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

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1G Long lines, filled classes and scorching temperatures combined to make August registration... A Not-So-Shert Steer R egistration resembled a literature anthology: a collection of varied stories in- volving numerous characters, roles and situa- tions. Like literary pieces, the registration tales range from adventurous to melodrama- tic, and from routine to ridiculous. But the stories all had a common setting—95 degree Diddle Arena. Two factors influenced the role played by each character: last name and classification. Seniors, graduate students and transfers in a-to-z fashion got to sweat first. “| was so hot that | would bend over a table and the sweat would roll off,” said Dan Meadows, a graduate assistant from Lebanon Junction. Besides the heat, Meadows complained about confusing signs at the car registration tables but admitted that as a graduate student, “it was the easiest of all registrations.” After this opening scene, the unprepared, unsuspecting, un-preregistered freshman was introduced into the plot. ‘| didn't pre- register because of my summer job,” said Terri Pesoat of Paducah. ‘There were two Registration classes | wanted real bad but were closed. | thought | was going to suffocate or faint in the English department line.” To appreciate this drama, some back- ground material is needed. For the first time, Western offered freshmen a choice of a summer or fall OAR (orientation, advisement and registration). If the beginning student preferred a summer headstart, the Office of Admissions assigned him to either June 18 or June 25, the days on which the summer OAR program was offered. Beginning with a general orientation in Van Meter auditorium, students finished off summer OAR in one day. Parents were also invited and open house was in effect across campus. After an advisement session from the student's assigned adviser, easy registration took place in Garrett Conference Center. The only resemblance to the real thing in Diddle Arena was the packet and the alpha- betical scheduling. There were no class cards. The students merely completed the yellow-striped registrar's card, went to three stations to wait for the hours to be totaled, then ambled to the registrar's office where they were registered by computer. “It was a big load off my mind,” said Nancy Booker, a Bowling Green freshman who took advantage of summer OAR. “There were plenty of people there to help you. When you begin college, you've got enough hassles without registration. In the spring, I’m going to feel green,’’ she continued. “I’m going to be one big nerve when | register then.” With the A-Br’s in the lead, the under- graduate scramble came at 1 p.m., Tuesday, August 26 after the exit of the first-time freshmen. “| didn’t expect any trouble since | was at the beginning of the alphabet,’’ said Chuck Beckman, a sophomore from Evans- ville, Ind. “But two classes, English and Problems with arranging a schedule prompted Bill Kiessling to do some heavy t hinking at fall registra- tion. The junior accounting major from Edison, N.J., said he got stuck with too many early morning classes. He has an 8 a.m. class every day of the week. ie i Pa er i 0 ¢ 43 hi jana

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Long distance moving—a one shot deal = 5, A map and a peg board in Downing Center provide the op- portunity for students to ask for rides, but rides to Florida are few, especially for Mary McClean. Pe A blonde coed burst anxiously through the front doors of Rodes-Harlin Hall and went immediately to peer into her 5” by 5” mailbox. She retrieved a slip of paper marked “package” from inside and went to cash it in at the lobby desk. It was just as she had hoped — a CARE package packed with candy bars and cheese from her family back home in Miami, Fla. A person who lives close enough to campus to go home periodically to pick up needed odds and ends may find it difficult to put himself in the position of Mary McClean, the coed from Florida. She had to move everything to campus the first week of school and be relatively sure she had all necessary items. Juanita McClean, Miss McClean’s mother, com- mented about the planning it took to bring her daughter to school in Kentucky in a letter to the Talisman. (The student life editor wrote the mother early in the fall requesting the information). “With much pondering and planning we bought one medium- sized foot locker,”’ said Mrs. McClean. “After that was packed and we projected what would go in her lug- gage and our car, we bought a large trunk and shipped one trunk, one foot locker and two large suitcases on the Greyhound bus two days before we left by car for Bowling Green.” Miss McClean said the family — her mother, father, and 17-year-old sister Beth — were going on vacation after they dropped her off at Western, so planning the vacation luggage was an ad ded task. “We stopped in Atlanta to see friends so we had to take things out and rearrange at that stop,’ said the 18-year-old freshman. According to Miss McClean, one of her reasons for coming to Western was the dental hygiene department. The packing situation within the car was crowded. She said she brought two large suitcases, two small ones, a television, a radio, a typewriter and a three- cornered study pillow in the car. There were also two suitcases between the other three family mem- bers plus hang-up clothes. The only thing she forgot to bring was her electric curlers, and they were sent later. Mrs. McClean explained in her letter that their household now seems empty without their middle daughter, but she said, “We (she and her husband) both feel that just being away from home and familiar surroundings and people is in itself a major contribution to education.” Explaining some of the ways they are affected by Miss McClean’s absence, Mrs. McClean said her husband waits by the phone on Sunday afternoons to hear from Mary (successfully) and keeps on dropping by her bank regularly (necessarily). “She was a great gas guzzler and | am enjoying having my car to my- self again. She is a great talker but our phone is still busy with her sister — and still — we miss her,” she said. Ts) Moving In

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P.E., were already filled, and | ended up with an English class at 5:10 on Monday nights.” At the other extreme was sophomore Billy Thompson, a predentistry major from Nashville, who registered in the next-to-last group. “| was all ready to get bombed out, but | was quite shocked. No troubles and no hassles!” Thompson's roommate, A.T. Step hens, who registered only a half hour before, had the same story. “It wasn’t that hairy,” Stephens said. ‘The classes | wanted in English were closed, but | just went through ‘drop-add’ later.” A person's side of the story depended on his side of the table. Teachers, deans and department heads endured the heat, too, but they gave instead of took computer cards and heard instead of improvised sob stories. Dr. James Heldman, English department head, saw climactic events at the English tables. “Fall registration is always bad for us, but it was the most hectic registration I’ve been through,” Heldman said. “We were so swamped the students were backed up to the business administration tables and we had to get Dean Jenkins a theatre rope to keep the lines separated.” Heldman said the situation was caused by three factors: the pre-registration from fresh- men, the unavoidable schedule changes and the new English 055 requirement. A non-credit course entitled ‘Introduction to College English,” numbered English 055, was required of all freshmen who scored below 14 in the verbal section of the ACT test. Over 300 students enrolled in the 24 sections which were not listed in schedule bulletin. Heldman also explained his maneuvers and responsibilities as a department head at registration. “| keep an eye on the en- rollment in each section and try to keep it uniform,” he said. “| also try to anticipate about half-way through if we need more sections opened. If so, that means finding a room, teacher and cards for the new class. The whole time I’m just hoping | don't make any mistakes | can’t solve later.” Also on the other side of the table was Karen Durham, a senior from Harrodsburg. Miss Durham worked for the Office of the Registrar taking up packet envelopes and information sheets on the upper concourse. “This was my sixth consecutive semester so it was pretty routine,” she said. “| think it’s the best table because we're not so busy that we can’t stop and talk to people.” Like good literature, the memories of another registration live on. Although every person registering for classes is touched by different experiences, the stories that result from those hectic August days remain on the required reading list at Western year after year. @ Lines were backed up at the mass communications table as students tried to squeeze into classes already filled by preregistration. A total of 479 mass com- munications majors was enrolled in fall 1975 as com- pared to 444 in the 1974 school year. the | Registration in the fall had a different meaning for everybody. For nine-month-old Brandy Shelly, it meant boredom as her mother Barbara, who commutes every other day from Franklin, signed up for 12 hours of general classes. An article in the Aug. 25 issue of Time magazine about the low literacy level of incoming college students caught the attention of Catherine Ward, who teaches English O55 — a non-credit course for freshmen who score below 14 in the verbal section of the ACT test. Jill Chandler and Megan Bradford experienced frustration as Miss Chandler could not get a needed art course. Although Miss Brad- ford got all the classes she planned and completed registration quickly, she lent moral support to her friend. i Registration