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

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Kid EXDOSGCI PFHV DI' DFEV 20 Kid Exposed Like the missionaries who entered the jungles of Africa, campus religious groups see Western as fertile ground for reaching students with the word about Christianity. To Melvin Poe, administrative assistant of the Glendale Baptist Church, Western Kentucky University is a mission field all on its own. Poe said members of Glendale, located at 1000 Roselawn Way, have reached many stu- dents at Western since the late 19605, and a lot of missionaries come out of Western. Churches and other religious groups have a number of strategies to reach the new students at Western who are looking to fill a spiritual void in their lives. Glendale has an especially aggressive program for contacting students about the religious activities it offers. i'We get the names of new students on a computer print-out and send them information in the mail, Poe said. lf a student decides to attend Glendale and become involved in some of the programs, he might find himself quite busy. Poe said Glen- dale has a regular visitation program for stu- dents on campus every Thursday, as well as suppers, retreats or 'iadvancesf' and Inter- national Day for foreign students and regular Saturday meetings - all in addition to the church's traditional Sunday and Wednesday worships We try to reach those students who live away from home for the first time, Poe said. They're trying to find friends. Poe said that sometimes students can get into the wrong crowd when they go away from home to attend college. lf they can get in- volved in church we can stop them from becoming involved in the sex movement, the dope movement or the alcohol movement. He said those things provide only temporary satisfaction. Poe said about 55 Western students regularly attend services at Glendale. A campus religious group that also has an aggressive approach to filling the spiritual needs of students is Campus Crusade for Christ, which has about 200 participants in its Bible study groups. Campus Crusade has Bible studies in dorm rooms and at different fratemities and sororities on an irregular basis, according to Maureen Burns, a senior secretarial science major from Louisville, who is a member of the group. On Tuesdays there is His Time, a group meeting with an emcee, singing and a speaker who lectures on things a Christian can apply to daily living, Burns said. Also at that meeting is Sharing Time. We leave the floor open for people to tell what the Lord has done for them, she said. Then there are prayer meetings three times a week, a training course for people who want to teach Bible studies and a leadership-training class every Thursday. That course teaches basics of Christian life and the basic principles of application, Burns said. As for the aim of Campus Crusade, Burns said, The basic premise is just to get to know God better. The second is to get God better known to people. We share our faith with peo- ple through evangelism. This evangelism is also known as witnessing - the act of telling about one's Christian faith to someone who has not been born again or saved. Burns said the leadership training course teaches the proper way to witness. We stress being sensitive with people, not being pushy. Many of Glendale's student members are also involved in evangelism. We believe that was the main mission of Jesus, Poe said. The main purpose is to go out and win others. We encourage students on campus to go and witness, to be a soul winner. Not all campus religious groups and area churches are as aggressive in witnessing. Julie Laffoon, an English graduate student from Madisonville, said her group, Western Christian Student Fellowship, doesn't do mass witness- Ing!! Instead, we believe you first have to have love for a person before you can talk with a per- son and win that person for Christ, Laffoon said. The kind of witnessing we do is on a per' sonal basis with friends, she said. Just by the things we do and the things that we say, people know we are Christians. The fellowship, which operates His House on 14th Street, is smaller than many of the other groups that work on campus, having about 14 members, Laffoon said. She said the advantage of a group like the fellowship is that it teaches people to apply Bi- ble knowledge. She said that her Sunday school classes taught only the basics when she was a child. lt was a good thing l got those basics when I was at home, but we never got away from it. One of the practical subjects her group has studied is Christian apologetics, or defenses of Christian dogma. The students learned how to defend their beliefs in such areas as, 'iHow do you know Jesus exists? and so on. Besides His House, there are several other Christian centers in town where students can go to have fellowship, pray, or just play ping-pong or chess or even watch television. Walter McGee, director of the Wesley Foundation, 1355 College St., said between 250 and 350 students use the center during a semester. The Newman Center for Catholics and the Baptist Student Center are also open to all stu- dents. Most services of these places are free but some provide lunch, also, for a nominal S31 fee to help cover expenses. The Rev. Clay Mulford of the 50-member Baptist Student Union said his group gives stu- dents i'an opportunity to work together and to grow spiritually together and to use one's gifts and talents in service to fellow students and to the community at large. Mulford began laughing. Boy, does that sound philosophical, he said. Another active religious organization is Maranatha Christian Center on Chestnut Street, which has about 55 members. Co- director Mark Massa said he believes people are more concerned now about religion. They are talking God and religion more in general. He added, But a lot of students have tumed away from regular religions. They're looking for something. Massa said his group doesn't have anything against traditional churches and denominations like Baptists or Methodists. Massa said all the religious groups on campus attempt to do the same thing. We want people to know the Lord better. Like the Baptist Student Union or the Church of Christ, I think we all do the same thing .... There's enough to go around. Tom Beshear El Illustration by Roger Sommer

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Kid EXDOSGCI l'CS not CDUl'1Zit1g Boy comes to college, girl comes to college. Boy meets girl, they start dating and live happily ever after. Right? Not necessarily. Dating usually isn't that simple - it's not like the movie musicals of the '5Os, when stacked coeds always dated handsome football players. Instead, students have diverse attitudes on dating. Some of the more than 30 students interviewed dated as often as five times a week, and others dated maybe twice a month. And many made it clear they don't usually date for keeps. The students talked about topics from open houses in dorms to premarital sex and birth control, Many said college changed their dating habits. They also discussed how they meet people of the op- posite sex, and what they do when they go out. And they talked about the reversal of roles. Open houses were expanded in the spring and most stu- dents said they take advantage of them, at least occasionally. Melissa Ann Hagans, a Lexington junior, said she has open house about six times a semester, usually in her room. I don't like the guys' dorms too much, she said. I don't like the smallnessf' She said her South Hall room seems larger than the men's rooms. During open house, students like to make dinner, listen to music and watch television. But open house comes only four nights a week. There are other times that people like to be alone. Cheryl Banks, a Western Springs, Ill., junior, said that before her boyfriend got an apartment, they seldom had privacy. It was a pain, she said. They sometimes took walks, she said, or went to a friend's house or sat in the dorm lobby to talk. 1In:k:k Almost all students thought that premarital sex is OK - with some reservations. Jack Augusty, a sophomore from Downers Grove, Ill., said sex before marriage can sometimes serve a purpose: lt's OK, if you're selective in choosing partners and in fthe amount ofl activity. Doug Cherry, a Lexington sophomore, said he thinks most young people approve of premarital sex I think we're gradually getting more open about all sexual things. A female student, who asked not to be named, said, It's OK, as long as the guy just isn't out for casual sexf' Some students, however, disapprove. Robin Toll, a Central City junior, said, I'd prefer a relationship not be based on sex Banks said she is tolerant of couples living together before maniage, if matrimony is in sight. Society is changing so much, she said. Living together is not as big a horror as it used to be. Something that often goes along with premarital sex is birth control. 'I think it lbirth controll is better than abortions, Banks said. Several students said the university health clinic should offer contraceptive aid. They fthe clinicl are supposed to cater to medical needs, Gary Mosley, a Louisville junior, said. Others, however - such as Karen Nettles, a Louisville sophomore - think the clinic should stay out of the con- traceptive business. There are already enough places one can get birth control. A spokesman said in the spring that the clinic had no plans to begin distributing birth control devices, because it already had all the patients it could handle. Students are referred to a Bowling Green family planning organization. Dee Matthews, family planning's services coor- dinator, said more students are using the service. During 1979, she said, 1,298 people between 15 and 19 come to family planning for birth control aid. She said she has found that students are generally more knowledgeable about birth control, although ignorance remains. zlsllfik Moving from home, growing up and having less parental supervision has changed dating habits for many students. One student, who asked not to be identified, said, Being away from home lets me stay out later or spend all night with him lher boyfriendlf' This isn't always good. she said. Sometimes I wish I could use mom as an excuse to come home. Another student, Cathy Bailey, a Wickliffe freshman, said living away from home cut down on her dating. She said she comes home earlier to study. Pam Jureka, a Russellville senior, said being away from home allows her to be less inhibited at parties. I don't worry about my condition when I come in, she said. fltiivls Meeting someone of the opposite sex is not that difficult, most said. I meet a number of women I date in classes or at bars or parties, Paul Neff, a Hardinsburg senior, said. Once the date is made. it's time to find some place to go. I usually take my date to a movie, to the student center, to dinner or to parties, Augusty said. Besides movies, which seem to be the most popular place for dates, students also mentioned parties, restaurants, bars and discos as frequent dating places. Pifllvk Liberal attitudes, in general, carried over to the subject of women asking men for dates. Matt Milbum, a Louisville junior, said he wouldn't mind if a woman asked him out. Girls should have the initiative. It makes it easier on some guys. I don't have the nerve, Hagans said. l'm not against it, but I'm as afraid of the rejection as guys. She added that it is good for a woman to help pay for a date - especially if it is expensive. Although often closer to soap opera plots than movie musicals, dating at Western is alive and well and thriving. EI KidBcp d

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