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

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EE sh Dormitory parking lots are congested on Friday afternoons when students wait for rides home. Most Owensboro fresh- men had already been home several times when Sherry Musgrave made her first 62-mile trip home Sept. 17. When Sherry moved to McCormack Hall she brought most of her clothes, her bicycle and several sacks of groceries, but not her poodle. Corky was the first Musgrave to greet Sherry Friday after- noon at he r home. First Weekend Home Back home again Sherry Musgrave hadn’t seen her family since moving to Western to begin her freshman year. Four weeks from that last goodbye and hug it was time to say hello again to Mom, Dad and Corky. Photos By Debbie Gibson

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The screams of joy and relief could be heard to the outermost perimeters of Ivan Wilson Center for Fine Arts as the white cards were distributed. It was the middle of August and the classrooms of Ivan Wilson were filled with excitement as the formal rush end- ed with the awarding of bids. Owe. — T. Dekle with The four-day series of parties and rush activities was serious business for most of the girls involved as the rushees got to know the sororities, and the sororities chose their new sisters. But the weeks before were also filled with “rush” as sorority members pre- pared costumes, skits and readied them- oe — D. Gibson With kangaroo badges pinned to their outfits, AOPi sisters entertain rushees their version of Hawn, Rita Young and Charlotte Gilliam use gestures to explain that “rush gave them blues until they saw AOPi.” “Mame.” Pam Escorted by active Kathy Maddox, Debra Grimwoo ADPis’ pathway of costumed sisters. Re- cords such as “The Last Kiss” and “Teen Angel” hung from the ceiling and each sorority member pulled her white bobby socks and saddle oxfords out of the closet for the party. The ticket office stood out- side and railroad tracks made from masking tape led into the Phi Mu room, a train station with waiting passengers. Nancy Quarcelino is the engineer in a song, “Just Called to Tell You,” Phi Mu and the 17 fraternities. At the end of the song, Karen York, disguised as a lion reading a newspaper, called Phi Mus to get abroad. makes her way through the about — D. Gibson selves for the rushees. Most of the sorority members moved into the dorm, Central this yeah between one and two weeks early to ee and decorating. ith a predetermined schedule, Gwynne Runner, an AOPi, said they practiced about eight hours a day, or un- til every detail was perfect.” Each sorority presented a different skit each as the girls and the sororities nar- rowed their choices down. The rushees were ushered into each room to the tune of hand clapping, cheers and songs depicting each sorority. The first day each girl visited each of the five sororities for a 10 or 15-minute party. During this time sorority mem- bers put on a skit and showed the rushees scrapbooks of the past year’s activities. The rooms were filled with owls, kan- garoos or whatever happened to be the sorority’s mascot and Leer differ- ently each day. Skits got more elaborate as the days progressed. Some of the sororities had flashing lights, top hats and formal costumes during 'the preference parties, the final parties before the selection was made. “The typical AOPi, (according to the AOPis) has — the skin of a Johnson’s baby, the smile from Dentyne gum, the pep from a box of Wheaties and a sunny disposition from a Tum.” Then there were the KDs who told the girls about sororities and how their so- rority didn’t fit the stereotype. It began with Raggedy Ann and Andy sitting down talking about sororities. “When I was little my mother told me sororities were bad, but now that I’m all grown up I know she wasn’t right ...” Around 150 signed up for the formal rush, 123 participated in the events and UP. B(eieale sorority, according to Lynn Morgan, administrative advisor for the rush activities. Besides an air of excitement and ap- prehension there is also some confusion to the exact procedures and the prop- er rules, according to Kathy Lewis, a rush counselor. “Most of them didn’t know what to expect at first,” she said. “They would want to know what to say and how to act. My advice was always be yourself,” she said. “It was always hard when a girl didn’t get a card back from a sorority she toe wanted in,’ Miss Lewis said. “I wis it could be arranged differently, where no one would be hurt, but that just isn’t possible.” After all the screaming and shoutin were over, pledges and members move into their dorms and joined the new rush about to begin — class registration. — DEBBIE GIBSON egin practic- : | 23 | Rush

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Oherry Musgrave locked the door to room 500 in McCormack Hall, and car- ried her suitcase, calculus book and laun- dry bag to the elevator. Outside, she joined dozens of suitcasers loading car trunks and backseats as they scurried to clear the driveway and hit the Interstate. For some it was the third weekend home since school had started. For the Owensboro freshman, Sept. 17 was the first trek home since the move to West- ern and the goodbyes to her parents. At 1:23 p.m., Sherry, her brother Mar- cus and two hometown buddies left cam- us, and 81 minutes later the brunette ugged her poodle, Corky, and began a non-stop conversation with her mother about the 18th birthday and Labor Day weekends she spent away from home. “I was supposed to come home Labor Day but Marcus had to work,” Sherry explained. Her brother, a junior comput- er science major, is a resident assistant at Hugh Poland Hall. “I couldn't sleep Thursday night. I re- alized I was going home and I couldn't wait to get there.” First of all, Sherry toured her home again. “The house didn’t look the same at all. It‘’d been so long since I'd seen it,” Sherry said. “My clothes weren’t in the closet and it was neat.” The fresh- man said she has become accustomed to her dorm room where things sometimes get messy. Sherry’s father is an electrician who works in Petersburg, Ind., so the family ate a late dinner together. Meanwhile, Sherry described her first weeks at col- lege to her mother. “You can’t always write what you want to say,” the fresh- man said. She told her attentive mother about classes and dorm life. “I have to spend at least two hours on calculus each day, and I got a 45 out of 50 on an English test,” she chattered. As for campus life, Sherry said she and’ her friends ate most of their meals in the dormitory. “But one night we went to Ireland’s. You bought one meal and got one free. Boy, they gave us a lot of cou- pons that first week,” she explained. According to Sherry, her mother paid special attention to her and her brother since they had not been home in a lon time. “She cooked my favorite eae roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. “My dad was glad to see us and he asked me about my classes, but he doesn’t talk a lot,” she explained. Friday night, Sherry and Marcus met some friends from Daviess County High School at a home football game against Butler Co. “I got so excited seeing them all at once. Some of my friends who are at UK were home and we began com- paring schools. They said a lot of people there aren’t friendly and some were having trouble meeting people and making friends.” Sherry also talked to her preacher and his wife and her high school teachers, including a government instructor who calls her ‘Muskrat.’ “I saw him coming. He’s a big tease and asked me if I was making all A’s.” Saturday, Sherry visited her dentist, bought some groceries and washed and ironed her clothes. Before long it was 4 p.m. and the Mus- graves had to return to Western so Mar- cus could work during open house. “It went by so fast. I wanted to stay until Sunday,” she said. “Our parents asked when we were coming back. They told us not to study too hard and to be sure and write. They said they’d be com- ing down in a couple of weeks.” Two hours later, Sherry was in room 500 again, but her roommate was not back yet. “Here I had all this stuff to bring up and she wasn’t back yet. At first it was kinda lonely, but after I’d been here awhile it was just like it was before.” Sherry said she likes college but en- joyed that first weekend home. “You re- alize how much you miss something when you don’t have it. You appreciate something like your Mom cooking the meals when it hasn’t been there.” As for Mr. and Mrs. Musgrave’s reac- tion to their children’s homecoming, Mrs. Musgrave said she prepared very little. “I had gone to Illinois for five days to take care of my mother who had gotten home from the hospital after hav- ing surgery.” Mrs. Musgrave said Sherry had changed some since starting college. “We believe she realizes more what we are trying to do for her by being able to let her go to college. We believe being around students and the many different ways each one has, has a lot to do with the change. I was glad to hear she was attending Bible study in the dorm as she went to Wednesday night prayer meet- ing when home. She said it was ‘a good group to be with.’ ” Sherry’s mother said the parent-child relationship changes when the child goes away to mal “You don’t realize ho much they do and really appreciate it, like you should, until they leave,” she explained. Mrs. Musgrave said she has no special plans for fine weekends with her daughter at home. “We just want to make it an enjoyable one for her and just be ourselves as we tried to do over the past weekend.” — CONNIE HOLMAN (1) Textbook prices and textbook content were some of the first subjects Sherry and her dad Ansel dis- cussed Friday night. Sherry told her dad about the expensive textbooks and her calculus homework which takes about two hours each day. An hour after retouring her home in Daviess County home, Sherry, her mother and Corky moved outdoors to inspect the mums Mrs. Mus- grave had grown for the first time while her daugh- ter was away at school in Bowling Green. First Weekend Home