Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Country of Fields «i Prairie The news that Pure Prairie League had been selected for the 1981 spring concert did not take the Northwest campus by storm. But when Pure Prairie League rode into town on March 20, their good old foot stomping music entertained a near capacity crowd in Lamkin Gymnasium. I thought that considering the concert was on a weekend and was the first concert in a year and a half, Pure Prairie League was a big suc- cess, said Phil Clausen, Student Union Board president. The Student Union Board is responsible for arranging concerts for Northwest. At registration, each student pays a $5 Student Union Board activity fee that goes for S.U.B. productions on campus. This was the first year that such a fee had been applied. Arranging for a group to appear on campus can be a complicated procedure, Clausen said. The Student Union Board first contacts a booking agent from New West, a Kansas City booking agen- cy, and expresses their wish for a show. New West must be informed of the desired date for the concert and the amount of money that the Board wishes to spend. In turn, they will make a list of available groups for the desired date, Clausen said. The list is put before the Student Union Board and board members vote on who they want to appear, including the opening act, and then inform New West of their decision. New West then sends a contract for the appearance to the Board, who then must approve the con- tract. Along with the contract, a writer is sent. This specifies the type of security provisions that must be used for the concert and the general wants and don ' t wants of the group. Security forces consist of two men from each Northwest fraternity for backstage security, a twenty-five man stage crew, as well as the Maryville police force and the Nodaway County law enforcement agency for crowd patrol. At this point, the production is, for the most part, set. The Pure Prairie League concert was opened by Fields, a group from Kan.sas City, Mo., who turned out to be an unexpected crowd pleaser. They played updated versions of songs like Dead Flowers original- ly done by New Riders of the Purple Sage and Fade Away , an old Rolling Stones tune. They also entertained with several of their original songs including Love Me If You Dare and I ' ll Be Gone which appeared on the latest Kansas City KY102 Home Grown album. The Fields set was short but live- ly, ending with the crowd dancing and clapping to a long jam session on the classic Orange Blossom Special. Pure Prairie League quickly took the stage and was greeted en- thusiastically. With a refined pro- fessionalism, they eased the crowd into a relaxing mood with their smooth country-rock sound. Everyone on the floor remained on their feet throughout the entire show, clapping and singing to old favorites including Two Lane Highway , Amie and Pickin to Beat the Devil. They also perform- ed more recent songs like Almost Ready. I thought it was a great concert, said Sara Drummond. It was the first concert I had been to on campus and I was very satisfied with it. Pure Prairie League didn ' t use any flashy gimmicks, they just played their music and the crowd showed their satisfaction by calling them back for an encore. The con- cert wasn ' t an earth shattering one, nor did it bring down the house. But for country-rock lovers it was a hit. Spring Concert 25

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Group members vocalize with lead singer Vince Gill as they perform their hit Amie. Pure Prairie League brought the crowd to its feet with old and new songs alike. 24 Spring Concert

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Here I am (again) Fall: Time again to pack boxes, load cars, unload cars, climb stairs and finally unpack. But this year, students returning, saw many changes in the normal outlook of moving into the NWMSU campus dorms. Situations such as enroll- ment added variations to moving in for the old students and perplexing hassles for new students. We are looking at about 5050 students this year, said Dr. John Mees, vice president of student development. That represents approximately a three percent increase over last year in terms of head count, Mees said. A large portion of those were in- coming freshman, he said. This increase in enrollment welcomed students in the fall with temporary room assignments. Many students in the highrises Hv- ed in floor study rooms or three man corner rooms temporarily. It was okav at first, it just got tiring after awhile, said Shelly Sobotka. There were just sheets and newspapers over the windows at first, and people would come in all the time, either not knowing some- one was living there or else to see what it was like, said Debbie Cowden. At first we were crowded, but it turned out that there were a number of no-shows and we were able to take care of everybody, said Bruce Wake, housing administrator. Wake said he was pleased with the rise in student numbers and hoped that Northwest would have every bed filled. But we are concerned because all indications point to the fact that we may have a decline i;i enrollment in the middle to late 80 ' s, Wake said. Besides temporary rooms, available space was used for housing for the first time. The basement of Wilson was converted into dorm rooms for female residents. I really didn ' t want to live here at first, but once the furniture was put in it was fine, said Kathy Carlson, Resident Assistant. Problems in the Wilson basement were comprised of slowness in get- ting phones, intercoms and shower curtains, said Carlson. Another option opened to the students was living in a three man corner room that have, in, the past, been used only for two. I knew the girls I roomed with so it wasn ' t too bad, said Katie Klassen. I had brought up all of my things, though, and then there wasn ' t room for them. Students also moved back to an unwelcoming leaking roof in Franken Hall. Two rooms on the seventh floor leaked and those two rooms leaked all the way down to the second floor, soaking carpets, warping desks and making everything smell bad, Sobotka said. Along with a leaking roof, continued 26 Moving in becomes a family affair when sisters Deb and Christi Cowden help each other unload the car. Moving In k