grass-roots feeling of Homecoming. Most people had a traditional homecoming in high school, and it brings back lots of memories, Sheila Farrel, junior in pre-medicine, said. It ' s great that a school this size can have this great spirit, said Kim Willis, sophomore in elementary education. Homecoming really brings out the students ' spirit. — J. Scott Bolt Hoping the rest of the mount holds up while attempting to reach the final heights of the body building competition is Alpha Chi Omega member, Kristi Broadfoot. Karl Long and Ron Stillwagon hold up Kristi while Anne Wiley and Amy Wise sit on the shoulders of Mike Querry and Tom DonateII. (Photo by Jim Dietz) Strong winds blow sparks and embers from the Homecoming bonfire in Memorial Stadium as members of Blue Key attempt to keep the blaze under control. (Photo by Jim Dietz)

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STRIVING FOR When Cindy Day returned to school in 1984 after a seven-year layoff, she knew exactly what she wanted to achieve in school. This attitude was opposite of her first try as a K-State student. When Day, junior in business, began her career, she was uncertain about her goals. She had considered the idea of going into politics and being the first honest politician or becoming the greatest lawy er ever. But as time passed, she came to realize there were few good politicians and found moral objections with the nature of being a lawyer. After two years in school, Day discovered she was not the student she had hoped to be. She spent her share of time in Aggieville and didn ' t go to class regularly. Day fell in love, got married and quit school... As an 18-year-old kid coming out of high school, Larry Parish decided he was going to join the service and be a Marine. It was not the most popular decision a high school senior could have made in 1967, but he was determined to serve his country. By the time he was 20, he had pulled two tours of duty in Vietnam and was a squad leader. His responsibilities included ensuring that his men woke up alive in the morning or getting them to the hospital if they were wounded in a firefight. After 14 years in the Marines, Parish, junior in natural resource management, decided he wanted a job that was more than living or dying for his country. Parish came back to school. Brad Blaker ran his own small business for 18 years. He oversaw 14 employees and did nearly $750,000 worth of business annually. It was a solid business, and he was proud to be the boss. But Blaker, senior in information systems, decided it was not what he wanted to do, and he returned to school to pursue a new career. It was a decision that took three or four years to make, but he was doing what he wanted... Day, Parish and Blaker are examples of students who decided to return to school after being in the real world. They were part of an increasing number of people over 25 who pursued studies to help change their lives. Returning to school was often a difficult for older students, but they were compelled to come back because they wanted more from themselves — and this time they knew exactly where they were going. I was retired and I got bored, said Linda Manns, senior in psychology. I figured the best way to go back into the job market and be functional was to come back and receive my education. According to some estimates, one in three college students will be older students — those who are 25 or older — by 1990, said Ruth Hoeflin, director of K-State ' s FENIX program, a support system designed for students over 25 who are re-entering school. In the fall 1985 semester, K-State enrolled 1,537 older students in undergraduate programs, Hoeflin noted. Older students returned to school for retraining and had a goal set they knew was crucial to their future. We have an aim, a goal, and we are going (continued on page 32) Like many older students, Brad Blaker returned to school to pursue a new career. K-State enrolled over 1,500 older students — those over 25 years old — In the fall 1985 semester. (Photo by Andy Nelson) Because she was bored, Linda Manns came out of to return to school. (Photo by Andy Nelson) Older Student: