Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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{3etty Martin listens to a student ' s questions about a printout. i|iu(cr Science students work on their programs in onex f the terminal Opening 1 1

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NSU ' s Computer Center The Northwestern Stair I nivenrit) (lompuitr Onter located in k)yr Mall promoted the efficiency of a wide range of ser- vices. Burroughs BlHHii dual processor eomputer was the basis of data. This machine which operated a main memory aux- iliary disc storage capable for direct operations along with ten remote television keyboard terminals was made available for the use of universit) students. Dr. Otis Cox, Mead of Institutional Research, headed a depart- ment of bighl) skilled faculty and students at the Center. Warren Mstmis headed the three programmers who fed the correct steps of production into the computer. In turn, the operators, John Jackson and Brian Childers. retrieved the information. Bill Ford. Operations Manager, along with Anna Airhart, Data En- try, and Stanley Hippler. Systems Software Specialist, supervised the transactions that involve the Computer Center. The main job of the Computer Center in the academic field v a to provide students enrolled in computer science classes an opportunity to gain better knowledge of practical uses of com- puters. Students had to sign up for terminals in advance due to high demand. Mrs. Betty Martin taught the majority of the computer science classes offered each semester. Mrs. Martin was a favorite among students majoring in computer science because of her fair advising. Students also played a large role in the Center. Ten student workers monitored the terminal room in addition to the main computer. For each computer class a student took, they were en- titled one hour per day on one of the ten terminal computers in the terminal room to complete their programming homework. One additional hour was added according to the classes. The stu- dent workers made sure no one exceeded the time limit. The ter- minals were an indirect feeding of programs from the main com- puter. Only the operators or personnel had access to the direct programming. The unique capabilities of the Computer Center served as the primary source of transactions at Northwestern. These facilities expanded in new directions every day. In addition to the new Mark Card Reader Machine, the Louisiana School for the Gifted and Talented received a new DEC-digital equipment corporation to further advance the developmental education of the high school students. Sandy Martin, secretary for the Computer Center. NM ItudenU c oncentrate on their programming. Belt} Vartin. teacher of Computer Scie

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Spare Time College students seemed to have a lot of spare time on their hand-. U hile the average student carried a sixteen hour course load, that left 152 hours of spare time per week. Vs-umin an average of six hours of sleep, there was still another 1 1 •• hours of spare time per week. What did students do w i t ri all of this spare time? One of the most popular pastimes in Natchitoches was cruising the strip. It ' s amazing just how many cars can traf- fic this short stretch of highway in one Friday night. Of course, one must wash clothes at some time or another and college students were no exception. One could be assured of a ting at least two hours to wash a week ' s worth of clothes. Trips to Wal-Mart Mere another exciting part of everyone ' s week. Not a week went by that one did not have to run to Vial-Mart to buy something. Everything from aspirin to a zoology notebook could be purchased in Natchitoches ' largest store. Intramurals on campus helped a lot of students to occupy their spare time while providing friendship and physical exer- ( is,-. Activities were available for students to benefit year round. A large percentage of students participated in the program making it one of the most successful in Louisiana. Organizations also kept many NSU students busy during tlitir spare time. Some organizations busied themselves raising money for needy charities while others took trips to educate their members. Main students spent their Friday and Saturday nights socializing. Favorite spots included the Student Body, the Oasis, and Bodacious Country. Each provided a different at- mosphere for the varying taste of students. Some time was spent studying. As hard as it may be to believe, a major portion of time was spent studying for most Students. Many students spent a large portion of their free time conducting research for a class paper or a scientific experiment. Of course there v»ere countless other possibilities as to how students could spend their spare time, but whatever the activi- ty, students seemed to do very well at occupying the free time available to them. Students stopped by the game room for video games. Chris Pipe, Debbie House and Jane Napier return from washing clothes and a trip to Wal-Mart.