Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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Dorm Life at NSU Located on Northweatern ' a campus were f i «- dor- mitories: Louisiana Mall. Natchitoches Hall. Sabine Hall. Rapides Hall, and Varnado Hall. Louisiana and Sabine boused female students only. The all male dorm was Rapides and both male and female students lived in Yar- nadoand Natchitoches Halls. There were e eral people who lived in the dorm and provided their services to the residents. The main employee in the dorm v»a the house director. The house director ' s duties were to make sure the dorm ran smoothly and intervene where and when necessary. An example of ilii would be when maintenance work needed to be done, the dorm residents reported such work to their director who in turn reported the work to housing authorities. Another person who aided the residents of the dorms was the resident assistant, RA. RA ' s listened to the student ' s problems and assisted the residents in handling the pressures of college life. The desk workers also gave assistance to the students in the form of information of residents who lived on campus. The greatest contributor to dorm life was the resident. A roommate, suitemate or next door neighbor could become a lifetime friend if one allowed it. But life in the dormitory was what each individual made of it. Students learned to make the best of each situation thev encountered. Hazel Evans, house director of Louisiana Hall. Students relax in Louisiana ' s lobby. Louisiana dormitory, a link between the old and the new.

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Governor David Treen speaks to NSU students while in town for the Grand Opening of the Louisiana School. 1 NSU nsu WELCOMES GOVERHOR TREEN jhe sign outside the Student Union welcomes Governor Treen Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts Northwestern State University was glad to welcome to its campus of educational environment the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts. With its unique combination of academic studies and instructions in the arts on one campus, the Louisiana School became the first public residential school for the gifted and talented high school juniors and seniors. This fall 207 juniors from all over the state of Louisiana started classes. Ac- cording to Linda Tabor, Administrative Director, the Louisiana School hoped to raise their enrollment to over 700 by 1986. The process by which the students were chosen for the Louisiana School was a very long and intricate one. All the juniors throughout the many high schools in Louisiana who were interested in the new school took an SAT test. From the scores, a top percentage were taken and those students were then given the Raven Identity Test for the Gifted and Talented. Four hundred students were chosen from the highest scores and brought through a series of interviews until the final 207 were chosen. Next year, 200 juniors will be selected and these 107 students will be the first senior class. Until completion of renovations to the old campus of Natchitoches Central High School, facilities were limited to Prudhomme and Bossier Halls. Classes were taught on the first floor of Prudhomme Hall while its second floor served as the girls dormitory. Bossier Hall was divided into a first floor cafeteria, a second floor recreational area, and the third floor boys dormitory. NSU ' s atmosphere allowed 207 of Louisiana ' s most accomplished high school students to attain the highest level of educational development of both academics and the fine arts. The students took a basic curriculum of college level courses. Along with these courses, 100 of the students took actual college courses in the areas of music, dance, art and theatre. In addition to this higher education in the fine arts, the students also had many other advantages academically that would normally not be seen in Loui- siana public schools. Five foreign languages were taught — French, Spanish, two levels of German, Latin, and an introduction to Russian. In the fall eight students were enrolled in the Russian class. Also among the ad- vanced curriculum was American History, instructed by a Doctor of Jurisprudence law, and a course in An- cient and Medieval History, instructed by a Doctor of European and American History. Each of the students excelled in at least one field of concentration. One drawback these students had was the lack of education they had received in public schools. Opening 3

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VM WkM91!OM W9 mm % Varnado Dormitory, the oldest housing on campus. Rapides, the newest male dorm. Students relax in one of the rooms in Varnado Hall. itudents gather for an in-dorm meeting in Sabine Hall. Opening 5