Southeast Missouri State University - Sagamore Yearbook (Cape Girardeau, MO)

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F.LF.C ' VKD IN A conservative tide which swept the nation. Ronald Reagan took office in January and promised to carry out the mandate of the American people to return to less but better government.

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' ooo COLLEGE IS NO longer limited to listening to long lectures and reading technical textbooks. Craig Bruce tests his creative constructive skills by playing with building blocks in his Communication Theory class. The intellectual exercise was used to illustrate individual roles which emerge in any group situation. Craig emerged as group leader in this situation. Table of Contents student Life 10 Academics 66 Organizations 98 Sports 190 Greeks 244 People 276 by Burl Stamp Students enrolled for classes, waited in long lines, lugged endless boxes and over-stuffed suitcases into the residence halls, and complained about cafeteria food. The sometimes humdrum existence of college life still persisted, but not everything was the same at Southeast Missouri State University. Differences were found in the administration, in sports, and in activities; however, there were also changes in the students ... in their ideas and their responses to the changes around them. Ca mpus-wide, nation-wide, world-wide — changes ran the gamut from subtle to earth- shaking, and were not only numerous, but also widespread. As national and international events seemed to touch students ' lives, they suddenly became more real and more urgent, (continued) ®w®i?©Ilasidl(n) 5

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THERE WAS MORE than one new president inaugurated during the year. In his inaugural address. Dr. Bill Stacy stresses continued excellence at the university and a new mood of reassurance. .AS THE FIRST major capital improvement project of the ' 80s. the Serena Industrial-Technical Building addition provided needed space lor industrial arts courses. W(B ' M ]b(Bmnmmnmm On the local, national and international levels, most welcomed change for more than just the sake of being different. Behind every move, whether it was for the better or worse, people were looking for the dawning of a brand new day. Nationally, American ' s most apparent desire for change came on November 4. Amidst dissatisfaction over all levels of government, Americans switched their voting patterns of the last two decades almost 180 degrees: from liberal to conservative, from Democratic to Republican, from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan ' s landslide victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter on election day left a clear signal that the majority of Americans were not pleased with economic and political conditions at home or abroad. The inflation rate was too high, the consumer price index was too high, the prime lending rate was too high . . . and public confidence in government was too low. Dissatisfaction cut across party lines as Carter received only 69 percent of the Democratic vote, compared with 79 percent in 1976. Reagan gained a 50 percent share of the working class vote, a segment traditionally dominated by the Democrats. Carter ' s only stronghold remaining from 1976 was the Black vote, where he received 87 percent. But the switch to a Republican presidency was not the most unusual or unexpected story on election day. Senate elections stole much of the election night spotlight as Republican senators rode on the coattail of Ronald Reagan ' s landslide victory. The GOP gained control of the body at the expense of several long-time liberal senators, who included George McGovern, Frank Church and Birch Bayh. Locally, the 12-year term of Democratic Representative Bill Burlison ended as Republican Bill Emerson won the 10th District seat. On the state level, Christopher Kit Bond, after losing to Joe Teasdale in the 1976 governor ' s race, defeated him in 1980 to earn his second non-consecutive term as the state ' s top official. Bond promised to cut out wasteful state spending; however, many questioned whether or not he would be successful. During the campaign, he also promised to reduce the student teacher ratio in the early elementary grades to 15:1. Because of tlv additional funding necessary for this pr()[i ' educators praised it in theory, but questionp ' practice. , (conuimeaj vJpening