However, spring fever wasn't the only epidemic that struck; influenza spread like wildfire. Students and faculty alike suffered from the achey "flu-bug." Getting sick while being away from home caused homesickness for many students. Roommates and friends accepted the maternal responsibilities of spoon feeding, administering medicine to, taking the temperature of, and tucking the "patient" in bed. Still, even all that tender loving care couldn't equal Mom's touch, and some teary-eyed students reverted back to sleeping with a teddy bear during times of sickness. From the very first day students confronted an awesome decision — to study or not to study. More often than not they decided, obviously, not to study. Occasionally, however, groupssnacked on pizza in the dorm over a semi-intellectual discussion on an upcoming test. Then, after a half hour of listening to the stereo, laughing, and very strenuous studying, the exhausted group jumped into a car and headed to Young's Dairy Farm in Springfield for donuts to help them relax. Sometimes the more studious collegians stayed up the whole night studying, or writing and typing a term paper due the next day. Then they either fell asleep during all their classes the next day or simply stayed in bed because they could get the notes from their friends. One o'clock Saturday morning. A studently slowly moved down the noise-filled hall (noise always filled the halls late into the night on weekends)dragging a heavy basket behind him. At the end of the hall he placed the basket behind five other baskets or bags in a line and returned to his room. Two hours later the same student appeared and, taking his basket inside a room marked "Laundry Room," quickly stuffed clothes into a finally-empty washing machine. This began the most critical part of doing laundry at college. Students perched atop washers and dryers, studying or sleeping on clothes in the corner, occasionally glaring at each other in a threatening fashion. As soon as a washer or dryer became empty, students jumped from their perches to be the first one to get a machine. Inside the laundry room students cared for themselves; no one became friends until they walked back out into the hall.
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