Mississippi College - Tribesman Yearbook (Clinton, MS)

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Getting into the Christmas spirit in the middle of getting ready for finals is difficult at best, so the SBA did something for Christmas 1978 to help MC students out. With no forecast of snow anytime in the future, the SBA decided there was more than one way have a White Christmas and had snow brought in for the party. The ground in front of Provine Chapel was covered with white via a snow machine from a Jackson ice company (rumors are that quite a bit of SBA money was appropriated for this venture-but who can put a price on Christmas?). Christ- mas trees were transplanted in the snow for the decorating contest that night. Students gather around the circle of snow to sing carols before the judging begins. Gloria Ray is the unfortunate object of some overzealous Christmas spirit. Real candles lit up Circle K’s prize-winning tree, shown here by Brian Lamb. Students turned out on the night of December 11 to join in the fun. Christ- .mas carols were sung while different clubs decorated the trees for judging. First prize of $50 went to Circle K for their design. The party was a success and the weather even cooperated- it was cold enough that one could almost believe it actually had snowed!

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sippi. Mr. Kellum, a 1968 MC graduate, took Skip home with him and nas acted as his sponsor. So, just a short while af- ter leaving Viet Nam, Skip was en- rolled as a freshman at MC. At first, MC was really tough for Skip, and he had to learn how to study. Now, majoring in sociology, Skip wants to go on to school after graduation and get his Masters degree. Eventually Skip wants to go into social work, but he has no idea where he ' ll live. With the situation the way it is in Viet Nam, he can ' t go back now, even for a visit (he hears from his family by letter every couple of months.). Getting into College in Viet Nam is much tougher than it is here. The ACT or SAT can ' t even compare to the type of college entrance test given there. If a student fails the test, he has to wait a year to take it again. High school is dif- ferent in that a student can have a ma- jor subject and study a certain subject in concentration. In college, all stu- dents are required to learn one foreign language. ooon after coming to MC, Skip made a friend, and this friend was with his girl friend. A short time later, Skip saw the guy, but the girlfriend was differ- ent, and Skip thought something was wrong with his eyes! The quick partner change just isn ' t done in Viet Nam. Over there, any intermingling of the sexes is strictly regulated, and dates that do occur involve taking walks or bike rides rather than taking in movies. In regard to the political turmoil in his country, Skip said that most Viet- namese don ' t want to live under com- munist control. The young people growing up with this unsettled atmo- sphere nave a deep lack of a sense of security, which is entirely understable. Another group of students make up the student oody at MC, but these stu- dents are American citizens raised in other countries, otherwise known as missionary kid ' s or MK ' s. Of the MK ' s , that I talked to, the sentiment was ex- pressed that many people have mis- conception that they all have severe ad- justment problems when they come to the United States when they have not found this to be true. Because of trips home on furlough every few years and close contact with relatives back home, most of them were very adequately kept up with the happenings in the U.S., and hence their sense of culture shock on coming here for college was lessened. Tim Glaze has lived in Argentina most of his life and related that he was always excited about coming to the U.S. for each furlough. Then in 1975 he came back to spend his tenth and elev- enth grades of nigh school in Kentucky. This experience was an eye-opener for Tim, and he was exposed to things he had never encountered before, such as smoking and drugs, even among his church friends. After those years, Tim decided he would have to change his negative attitude toward the U.S. if he was going to make it in college. He chose MC on the recommendation of his brother and MC graduate Steve Glaze and current-student, sister Deb- bie. Originally, Tim had planned to transfer out from MC his Sophomore or Junior year, but now he likes it so much he ' s decided to stay. When asked if he would like to stay in the U.S. now, Tim replied that he could and be happy, but that the matter lay in which ever direction the Lord leads. Right now his major is a toss up between religion and business with computer involvement. Regardless, Tim plans to go into mission work, and perhaps even be a missionary himself. Basically, Tim loved his life as an MK. It ' s adjustable, has been the key phrase for Cindy and Dianne Phlegar. The sisters have spent half of their lives outside of the U.S. due to the fact that their parents have been associated with the mission boards all their lives. Serving as home missionaries in south- ern California until 1967, the Phlegars then applied with the foreign mission board and were sent to Bangkok, Thai- land, where they have been ever since. Both Cindy and Dianne do not feel that coming to the U.S. created any type of culture shock for them, al- though the oriental culture is vastly different. One of the reasons for this may be that Cindy and Diane haven ' t lived with their parents since they were in the seventh and eighth grades, respectively. Rather, when their par- ents were assigned to outlying villages, Cindy and Dianne went to live in an in- ternational community in Bangkok similar to a youth hostel. This hostel is a big house and is home to fifteen to twenty other MK ' s. The school they at- Tim Glaze is an MK from Argentina. Skip Nguyen visits with a Vietnamese friend, Nhan Vo-Van. tended had students from fifty-two countries, with enrollment of around two thousand. This situation was al- most like college, and the Phlegars re- E orted that they had to sign out and ad hours regulations, just like MC. One thing that it did nave that Cindy Phlegar in particular misses is the laundry service. In Thailand, it is cul- turally unacceptable for people, espe- cially whites, not to have maids, and so the biggest culture shock to Cindy has been learning to do her own laundry, which she confessed she let Dianne do most of the time. The young society is much freer in the U.S. than in Thailand, especially the women. While the sisters lived out- side of Bangkok, they had Thai friends, but when they moved to go to school, most of their friends came from the school and they dated people from the school. With the political unrest in this area of the world, I asked Cindy and Dianne if they worried about the safety of their parents. Surprisingly, their an- swer was No. They are confident the government will get them out before any real trouble occurs. They admit that, with coups every year or so, people don ' t really take the trouble so seriously. There were a few times when the Phlegars thought they would be evacuated. Any concern the Phlegars have is for the friends they have in Thailand who will be still there if any real revolution occurs. Thailand is predominately Buddhist, and only 2 % of the 45 million are Chris- tian and most of those are Catholic. The ease and acceptability of con- version depends on many factors: con- version to Christianity is more accept- able for city-dwellers, moderness of the family, and nationality. The Phlegars ' father is in charge of mass communica- tions in Thailand for the Baptists. Dianne and Cindy don ' t feel that they have missed anything by their atypical upbringing, but instead have gained a lot. One of the results is their open-mindedness about other cultures and other ways of doing things. They have loved the traveling they have been able to do, and don ' t intend to ever give that up. Although they do like America, and could live here longer, they admit that they will live in a cos- mopolitan area since they have been in really big cities all their lives. From my conversations with these people, I have to agree with them that they haven ' t missed anything by their unusually or different backgrounds. Rather, I feel I have gained by their sharing with me.

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Mississippi Colleg library Nenamooshans decorate with red their entry in the contest. Another student discovers what snow in the back feels like.