Western Kentucky University - Talisman Yearbook (Bowling Green, KY)

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ROLOGNA A LA KING “ Checkpoint Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week, water and crackers for the Saturday evening meal and bologna a la king for Sunday dinner were impacts of the all- mighty power which seeks to destroy a stu- dent’s income — inflation. For most of this year, cash registers in the supermarkets jingled and jangled, herald- ing the arrival of a few cents raise on items too numerous to mention. The almost insurmountable increases in sugar led to shying away from packages marked “pre-sweetened” in grocery stores. Countless arguments occurred in restaurants between waitresses and customers over how many sugar packets it takes to sweeten a glass of iced tea. And, when possible, stu- dents “claimed” the extra sugar lying on the table because they felt they had paid for it. A slight boycott of sugar products made Christmas parties heavier on the expense side and lighter on the goodie side. Boycot- ting sweets also shot an arrow. of disap- pointment into the hearts of ever so many valentines later on in the year. All this time, while the student was re- laxing in the warmth of his room contem- plating and figuring on how to cope with a tighter food budget, the coziness he was experiencing and the power running his electric calculator were becoming costlier by the minute. The contempt for increases orig- inated at home, but the buck literally passed through the ranks and stopped at the wealthy Arab oil tycoons. Meanwhile, the cost of fuel and related products soared and that piece of green paper with George Washington on the front became worth less and less. Caught between a dilemma of going home more often on weekends to save money on food, and staying near campus to save fuel, most students chose to hit the road. The reasoning behind th is could have been that by creating delicious concoctions in the dormitories throughout the week and not eating out, the money saved could be poured into the gas tank come Friday. Whatever the reasoning, food was almost too expensive to merely eat; gas was costly, too, and nowhere was there a happy medium. This dilemma was not just something dreamed up by someone who wanted an excuse to get home. The November 1974 Consumer Price Index showed that students last fall paid 42 percent more for food than students did three years ago. In other words, what a student could buy in a grocery store for $10 in 1971, this year cost him $14.20. Gasoline prices went up 35 percent. Partly because of the increased fuel costs, an announcement was made by the Hous- ing Office that the cost of renting four walls, two beds, two desks and a telephone (more commonly known as a room in a dormitory) would be increased 15 more dollars by the fall of 1975. Hence, another big squeeze on the student's pocketbook made him wonder if it would really do any good to figure out a budget. By all indications prices would continue to climb. Private housing did not offer any relief most of the time, unless drippy faucets, drafty old rooms and increasing utilities bills could be considered worth the price. Gen- erally, hassles with landlords who were also pressured by expenses were avoided, but every dissatisfied student made arrange- ments in the back of his mind for improve- ments. That was providing, of course, there was any hope for improvement. The Con- sumer Price Index indicated a 15.5 percent increase in rent since 1971. Although a dollar was becoming more worthless in a monetary sense, as a piece of paper it was pretty valuable. The student soon found out the worth of paper when he went to buy textbooks for classes. A few people short on cash may have decided to skip the book buying session and tough out a course with only a set of class notes. Others fought the lines, bought the books and found out later that they would only gather dust. Increasing paper costs also affected the College Heights Herald because newsprint was not exempt from the rise. Starting with the October 22 issue, the Herald came back from the printers one full inch shorter than usual, much to the surprise of the staff. It cut back the regular 15-inch page to a point which allowed less room for stories and ads. David B. Whitaker, director of university publications, said, “Newsprint now costs $285 a ton, compared to $55 a ton in 1948.” Whitaker predicted it would rise to over $300 a ton by January, 1976. Monstrous inflation left almost no aspect of campus expenditures untouched. Burch Oglesby, head of the physical education and recreation department, feared that the traditional WKU red towel would soon be just a memory because the price of red towels almost doubled since last year. Oglesby said, “The University might be forced to change to white ones.” A student who wanted to stay on top of the changing styles in clothes was also a victim of inflation. A crisis came when fashion designers decided that the worn blue jean look of last year was going to be re- placed by neater styles. Naturally, it was pretty difficult to make a pair of mutilated jeans look crisp after they were coaxed to the precise shade of fade, so students be- gan experiencing new clothes and the worn- wallet look. On the average, clothing increased 19 percent since the fall of 1971, and this sent many students scramb- ling to the sale tables. The story of money spent on recreation had a happier ending than most aspects of spending. According to the Consumer Price Index, recreation prices went up very little. Increased costs in other areas, however, de- manded that funds designated for enter- tainment be re-applied to more necessary things. It was hard, however, for a student to adjust to using his movie money to buy a loaf of bread or a tube of toothpaste, or give up concerts to make the budget stretch a little. Many students found themselves taking advantage of free or virtually inexpensive activities offered on campus. For instance, in suitable weather, it was almost impossible to capture a vacant tennis court without stooping to harassing people to make them leave. Even some people who could barely tip one of those over-sized ping pong balls back over the net came out and faced the ridicule of slightly better players. People who could not keep up with the outdoor freaks turned to an indoor alterna- tive such as bowling. League activity offered a little more old-fashioned competition at a cheaper rate. Actually, it was very possible to have a good time inexpensively. Several students tended to limit their dat- ing activities to study sessions or walks around the campus. As the weather turned colder, and people remained indoors more, some of the dormitories had new coed lounges complete with televisions and ping pong tables designed to meet the problem of an expensive date. Dr. Charles Van Eaton of the economics department said, “‘Inflation hits hardest on fixed income recipients.” Van Eaton pointed out that unless the student income went up more than the 28.6 percent increase of the entire ‘purchase basket,’ (which includes cost of food, rent, clothing, transportation and recreation) the student is much worse off than three years ago. Van Eaton also said inflation strikes hard at the student in the declining job market. “It's better to have a decline in the purchasing power of your money than to have no money at all,” he said. At any rate, it is apparent that inflation this year made a deeper dent in students’ buying power than in any other year in recent history. Whether or not it gets to the point where a student will consider crackers. and water a luxury, or a trip home on a skate- board commonplace, it’s certain that the Western student will hope and pray that prices cease their upward flight. “A Dh, Inflation

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Ab Foreign Students Understanding is often a rare commodity these days, especially between nations. With wars, rebellions and disagreements characterizing much of international rela- tions, it sometimes seems that a little more understanding might be a good idea. Perhaps the key to understanding among nations with differing customs, views and life styles is that the attempt first be made on a smaller scale. If understanding can be ac- complished on a person-to-person basis, then maybe it can progress to higher levels, such as government. Western is itself a kind of international community, on a small scale. The number of foreign students on campus has increased steadily over the past few years. These stu- dents, representing a variety of countries and nationalities, have had to make adjustments to life in the United States. They are not the only ones on campus who have had to adjust to different life styles. There are several American students at Western who have lived for various peri- ods in other countries. They also had to get accustomed to different customs and ways of life. Some of these foreign and American stu- dents were interviewed in an attempt to show the problems they encountered and the adjustments they had to make to life in an “adopted” country. To go alone to a foreign country for schooling without being able to speak a word of the native language is unthinkable for most people, but Toi Chadtarasupt of Bang-. kok, Thailand took that challenge and came to the United States to study. “| knew A, B, C, through Z,” said Toi. “And | knew a few basic words like plate and desk, but other than than | was — you know — lost.” Toi came to live with American friends in Louisville, Ky. before her junior year in high school. Four years later as a junior at WKU, she has no problems with English. Toi said her parents encouraged her to come to America mainly to learn English. As an office administration major, she said she would like to get a job after graduation in her own country where she could use her bilingual talents. Toi’s philosophy of life is to “live day by day.’’ She said she feels a warmness for the people she meets because most of them are friendly. Toi said she has learned much about religion and customs in the United States, but finds it strange that “girls go out on dates so young.” In Thailand they date at age 17 or 18. As a Buddhist, Toi said she always thought of Baptists, Methodists and the other protestant faiths as being one big religion. Now she has learned the differ- ences and finds them “‘interesting. ”’ Toi has traveled to a lot of different areas of the United States, and she said she likes Florida the best. “| hate wintertime because it is so cold that my body can’t stand it. | love Florida — the seafood and the coco- nuts — it is like my country,” said Toi. Bernd Herrmann came from Ger many to the United States with visions of Americans being very relaxed and eating a lot of ket- chup. According to him Americans are in- deed very relaxed although they may not be addicted to ketchup. “Americans just don't take life as seriously as people do in Ger- many, Bernd said. The economics major said in his country everyone wants to study at certain univer- sities, and to do this a student must have high grade point average. “Students are under a lot of stress in Germany,’ Bernd said. “| was pale-faced (meaning he was tired) many days at home, but here I've only been pale-faced once.” He said at home he would stay home and study all day while in the United States he only studies about one half hour per day. “In Germany you can't repeat a class either,’ Bernd added, “but students don't flunk classes there.” Bernd said one of the things which im- pressed him most about the United States was the fact that law and order is such a big thing. “In Germany the police can stop you anywhere you are going, but they are looking at the safety of the car,” he said. ‘They check to see that your tires are in good condition, and that you have enough gas. Here the only thing they ask is if you have marijuana. Toi Chadtarasupt Bernd Herrmann They're always looking for marijuana.” Bernd said he isn't impressed with dorm life. “In my country the girls can live to- gether with the guys,” he said, ‘and you can also drink beer. Here everyone is always talking in the lobby so you can’t even watch television; they have a separate tv room in Germany.” “The biggest surprise | had was seeing how dependent all the students are on their parents,” said Bernd. ‘In Germany the col- lege youth is more independent. Everyone here wants to go home. In Germany, every- One tries to get away from home.” Bernd came to Western mainly to run track, but said he was disappointed with the condition of the track. ‘‘] was used to high standards,” he said, “and they are not nearly as good here.” Of his experiences at Western, Bernd said he enjoyed meeting the people the most. “| would like to run for Adidas as a career,” he said, ‘and if | get to, all the people I've met in America will really help me.” But he added, “| won't live in America all my life, no matter what | do.” Becky Killebrew was a college sopho- more in Washington state when her father was transferred. But it wasn't a routine transfer to lowa or Indiana or Maine, but in- stead to Bangkok, Thailand. Becky had no idea of what she wanted to major in, and she thought this might be her only opportunity to visit Southeast Asia. As a result, she packed up and headed to the Orient with her family. “When | first saw it, Thailand was pretty much like | thought it would be,’ she commented. “At least on the surface.”