Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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repeat offtenders were chosen from defendants in misdemeanor cases. In place of serving a jail term of the 30 days, the participants pay S200 for the program, lose their drivers' licenses, and remain on probation for two years. ln the program, the participants must spend one weekend in jail, and the four following weekends watching films and participating in group therapy. TRAVIS COUNTY JAIL The new Travis County Jail opening was delayed from six months to one year because of a faulty electronic security system. Inspectors from the Federal Bureau of Prisons recommended the delay until the security system is fixed. MAYOR FIACEICHICAGO The most controversial Mayor's race in U.S. history occurred in the Chicago race on Apr. 12. Democrat Harold Washington became the first Black mayor for Chicago, in a campaign that grew increasingly bitter. The primary issue seemed to be Washington's race. BASEBALL SUSPENSION Fifteen students were suspended on April 18 and 19 because of different levels of involvement with alcohol before the Austin High baseball game against Lanier, which was a school activity, said Assistant Principal Jack Kinkel. The suspensions were decided on by Kinkel and Associate Principal John Heath. Although drinking alcoholic beverages before athletic events has happened before, this was the worst case of studentsgettingdrunk,andSFAadministratorsfeIt the need to take some kind of action to prevent future episodes. Kinkel said that the students' actions had violated district rules prohibiting the consumption of alcohol during the school day, which is interpreted as beginning the morning before school until after the last school event the student attends. Kinkel contacted La Tapatia, the restaurant that served the students alcohol, and said he received a reasonable, accurate explanation. The restaurant said that the SFA students had come in with some older girls, and the students weren't checked because the restaurant thought that they were all together. After receiving this explanation, Kinkel ended the investigation. US EMBASSY BOMBING A terrorists bombing ofthe US Embassy in Beirut on Apr. 17 left 17 Americans dead, and over 40 injured. Moslem Holy War, a fundamentalist Moslem group, claimed responsibility for the explosion. President Fleagan, who attended memorial services for the victims in Washington on Apr. 24, called the incident a cowardly act by terrorists. SPRING THING The fourth annual Spring Thing was held Apr. 22, despite threatening weather conditions that had prevailed earlier that morning. Several activities, includingasoftballtournament,and mud-wrestling contests were highlight events. Four scheduled SFA bands performed at various times throughout the afternoon. A non-school band, the Big Boys, played from 4 until 4:15, when Associate Principal John Heath pulled the plug to the amplifiers. Heath cited the hour delay of the band's performance, and the fear of student injury due to the chaotic slamdancers. many students left the school grounds before then continued on page 17 The Spring Thing was officially over at 5, but A st ' h 'A , ,- Students listen to a speaker during a student council meeting. Student Council role is sometimes taken for granted The SFA student council plays an important role in students' lives, but, that role is sometimes taken for granted. The council sponsors the Spring Thing and the Ugly Man contest each Spring. They also sponsor school dances and candy sales throughout the year. The money that is raised is used to fund projects to help improve the school and help meet the goals of the student council, said Dan Alexander, Senior Spring Student Council President. Alexander said that some of the money raised would buy plaques to honor outstanding teachers. t The Student Council Representatives and alternate Representatives are elected by their sms L Wmwii if' Journalism teacher Tom Prentice dressed as a punk rocker for the Cultural Showcase assembly. Cheerleader candidates wish each other luck aft tryouts on Mar. 24. L. r E H Mr. Brian Schenk's flag collection was displays during Cultural Awareness Month. High Journal --

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v 1 'K H. -. Vice Principal John Heath helps Lane Brindley and Carolyn Hooper decide on a company for their senior class rings. Outgoing Governor Bill Clements was defeated on Nov. 2. Mark White was elected to replace Clements as Governor. 7 HRC promotes friendship, understanding The Human Relations Committee promotes friendship and understanding among all students of the school, said HRC sponsor Anna Carroll. The HRC is composed of students who share the common desire to promote positive relationships among diverse groups and faculty, Carroll said. Carroll has been the HRC sponsor for three years and enjoys a chance to work with students from all over the school, and meet people I wouIdn't meet in my class, she said. I like finding out what people are thinking about nonacademic mat- ters, Carroll added. The HRC suffered from nationwide budget cuts this year. Melinda Maldanado, senior HRC member said of the budget Cuts, It's very unfortunate, because it sets restrictions onthe numberofactivities the HRC can have. The HRC members attend several workshops throughout the year. Such topics covered in their meetings are peer pressure, alcohol and drugs, loneliness, dating, and competition. When the HRC discusses the topics of their meetings, they divide up into smaller groups where the members can feel more comfortable sharing their feelings. The members also act out skits depicting situations in which there's a conflict between the group pressures and their own feelings about what's right, Carroll said. Carroll added that the Cultural Showcase on March 11, culminated the HRC activities for the year. Perhaps next year we will have to get involved with fund raising activities because of the district budget cuts, Carroll said. Andrew Alexander, Catherine Arnold, Cyndi Barbour, Sally Bernau, Carter Breed, Scott Brown, Khoa Bui, Joshua Calder, Amy Cogdell, Julie Fulton, Jaana Karttunen, Jon Luckstead, Dudley McClellan, Richard Merrill, Martha Moody, David Schewitz, Karen Tannert, and Amiel Willerman. CULTURAL SHOWCASE The annual Cultural Showcase assembly was held Mar. 11. Acts ranged from Mexican dancers to the Steppers dancers. The assembly closed with several teachers dressed in outfits of different cultures, such as English teachers Sandi Brinkman in a hiking outfit, and Phyllis Rothgeb in cowboy chaps and garb, dancing to We Are Family by Sister Sledge. Human Relations Committee sponsor Anna Carroll said that the showcase culminated HRC activities for the year. The purpose of the showcase was to highlight the diverse cultural heritage of the students of Austin High SPRING BREAK Spring Break came Mar. 12 through Mar. 20. The week was for rest and relaxation for both students and teachers. When students arrived back at SFA on Mar. 21, they had only eight weeks left of the school year. CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS Cheerleader tryouts were held Mar. 24, after a special session of practices for the candidates. All four classes were allowed to attend the tryouts, and Associate Principal John Heath felt the behavior of the students was good. The 1983-84 cheerleaders who were chosen are JeffSanders, Suzanne Schulze, Cara Briggs, Krissy Looney, Amy Frances, Tammi Johnson, Janet Crouch, John Greenway, and Grace Benavides. They will be under the direction of sponsor Jean McMillan. DWIIHARDSHIP LICENSES A growing concern about minors restricted drivers' Iicenses increased drastically following the fatal car accident involving SFA students Lana Tatum and Katherine Rodgers. Legislators had been researching the subject for several years, and felt that the issuance of these kinds of licenses had become too lenient. Many teenagers received hardship licenses when no condition existed to warrant one. Legislators proposed to make these restricted licenses harder to obtain. The Texas Legislator passed a bill in April restriciting hardship licenses from students who have not completed a driverls education course. House changes in the original bill included abolishing the general welfare category which allowed parents to ask for a hardship for their child if there was a family need. The need for the license must be verified before the license is granted. In the case of economic or short-term emergencies, the Department of Public Safety can waive the training requirement, and issue a 60-day provisional emergency license. Another reason for the increased involvment for new legislative actions was the increased number of arrests made for Driving While intoxicated KDWIJ. In conjuntion with the awareness of fatal DWI accidents, the Austin American Statesman began publishing the names of persons arrested and charged with DWI. The Legislature also passed strict new DWI bills in April that instigated programs and punishments for offenders. One program implemented called Weekend Intervention Program fWlPl was an intensive treatment program for problem drinkers. Ten DWI continued on pg. 16

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Tulio Browning proposes a bill as Fall semester Student Council President Valerie Castanon looks on. second period classmates. New representatives and alternate representatives are chosen at the beginning of each semester. The representatives must come to the student council meetings each Wednesday which are held at a different period of the day each week. The representaives should communicate with their second period classmates and relay any suggestions to the student council during the next meeting. The student council gets the student body during each semester. They usually poll student activities and opinions on issues concerning the school, The student council proposed to paint a mural in the commons this year. Alexander said that the student council had the student body approval for the project, but ran into some disagreement with the school administration, The 1983 Spring Thing, aside from too many off-campus visitors, was a success according to Alexander. I think it went almost better than planned, he opinion on different issues by circulating survey sheets. The surveys are sent out several times said sf' 9 1 9 i llfuiln pi? bv-' wr'--Q .9 wwf A record number of 17 students earned the honor of National Merit Finalist. Pictured students are lbottom left to rightl Richard Merrill, Scott Brown, Dudley McClellan. ltop left to rightl Jaana Karttunen, Karen Tannert, David Schewitz, Cyndi Barbour, Carter Breed, and Jon Luckstead. Not pictured are Dan Alexander, Catherine Arnold, Sally Bernau, Khoa Bui, Joshua Calder, Amy Cogdell, Julie Fulton, Martha Moody, Ami Willerman. Students had to buy a ticket for 8.50 to go to the carnival-style assembly. DIVING, TENNIS HONORS Three Austin High students won top state honors in diving and tennis competitions in April and May. Jeff Kelby won fourth place in state UIL diving competition as well as gained a qualifying score for All-American. ln tennis, both Mark Smith and Diana Dopson won in the state tennis finals in their respective divisions. Both Smith and Dopson were members of the winning Austin High tennis teams which won District honors this year. CITY COUNCILIMAYOR RACE In the local city council race, two close races resulted in run-off elections. The mayorial race ended in a run-off between Lowell Lebermann and Ron Mullen. Another run-off was between Mark Spaeth and George Humphrey for City Council Place 4. Charles Urdy was reelected to his Place 6 seat, as was John Trevino for Place 5. Newcomer Sally Shipman was elected to the Place 1. The April 30 run-offelection declared Ron Mullen the new mayor of Austin, with Mullen winning with a narrow victory over Lebermann. Spaeth also narrowly defeated Humphrey for the Place 4 seat. NUCLEAR FREEZE The United States House of Representatives adopted a nuclear freeze resolution May 4 by a 278-149 vote. Although many proponents felt the original freeze resolution had been weakened by amendments, others felt the symbolic importance had been preserved. The resolutions calls for a mutual, verifiable freeze on the testing, development, production and deployment of nuclear weapons and delivery systems by the United States and the Soviet Union. The amendments, which supporters of the President succeeded in attaching to the resolution, called for arms reductions within a specific time period following implementation of the freeze, a point that nuclear freeze advocates didn't dispute since their idea all along was that afreeze would be a first step toward arms reductions. Whiletheresolution was notbinding on President Reagan, it is intended to guide President Reagan in arms negotiations. ln other nuclear-related issues, the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States approved a lengthy pastoral letter which called U.S. nuclear policy immoral and which also called for a nuclear weapons freeze. The Reagan administration had been bitterly critical of the Bishops' letter, which had gone through several drafts. One draft changed the word freeze to curbl' at Reagan's insistence, but the Bishops later voted to change it back to freeze The Congressional resolution and Bishops letter came at a time that the administration was trying to find a way to base the controversial MX nuclear missile which would have as many as ten nuclear warheads each. The administration was also in a standstill with the Soviets in nuclear arms negotiations in Europe on strategic and theatre nuclear forces. Controversy continued to swirl throughout Europe over the American decision to base Pershing ll and Cruise missiles in Europe to counter the Soviet advantage in Europe, although rough parity exists between the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. overall. continued on page 18