Utah State University - Buzzer Yearbook (Logan, UT)

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uloh state 1981 q ueor of change 12

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world is at Logan's doorstep, as well as Pishing, hiking and hunting. But despite the wide recreational oppor-• mtics. the students always have to come back to class, bock to roommates, bock to •hose ‘'all-nighters'' before exams, find yes. back to thot omnipresent cultural dimorphism. Strangely enough, there is little actuol friction between these two divergent groups at Utah State. In Pact, for the most part, each seems to be genuinely amused by the actions of the other. There comes a time each year, however, that the differences in attitude, endeavor ond philosophy become less distinct. Graduation changes things. The two foe-ions shore a commonality: they both experience the exultation of the climax of their education, tempered with the pain of leaving beloved friends behind. The faded jeans of happy hour are gone, the three-piece suits of the line-up dance are gone, or at least hidden under the graduation gowns. Families converge on the campus. Ccmeros are everywhere. The graduates clustered in the various ceremonies across campus share the solemnity of the moment, fee: the same discomfort of the pomp and circumstance and know the true joy of accomplishment. for this one day they are all truly brothers. Coch believes his education can oe a force for good in their lives, a force than can perhaps even better the human condition. ' he ceremonies ore brief, the gowns come off quickly and paths lead off in many directions. But each student walks his own path a little differently going down the hill than he did walking up. those long years ago. ' his overview of life at Utah State is necessarily sketchy. It doesn't mention the social subgroups: the cowboys, the UJest Coast elite, the Cast Coast punkers. the foreign students, the earth children and all those who don't fit into any category. Cach is present on campus, and each is as interesting and noteworthy as the others. It is this diversity that makes Utah State University such a mulligon stew of ideas, attitudes ond philosophies. •■ter oil, mulligon stew is more interesting than beef broth.III

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The neujs events thot tronspire during the course of on ocodemic yeor creote o subtle chemistry thot determines the texture. the mood, and the personality of those months. Rnd that chemistry is a synthesis of the important and the trivial, the serious ond the lighthearted. Such is certainly the case of the 1980-81 school year at Utah State University. The news events that affected students on the hill were many and varied, ranging from the arrest of five former USU security guards charged with theft of university property, to the temporary absence of Coca Cola products from campus. Certainly the single news event having the greatest impact on students was the fmonciol woe reflected in a senes of university budget cuts ond a subsequent increase in the cost of education at Utah State. The fiscal problems of the institution began in 1979 when Utah Governor Scott Matheson ordered a four percent budget cut at all Utah colleges and universities. R committee was formed at USU to evaluate all university programs and determine where cuts could be made most judiciously. No sooner had this cut been met than additional cutbacks were ordered. The university took steps to acquire additional funds to maintain the quality of education. The most immediate measure took the form of a tuition surcharge that become effective spring quorter. 1981. The surcharge equaled $2 per credit hour, with a maximum charge of $20. R few weeks following the surcharge decision, the Board of Regents announced a tuition increase of 12.5 percent, effective fall quorter. 1981. 8ut all campus news is not as foreboding as financial problems. R letter to The Utah Statesman, condemning the blatant immodesty of USU coeds, sparked a flurry of responding epistles. Those reactionary letters disagreed with the condemnation of the coeds who shed many of their clothes in response to the premature spring weather. The letters to the editor'' section was filled with messages from irote students who made a number of suggestions obout the opinionated writer ranging from the suspicion that his modesty might be a cloak for perversion to a thinly veiled hint that he couldn't cope with reality and that he was in the dark about modern society. Rnd if he was in the dark, at leost on January 8. 1981. he wasn't alone. Some 1.5 million compomons were without light when a power failure struck Utah and parts of Idaho and UJyoming. Power failed on campus at 11:38 a.m., ond was not restored until 4:10 p.m. Most dosses were able to continue, but many USU offices and departments dependent on electricity closed down for the day. USU President Stanford Cozier said his prime concern during the outage was the safety of people and the security of buildings. Rlthough he did not issue on official statement closing the campus for the duration of the power failure, the library, offices ond rooms without windows were closed for the day. The cause of the failure was finally traced to a dump fire at the Utah State prison. The fire caused a 1.500 megawatt transmission line to break, which tripped a series of six safety systems throughout Utah. The security department at USU was under tremendous pressure during the blackout, charged with patrolling a darkened campus and maintaining order. But that challenge was fairly insignificant compared to the internal pressures caused by the arrest of five former members of thot force. They were charged with multiple counts of burglary ond theft of university property. The arrests were the culmination of a lengthy investigation that was initiated when an unidentified source informed the