Middle Tennessee State University - Midlander Yearbook (Murfreesboro, TN)

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In the exact geographic center of Tennessee there stands a city whose history dates from earlier than the Civil War (came on strong in 1811, in fact). iMurfreesboro, as the town is called, boasts all the earmarks of a budding young city with tremendous growth potential. It sports good highways, two large shopping centers, a daily newspaper, and many other signs of sophistication. Murfreesboro is, by no means a sleepy Southern town. However, it does retain two little acres in its heartland where the way of life IS still unhurried, casual, and even sometimes happy. We refer, of course, to the courthouse yard where the town ' s senior citizens (some more than senior), younger ones in flight from work, transients resting from the high road, and Saturday preachers sunning themselves during the more pleasant days and hibernating in the caverns of the forum place during the winter blast. The Johnny Reb atop the Confederate monument presides over the town in activity below and, meanwhile, is poised to the North to repel invasion. Beyond the confines the town goes about its business to the accompaniment of piped-in music and the whistle of the tall gendarme. Beyond these two acres in the heartland, industry blossoms, cash registers ring, and the town Hmits move outwardly, not unlike bright ink on a blotter. But (hold on) there is an even more colorful symbol of pride to which Rutherford Countians point with obvious pleasure. Middle Tennessee State University stands conspicuously new in the same historic part of town that houses Oaklands, Murfreesboro ' s most famous historic site. To this smaller city come annually thousands of eager minds (what are we saying! ) to be tutored in the essentials of knowledge, drilled in the disciplines of academics, and lost in the morass of university life. (How ' s this? ) These thousands of students are looked on by the city fathers with a mixture of awe, disbelief, and thankfulness. There is the belief that the larger community and the collegiate community complement each other and grow together— with understanding and evolving trust. Therefore, the students continue their lemming-like march to the campus semester after semester, in the pursuit of an education with just a little fun on the side. These, then, are the Raiders and Raiderettes of today and elder and mellow Raiders and Raiderettes of tomorrow.

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r: Campus Comes Alive . . . Everyone arrives on campus during fall semester registrarion days trying to hit the line early to get the classes they really wanted this time, while attempting to re-locate a few of their friends in the process. Needless to say, they didn ' t all make it, because anytime one has eight thousand students all trying to do something at once . . . (Well, eight thousand is an overstatement, really. The two thousand freshmen had already registered during the summer and had nothing much better to do with their week than wander around and gape at the buildings). Wait— we take that back, too. The Associated Student Body, bless their little hearts, tried to make Welcome Week less of a pain by staging a really impressive slate of events. Beginning with a concert by the Town Criers, a versatile group of performers, the week unfolded with an orientation period (easing the pain of transition still more), a freshman talent show (what did I say about pain?), a Powder Puff football game, a picnic, a fun night exclusively for freshmen, a coffee house, a movie, a pop festival, a dance after the football season opener on Saturday— hey, guys, the freshmen aren ' t worth that much. Are they? The Ideas and Issues Committee bent over backward to fulfill their mission. Beginning with Ralph Nader and running the length of the political spectrum through Reid Buckley, Jesse Hill Ford, Al Capp, and Dick Gregor % they assaulted AITSU minds with biting social, political, and environmental questions. The MTSU minds responded, too. Nader ' s address, the first in the series scheduled in the Dram atic Arts building, drew such a crowd that all future speakers were given the gym. The oversized turn-out couldn ' t be explained entirely in terms of the people wanting to see a celebrity; it ' s good to know there are active brains on the campus. Everybody enjoyed homecoming in his own particular way, whether he was a student, an alumnus, or simply a Blue Raider football fan. Strangely enough, the less-than-ideal weather lent a uniqueness to homecoming that was amusing to see. While we all would rather have seen lovely Claudia Waller and her court resplendent in radiant sunshine, the sight of them trv ' ing valiantly to preserve their hairdos under umbrellas was captivating in its way. Unless you were the father that had to pay for a ruined formal. Sorry, Mr. Waller. - E9 ■ l 1 !■ » ■ .■n .i ;i ' % .■-.»■ ' — ; :- W . - ' y w V „ ll-Lo £