Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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student viewpoints on policies, attitudes Tabulations of 1982-83 Maroon!Comet Poll 1. Do you have a part-time job? Yes 34M No 6490 No response 206 2. lf your answer to question one is yes , how many hours do you work? Less than 10 12'V. Less than 20 44'Vu More than 20 4s yes , how many hours a week do you work? Less than 10 1206 3. Who do you live with? One parent 3106 Both parents 6406 Relative 2'Vp Guardian 306 No response 606 4. Are you open with your parents about your social life? Yes 5606 No 35M No response 906 5. Can you talk to your parents about sex? Yes 5606 No 4806 No response 406 8. Do you feel it is important to be popular? Yes 3906 No 5506 No response 606 7. Do you plan to go to college? Yes 8206 No 13'-6 Undecided 206 No response 306 B. Do you believe in God? Yes 7806 No 14M No response BW 9. Do you attend church regularly? Yes 3806 No 5606 No response 606 19. Has unemployment affected your immediate family? Yes 15M No BOM No response 5M 11. Do you think pregnancy counseling agencies should be required to notify a teenagers parents when the teenager seeks birth control or pregnancy counseling tthe Squeal rute 1? Yes 1506 No 7906 No response GM, 12. Do you think high school textbooks should include information on venereal disease? Yes 9706 No 206 No response YM, 13. Do you think a specific time should be set aside during the day for school prayer? Yes 16W No 61Va No response 3306 14. What ehould the absence limit be under the attendance WWW , , No limit 27M 10 absences 5806 8 absences 906 5 absences SM No response 306 15. Has raising the drinking age hindered your ability to get alcohol? Yes 16M N0 78M No FBSDODSG 6061 16. Do you favor weighting grades for honors classes when computing grade point averages? Yes 6906 No 26W No response 6WD 17. Do you drink or smoke without your parents' knowledge? Yes 462. No 54'Vo 18. Do your friends pressure you into drinking alcohol? Yes 4'6 No 9106 No response 506 19. Do your friends pressure you into using drugs? Yes 4M No 91'6 No response 506 20. How frequently do you consume alcoholic beverages? Never 3206 Monthly 32'Vo weekly am Daily 2070 21. How frequently do you get drunk? Never 4606 Monthly 3006 weekly 1406 Daily 1 No response 9M 22. Do you favor greater restriction on the availability of hardship driving licenses? Yes 6406 No 35W No response 106 23. Do you favor the proposal to reduce the minimum wage for teenagers? Yes 906 No 91'V. 24. Do you favor capital punishment? Yes 53VQ No 457. No response 1M 25. Do you feel the Ku Klux Klan has a right to march in Austin? Yes 3806 N0 6090 No response 2'6 28. Do you approve of tho job that President Reagan is doing? Yes 42W N0 53W No response 506 27. Do you favor a mutual, verifiable freeze by the U.S. and the U.8.S.R. on nuclear weapons? Yes 7506 No 2506 28. How much do you fear nuclear war? Not at all 2206 Some 5206 A lot 1106 Very much 1406 No response 106 29. Do you favor draft registration? Yes 4706 No 53M 30. Do you favor the equal rights amendment? Yes 40M N0 1606 No response 4406 31. How much money do you spend per week on video games? None 5806 Less than S2 2506 Less than S5 1006 More than S5 706 32. Do you think video games are harmful to your mental health? Yes 16M No 84M 33. Does your home have cable TV? Yes 78M No 2006 No response 206 34. Do you watch MTV? Yes 7906 No 19M No response 206 35. If a presidential election were held today, would you vote for Ronald Reagan? Yes 2206 N0 55'6 No response 27M 38. What is your primary source for news? 1. Television 2. Newspapers 3. Radio 4. Magazines 37. What do you like most about SFA? 1. People . Environment . Lunch . The building . The faculty . Academics . Sports 38. What do you like least about SFA? 1. Absence policy 2 3 4 5 6 7 2. Strictness 3. Not enough school spirit 4. Short lunch 5. Frats 6. Homework Freeze Nuclear Weapons? How important is popularity? Vote for Reagan? 75170 55M 5506 39M 0 256 2206 2706 OM SM 1 For Against No Response Important Not important No response Yes No No reSP0flSe

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EDlTOR'S NOTE: This article is based on a random survey of 116' SFA students which was taken in April. The students were randomly picked from the computer en- rollment printout and respondents ' anonymity was assured. Two hundred surveys were sent out, 116 returned and 84 not returned. The random sample was consistant with age, class, and racial demographics of the student body at large. by Trey Hailey According to a recent questionnaire, alcohol use and abuse remains prevalent at SFA, the majority of students favor greater restriction in obtaining hardship licenses, and most plan to attend college after high school. Despite the fact that the legislature raised the drinking age to 19 in September, 1981, the Maroon poll indicates that the regular use of alcohol has not decreased, but has slightly increased from 6706 in 1979 to 6806 in 1983. Of the students polled, 78V0 say that raising the drinking age hasn't made alcohol any more difficult to obtain. Almost half of SFA students become intoxicated at least once a month. Some 3106 get drunk monthly, 1506 get drunk weekly, and 106 daily. Forty-seven percent say they don't ever get drunk. MaroonlComet poll tallies up Although only 3206 saythey don't drink at all, some 9106 indicate that they are not pressured by their friends to drink. About half of SFA students say they can talk with their parents about sex, although 97M say that information about venereal disease should continue to be included in health textbooks. Seventy-five percent say that the government should not require pregnancy counseling agencies to inform the parents of teenagers when teenagers seek birth control. Although 7806 believe in God, only 3806 say that they worship regularly. Twenty-six percent favor a time for prayer during the school day. Some 6806 indicate support for greater restrictions in obtaining hardship driver's licenses. The response was most likely a reaction to a September 25 fatal automobile accident involving an SFA student with a hardship license. Concerning the attendance policy, 906 agree with the current limit of eight absences, 58M support the previous limit of ten absences, 506 say the limit should be reduced to five absences, and 27'V0 say that there should be no limit on absences. Almost 7006 of the students polled support the school board's decision to weigh grades in honor classes when computing grade point averages. About 8206 say they plan on going to college. Thirteen percent don't plan on going to college and 206 are undecided. Over 9106 oppose President Reagan's proposal to reduce the minimum wage for teenagers. While 4206 approve of Reagan as president, only 2206 indicated that they would re-elect him if a presidential election was held now. The school is roughly split over continued registration for the draft with 4706 favoring it and 5370 opposing it. The fear of nuclear war has somewhat subsided since last year when 8506 said they fear nuclear war to some extent. This year, about 77M indicate that they have some fear of a nuclear holocaust in the near future. Despite the decrease of tension among teens concerning the fear of nuclear war, SFA students support the nuclear freeze concept by three to one. Sixty percent say the Ku Klux Klan had no right to march in Austin. In the wake of two recent executions, SFA students are split over the issue of capital pun- ishment with 5306 favoring it and 45M opposing it. Some 4006 still favor the Equal Rights Amendment which failed to be ratified in 1982. The majority of students 444065 had no opinion. Squeal rule Who do you live with? How often do you drink'-' Both 79V 0 Parents 6406 One Parent - 3106 Guardian I 306 32M 3295 34W 15'Ma Relative I zfvo 6M 0, i No response I 6'6 -1 For Against No Response g Never Monthly Weekly Daily Diversions

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Do you think that video games bring out violence in children? I think that it depends on the child and its background and past experiences that could trigger a certain reaction: maybe violence. -Heather Stogsdill, 9 Yes, it causes an obscessed feeling towards video games to the point of a one track mind about playing video games constantly. -Michael Zuniga, 12 No, video games are a release of tension instead of smoking pot or drinking. -Darron Harris, 12 No, it's a game for fun. It is no worse than television. -Frode Lund, 12 tProt Nuclear Freeze fCont I believe we already have enough bombs to blow up whoever we want. I think the government should spend its money on making peoples lives better instead of destroying them. -Pam Pniak, 12 We probably have enough arms to blow up the world 50 times, We don't need anymore! lt's against nature and we already ruined enough of it A nuclear arms freeze is the first step toward a total arms reduction. A freeze of nuclear arms will show which countries are really interested in nuclear reduction. -Kevin Leslie, 9 I think the nuclear bomb will just make matters worse, There's enough bombs and wars in other countries as it is. -Dora Martinez, 10 Kerwick, 1 1 sg? K o.ss .g ..-,gp is X , 5 Has the increase of punk rockers at Austin High changed your opinion of newave fashions and hairstyles? They d0n't bother me, though some look funny. -Eric Crawford, 10 The increase in the popularity of punk and new wave styles has not changed my attitude towards the styles as much as the people who have suddenly gone punk because it was what everyone else was doing. -John Mueller, 9 What is your opinion the administration lockers? .sv-xg i i 1 515 I've noticed more people are into newave because of punk. Not too many go as far as getting their hair cut. -Jeannie De Graffenried, 9 As a freshman I didn't quite understand the attitude of punk rockers, but after exposure I reconize the style as acceptable and often fashionable. -Mike Mayfield, 12 about the locks which has installed on all J i oo. gt. X 3113 I don't like the locks, but it's all right. I seewhythey have done it, with a school this big. -Peggy Franklin, 10 I think that students should have their own locks on their lockers to assure privacy of property. -Tito Diez, 12 f - A ,,: ., A student should have the right to buy his own lock. There should be no way for anybody else to enter someones private locker. -Jim Palmer, 11 Lockers are meant for school supplies, any personal or valuable property should be left at home. -Mike Murray, 9