Morehead State University - Raconteur Yearbook (Morehead, KY)

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Work That's Worth It! any people do not realize exactly how much work goes into preparing for a concert, but some stu- dents on campus could tell you it involves more than just 3 bands performance. These students are concert workers, who often spend as many as fifteen hours setting up the stage and tearing it down for rock, country and popular musicians who come to campus. Concert workers get paid minimum wage to load and un- load equipment, set up the lightning and sound systems, ar- range the bands gear and make sure everything runs smoothly during the show. Student secu- rity guards are also on hand to make sure that the crowd stays under control and that no one gets in without paying. uI usually do lighting? said Mike Jost, a junior business and finance major from Lewisburg, WV. TI drag wires, hook them l IL. up, set up rigging, hook up microphones i J andjust generally bust my butt. , 4 So why on earth would anyone want to put in a whole days worth of strenuous concert preparation? Itis fun! said senior ' 1L Wayne Palmer,abusiness management ma- , a jor from Lexington. iiTheres also some money involved and you get to meet some really interesting people. Palmer said the work really begins the show is over. The concert stall must then start the tear down procedure. This involves unhooking all the wires and lights which were so carefully connected just a short time before. Workers must also disassemble the stage, load the bands equipment onto trucks and clean up. Everyone is in a hurry to leave and tempers sometimes flare after a long day of work, said Palmer. uSometimes the road crews travelling with the bands can be real jerks. They donit ask for things; they tell you. were not professional concert workers, but they may expect us to get it right the first time anyway, remarked lost. 4? J W5 aaflitll Tamar iiPreparing for a show is hustle, bustle, boom-boom-boom, Iost went on to say. iiYou really don,t have time to think how exhausted you are. Everyone tries to set up everything at once. Itis organized chaos. Jost called tear down organized chaos in reverse, but said that after you had done it a few times it becomes second nature. Now I know instinctively how to set up and tear down sets, he said. Concert workers are usually excused from their classes since a concert is not an everyday event. uMost of my professors will usually excuse me to work concerts because they understand the need for money here at school. Only one has ever given IX me a hard time, said Iost. f t The work is hard, but it usually has its rewards. Palmer has worked at many shows both on campus and at Rupp Arena. Through his work he has met or seen such bands as 38 Special, the Beach Boys, Howard Jones, Weird Al Yankovic, Berlin, Midnight star, Otis Day and the Nights, Rush, and AClDC. Many friends are made and lost over the matter of the backstage pass which each concert worker gets. uGirls sometimes make interesting offers for my pass, but I am in no position to accept, Iost commented. Females arenlt the only ones after my pass, thoughf, he added. West Liberty native Craig Dennis, a senior business man- agement major, is the student manager of the workers. The workers are chosen after signing a list in the student activities office. Because of the difficulty of the work and the large number of applicants who apply for the limited number of jobs, workers are chosen by the amount of experience they have. It takes a strong back and a weak mind to work a concert, Jost said. iTm basically a gofer, but I love every minute of it? Story By: Karen Craigo Photos By: Kevin L. Goldy Features 72

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said Michelle Stalker, a junior elementary education major from Elkhorn City. IiBut, I realize how important it is now. I have had the same boyfriend since I learned about AIDS. If we broke up though, I would be scared about dating again. Students are faced with many concerns when approaching sex with a new partner. iiYou hear references being made to safe sex,, but how safe is safe sex?,, asked one student. Ac- cording to Jane Blair, a University staffnurse, the best method ofprevention is abstinence, but ifindividuals engage in sexual behavior, they should consider safer prevention methods. In December, President C. Nelson Grote announced that condoms would be made available in the Caudill Health Clin- ic. This decision was in response to a Residence Hall Associ- ation survey made in November 1987. Ofthose students who responded, over 83 percent believed condoms should be made available through the health clinic. Dispersement of the condoms would be accompanied by an educational program outlining proper use of the condom. Students commented that making condoms available was a step in the right direction, but felt that it fell a bit short. I think it is great that condoms will be offered at the clin- ic, said Ben Kincer, a senior R-T major from Whitesburg. 91 think it would be better to have them in the dorm. What if you need a condom and the clinic is closed? The question is, do we go ahead without a condom and suffer the consequences, or take a cold shower? Residence Hall Association president, Andy Parker, noted that the RHA felt the need for condoms to be placed in dorms as well as the clinic because students voiced a need for them in both locations. Condoms should be in machines found in the dorms? said Jamie Lester, ajunior elementary education major from Cat- lettsburg. The whole purpose is to make condoms readily available. In the health clinic, they are not readily available. What about weekends or at three a.m.? Also, I do not think anyone wants to sit through a film or a set of instructions to get one. Mike Mincey, vice president for student development, said it was in the best interest of the students to provide condoms through the health clinic. IiThere is no point in having a con- dom at a sexual encounter if you do not know how to use it, he said. iiThis is the purpose of the educational program which will accompany the condom dispersementfi Regardless of the dissention over available placement of condoms, everyone agrees that using a condom prevents the spreading of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases. Of 100 female campus students surveyed, 87 percent said they would have no misgivings about asking their partners to wear a condom. The 13 percent who would not ask their partner to wear a condom claimed their reluctance was due to the embarrassing nature of the situation. Ninety-seven percent of 100 male students surveyed said that they always wear a condom. The three percent who did not use condoms said it was because they were involved in long-term relationships. The Caudill Health Clinic encourages all students to learn the facts concerning AIDS and other sexually-transmitted dis- eases. Brochures such as TAIDS: What Every Student Should Knowii and iiMaking Sex Saferf among others, are available at the clinic for students. These brochures help to dispel many misconceptions about AIDS, the largest myth being the possi- bility of contracting AIDS through casual contact. In fact, we do more harm to individuals diagnosed as having the AIDS virus by exposing them to cold and flu symptoms, than they do to us through casual contact. Still, many students admit that if they discovered a class- mate had AIDS, they would find it difficult to be around that person. 91f he or she were in a front-row seat, I would go to the back of the room,,, said senior data processing major Tim Myers of Argillite. 01 would react this way mainly because I do not know all the facts about AIDS. I guess you could call it self-preservation. While most university students only hear about AIDS, a 22- year old student has had to deal directly with the disease. My father was diagnosed as having AIDS in May, 1 983. He died of pneumonia in December, 19837 His father was the first he- mophiliac and the seventeenth individual in Kentucky to die ofAIDS. The fact that people do not know how serious AIDS is upsets him. Out ofthe 117 Kentuckians diagnosed as having AIDS since 1982, four were hemophiliacs. Hemophiliacs have a blood deficiency which inhibits the clotting of blood. Due to the continuous transfusions hemophiliacs require, they are con- sidered a high-risk group in contracting the AIDS virus. uMany people, especially where I come from, think that you can contact AIDS casually. I know differently. They think that because they are straightf they canit get AIDS. My father was straight and he got AIDS. People need to be edu- cated. To support his claim, he remembered the reactions of oth- ers when they learned his father had AIDS. iiMy close friends were there for support, but others were not so understanding. I had two girlfriends over that period of time who did not want anything to do with me when they found out my father had AIDS. Though the loss of his father was painful, he credits it as a learning experience. 01 am much more careful now. I have learned the facts about AIDS, and I do not mind discussing his death with others. My mother was on a show called iiWoman to Woman which focused on people with family members who had died of AIDS. We have lived through the ordeal of seeing a loved one die of AIDS, and if that experience can help someone else, then it was not all in vain. The question of mandatory AIDS tests at universities has been addressed and met with mixed reviews. TI think it is a good idea, said senior finance major Jim Schell of London. iiEveryone should know where they stand, not only for them- selves, but for everyone that they may become involved with in the future? What would the university reaction be if confronted by the AIDS epidemic? Would students infected with the AIDS virus be allowed to attend classes or live in the dormitories? Would the fear of catching AIDS spread throughout the student body? While there have been no diagnosed cases of AIDS on campus, student health nurse, Jane Blair, reports that there are a number of identified AIDS cases in Rowan County. Daniel Anderson, acting director of University Counseling, stresses that people must look upon AIDS as a human issue, rather than a moral issue. iiWe should focus on doing what we can to protect ourselves as best as we can. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that the AIDS epidemic will never reach us, he said. Experts estimate that by the end of 1991, the total number of AIDS cases in the United States will reach 270,000 with 179,000 deaths. With statistics such as these, would it be inconceivable to think the University will be spared? , -- By: Melody Cooper 71

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Under the direction ofStage Manager, Senior Craig Dennis tnot showm, hired students, Allen Hardin, Danny Markwell, Bucky F ranks, Mike lost, and Ken Ferrell spend the entire day getting the stage, sound and lights ready for that night's performance. PHOTO BY: Kevin L. Goldy Keep the front row in the front row was Bucky Frankst 60px senior from Sandy Hook, job. Franks was a security personnel for the Lee Greenwood concert. PHOTO BY: Kevin L. Goldy Take it in, put it up, take it down, get it out. Concert workers for the EEO Speedwagon show, David Dugan, Ken Ferrell, and Tim Hood, spent Novem- ber 20 unloading stage equipment. PHOTO BY: Kevin L. Goldy Con C an Workers 73