| From
the December 1, 2005, edition of 'Northwest News' Newsletter.
by Dana Ternus
College life for students at Northwest Missouri
State University has changed dramatically since the school was
founded 100 years ago.
University residence halls, for example,
were once closely supervised and regulated but now provide occupants
with a large measure of independence – not to mention housing
options for upper-level students that include well-equipped apartments
and suites.
Today’s students enjoy a measure of
freedom and autonomy that their predecessors of earlier decades
could hardly imagine. They also get to take advantage of a far
wider variety of activities designed to promote professional and
academic development in addition to creating opportunities for
entertainment and relaxation.
During Northwest’s earliest years
there were no on-campus residence facilities, and students lived
in boarding houses or stayed in the homes of townspeople, who
charged a few dollars a week in exchange for providing a room
and meals.
Then, as the first residence halls were built,
many students made the move to campus where they were subject
to strict codes governing dress and behavior.
Female students living in what is now Roberta
Hall were supervised by no-nonsense housemothers who firmly enforced
curfews and other restrictions. Decorum in clothing – meaning
dresses and skirts – was the rule, and young women were
forbidden to wear slacks to classes or school-sponsored events.
Despite these strictures, many students relished
life at Northwest. Two of the more popular social outlets were
occasional assemblies held at the Methodist church and debates
and other contests staged by the school’s literary societies
– the Philomatheans and the Eurekans.
Then as now, Northwest students were also
adept at entertaining themselves. Taffy pulls and popcorn parties
were popular diversions, as were card games like matador and bridge.
Groups of students organized sleigh rides in the winter and hay-rack
rides in the fall. Picnics abounded whenever the weather turned
mild.
Dancing was against the rules at first, but
the ban didn’t last long; and when not waltzing, fox trotting,
lindy hopping or jitterbugging, many students enjoyed hiking out
to Lee’s Hill and cooking meals over a campfire.
As the years passed, spring and winter formals
were added to the list of student activities along with ornately
produced May Fetes.
Of course, times and tastes have changed
a great deal since 1905, and campus life is infinitely less restrictive
and more varied that it was 100 years ago. Today’s students
are largely free to come and go as they please and dress as they
wish. They also have the option of belonging to any of dozens
of campus organizations and attending sporting events, movies,
concerts, comedy shows, plays, banquets, dances and outings of
all sorts.
But all of these activities have the
same purpose as the taffy pulls of old – the building of
Northwest pride and the development of friendships that will last
a lifetime.
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