Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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1 . The Stephen F. Austin Birthday celebration In Austin ' Straight Jackets, Scott Montgomery, Brent Covert, Eric Meisser, Loius Black and November Robert Johanson. Senior IMIke Gaudion is awarded his varsity football at the last pep rally. body began to realize the gravity of passing class es within a year of drastic academic change. Foreign policy debated On Oct. 21 the two presi- dential candidates tried to prove his rival incapable of handling the occupation as leader of the free world in the second debate, this one on foreign policy. President Reagan and in- cumbent Mondale clashed over the responsibility for the terrorist bombings in Beirut and American policy in Cen- tral America. However, the most major issue of the debate was arms control. The president made a bold suggestion about the Star Wars missile-defense technology plans. He said the U.S. would share the technol- ogy with the Soviet Union. Mondale strongly disareed. He said he would not share any nuclear technology. After the debate was over, critics agreed that Mondale had failed to achieve any gain in popularity in which he de- sperately needed from his performance in this debate. Contrary to his appearance in the first debate, Reagan dis- played a polished and confi- dent image, thus excusing the age factor in the campaign. Squirrel darkens building A squirrel climbed into Austin High ' s electrical sys- tem Oct. 1 and triggered a power outage throughout the building for approximately five minutes. The lights and the cooling system instantly quit operat- ing when the squirrel crawled into a transformer fuse and consequently was shocked to Mock Election demonstrates Democratic support By PAUL SHERMAN De spite an overwhelm- ing victory for Republicans Ronald Reagan and Phil Gramm in the 1984 election, the results of the SFA mock election showed Democrats Walter Mondale and Lloyd Doggett the winners. The poll was held by paper ballot dur- ing all third period classes. In the student poll, Mondale narrowly defeated Reagan, gathering 42 more votes. However, in the US Senate race, Doggett won a substan- tial victory, gaining 417 more votes than his opponent Gramm. In the student elec- tion Mondale received 723 votes (51 7o) to Reagan ' s 681 votes (49%). Doggett received 904 votes (65%) to Gramm ' s 487 votes (35%). Roughly 84% of the student population par- ticipated in the election (1404 students out of a student body of 1670). The ballots were tabulated by the beginning re- porting class. The election was by paper ballots because an earlier and elaborate com- puter-assisted election was ruined by a software flaw. Al- though a majority of the stu- dents at Austin High sup- ported Mondale and Doggett, polls taken throughout the nation showed that the Re- publican party had tremend- ous support from the youth voting bloc. H

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Editor ' s Journal Jan. 1 Winter Vacation ended; With a new year cornea federal tax changes. This year ' s changes reduced personal income taxes but increased Social Security Jan. 2-3 Driving These days were holidays. Jan. 4 When the ice i AISD called school ba Jan. 7 The U.S. and months of separation. Sec. of Slate George Shultz and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko met for three and a half hours in Geneva. Switzerland. The meeting was descrit ed as flat and businesslike. Jan. 8 Washmgton and Moscow agreed to enter ambitious nuclear arms negotiations aimed at preventing an arms race in space and terminating it on earth. They planned of talks on weapons I Soviet SS-18 and I and icy conditions, school scheduled final exams were n Austin lawyer active in Jan. 15 The Supreme Court ruled tha search students suspected of breaking the law or school rules without probable cause or court approved Jan. 15-17 Final examinations Jan. 18 Staff Development Day concerning the r id single district representation with eight itricts. Voters approved a one cent sales tax transit system; rejected city council elections ; kept Mueller Airport at its present local; and the endowment of developing land around Palmer Auditorium. J«n. 20-21 President Reagan participated in inaugural Jan. 25 The superpowers agreed to resu negotiations in March in Geneva. Jan. 26 SAT testings Jan. 30 A plan was introduced to raise tuition at slate colleges and universities to $12 a semester hour by 1987. Jan. 30 The State Senate Committee approved a bill to raise the drinliing age Irom 19 to 21 as a result ol the U.S. Congress ' action to hold back highway tunds to states that do not raise the drinking age to 21. FEBRUARY The Austin- Americen Statesman quoted (slate Sen. Bill) Sarpalius as saying, -are we going to raise tite legal drinking age or play patty-cake with the federal government? NED SHEHMAN. i drinking age issue. I tell for Austin ' s the Austin shrinking domestic spending tt programs helpful to the middle class. This submitted budget would have eliminated $45 million in federal er the actual effective Feb. 6 The first State ol the Union message given by President Reagan in his second term. Feb. 7 Senate Republic leaders proposed a one year increase for Social Security plan reducing government Feb. e President Reagan named Fob. 10 Ronnie Milsap ' Jerry Reed at the Fran sponsored by the evening the Maroon band gave its annual Pops Concert at Austin High. Fob. 19 AHS Choir Pops Concert Feb. 19-20 TABS testings G c ata, and the student ' s grade point average. In addition, the AISD course numbers and the State of Texas course num- bers were listed. The listing of the statewide course number enabled the transfer of credits throughout Texas to be less complex. In order for a student ' s par- ents to be aware when report cards were mailed out, the AISD central office proposed public service announcement for each local TV station which asked, have you seen your child ' s report card? Vice-presiden tial candidates battle the issues For 85 mmutes in Philadel- phia, the vice presidential candidates praised and ar- gued their running mates ' campaign issues a half a week after the first election debate. Historically, it was the first di- rect confrontation between man and woman running for national office. An ABC survey gave Vice President George Bush a 42 percent lead over Geraldine Ferraro ' s 33 percent afte r the debate. Although Ferraro ' s performance did not bring her party a success, she more than achieved her debate goal: to do nothing to jeopardize Mondale ' s momentum. Democratic aides felt that Ferraro was too subdued, but her performance proved to critics that a woman could have the experience, depth and temperament to hold such a high office. Republican aides were pleased with Bush ' s debate, even though he appeared to outdo himself as the president ' s cheer- leader. Editor ' s note: In regard to this debate and the presidential debates before and after this de- bate, what was the reasoning be- hind it? When television viewers are asked what they expect to see on the tube, they answer sex and violence. Thanks to carefully ar- ranged media questioning and nationally televised debates, sex and violence was again exemplified previous election time to give voters exactly what they desire. For example, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates added to the violence factor in our society by performing in three consecutive debates. If that doesn ' t bring an image of mud-sl- inging, than what have you? Not only do the debates themselves add to violence on television, but the issues discussed also do, like nuclear warheads, American troops in Beirut and Nicaraguans getting blown up or tortured, and the use of the heavens as warspace. In discussing sex is- sues, the candidates gave Amer- ican viewers abortion and the ac- tual presence of Mrs. Ferraro on the ballot. In other words, I feel that if the nation ' s voters had not already decided on their candidates three weeks before Election Day, then they probably were taken in by the garbage that television pro- duces, such as a series of one hour debates full of sex and violence. Failure rate increases Forty percent of AISD stu- dents received at least one F on their fall semester first six weeks report card. Due to the significant increase, AISD conducted a comparison study of the 1983-84 and 1984- 85 first six weeks grading periods. Seven out of nine high schools in the district re- ported at least a 4.1 percent increase in the number of stu- dents receiving at least one F. The two remaining schools, SFA and McCallum, reported a decrease in the number of failures with figures down 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent re- spectively. Local educators believed that the reforms in House Bill 72 could have contributed to the failure rate. With the elimination of the D grade im- planted in the bill, those stu- dents who normally passed with a D suffered the conse- quence of failure. Another reason was that the freshman students had to take academic courses instead of electives for graduation requirements, and academic courses have a higher percentage of class fail- ures. Additionally, the new attendance policy gave no credit to students who ex- ceeded five absences. In the first six weeks, de- spite the district-wide trend of failures, SFA managed to keep the percentage of stu- dents tailing well below the district ' s par and slightly under with 1.4 percent. This substantial decrease in fail- ure, the largest in the district, also reflected in the large number of students making the Honor Roll. According to data provided by the counelor ' s office, over 407o of SFA ' s student body made the Honor Roll in the first six weeks. The seniors reported 61 .04% of its members eligible for the Honor Roll, the juniors had 32.45%; the sophomores had 40.34%, and the freshmen had 36.00%. Because SFA had already implemented many policies now required by HB 72, such as four years English and a more stringent absence pol- icy. Principal Jacquelyn McGee felt that SFA ' s de- crease in student failures was because SFA experienced less of a change in school policy because of the bill. In the spring semester, 506 SFA students received an F during the first six weeks. Within the entire district, not only did 38 percent fail a six weeks in a subject, but those students were denied partici- pation in UIL events because of their failing grades. Under the no-pass-no- play rule that went into effect in January, students in ex- tracurricular activities were required to pass all courses with a grade of 70. Failure of a class made the student in- eligible for a six week period. Sixteen athletes on Austin High ' s boys track team, eight on the girls team, and three on the baseball team were ruled ineligible after the first spring grading period. The debate team lost two speakers who had failures in honors classes. These students were unable to compete in state- wide tournaments. Also, the band lost ten players for their spring concerts. As 35.9 percent of the stu- dent body received an F on their report cards, the ad- ministrators were optimistic in seeing the students face the worthwhile challenge of mak- ing their grades to participate in extracurriculars. By ex- periencing or observing the consequences, the student

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Editor s Jo rnal 1 approved by tl Fab. 23 Edwin Meeae was Attorney General. Feb. 25 A longer school day School Board. When the board elementary school by ten minute; I lengthening upper schools to a Red Rockers i-presJdent Bush visited MARCH LEYLA COHLM A talking of the achieved any other ¥ HB 72 proviBion aaaembliea. March 1 A stronger economy with lower interest rates broke the all time high of the Dow ,fones industrial 9 officially began. Three of Mayor Ron Mullen ' s major opponents. Frank Cooksey. Micheal MaK Nofziger and Mike Poulsen participated in a public forum (o start their campaigns. March 5 During second period students nominated three teachers for the PTSA ' s Outstanding Teacher March 5 A U.S. Senate bu( give the Pentagon $115 billion less in the next t than the President requested tor his sharp t defense spending. March 6 Group pictures for the yearbook v in the cafeteria. March 7 The Junior Historians hosted I Independence Day Commemoration in the Hall of Honor March 7 The stale senate voted 24-5 for a resolution to ease the extracurricular restrictions on failing students ' participation. March 8 Mayor Ron Mullen was found in violation of state law by filing affidavits after abstaining from property voles in which he held financial interests. March 9 Continued Soviet-U.S. Arms Control talks t egan in Geneva. March 10 The Oak Ridge boys opened at the Frank March 11 Soviet President Konstantin Chernenko died after his two month ailing. The control o passed to Mikhail Gorbachev. 54, who i Communist Party member ever to rule. March 11-15 Spring Vacation March 12 Billy Ocean performed at the Austin Opera Texas March 12 ' Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow and Bush came away saying, we can move forward with progress. March 17 Capital 10,000 was open to running Austiniles on Saint Patrick ' s Day. March 19 The U.S. Senate voted 55-45 to approve the construction of 21 MX missiles. March 20 Cheerleader elections were held in the I graduating March 20 The Texas Senat drinking and driving offense March 22 TOTO in concer at the Frank Erwin Center. March 23 March 23 SAT testings March 23 TheFirmappeared with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers at the Frank Erwin Center. March 24 An hourlong debate between Mayor Ron Mullen and Frank Cooksey included issues on growth management, the South Texas Nuclear Project, ethnics, tratlic and water pullution. March 25 Julian Lennon performed at the Palmer March 25 U.S. Army Major was shot by a Soviet sentry while on duty in East Germany. The American was a operation that has monitored Soviet and East German miUlary activity smce WWII. March 28 Ron Mullen was against him when he vot cleared o( e loiKr. wen a conflict APRIL LJ death as the power shorted out. An electrician repaired the fuse to restore the building ' s lights, however, the cooling system remianed out-of-order for two weeks. November election results In the presidential election, Reagan defeated Walter Mon- dale by a margin of 59 to 41 percent, winning a record 525 electoral votes and sweeping everything except the District of Columbia and Minnesota. Reagan was declared by vari- ous publications as the most popular president since Franklin Roosevelt. President Reagan ' s elec- toral landside was the largest triumph in American history. Even after the fears of the dis- mantling of social security, 61 percent of the elderly voters went in Reagan ' s favor. Ten percent of the resulting mar- gin were female voters for Reagan even when the first woman symbol, Geraldine Ferraro, was on the ballot. Voters under 25 gave Reagan 59 percent of there votes. Bas- ically, a half of Reagan ' s votes were from union households who believed the election promice of no new taxes and a tamed inflation for the next four years. The Democratic party was in despair. By 1988 the party will have only controlled the presidency for one term within a twenty-five year period. Not only was the elec- tion a resounding defeat to Mondale, but an embarrass- ment to the interest groups that supported him. Many in- terest leaders questioned Democratic loyalty. On election day, Reagan said he wanted to shepherd negotiations with the Soviet Union during his next for years. He concluded one of his speeches with a concern of his challenge in dealing with Congress. The president would obviously have to face severe tests for stamina and ability to forge or fight for his legislative and foreign policy agendas. During Reagan ' s campaign, he claimed he was opposed to increasing taxes to reduce the deficit, though after the elec- tion he discussed raising re- venue through a vague pro- gram of tax simplification. The president said future arms control aggreements de- pended on his negotiating strategy the power struggles with the Kremlin in the next four years. Despite his defeat, Mon- dale ended his last race for public office with the same dignity and determination that marked his campaign. He said he would leave the leadership of the United States to Mr. Reagan, but he urged the American people to fight on for their democracy and freedom. In Texas politics. Con- gressman Phil Gramm filled the seat of retiring Republi- can, Senator John Tower by deeating Democrat (and Au- stin High alumnus) Lloyd Doggett. A year before the election, Gramm defected to the Republican party. He boasted that he was more closely indentified with the U.S. president than anyone else in the House. The campaign was one of the most expensive and nasty political battles in U.S. history, where each can- didate desperately tried their best to prove his opponent an unqualified leader. Although Doggett appealed to the majority of the Austin area and South Texas, Gramm won with the GOP support in Texas. Some critics claimed that he just rode the coattails of Mr. Reagan to his place in the U.S. Senate. Despite Ronald Reagan ' s avalanche, the Republicans failed to beat most of the in- cumbents in the Congres- sional election. The GOP gained some 15 seats, falling short of the 26 needed to com- pensate for the loss in 1982. But in the Senate, the Demo- crats only took two seats in this election, leaving the GOP with a six-vote majority. Editor ' s note: When Election Day rolled around, I was 18 years old and with a voter ' s registration card at hand. 1 strolled into pre- cifict 256 with two things in mind: How do I do this? and Why are they trusting me to vote on propsitions and minor offices that I have never even heard of? I have to admit, once I ivas handed a ballot and my name was scratched off the precinct voter ' s list, 1 had a blast humming eeny-meeny- miney-moe to choose which of the little holes on the ballot I would punch for railroad commis- sioner or for the fifth chair on the left of the eighth rozo in the down- town treasury advisory next door to McDonald ' s. It was a mess. I did feel a bit guilty, but I figured other first time voters felt the same hysterical frustration as 1 did. Perhaps all the Nov. 6 voters shared that feeling which climaxed when reviewing the propositions. If you ever thought that bad grammar is only in high school, I ' isit your next election ballot. Peeuh. After I left my neighborhood precinct, I wondered if I should have simply pressed through the 100% Democratic or 100% Republican hole. Then I realized that I was neither of the two and I did the right thing. 1 gave those •as