Irvine High School - Citadel Yearbook (Irvine, CA)

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By Wendy Stone With ihe exception of the native American Indian, the United Slates is a nation composed wholly of immi- grants. Heritages of hundreds of peo- ples from different ethnic back- grounds combine to make this coun- try so diversely interesting. A wave of new foreign students from ethnic groups such as Vietnam- ese, Korean, Mexican, Japanese, Chi- nese, Iranian and Filipino brought new problems and more opportuni- ties for multicultural experiences to Irvine High. Escaping war, poverty, political oppression and social upheaval are some of the many reasons that bring foreign families to the United States. But once they ' re here, sometimes their problems have just begun. Breaking the language barrier is per- haps the most difficult problem for persons who have never before been required to speak English. The hardest thing of all is preserv- ing their own traditional culture while trying to adapt to a new one, explains Bruce Baron, head of the multicultural program at Irvine High. In telling their story to others, a new foreign student risks much. Being singled out as an individual when the desire to be anonymous and sharing remembrances of a past that is bitter and, therefore, best for- gotten are a couple of those risks. They are happy to be here, but they don ' t want to impose themselves any more than they already have. One of Irvine High ' s fifty Vietnam- ese students, Anh Nguyen spoke no English when she first arrived in America except for essentials like hi and thank you. Trying to be accepted was a great shock to her. I like to be different, but I have to be alike to fit into society, she explained. Heartening thoughts come from Sophomore Hien Cao, however, who escaped from Vietnam the day before (he capitol fell to the Communists. Fleeing the country in a boat, she spent two months trying to gain entrance to America, for which she says she has no regrets, Here you have so much more freedom than Vietnam, she says. I am really lucky to be here. Foreign students are very competi- tive and work long hours to over- come language problems and keep up with school, according to Baron. Low marks in education can bring disgrace and family disapproval. They have to try three times as hard, said Social Science teacher Sandy Clark. They are at a real disad- vantage. Sophomore Henry Kim explains what motivates him to work so dili- gently. There is a lot of pressure from par- ents and society in Korea. Bettering your education is a natural thing. When it is learned early to always try harder, self improvement and lime management become habits. Senior )oel Narez from Mexico says, My family wants me to go to college and further my education for my own benefit. They just want me to have a good future. An Iranian student, Nader Ghas- semi, explains that learning here is much easier for him because of the lack of pressure at school. It ' s so much easier than anywhere else, he explains. The teachers are nicer and therefore less strict. With the American embassy hos- tages held captive in his home coun- try and the two governments bitterly sparring off, one would expect him to be caught up in the middle of it. But Nader dispels that notion. I have many friends here, he says. People have been very nice to me. Surviving the pressures of adjust- ing can be a very difficult process. Some students eventually learn to cope while others may never feel comfortable. As one of Irvine High ' s foreign stu- dents said, It ' s very hard thinking that I may never see my mother country again. Sometimes I wonder how we all do so well. Special feature 31

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30 Special feature

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Dominoes continue to topple as decade begins By Rob Small Sometime in the future when I think back on this last school year, one word will rome to my mind — dominoes. Now you may wonder what domi- noes have to do with any year, let alone 1980? All I ran say is be patient and read on. Even before the school year started, turmoil broke out in Iran. That Shah Pahlava took a life-long vacation from Iran. Later, he checkec) into a hospital in New York for can- cer treatment. Iranians were so enraged when America took him in, some students overthrew the Ameri- can Embassy in Tehran. Using hos- tages for blackmail, Iran demanded the return of the Shah for trial. In the midst of the confusion and international name-calling, Russia invaded Afghanistan. This action, according to President )immy Carter, violated our national interests and any assault on the Persian Gulf nations would be repelled by any means necessary. Russia ' s a( t causcni Carter to take a nufriber of controversial actions. The United Slates Olympic Team was lore ed to boyc oil thc summer Olym- pic s in Mosc ow. CartcH made an allcmpt to c hange thc location of the games, hul at presslime, the lac k of c o-operalion from other nations made this impossible. Anothc-r move Carter macJe was lo begin armed servic i registration. This c aused muc h controversy, espec iaily among high sc hool and college 9tu- dents. Nou the dominoes began to come ( loscT lo Irvincv With the threat of war hangmg over Americ a, the armed s( rvic ( s Ix gan training more vigor- ously than ever inc luding forces at El foro Marine liase. As the soldiers trained on the ground in Irvine the jet pilots trained in the sky above Irvine. While the jets c ontributcHi to the energy c risis by burning up fuel, they also c ontributed to the noise pollu- tion in Irvine. Citizens rose up in anger c om- plaining to the city council and local newspapers about broken windows and fallen china. And the windows thai weren ' t bro- l.yVoodbridge Village Center stiol up in only a few months. 2. Torrential rains plaguecJ drivers and pedestrians alike. 3. How will thie draft affect students like Artie Moore and Vine e Harris? 4. After a main pipe broke, ttie Unified Arts building is declared a sctiolastic disaster area. 5. Forgetting about itie Equal Rigtils Amendment, Paul lacobs attempts lo dodge draft registration. 6. Unfinistied tiomes are a common sigtit in Irvine. ken in homes and businesses were shut, and air c onditioners turned on, - when the leinperature soarecJ. And the energy waste c ontinued. 1 he oil c ompanies made the peo- ple pay the pric e for wasting, as gas c osl $1. U)a gallon in February. liul Irvine High dicf their part to save CMic rgy by not fixing the air c on- ditioning system, which broke for the second year in a row. T he growth of housing tracks and shopping c enters added lo the c hain of energy users as eac h new home and building requires) therinostats, rcMrigerators, ovens and other energy burning n( c essities. liul with the growing population ol lr ine, houses, liuildingsand schools had lo )v built. To help with the overflow of stu- dents, Woc)dbridgc High was built, but some more immcHliate remedy was needcHl. So rnore teachers came to Irvine High to help solve the prob- ICMTI. As eac h event, national or local, worldly or personal, occurred, only the future will tell how and when the next dominoe will fall. 1 32 Year in review