Missouri Southern State University - Crossroads Yearbook (Joplin, MO)

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Tj Deb Peters is often found studying in the TV lounge in the early morning hours. Night Owls of the Dorm It’s 10:00 p.m. on a typical week-night in Joplin, MO. The stores are locking up, the movies are letting out, and the whole town is rolling up its sidewalks after a busy day. At Missouri Southern State College the shut-down process is taking place as well. Night classes dismiss and one by one the campus lights flicker out. Within the residence halls, however, this atmosphere is completely reversed. Many students slam their books shut following several hours of study while others are filtering back after an evening out. From all directions these students congregate in the recreation area of South Hall for a few hours of free time before retiring for the night. Much of the activity is centralized in the TV room. The reruns of M ' A ' S ' H and Bonanza are nightly favorites of avid viewers. Tuning in these shows has become a ritual and any suggestion of a channel change is promptly vetoed by a chorus of devoted fans. There are plenty of alternative pastimes for non-TV-addicts. The study room is well stocked with games and puzzles that have just enough pieces missing to make them interesting. You can generally find a spirited card game in progress. (The resident card sharks are always ready to engage unwary newcomers in a game of spades or pitch.) The more athletically inclined can challenge a partner in an exciting game of ping-pong. As the evening progresses, the last meal eaten at the cafeteria wears off and breakfast seems far away. It’s not unusual for a pack of hungry collegians to crowd into a car and set out for a last raid on McDonald’s, Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut before they close for the night. The more far-seeing residents have already anticipated the midnight munchies and, as the hour approaches, out pop the poppers and hot pots for a feast of popcorn and hot chocolate. Still others patiently await the arrival of Karla Turner and her boxes of extra crispy and original recipe left-overs from her job at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Pranksters sometimes take the opportunity to booby-trap a room while its occupants are away. The victims return to their rooms to find that a late-night visiter has vaselined the doorknob, toilet papered the furniture, or possibly even removed it altogether! Once inside the room the victim is susceptible to the most infamous of all practical jokes, the dreaded penny wedge”. Many a student has attempted to leave his room, only to find that the door has been wedged shut by an innocent-looking stack of pennies. There are a few people who try to study or, amazingly enough, sleep at this time. These few may never know of the fun times and memory¬ making activities that are being enacted down the hall.

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Pete Havely and Ron Alumbaugh direct the pep band during Homecoming festivities at noon.

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Anne Hutchenson and Marie Sanders practice for the RHA ping-pong tournament. At 10:30 the nightly ritual begins with residents gathering around the TV set to watch M A ' S ' H. NIGHT OWLS 21