Normal Community High School - Echoes Yearbook (Normal, IL)

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Q 0 . .. U Wuii'houil' IISHD uit w e normal ou're driving to school at 8 a.m., and the streets are empty. You look to the left, you look to the right, and you ask yourself, Where are all the college stu- dents? And then you stop and think, what would it be like to live in Normal without a college? Tracy Miller 1121 said she didn't know what she would do without the college because she works at the field house during football and basketball games. Kathy Ficek 1121 also works at a campus business. She works at the Alamo in downtown Normal. I like working there because it'Il help me next year when I go to college, Ficek explained. I've met a lot of new people, she added. The university not only has brought in campus businesses, but businesses around the community. State Farm, IAA and the soon to be Diamond Star Plant have been drawn to the area because of ISU. In addition to attracting businesses, ISU has had other positive affects. Mrs. Margo Bush, English Dept, said, The college allows for cultural activities that it would otherwise not have. Mrs. Bush can remember when both Bloomington and Normal together only had three movie theatres. But now there are seven theatres in Normal alone. E The Union is one place where many students like to get away during and after school. Miller said she enjoys eating at McDo- nald's because it's a different environment than at school. Also, many sophomores go to the Union after school. Todd Guhlstorf 1101 said he hangs out at the Union because it's somewhere to go. Then there is always the Billiard Room for students who want to get away from it all. Jay Hill 1121 commented that he likes to bowl and play pool over at the pool hall. He said it's fun to be with friends after school and on the weekends. ISU isn't all play, many students also use the learning facilities, such as the library. Danielle Waldschmidt 1121 said she uses the library to help write her research papers. It has more information than the school, she explained. Other students opt to take classes at the university to get a head start on college. Teri Samms 1121 takes Calculus at ISU three days a week. I took the class to get it out of the way for college. l'm not planning on going to ISU, but since the college is here, I figured I'd go ahead and take it, she explained. But living in a college town has some disadvantages. Mark Smith 1121 said, ISU makes everything so busy, and it's also kinda hard to find a job. But other than that, everythings pretty cool. The 20,000 college students also present some problems. Everyone agrees, the college students think they own the town. I would love to hit one of them when they 1pedestrians1 cross the street in front of me, commented Larry Wyatt 1121. But even with the college students walking in the streets, most Normal resi- dents would rather they were there be- cause of all the other activities the college brings. -Julie Scott 1121 lLSandy Roof 1111 goes to the ISU Bowling and Billiards Center to bowl and play pool during her Individual P.E. class. 1 , 11 Q: While taking pictures for a Photography assign- ment, Lora Murphy 1121 and Kerin Wilson 1121 search for subjects at the ISU Quad. College Town Life-11

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enghis Kahn has seen it. So has William the Conqueror and Mark Twain. And now it's back, ready to amaze the world once again. The return of Halley's Comet will Je heralded as the event of a lifetime, said Carl J. Wenning, director of the Illi- tois State University Planetarium. Indeed it has. Everything from t- shirts to telescopes are being sold, all sporting the name of Halley's Comet. In addition, five spacecraft are being sent ip to get a closer view of the traveler. In order to inform area residents of he comet, the ISU Planetarium bought wo shows, l'A Comet Called Halley and Comet Halley: Once in a Lifetime. Mr. Wenning said, Most of our shows generally tend to get full, but here's no question that the comet shows have had the largest turnout. This interest in the comet can be at- ributed to its beauty. However, many ales have been spun about the comet regarding change, death, and destruc- ion. For instance, in 451 A.D., Attila the -lun was defeated by Genghis Kahn. In i066 B.C., William the Conqueror over- hrew King Herald of England. And each of these events was marked by a bril- liant streak in the sky - Halley's Com- et. At the time, nobody knew what a comet was. The ancient Greeks called them kometes, meaning hair. Each time the comet would appear, people thought it was a new one. But in 1682, Sir Edmund Halley, an English as- tronomer, had suspicions about this par- ticular traveller. Putting together bits of history and astronomical knowledge, he guessed that this comet was the same one the Huns and Normans had seen. With the help of Sir Isaac Newton, Halley established the fact that this com- et appeared once every 75 to 76 years, and it would be seen again in 1758. Indeed it was, and again it appeared in 1835, the year Mark Twain was born. its next appearance would come in 1910. Thus, Twain predicted his death would occur in that year. Because of this regularity, people realized that Halley's Comet was a natu- ral phenomenon. Still, many people re- garded comets as being supernatural omens. In 1910, word spread that the comet's tail would envelop the earth and poison people with its gas tail. Comet- pills were sold to those who feared for their lives, and comet parties were held to celebrate the last days on the planet. Today, we know that these supersti- tions are false. We know enough about comets to know that change and relationship to comets is coincidence, said Jenny Miller l12l. Nate Johnson C101 agreed. Sure, there are changes in Unit 5 and in Nor- mal, but I don't think those are on the same scale as Attila the Hun and William the Conqueror. When World War ll oc- curred, there was no comet, so comets don't signify change, he said. While most disagree with the thought that Halley's Comet will bring significant change, they do enjoy the thought of its arrival. t'This comet comes only once every 75 years. That's something special, said Nick Brosnahan 110. Perhaps Mark Twain said it best. I came in with the comet, and I aim to go out with it. - Laurie Hines 1125 The Halley's Comet show is projected through the metal sphere and reflects off the ceiling. A group ol small children settle back in their seats as the Halley's Comet show begins. The lili- nois State University Planetarium ran the show in November and early December. Halley's Comet-13