Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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You know me, one student wrote. I sit beside you in class every day. I may even be standing in front of class lecturing. In fact. I may be any one of the thousands of people walking across the Tech campus at any given time. You don ' t know it, but I ' m gay. The reason you don ' t know is due to the fact that I don ' t fit into your stereotyped notion of what gay people are ' supposed ' to be like. Other people expressed disgust for homosexuals. Homosexuality is sickening, 25 Wells residents wrote. Homo- sexuals have no place in any society. The idea of gay student organiza- tions makes all of us want to throw up. If homosexuals feel that they can ' t express themselves in Lub- bock, they can leave and nobody will miss them. Three law students decided ho- mosexuals were not the only minor- ity discriminated against at Tech. In recent weeks we have seen several letters concerning homo- sexuals, biscxuals, triscxuals, tran- svestites, and other discrete in- sular minority groups, Gary Kis- siah, Chris Johansen and Wendel Withrow wrote. The time is now at hand to bring to the attention of this society the respect and appreci- ation that is due to another minority group. To wit, the hog liver lovers. While some students were up in arms about homosexuality, others had waged a newspaper war over the legalization of marijuana. A group that called itself AMER- ICA spoke out against marijuana. NORML: is smoking marijuana nor- mal? the group wrote. Would you want your children smoking mari- juana; and what if your parents were pot heads? Smoking pot is wrong legally and morally. Look at the people who smoke marijuana, some look like humans, but most have long hair which is usually filthy, beards, wear stupid looking beads, and need a bath. If marijuana is not bad for you, then why did the Mafia introduce it solely to the black community. Dave Land and Bob Starr replied to AMERICA ' S letter: This is a rebut- tal to the letter of April 15, 1977 against Marijuana. Upon first reading of the letter we assumed it to be a joke — but subsequent review of the letter led to the realization that the group signing as AMERICMA (against Marijuana everywhere re- stricting imbalanced criminal minds always) might actually believe it. The pot issue remained the focal point of the UD editorial page until an article and editorial by News Editor Jay Rosser, concerning SOBU ' s anger at the absence of blacks on the cheer- leader squad, took precedence. Primarily, I would like to say I do not think the cheerleaders should be judged on skin color or religion, one student wrote. The cheerleaders that we, the students, want are those who work hard to represent Texas Tech University in the best possible way. Judy Smith wrote, Any black should be insulted and embarrassed by SOBU ' s demand for special try- outs. This is not equality, but an im- plication that blacks are not up to standard. SOBU President Charles Gulley attempted to explain SOBU ' s stand. No one is asking whites to give us anything, Gulley wrote. All we want is equal representation in every- thing. Fred Wilmer represented a slightly different view on the matter. Being black, I naturally would like to see blacks on the cheerleading squad, Wilmer wrote, on the senate, and simply more involved in campus leadership. But I, along with other black students, do not feel that other blacks should ask for or be given special treatment. The issues may not have been solved by presenting students ' view in the UD, but the editorial page provided an emotional outlet for anyone who had something to say and wanted to say it badly enough. What would we do with- out letters to the editor? Insidc- ' ja

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In the News Closet homosexuals, marijuana, blacks ' and women ' s rights what hasn ' t been discussed on the editorial page of the University Daily? The fight last year over scarves and sorority girls seemed to spark interest in writing letters to the editor. Sometimes humorous, some- times downright angry, letters poured over UD Editor Melissa Griggs ' desk almost from the day the UD went into print for the year. One of the first issues raised in the L D was the parking situation on campus. Several students griped about having to park in the com- muter lots, the loss of parking spaces caused by construction of the loop system and other problems. Now that I am a junior and am off campus, Greg Parks wrote, I have found a good way of burning $18 in the form of a commuter park- ing sticker. Completion of the loop system early in the spring semester raised a lot of comment. In the four short years that I have been attending Tech I have seen some really brilliant stunts on the part of both students and administrators, Ken Porter said. The effects of the new inner-cam- pus loop must rank with the best of them. I will be the first to admit that it may be .somewhat early to evaluate the benefits (?) of the new loop, but from what I have seen, and from what 1 have heard other students say, the loop is a bomb. Sara Park took a more humorous stand on the loop and the bus situ- ation. Shame on Babs (Jreyhosky for writing that seething editorial Jan. 19 criticizing Tech ' s innovative bus routes! Park wrote. Where is her sense of adventure? Buses are no longer used exclusively for mundane intra-campus transporation. Now they offer a game for students to play in between classes. It ' s called ' Musical Buses. ' Another issue that raised anger on campus concerned the I-RA and the treatment of women. Kirk Doo- Icy, UD sports editor, got involved in a word battle with some of Tech ' s flnglish professors. Kirk Dooley ' s explanatory note to professor Terrell (Nov M). 1976) which cited his use of ' feminine ' as a synonym for ' weak ' concerning Maryland ' s football schedule. is an insult to every woman on this campus, to whom he owes an apolo- gy, Ann Daghistany, assistant pro- fessor of English, wrote. Doolcy replied, I don ' t believe I have insulted ' every woman on this campus. ' although we have strong evidence here that I have in- sulted every woman teacher in the English Department, which is noth- ing new to a boy who can ' t remem- ber the last English teacher he got along with. I do, however, feel that I owe a sincere apology to every uoman football player on campus. As the Texas legislature prepared to vote on the l-qual Rights Amend- ment (1;RA), several students voiced their opinion on the amend- ment. 1 refuse to accept this piece of proposed legislation as a solution to anything for I see no problem, ex- cept with altitude. Marianne Andrews wrote. 1 el ' s come to the middle and allow the change to evolve naturally if it is to do so. The women who want a new place in so- ciety will receive it in time if they work for it. The blanket will suffo- cate us all if we allow it to pass. Per- sonally. I ' m free right now to be and to become all that I want to become. I don ' t need the ERA. An article by Va ne Roper on closet homosexuals prompted many letters to the LID. Several views on homosexuality were aired.

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I In the News When youVe sick of studying and pizza . . . Lubbock, Texas isn ' t your regular rolling metropolis. In fact, after the excitement of life in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin or even El Paso, Lubbock seems like just another West Texas hole in the road to a lot of people. But for those students willing and determined enough to look beyond ihc same old clubs, theatres and Home Box Office (if they can afford it), there are many exciting OK, not always ex- citing—things to do in the Hub. For example, when was the last time you visited Prairie Dog Town? Load- ing up your car with a camera (insta- matic will do) and a picnic lunch can be an interesting, if not rewarding, experience. Besides, if you go on a warm day. it ' s an excellent chance to work on a tan. Feel like soaking up a little culture ' . ' Take a stroll through the Tech Mu- seum. There ' s no admittance charge. and you can trace the area ' s hisior from the dinosaurs down through the pioneer days. For a paltry sum (less than $1) you can visit Moody Plane- tarium and experience Haley ' s Comet and other such phenomena. Or try the Ranching Heritage Center, where a West Texas town has been assembled for your viewing pleasure. Lubbock sports a variet of special- ty shops, where you can look for such oddities as a larding needle, taltint; thread (ever make lace?) or a T-shirl that says just about anything you like. This can be depressing, though, if you just ran out of allowance mone for the month and can only look. You can also get overenthusiasiic and have to cat peanut butter sandwiches for the rest of the semester — even if you do spread the peanut buller with an an- tique sterling kni fe ou bought. Sports are big in Lubbock, probabh because it ' s usually easy to find an un- occupied tennis court or an open field for a game of football. Unfortun- ately, the first step in gelling a game together is assembling eni)ugh people for two teams. You could bring the great outdoors inside by buying a few plants (or open- ing your window). Some swear by plants, saying they break the monot- ony of dorm rooms and apartments and give the students something spe- cial to care for. Most plants are rela- tively easy to grow. Come on. now — even cactus grows wild out here. If you rcall pul your mind lo it. you can think of a lot of things to do on campus and around town. From below: Why not contemplate the remains of a wooly mammoth, or other para- phernalia, at the Tech Museum? Or visit the prairie dogs The little guys really ham it up when they see a camera. They even ham it up more when you throw them a few tidbits. k y- ■. ' : i ' ■v. - 2 ff. ' ■ ,