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

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Miass exodus Photo illustration by Mark Lyons uitcases packed, laundry bags bulging, textbooks conveniently left behind, the weekly exodus beings. By midafternoon Friday the once-bustling campus seems almost lifeless. And Western’s self-made reputation as a “suitcase school” remains indisputable. On Sunday students flock back; some early, to search out those forgotten textbooks. Others postpone their return for as long as possible. Why do so many students travel home weekend after weekend? The most obvious answer lies in the location of the school. A large percentage of students live within a 100-mile radius of Bowling Green and think nothing of frequently making the trip home. To visit friends, to see family, to work and to escape from studies are other common reasons for suitcasing. Lynn Cowan, an Elizabethtown junior, said she goes home every weekend. “I work at a radio station, so I’ve never stayed here,”’ she said. Miss Cowan said the 70-mile drive to Elizabethtown ‘“‘doesn’t bother me.’’ She said she likes to visit with friends when she gets home. The rising cost of gasoline has not caused Miss Cowan to consider giving up her weekly trip. ‘I don’t know for sure, but I’ll probably still go home if I have to work,” she said. Another student who travels home every weekend to work is Billy Blincoe, an Owensboro freshman. Blincoe said he has worked at a furniture store in Owensboro “‘since I was a little kid.” ““Gas prices bother me,”’ he said. “But the money I make at work is more than it costs me to buy gas.” Blincoe said he also goes home to see his girlfriend. “I never stay here,” he said. ‘‘Even in bad weather I always seem to make it.” For some students, the money squeeze threatens their weekly suitcase-itis. “If gas prices continue to go up, I’ll have to stay here most weekends next semester,” Teresa Vincent said. Miss Vincent, a junior nursing major from

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granted exemptions and are living off campus. Students commuting or living with parents and relatives may be exempt but the only oth- er reasons for exemption are situations that are “‘out of the ordinary,”’ he said. Often students request exemptions because — Harold Sinclair of special medical reasons. ‘‘The reasons range from psychological problems to handicapped problems, where students believe they have better facilities off campus,” Osborne said. Students may also be exempt for financial reasons if they can show that living off campus with relatives would be more economical. George Bachert, a Fern Creek sophomore, lived in an apartment his freshman year after requesting to live off campus for financial rea- sons. “I thought it would be cheaper living in an apartment with my brother,” Bachert said. He moved back into Poland Hall this year because he found the dorm was less expensive. Osborne said some students have asked to be exempt because they “‘felt they couldn’t study in a residence hall.” “If you gave everyone an exemption for this, we would no longer have an on-campus policy,” he said. Osborne said they review each request on an individual basis and try to take everything into consideration. A sophomore, who asked not to be identi- fied, said she wrote a note saying she was going to be living at home, when she was actu- ally living in an off-campus apartment with two other sophomores. “My father signed the note because he thought I was mature enough to have my own apartment,” she said. For the remaining 4,344 students living in campus residence halls, the year was fairly typical with sharing one-room homes, commu- nity bathrooms and friendships with a variety of neighbors. But the new closed-door policy may have added some zest to open house visitation. However, Sharon Dyrsen, coordinator of hall programming, said participation decreased slightly, but she attributed this to th e fact that there are now more open houses allowed by the university, with the maximum being 24. In the fall, each dorm conducted a survey asking residents the number of open houses they wanted. The housing office took the total number voted on in each dorm and then divid- ed this by the number of residents in that dorm — which means that it would take a 100 per- cent vote to get the maximum 24 open houses approved. Ms. Dyrsen said that she believed the open houses were more relaxed now and “‘less of a hassle.”’ The doors can be locked with the new policy. The closed-door policy has made the job easier for resident assistants, too. ‘“‘All we do now is make sure the guests are checked in and A FLAG serves as a tablecloth for Phil Evans, Jenny Connerly and Roger Hinkle. Evans cooked steak, baked potatoes and corn for the dinner during an open house at Keen Hall. He and Hinkle were roommates. out,’ Randy Sallye, a Barnes-Campbell RA, said. Sallye said that more students used open houses during the fall, probably because of the football season. Stu Wilson, a Poland Hall resident assist, said he thought that participation had not changed that much with the new policy. He said that most of the men used the open houses to “‘cook meals, watch television and just spend some time with their girlfriends.” Sallye said that Barnes usually had an aver- age of 30 to 40 guests during open house. He said he thought open houses were good be- cause “sometimes you just don’t feel like going out and spending a lot of money.” — Laura Phillips — Harold Sinclair BOWLING GREEN apartment dwellings run the gamut from well-kept to obviously run-down. This Kentucky Street apartment is similar to several surrounding campus. — Harold Sinclair A SMALL DANCE FLOOR was created during a Keen Hall open house for Carl Brazley, a Louisville junior, Rhonda Taylor, a Columbia junior, and Sharyn Cole, a Nashville sophomore. They were in Brazley’s room. 21 Housing

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Louisville, said she drives home every other weekend. Some students have given up suitcasing to enjoy the “good life’? on campus. Linda Karnes, a Columbia freshman, is a former suitcaser. She said that every Friday, she would pack up and head down the Cumberland Parkway to Columbia. “I would go home to see my friends,” she said. “I would go to Lindsey (Lindsey Wilson College) ballgames and to the Jaycees’ disco dances. “‘But then I made more new friends down here and | only go home once every three or four weeks now,’ Miss Karnes said. “There are about six of us that get together at their apartments,’’ she said. “We have parties, cook supper, watch TV and play cards.” Jennifer Sanders is another former suitcaser. The Elizabethtown sophomore said she has been home “‘only three times this semester.” “T used to go home every weekend,” she said. ‘‘But I stopped because | became a little sister for Pi Kappa Alpha.” Miss Sanders said she suitcased ‘‘because I didn’t have anything to do here. There | could go out with friends.” There are also students who consider themselves permanent suitcasers. They call themselves commuters. Budgeting their time to include traveling is one problem experienced by commuters. Robert Carter, a Glasgow freshman, said he has to leave home before 8 a.m. although his first class is not until 9:10. He said he makes the trip ‘nine days every two weeks — I usually have every other Friday off.” Carter rides from Glasgow with two friends, Terry and Jerry Hatchett, who are also students. Carter said he helps pay for the gas “because I would feel guilty if | didn’t. They didn’t want me to at first.” Carter said he commutes because ‘“‘when | started school | had a job on a newspaper in Glasgow and | had to get back over there at night.” The biggest problem, he said, is having to stay late on campus for field trips and assignments for photography class. He said he usually gets home by 2 p.m. In his freshman year, Chuck Powell of Franklin has commuted, lived in an off- campus apartment and moved into a dorm. Powell said he used to commute every day, but then he decided to get an apartment so he would have more privacy and ‘‘to get out of Franklin.” Powell moved into Pearce-Ford Tower for the spring semester. “I could save money and | was tired of getting up early and driving. “Parking places were a very big reason for my decision. It was just a big hassle having to hunt for one every day.” Powell said he now feels “more like a part of the campus.” He said he has joined several clubs and ‘‘now I don’t have to keep going back and forth to meetings.” Powell said he goes home ‘“‘very sporadically. It might be three times a week or once a month.” He said Western is definitely a place for suitcasers. — Margaret Shirley [|