Millersville University - Touchstone Yearbook (Millersville, PA)

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The ever popular Smurf character screams ihc students' frequent cry during finals week—HELP!—Photo by Jnhnna Pinncy Providing that If anything can go wrong it will,” college was further proof of Murphy’s Law At times, college seems fo be a perfect exam pie of Murphy s Law Murphy's pessimistic outlook on life, including his idea that “If anything can go wrong. It will is a sometimes accurate view of something called College “life Everyday college life provides both humorous and serious support of Mur phy's Law Sometimes life seems to be more of a trauma rather than a pleasure Our mood plays a large part In how we view It, and our environment plays a large part in determining our mood. One who lives in a relaxed, pressure-free environment is much more likely to find life pleasurable than one who lives In a tense en vironment with constant pressures and problems At college, students are faced with constant deadlines, pressures and traumas These stressful situations may range from doing laundry to facing the death or illness of a loved one The following account of a student’s traumatic experiences includes some common to every college student as well as those less common, but possible nevertheless Realizing she had awaken a half an hour late for her 8 o'clock class, she jumped out of bed and sprinted to the showers, forgetting her bucket full of shampoo, soap and other nec cessities. Upon reaching the bathroom, she . found a roomfull of hysterical girls running from sink to sink, turning on each of them but get ting only a drop or two of water out If they were lucky Coming back to their senses, they realized that they mav be able to survive one day without taking a shower It turned out that a pipeline somewhere on campus had broken, try to explain that to the people who had no water to rinse the shampoo out of their hair' Finally, she began the hike to her 8 o’clock class She entered the classroom and sat next to the window Looking at the window soon have her the idea that maybe she should jump out of it. rather than sit next to it. because the professor decided to return the exams that the entire class was sure to have failed Unfortunately. her premonitions were correct; she receiver! a big fat 'F' on the top of the paper After classes, hearing that the water was now working, she quickly climbed the several flights of steps to her room, grabbed the laundry and ran down to the laundry room Unfortunately, so did five other people This caused quite a problem, since there were only four washing machines for 200 people An hour later, she withdrew her clean wash from the washing machine, only to find that it had all turned red. including the underwear, because of a new red sweatshirt which had inadvertently been put in with the light colored clothes Silently she screamed Murphy's Law to herself and threw the red laundry in the dryer Finally, she crawled up the stairs to her room, layed down on the bed. threw the pillow over her head and cried herself to sleep, hoping no one could hear Problems What could be done about them? Many times, simply discussing a problem with someone helped Friends, families, religious associations, and even Dutcher Hall's trained staff were there to listen and help Dutcher Hall offered counseling services involving personal or academic problems The staff helped students with choosing their courses and deciding on a major ot a career Workshops were often offered Students who went to Dutcher Hall (or help were assured that then problems would be kept confidential For some people, it helped to do something enjoyable to get their minds off of problems Some possibilities were relaxing, sleeping, playing a sport (this helped relieve built up anxiety, anger and frustration), and enjoying a hobby. When questioned about what sort of activity students participate in to get their minds off of their problems, students provided several different answers. Drinking seemed to be a popular answer, whether it be at a party or at the Inn Leaving campus was another answer Students found all types of transportation when they “needed to get away for awhile Cars, buses, bikes, and even that handy thumb got a 24 Stress

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The first week of the semester finds students faced with an ever endless line in the bookstore. While waiting, most found that their purchases piled up as they walked down the aisles —Photo by Susan Scibel Waiting in line to get the food was bad enough. Even worse was the waiting in line to gel rid of the food Here students wait in line for their choice of Chicken a la King. Country Fried Chicken, or Chicken Stew. —Photo by Susan Sribrl Rocking to the beat from her Walkman, one student passes her time waiting for room deposits by doing what was usually neglected on the weekends—homework.— Photo by Darrin Mann Waiting 23

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student to his destination Some other interesting answers to this question were, spend time with boyfriend or girlfriend, play sports, watch television, work, eat and play video gomes at the SMC. sleep, workout, play cards, scream, and one student even punched doors! Problems are a. part of life Whether we choose to laugh at them, cry at them, or do as Murphy does, and make jokes about them, is a personal decision for us all. Once a person can deal with his problems, his life will become much more enjoyable and everyday traumas will seem less and less significant He may even come to enjoy wearing red underwear Becky Moyer When students' problems seemed to pile up. they each had their own way to relieve the tension. One student finds playing her guitar .1 constructive way to relax after a long day.—Photo by Trade Wrnc Standing In the shadows of the dorm hallway, a student talks out her problems over the phone. — Photo by Trade Write Stress 25