University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

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Retirement Board. A wide variety of topics were brought before the student body offering an opportunity for students to voice an opinion. Issues ranged from a national presidential election and student government elec- tions, to abortion and tuition increases. Opinions on abortion were as varied on campus as they were across the nation. God created life; taking away life is murder, said one student while another said, I ' m pro-choice, I think it ' s a mother ' s right to decide ... Some Florence area residents staged a peaceful protest march against abortion; however, protests were not as peaceful across the country. From such mild incidents of violence as Father Edward Marklcy ' s paint bombing of a Huntsville abortion clinic to the use of real bombs in other parts of the country, people voiced their opinions -•■ • FACE PAINTING was brought to an art form during last summer ' s Helen Keller Festival. The Keller Festival is the area ' s first big festival of the year honoring a famous Shoals Area citizen. One of the major features of the week is the Miracle Worker, a play depicting the life of Helen Keller. CHRIS GRISSET gives a push for the handicapped during Pi Kappa Phi ' s drive to raise money for the handicapped last Spring. on the controversial issue. On a much less controversial campus issue, students were ques- tioning the tuition increase that the Board of Trustees passed. It ' s going to make going to college that much more difficult. Why can ' t they get the money from some other source? said Jackie Scott. The increase will take effect at a particularly bad time for stu- dents receiving financial aid. President Reagan ' s budget proposals will severely limit the amount of aid available even to the most needy applicants. Despite all the highs and lows the year presented, students and faculty brought recognition to a small university in north Alabama and sent a message to the rest of the country that we are Setting the Pace. tdward Thomas

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negotiations with the Soviet Union. Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko paid a visit to Washington in the fall of ' 84 as the two superpowers took the first steps toward a more sensible solution to the arms race. UNA graduates are also playing a role in the shaping of our nation with men and women like Wendall Wilkie Gunn, Pamela Long Hammer and Dr. Paul R. Hubbert, the alumni of the year. Gunn serves as a special assistant to Ronald Reagan for policy development. He is also the principal White House spokesman on Edward Thomas international trade policy among other duties. Hammer is the head writer of the daytime drama Guiding Light, a position she has had since February, 1983. Previously she was an actress on the daytime drama Texas and later served as the chief writer for the same show. Dr. Hubbert is the executive secretary for the Alabama Edua- tion Association. He is also a member of several state boards and commissions and is serving as chairman of the Alabama Teacher Continued on page 8 Edward Thomas A SENIOR CORNERBACK for the Lions. Daryl Smith, was named to the Kodak division I All-American first team and was named to play in the annual Blue-Gray classic in December. Smith is one of several Lions who attracted the attention of professional football scouts. I ' M NOT VOTING for Reagan, ain ' t voting for Mondale neither. said this man who identified himself as the son of Mrs. Douglass Brummett. President Rea- gan won the second largest landslide victory in the nations history capturing 97.6 percent of the electoral college vote. Introduction 7

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DANCING TO A BLUES BEAT, two young ladies entertain the crowd during the WC Handy Festival at the Art Break in Wilson Park. The Handy Festival is fast becoming a major attraction for the Shoals area as the festival completed its third consecutive year. WORKING LONG HOURS at a computer terminal seems to be a habit around campus. Kim Foster works out a program in Collier Library, the new home of the computer cen- ter. Edward Thomas LOOKING UNUSUALLY EMPTY, the Pine Street overpass frames the path of a ghost car. A time exposure combined with the car ' s emergency flashers allowed the photogra- pher to capture this haunting cityscape. Introduction 9