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

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Displaying their banner, Tau Kappa Epsilon members support the football team. Several Greek organiza- tions went to the football games. Photo by Jon Britton. Loree Sheldon and Jeremy Radford encourage Eliza- beth Pfost to cheer. Pfost won the chance to be a cheerleader in a fundraiser. Photo by Jon Britton. The cheerleaders show their enthusiasm by setting up a pyramid. The team helped fans keep spirits high during the game against the University of Missouri- Rolla Miners. Photo by Jon Britton. 12 Game Day

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Student Ambassa- dors Tricia Tinsley and Loree Sheldon prepare orienta- tion packages for freshmen. The packages included vital into:mation such as the Under- graduate Academic Catalog, Student Organization Handbook, aca- demic calendar, and an Advantage ' 92 shirt. Photo by Don Carrick. Changes in orientation give freshmen a real dvanta ge 1 ' H ucross the country spent B months trying to adjust to ■ B the rigors and freedoms of f A college life. Since 1986 ■ H the Admissions Office at Northwest welcomed freshmen with a week solely dedicated to easing this adjust- ment period. Student Ambassadors, peer advisers, and various organization members vol- unteered to help students move into the residence halls, direct traffic and answer questions regarding the campus. Resi- dent Assistant Shelly Pfister said that this centered attention was one of the strong points about the Advantage program. Without orientation week they would have gotten lost in the shuffle because there was so much information, Pfister said. This way we directed our attention to just freshmen and got all of their ques- tions answered. Like any program, changes and im- provements were necessary to stay in tune with students. The week began dif- ferently when students moved in on Sat- urday rather than during the week. Ad- vantage Director Shari Schneider said this was mainly for the convenience of working parents. Another change was the new activities added to the program. One new event that faired well was the faculty administra- tion picnic where faculty and administra- tors cooked and served hamburgers to students. The student organizational fair was brought back after a hiatus last year, and gave students a glimpse of the variety of activities available on campus. Registration was also changed slightly. Instead of registering directly through the Registrar ' s Office, students enrolled for classes in their adviser ' s of- fice. Dave Walden said the registration process was very helpful in choosing which classes he should take. The enrollment process went pretty well, Walden said. They suggested classes they thought I would do well in and would be interested in. Adjustments were also made in infor- mational sessions with smaller, more in- dividualized sessions in computer labs for hands-on training. Jill Ragee thought both the informa- tional sessions and advisers were a big help in getting the year started. The week was very rewarding, Ragee said. 1 learned a lot that 1 prob- ably would not have on a bigger campus, like how to use the computer equipment and where my classes were. They basi- cally spoon-fed us. Although many students seemed to agree that Advantage 92 was a key fac- tor to settling into the college curriculum, student evaluations showed that some freshmen thought the week could have been condensed into two or three days. Schneider, however, said it would not have been possible to register 1,350 freshmen in two days and still have complete informational sessions. Trying to register 1,350 freshmen over two days would have been horren- dous, Schneider said. There were also things that we had to address that needed a little more time. Each individual needed a different amount of time to adjust, whether it was the students ready for the party scene or the homesick stu- dents anticipating Christmas break. Al- most every student stumbled through the first week, usually victorious and more at ease thanks to help from the Admissions Office and the Advantage program. — Karis.s% Bowey The week was very rewarding, Jill Ragee said. I learned a lot that I prohahly would not have on a bigger campus... they basically spoon-fed us. Orientation 11

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V f ■ ' % i After finishing their half-time show, marching band members Mike Morris and Rex Riley intently watch the remain- der of the game. The band per- formed a special percussion feature, Strictly Taboo, for Family Day. Photo by Scott Jenson. Eiitliusiasni builds as Bearcats take bme Field Crowding into a football stadium on a Saturday alternoon was not always a common scene at Northwest. A change occurred this season; seven out of 1 1 Bearcat football games were played at Rickenhrode Stadium. A larger number of home games increased enthusiasm and attendance at the football games. When compared to the four of nine home games in the 1991 football season, 7 home games was a dramatic increase. Scheduling just worked out for us this year, Head Football Coach Bud Elliot said. Next year it will all change back. The increased number of home games inspired many organizations. Although the Cats did not always prove victorious, many fans were loyal supporters. Sometimes the fans seemed to lose interest if the Bearcats were losing; of course more people got involved if they were winning, Cheerleader Jason John- son said. The Greeks usually had spirit and cheered quite a bit. Many fraternities made it a point to attend the games played at Rickenbrode Stadium. We made it a habit to go to all the home games, Kevin Hebner. Alpha Kappa Lambda, said. It wasn ' t required, hut a lot of us showed up and we all sat together. Sororities also took advantage of the football season and made the games a group activity. As many of us that could go to the game met in the front hall of Roberta, Jenny Gratias, Sigma Sigma Sigma, said. We all walked over to the games as a group to show our spirit. More fans at the games inspired the Bearcats to be more spirited and enthusi- astic about their home performances. When the crowd got into the game it helped our morale. Bearcat linebacker Jim Willits, said. It helped us get even more pumped for the games. The Steppers and Cheerleaders also noticed a change in Bearcat fans ' atti- tudes. I thought more people came to the games since more of them were in Maryville, Amy Tomlinson, stepper, said. We did a lot more performances, and it was a lot of work, but we liked it. The Steppers and the marching band were not used to having so many home football games, and had to prepare more half-time shows. We did a lot of work to prepare for the games, Band Senior Field Assistant Dawn Hascall said. We tried to add new routines and change our show for each game. The crowd was really responsive to our shows. The Pre-Med Club also noticed an in- crease in attendance and was very grate- ful for more home games, since their main money-maker was selling conces- sions to fans by the — — - east entrance. When the Sales im- proved a great CFOwd gOt deal, Pre-Med Club fundraising illtO the co-chairman . Tracy Dickman game it t T:X helped our helped to increase yy o 1 al e f. .„,!., .u;. ' our funds this year Jim Willits The increased number of home SaiQ. games was a boost to many organizations, and also in- creased the enthusiasm of Bearcat fans. Many people on campus hoped to see the greater number of home football games continue in seasons to come. — Katie Harrisoni Game Day 13