University of Texas - Cactus Yearbook

“The Tower Clocks Mark 45 Years of Guillermo Resales, the " caretaker of time " outside the University ' s traditional timepiece, checks one of the faces of the Tower cli The Tower Clock is another institution. It, is a tradition for the University. " The Tower on the main building has . traditionally symbolized the University. It beams a bright orange beacon across Austin after athletic victories, stands sol- emnly pale after defeats. On a tragic note, it has been the site of nine suicides and one sniper attack. Rising 307 feet above the campus, the Tower serves as a landmark, both of the campus as a whole, and as a guide to stu- dents new to the UT campus. To visitors, it is one of the most heavily visited tour- ist sites in Austin. The clocks, serving as the principle means of marking the pro- gression of the day on campus, signify the quarter-hours to the accompaniment of the Westminster Chimes. Guillermo (Bill) Resales, a University Communications Technician, is responsi- ble for maintaining the clocks and insur- ing that they remain on time. Actually, he says, the clocks pratically run them- selves, relying on waves from the National Bureau of Standards short wave radio station, relayed to the Tower clocks through " slave " clocks which translate ”