Alief Elsik High School - Ramblings Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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he deep water of the flood sent many trashcans and trashbags afloat yet, two oungsters, Mark Rabe and Ryan Pratt at the corner of Sharpcrest and Kirkwood, re undistraught by the problems that the deep water brought. A1 Hook replaced Robert Burch as the superintendent and initiated the Student Advisory Council to improve student - administration communica- tion. Photo by R. Law The newest item in thecafeteria this fall was Rambucks. The coupons replaced the use of actual money. Because of the long lines they caused, the system was labeled a failure and, to many students' relief, discontinued. Photo by S. Lackey Hurricane Alicia devastated not only Houston but many other coastal cities as well. This section of 1-45, near Texas City, depicts only a small portionof the damage that was inflicted upon many costal cities such as Galveston. Current Events Good Times 23

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Senior Sandy Lawrence's car was parked in front of her house at 13015 Bassfc in Bcckford South when rain started on September 18. After the rain stopped, t car was filled with water above the seats. Photo by S. Lawrer Alicia, Floods, Winds, Extreme Cold Prevail Tornados, hurricanes, floods, wars, deaths; the list seems never ending. Vet, every problem or unfortunate incident that oc- curred inspired hope. A pessimistic attitude might have been adopted throughout the world, but everyone kept push- ing on for tomorrow - the future. In the Middle hast, Iran and Iraq continued to fight over the Persian Gulf. Fighting also continued in Lebanon between Israel and Palestine. On October 25 at 6 p.m.. President Reagan decided to invade Grenada in order to prevent a coup. Despite the fact that unemployment rates were still high, inflation decreased 3.8% in 1983. In local elections, Kathy W h i t m i re was re-e lected to se rve a second term as mayor and Houstonians approved a plan to construct a $175 million convention center in the down- town area. The presidential elections drew nearer and the three leading democratic candidates for ihe nomination were Reverend Jesse Jackson, former Vice President Walter Mondale and Colorado Senator Gary Hart. President Reagan was the unopposed Republican nominee. The issue of school prayer gained attention as a proposed amendment that would have allowed prayer in high schools but was defeated by the Senate. In a special session in the summer, the Texas legislature will decide on the controversial Perot committee recomenda- tions to lengthen the school days to eight hours, to make extracurricular activities and athletic classes after school and to limit the number of field trips that a group is allowed to take in one year. Teacher salary raises will also be considered. House bill 246 was passed to raise graduation requirements to 23 credits, to limit off campus and to create college and non-college bound tracking. A1 Hook replaced Robert Burch as AISD's new Superintendent of Schools. Also, construction adding onto the administration building was completed. Women took another step forward even though the ERA did not get a second chance. Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss America and Astronaut Sally Ride was the first woman to go into space. Several Elsik students participated in the Annual Lyon's Club Queen Contest. Those placing in the top ten included Senior Beth Gillam, Junior Diane Shrout, Junior Kim Adams, 4th runner up; Senior Betty Strong, 3rd runner up; Senior Dondra Dunaway, 2nd runner up; Senior Teresa Wagner, 1st runner up. EDB was linked to cancer in animal studies and put many bread and muffin mixes, which contained the substances, on a list warning consumers. Michael Jackson grew rich with record-breaking sales of Thriller and Pepsi TV spots, but donated Beat It to fight drug abuse. David the bubble boy died on February 22, at the age of 12 after living most of his life in isolation. Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov died on February 9 after being critically ill; Konstantin Cher- nenko replaced him. Severe weather pounded on Houston and the U.S. all year. Hurricane Alicia blew through Houston on August 18, 1983 with winds up to 94 mph. Sixteen deaths were attributed to the hurricane. Forty-two thousand people fled from their homesand 750,000 were without electricity. Heavy rains on September 18 and 19 flooded many areas that had never flooded before and also provided a day off from school which was made-upon April 23. In December, many new weather records were set. The average temperature was 45.7° F as compared to the normal average temperature of 54 F. Christmas day was also the coldest day of the month with a low of 11° F. Also, the lowest high temperature ever for one day was 27 F. on the 26th. The unexpected, e, tremely low temperature causj many pipes to break, wati damage, and high bills fro- H.L. P. The XIV Winter Olympi took place in Sarajevo, Yuge lavia, on February 7-19. G©! medal winners included: Ph Mahre, Men's Slalom; Debb Armstrong, Women's Gia Slalom; Scott Hamilton, Mer Figure Skating and; B Johnson, Men's Downhi Silver medal winners includi Steve Mahre, Men's Slaloi Christian Cooper, Womer Giant Slalom; Peter and Kit Carruthers, Pairs Figure Skatii and; Rosalyn Sumne: Women's Figure Skating. The U. of H. basketball tea lost a heartbreaker in the NCA Championship game Georgetown University (84-7 after winning their clo semi-final game against Virgin in overtime. Mike Sciba was appointed tl new head coach when Coai Wes Bryant resigned after fi’ years as Elsik's head coac Coach Sciba also reinitiated mandatory study hall progra for off-season football playe who had either a D or F in ar class. By Rae Rabe, Assistant Edit- 22 Good Timcs Currcnt Events

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Seniors Angie Garvin, Gary Barnes, SteveTebbano, John Maklary,Stan Hyun,. John Urbanowicz bombard Mrs. Moore with questions in fourth period Advan Composition. Photo by R. I Coach Ward gets into another chemistry discussion before the lunch bell rings and he runs for the cafeteria l'ne- Photo by S. Lackey Elsik Ready For Changes . . . Perot Three Million Secondary School Children Are Victims of Crime Each Month, Van- dalism Mainly in Textbooks, Reagan Tries To Solve Problems Of Discipline In Schools; all newspaper headlines and all the negative aspects of education. Yet, students and administrators have also focused on the positive points c( people, rather than just academics and media criticism. Students' opinions mattered, and those with problems of coping with everyday classroom situations received help. A1 Hook, the new super- intendent of schools, initiated the Student Advisory Board Council. The first meeting on February 2 brought 12 students from Elsik and Hastings together to discuss the major concerns and problems of the high schools. At the top of the list, traffic, parking, and the security of vehicles. Because High Star and the parking lots were no longer able to accommodate school traffic, two solutions arose at the meeting: (1) limiting student drivers to juniors and seniors and (2) a security program furnished by the sale and issuance of parking stickers. Student smoking, dress codes, and final exemptions also took priority over alternate concerns. Patroling the bath- rooms, lengthening mini skirts and final exams as learning experiences were just a few answers. The original council met the first Thursday of each month and consisted of NHS President Tim Culbertson, Student Congress President Pat Regan, Senior Class President Michelle Espinosa, Rampage staffer Audra Sanchez, Ramblings Editor Misty Bogle, and Photographer Randy Law. The Hastings delegation con- sisted of Denise Wyant, Janice Reeves, David MacDonald, Sally Dejean, Karin Brown, and Art Aguirre. Another spotlighted program forstudents is the ISC. Although the ISC program was created in 1976, only since '82, when Mrs. Brown took over as principal were these beach houses viewed as positive opportunities for troubled students. Basically what we try to do here is help students make changes by learning alternate ways of coping with a situation. This is done through counseling and a leveled behavior management system, explained Principal Brown. Students are put into a tightly structured plan. The rules here are the same as in regular school, but are more strict and enforced more. ISC has been a successful program because a student is completely removed from the usual hustle and bustle of the everyday classroom and is placed in an isolated setting until he she can cope with regular school again. As Tony Hurtado from Soutnern Mountain High School stated, You shouldn't ship disruptive kids out... for the whole year. They should be back in the regular classes as soon . possible. The big controversy co: cerning changes and in provements in Texas publ schools was the creation of tl Select Committee on Publ Education chaired by Dali, businessman H. Ross Perc The committee recommendc lengthening the school d consisting of six hours « academics and extracurricul. periods for two hours after tl first six hours. Perot said tc much emphasis is placed c athletics. A 20% increase i teachers' salaries, new r quirements of 22 credits f« high school graduation, ar teacher competency tests we: also considered. Governor Mai White summoned a speci session of the legislature in tl summer to consider the educ tion package and long neede teacher pay raises. 24 Good Times Education