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

Page 33 text:

an alternative to Aggieville, John Welch and Helen Bundy take time to play a few games of foosball in the Union recreation center. (Photo by Jeff Weatherly) Students and faculty can take a break from the Aggieville crowds by bowling on one of the 16 lanes located in the basement of the K-State Union. (Photo by Jeff Weatherly) Alternatives 3

Page 32 text:

cause students to seek by Candy Leonard Aggieville might be Manhattan ' s claim to fame, but the change in the drinking age caused almost half of K-State ' s students to look for alternatives to partying in Aggieville. Bill Arck, director of Alcohol and Other Drug Education Services, realized this student need. Since 1985 he has been the coordinator of Kickoff, a welcome-back party for students, just before classes began in August. Kickoff ' 86 was held at the KSU Stadium. Special guests included head football coach Stan Parrish, the KSU cheerleaders, Willie the Wildcat and the K-State Marching Band. The excitement grew as everyone joined in games conducted by the Playfair director, whose stage name was Biaja. Playfair is a company from New York City, Arck said. Biaja began a series of games that motivated students to open up and in playful activities. This allowed them to reduce stress and meet people they would not normally have the chance to meet. Residence halls also had their own o give students an alternative to Aggieville. Functions with brother and sister floors, dances and spring formals were planned by individual halls. The first big event of the year was the canoe race in September. Residence hall teams competed in the race from Manhattan to St. Mary ' s on the Kaw River. The race is usually a rivalry event between K-State and the University of Kansas, but KU did compete because of scheduling conflicts with football games, Bocklage said. Homecoming and Spring Fling weeks also drew participation from the greek houses and residence halls. UPC (Union Programming Council) provides entertainment and other extra- and co-curricular activities totaling over 700 each year, said Mike Penner, graduate assistant and program adviser for UPC. The UPC programs offered students a n alternative to Aggieville and the chance for committee involvement. Every element of the programming was done by students, assisted by a program director and two other full-time program advisers. Nine different committees work to bring a wide range of social, cultural and recreational programs to the K-State campus, Penner said. Special events, such as the All-Campus Dance Sept. 12 in the Union Catskeller, were something new for UPC. We know students like to dance and we want to schedule several of these because some students can ' t go to Aggieville to dance, Penner said. The Eclectic Entertainment Committee brought in a popular Aggieville comedian, David Naster, Nov. 21. The films shown in the Union theaters, about 40 each year, were picked by UPC film committees. The reduced price was an The Union recreation center has live snooker and 11 pool tables available by an hourly rate. (Photo by Jeff Weatherly) added attraction for students to see popular releases, Penner said. The Union recreation area provided spare time fun with billiard tables, video games, table tennis, table soccer and 16 bowling lanes. We have bowling specials on Friday nights, and bowling leagues that run Sunday through Thursday, said Jeff Alton, recreation area employee. For about $40 each semester, students could bowl three games once a week in a round robin tournament, Alton said. Plaques were given to the teams with the most wins. We also offer about the cheapest pool in town, Alton said. Pool leagues attracted about 30 people each semester. The busiest times were the winter months when students couldn ' t get out, Alton said. Because of the many activities it has to offer, the Union was ranked as the fifth best student union by the New York Times. During the warmer months, Manhattan ' s miniature golf course kept busy. Our busiest time is from May through August, said Veryle Snyder, owner of Manhattan ' s Putt-Putt course. Snyder has managed the miniature golf course in Manhattan for 23 years. on the weather, the season for Putt-Putt begins the first of April and lasts through October, Snyder said. Many special of fers were available, all-you-can-play days each Monday, discount group rates and book tickets, which were sold the first weekend of the month. The manager ' s ticket is most popular with couples, Snyder said. They buy five games for $8 and play both sides of the course. Snyder ' s course was open afternoons and evenings seven days a week to accommodate students, he said. Even though some K-Staters might have been part of the crowd in Aggieville bars, during spare time, they also took advantage of many other recreational alternatives to help them relax. 30 Aggieville Alternatives

Page 34 text:

eyes focus on by Stacey Schoneman Although K-State ' s Wildcat football team scored a 29-12 victory over the KU Jayhawks Oct. 18, the real action took place in Aggieville later that evening. Immediately following the game a parade of cars drove up and down Moro Street, the main thoroughfare of Aggieville. Drivers had their windows down, radios turned up and horns blaring. More than 5,000 people gathered in for an afternoon of shopping, drinking and celebrating. The color purple was everywhere. People were wearing shirts, shorts and hats bearing the K-State name. Among the majority of purple, some blue and red could be seen as loyal Jayhawk fans displayed their school colors. The Last Chance Restaurant and Saloon was overflowing with people in the outdoor patio. The patrons seemed to spill over the railings as they cheered at a truck going by carrying part of the goalposts taken from KSU Stadium after the game. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and many thought the disturbance of two years ago would not be repeated. Many of the merchants, as well as spectators, thought everyone had learned a lesson two years ago. As the night went on, the crowd became anxious and much louder. People started climbing on the roofs of various businesses and some of the people in the street began yelling Jump or Take it off to those on the roofs. While the people on the roofs were yelling down to the people below, someone threw a beer bottle into the crowd. The crowd began yelling and clapping and soon bottles of beer, both empty and full, were flying into the crowd. One person got away with throwing something so everyone else and his buddy tried it, Shelley Mann, manager of said. Somewhere along the line, a sign was broken and the crowd cheered wildly. After that, it almost seemed like it was a challenge to see who could break the next sign. Around 1 a.m. a volkswagon parked in front of the Varsity Theatre was rolled and burned. The crowd began chanting Burn It! Burn It! and did not stop when the owner of the car pleaded with them to not burn her car. Before the night was over, some 40 windows were broken and a gaseous substance resembling tear gas was thrown into the crowd. Many people had different views on why the incident took place. Some people felt the police did not handle the situation in a very good manner, while others thought they did an excellent job, Many people tended to agree with Mann, who said, They (the police) were afraid of what happened to them two years ago. I think if they had been more visible, the girl ' s car wouldn ' t have been smashed and windows wouldn ' t have been broken, Janette Metzler, sophomore in elementary education, said. Alvan Johnson, director of the Riley, County Police Department, said he told his officers to maintain consistent application of enforcement. Later in the evening, 65 officers were in Aggieville — every police officer available, The police officers failed to have a direct plan of action and more enforcement, said Tammy Saum, manager of Carousel. Many people felt there should have been more people down in Aggie helping with th crowd, whether it was the National Guard, A student watches as fire was set to a volkswagon. (Photo by Brett Hacker) Aggieville Disturbance 32