Dobson High School - Equus Yearbook (Mesa, AZ)

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SCHOOL EVENTS Hopping Hemispheres Ray Kenny Australian ex- change teacher In December, English teachers Ray Kenny and Rod Richmond switched places for the last time, as both returned to their native countries. The two participated in a teacher foreign exchange pro- gram, allowing the Australian Mr. Kenny and his family to trade places with the Rich- monds. Richmond taught at Glad- stone Park High School in Melbourne. He found the peo- ple to be very friendly, and very open. “It took me a good three months to deal with cul- ture shock,” Richmond said. In a newspaper interview, Kenny said, “The friendships we made are what this ex- change is all about.” oo vo oo On t-H • • CO LJ 2 Hj Q UJ X co X •Q Drugs threaten open campus Open campus was once again threatened, as the school board considered closing it to cut down on drug deals. Publications honored THE MUSTANG ROUNDUP was named the top student publication for 1986. The 1986 Herff Jones Yearbook Showcase Award was given to the ’86 Equus, for excel- lence in design. Enrollment surges by 400 In a school built for 2500, Dobson housed about 2950. The biggest problems were hall traffic and no parking. Band takes top spot The Mustang Marching Band captured the prestigious Nunamaker Award for the second straight year. They also earned superiors at three band days. Headlines from THE MUSTANG ROUNDUP Marjorie Conder Sue Kaesler Nancy Ellis spej t in the N • E • W • S 295

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NEWSLINE SCHOLARS: 6 National Merit Semi- Finalists were named in September including John Ballentinc. J«nniier Chase. Scott Gustafson. Tina Kwas- nica. Brian McSpadden and Roger Tang. ROYALTY: Allen Kinnison and Diane Rubio were crowned Home- coming King and Queen, respective- ly- VANDALISM: The three campus Coke machines were vandalized twice. The change catchers were torn out of all three. WRESTLERS VISIT: A squad-of Japanese wrestles stopped at Dotv December. They stayed tallhe homes o( selected Mustang wrestle The climax oi the stopover was he match between the Japanese and the East Valley All Stars. DEATHS: Delores Wictor. English teacher, died in October of cancer. Chill dinner benelil was held before the Homecoming game. The S25UI in proceeds went to the Wictor fam- ily. In March, sophomore Mike Carv cr died from injuries sustained when he was hit while riding his bicycle. TEACHER on JEOPARDY: French teacher Sue Kaesler ap- peared on the TV. game show Jeop- ardy in early February. She came m second and won a refrigerator. ELLIS NOMINATED: Coach Nancy Ellis was nominated for the Arizona Teacher of the Year Award. Mr. Lows was a semi-finalist in the contest last year. TRIP CANCELLED: Because of In- surance reasons, the school board cancelled the official senior trip to California. A group of students, how- ever. planned an unofficial trip to Ma- zatlan. U OF A CUP: Dobson was presented with the University of Arizona Cup in October. This award was given to the Arizona high school enrolling 10-29 freshmen at U of A. who have shown the best preparation and high scholar- ship. ROTC: The Air Force Juntar Re- serve Officers Training Corp (ROIU began. Members wore their uniforms weekly, formed drill teams and staged a military ball. GRADE SYSTEM: Dobson switched to a 4.0 grading scale. On the scale, which was used by most schools, a 4 equalled-A’Mnstead of -- in the --------------- SPOTLIGHT: Speech and Debate All athletic teams compet- ed within a short season. Whether they were spring, fall or winter sports, the sea- sons lasted 2 to 3 months. But one team on campus compet- ed year-round- Speech and Debate. From September to May, Speech and Debate members participated in a dozen tour- naments, and even hosted one in November. Each member performed in certain categories; and wheth- er it was prose, humor or de- bate, the idea was the same: to win. This year’s team, the larg- est ever, was tremendously successful, gaining a statewide reputation of excel- lence. Overall, the team took first place at the Univeristy of Ari- zona and Winter Trophy tour- naments, second at A.S.U., and third at the Patrick Henry meet. Individually, seniors Sara Boucher, Jeremy Grace and Mike Medlin ranked among the top in state in their events. Grace and Medlin be- came the first Dobson stu- dents to reach Nationals, when they qualified as juniors in May of 1986. The Speech and Debate team shows off its many awards. 294

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UST SAY NO!” That slogan, coined by First Lady Nancy Rea- gan in her crusade against drug use, became the sim- ple solution for teenage problems in the ’80s. Unfortunately, “just saying no” proved quite difficult, not only when it came to drug use, but also to having sex. 1.2 million teenage girls become pregnant each year; 75% of those pregnancies are unin- tended. Half of those girls will have abortions. Unwanted, unplanned pregnancy was a major problem that many teens faced. Without sex educa- tion in the home or school, many engaged in sex, be- lieving it safe. As the problem swelled, society gradually realized that the syndrome of chil- dren having children had to stop. However, a solution was not simple due to the moral and religious issues involved. 15% of pregnant teens become pregnant again in one year. Girls who kept their ba- bies were faced with hard- ships not only on them- selves, but on their chil- dren. According to Time, teen mothers were more likely to live below the pov- erty line. Only half finished high school; many were de- pendent on welfare. Teen- age pregnancy perpetuat- ed itself into the future, as Alarming statistics call attention to an emotional 82% of teenage moms were daugh- ters of teenage mothers. To many, teen pregnancy was the root of America’s poverty cycle. The average person saw 9.000 sexual scenes on T.V. annually. problem schools started clinics right on cam- pus to dispense medical care, con- traceptives and advice. There were 11.000 teen preg- nancies in Arizona in 1985. In Mesa. 1 in 9 girls under 19 be- came pregnant. The explosion of teenage births was triggered by several social con- ditions. Peer pressure remained constant; kids wanting to do the “in” thing had sex. Social stigmas regarding unwed mothers and ille- gitimacy were gone. In fact, it was trendy to be pregnant and single. The issue was important to many Mesans, as Maricopa County had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in America. Despite this, Mesa schools had no extensive sex ed or clinics. Sexuality was touched once in elementary grades and again in junior high. 65%: 18-19 yrs. m 5%: 14-15 Under 1%: 13 and Under Teen births in Maricopa County. Source: Data Network The media propelled sex to youn- ger audiences, through TV, rock music and videos. Most basic of all, teens were ignorant about the facts of reproduction. Misinformation only reinforced the problem. 78% of Americans favored sex ed in school, according to Time. To counter pregnancy, some schools adopted sex education courses. They were usually challen- eged by conservative parents charg- ing education increased sexual ac- tivity. Sex ed remained the excep- tion. Even more controversial were actual clinics on campus. Some However, there was Stapley Hall, a school were pregnant girls could continue their educations. In an interview with the Mesa Tribune a 17 year old at Stapley Hall said, “I was pretty dingy. I nev- er thought about the consequences. I just thought about... having fun. I thought, ‘I’m not going to get preg- nant; it’s not going to happen to me.’ But it did.” TEEN PREGNANCY 296