Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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polttiam wlwt they needed ... .possibly and vote here, but not there, and those mumbled propositions received either a yes or no when in reality I did not know or perhaps care. for that incomprehensable ballot. Crisis in India During the first week of November, Prime Minister In- dira Gandhi of India was shot to death by two of her guards in New Delhi. The leadership of India was directly trans- fered to her son Rajiv, 40, who immediately faced the coun- try ' s feud between the Sikhs and the Hindus. Indira was strolling toward her office when two security guards drew their guns to as- sassinate her. While a frantic struggle to capture the assail- ants took place, Mrs. Gandhi was rushed to a hospital where she died. A member of Mrs. Gandhi ' s Congress (I) Party appeared before 100,000 Indians outside the hospital to announce, She is no more. The people believed the murder to be an act of pure and pointless vengeance. (The life of India ' s prime minister in payment for the many lives lost when she sent her Army to root out the armed Sikh Seperatistists who held up the Golden Temple of Amritsar, a Sikh reliigious temple.) Although high priest and political leaders deplored the act, some Indian Sikhs celeb- rated it. Therefrom, mobs of Hindu followers rampaged across the countryside, killing and wounding thousands of Sikhs for their vengeance and celebration. Consequently, the violence continued as Hindus and Sikhs vandalized and slaughtered each other for weeks to come. Arms talks revived On Thanksgiving, the superpowers announced that Secretary of State George Shultz would meet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in Geneva, Switzerland on Jan. 7-8. Both sides agreed to re- vive nuclear arms talks on negotiations on long-range stategic missiles, European- based warheads and space weapons. Gromyko was likely to table a demand that the U.S. stop deploying its new NATO mis- siles in Europe. Washington was expected to argue every point. After election time, Reagan wrote Soviet President Konstantin Chernenko about his seriousness to an arms control commitment. Then Reagan persuaded his own administration that he in- tended to break barriers be- held its first national election in tween Moscow an the U.S. In effect the Soviets agreed to come back to the bargaining table. Tax reform proposed to Congress In the first week of De- cember, Treasury Secretary Donald Regan unveiled his departmnet ' s proposal for a fundamental tax reform, the biggest U.S. tax revision since the adoption of the income tax in 1913. The goal of the proposal was to simplify federal tax codes and consequently re- duce federal taxes for the majority of U.S. taxpayers. Critics said his plan was too ambitious and its final pass- age by Congress would be years away. But Regan said his immediate objective was to get a tax reform on the table because congressional atten-

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Editor s Jo rnal 1 approved by tl Fab. 23 Edwin Meeae was Attorney General. Feb. 25 A longer school day School Board. When the board elementary school by ten minute; I lengthening upper schools to a Red Rockers i-presJdent Bush visited MARCH LEYLA COHLM A talking of the achieved any other ¥ HB 72 proviBion aaaembliea. March 1 A stronger economy with lower interest rates broke the all time high of the Dow ,fones industrial 9 officially began. Three of Mayor Ron Mullen ' s major opponents. Frank Cooksey. Micheal MaK Nofziger and Mike Poulsen participated in a public forum (o start their campaigns. March 5 During second period students nominated three teachers for the PTSA ' s Outstanding Teacher March 5 A U.S. Senate bu( give the Pentagon $115 billion less in the next t than the President requested tor his sharp t defense spending. March 6 Group pictures for the yearbook v in the cafeteria. March 7 The Junior Historians hosted I Independence Day Commemoration in the Hall of Honor March 7 The stale senate voted 24-5 for a resolution to ease the extracurricular restrictions on failing students ' participation. March 8 Mayor Ron Mullen was found in violation of state law by filing affidavits after abstaining from property voles in which he held financial interests. March 9 Continued Soviet-U.S. Arms Control talks t egan in Geneva. March 10 The Oak Ridge boys opened at the Frank March 11 Soviet President Konstantin Chernenko died after his two month ailing. The control o passed to Mikhail Gorbachev. 54, who i Communist Party member ever to rule. March 11-15 Spring Vacation March 12 Billy Ocean performed at the Austin Opera Texas March 12 ' Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow and Bush came away saying, we can move forward with progress. March 17 Capital 10,000 was open to running Austiniles on Saint Patrick ' s Day. March 19 The U.S. Senate voted 55-45 to approve the construction of 21 MX missiles. March 20 Cheerleader elections were held in the I graduating March 20 The Texas Senat drinking and driving offense March 22 TOTO in concer at the Frank Erwin Center. March 23 March 23 SAT testings March 23 TheFirmappeared with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers at the Frank Erwin Center. March 24 An hourlong debate between Mayor Ron Mullen and Frank Cooksey included issues on growth management, the South Texas Nuclear Project, ethnics, tratlic and water pullution. March 25 Julian Lennon performed at the Palmer March 25 U.S. Army Major was shot by a Soviet sentry while on duty in East Germany. The American was a operation that has monitored Soviet and East German miUlary activity smce WWII. March 28 Ron Mullen was against him when he vot cleared o( e loiKr. wen a conflict APRIL LJ death as the power shorted out. An electrician repaired the fuse to restore the building ' s lights, however, the cooling system remianed out-of-order for two weeks. November election results In the presidential election, Reagan defeated Walter Mon- dale by a margin of 59 to 41 percent, winning a record 525 electoral votes and sweeping everything except the District of Columbia and Minnesota. Reagan was declared by vari- ous publications as the most popular president since Franklin Roosevelt. President Reagan ' s elec- toral landside was the largest triumph in American history. Even after the fears of the dis- mantling of social security, 61 percent of the elderly voters went in Reagan ' s favor. Ten percent of the resulting mar- gin were female voters for Reagan even when the first woman symbol, Geraldine Ferraro, was on the ballot. Voters under 25 gave Reagan 59 percent of there votes. Bas- ically, a half of Reagan ' s votes were from union households who believed the election promice of no new taxes and a tamed inflation for the next four years. The Democratic party was in despair. By 1988 the party will have only controlled the presidency for one term within a twenty-five year period. Not only was the elec- tion a resounding defeat to Mondale, but an embarrass- ment to the interest groups that supported him. Many in- terest leaders questioned Democratic loyalty. On election day, Reagan said he wanted to shepherd negotiations with the Soviet Union during his next for years. He concluded one of his speeches with a concern of his challenge in dealing with Congress. The president would obviously have to face severe tests for stamina and ability to forge or fight for his legislative and foreign policy agendas. During Reagan ' s campaign, he claimed he was opposed to increasing taxes to reduce the deficit, though after the elec- tion he discussed raising re- venue through a vague pro- gram of tax simplification. The president said future arms control aggreements de- pended on his negotiating strategy the power struggles with the Kremlin in the next four years. Despite his defeat, Mon- dale ended his last race for public office with the same dignity and determination that marked his campaign. He said he would leave the leadership of the United States to Mr. Reagan, but he urged the American people to fight on for their democracy and freedom. In Texas politics. Con- gressman Phil Gramm filled the seat of retiring Republi- can, Senator John Tower by deeating Democrat (and Au- stin High alumnus) Lloyd Doggett. A year before the election, Gramm defected to the Republican party. He boasted that he was more closely indentified with the U.S. president than anyone else in the House. The campaign was one of the most expensive and nasty political battles in U.S. history, where each can- didate desperately tried their best to prove his opponent an unqualified leader. Although Doggett appealed to the majority of the Austin area and South Texas, Gramm won with the GOP support in Texas. Some critics claimed that he just rode the coattails of Mr. Reagan to his place in the U.S. Senate. Despite Ronald Reagan ' s avalanche, the Republicans failed to beat most of the in- cumbents in the Congres- sional election. The GOP gained some 15 seats, falling short of the 26 needed to com- pensate for the loss in 1982. But in the Senate, the Demo- crats only took two seats in this election, leaving the GOP with a six-vote majority. Editor ' s note: When Election Day rolled around, I was 18 years old and with a voter ' s registration card at hand. 1 strolled into pre- cifict 256 with two things in mind: How do I do this? and Why are they trusting me to vote on propsitions and minor offices that I have never even heard of? I have to admit, once I ivas handed a ballot and my name was scratched off the precinct voter ' s list, 1 had a blast humming eeny-meeny- miney-moe to choose which of the little holes on the ballot I would punch for railroad commis- sioner or for the fifth chair on the left of the eighth rozo in the down- town treasury advisory next door to McDonald ' s. It was a mess. I did feel a bit guilty, but I figured other first time voters felt the same hysterical frustration as 1 did. Perhaps all the Nov. 6 voters shared that feeling which climaxed when reviewing the propositions. If you ever thought that bad grammar is only in high school, I ' isit your next election ballot. Peeuh. After I left my neighborhood precinct, I wondered if I should have simply pressed through the 100% Democratic or 100% Republican hole. Then I realized that I was neither of the two and I did the right thing. 1 gave those •as

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Editor s Journal where voters April 4a8 Students and leac a Snow Day makeup days. April 5 Easter Holiday April 6 City and Bond Elections hel approved the moving of Aqua Festival I Shores and sewer bonds. Registered voters also elected incumt ent Mark Rose for place one; Sally Shipman for ptace three; and John Trevmo and Charles Urdy for places five and six. Ron Mullen and Frank Cooksey were scheduled for a run-off election in May. and lor place two Smoot Carl-Mitchell and Shyra Darr and place four George Humphrey and Gilt ert Martinez were to join the April April 9 AISD trustees approved expanding the career ladder lo include librarians and speech therapists. April 11 Red Jacket officer try-ouls April 11 The education reforms, such as the no- pass-no-play rule for extracurricular activities, more money alloted lo teacher career ladders, suspension as a discipline tool, and a rule that disallows an overburden of teacher paperwork survived the Texas Senate. April 11 Eric Clapton at the South Park I April 16 Reagan personally took the blame for the storm of controversy raised by his plans to visit a Nazi cemetery during his European (rip to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. He said he would visit a concentration camp in hopes of reminding the world lo never forget the Holocaust. April 19 Reagan agreed to visit Bergen-Belsen death camp in West Germany m May to compensate for his German relations visit lo the Bilburg cemetery. April 23 During the PTSA Breakfast. Del Moberg, Bill Glover and Tom Wiley were announced as the 1985 Outstanding Teachers of the Year. All three of the teachers received a cash reward along with a PTSA April 25 Senior Talent Show Aprij 27 The Austin Cleen Sweep ' 85 was sponsored by April 27 President Reagan said i that he was willing to meet with ! Gorbachev at the United Nations i public interview irsary Celebrations April 30 TAPS testings MAY With House Bin 72 and all Us reforms, I ' m glad lo be getting out o1 school at this lime - that is before it can do any more damage. Yet. with all ot this graduation, finals and no exemption from finals stuff. I feel like House Bill 72 is getting the last laugh al the seniors ■ expense. SHANNON CHANDLER, senior spoke of HB 72. May 1 TAPS testings for better forergn relations across t May 3 Dedication Day ended the tentli anniversary celebrations lor tlie lakelront campus. May 4 SAT testings May 4 City voters returned to the polls lo elect Frank Cooksey, mayor. Smoot Carl-Mitchell, place two, and George Humphrey lor place lour. May 6 SFA ' s All Sports Picnic convened on the campus ' polo grounds. May 6 Pat Traverse with Warrior appeared at the City s perlormed live at the Frank En May 10 Reagan came home to America alter his ten day trip to Europe. His advisors were discouraged that ict only slightly thwarted the May 14 Senior Class Ollicer and Student Council Presidential elections were held. May 15 Joan Armatrading at the City Coliseum May 15 Frank Cooksey was sworn in as Mayor ol Austin at Auditorium Shores in front ol over 1000 supporters. May 15 The state House ol Representatives gave t approval to a bill requiring Texans to wear •alety belts ' riding in the I the market 19.66 points from May 21 The Texas House voted drinking age Ire does not lorlei highway lunds. March llrst high ■m tion towards the federal de- ficit was beyond necessary. Probably the most account- able aspect of the announce- ment was Ronald Reagan ' s absence after the cabinet brief- ing of the plan. He was re- ported as having troubles with some of the suggestions. Although Reagan realized that the tax reform would gen- erate much debate proceding his campaign promices, he al- lowed the Secretary to issue the news. He later stated he would carefully review the proposals and consider con- gressional and public opinion and reaction. He was ex- pected to outline his choices in his State of the Union ad- dress in January. For the President ' s second term, tax reform and budget deficit issues were to go arm and arm. Congress regarded the deficit their number one priority. Even Reagan ' s economic advisers were virtu- ally unanimous in thinking that the deficit represented fu- ture danger. Reagan obviously was ex- pected to make critical choices on the issues, and on the budget he already refused to propose cuts in social security and major cuts in defense spending. Beyond these two constants the staff could not predict which programs the president would support. School joins worldwide concern Just before the Christmas holidays, SFA students joined others throughout the nation in raising money for the starv- ing people of Africa. The orig- inal goal was to raise $1 per attending student, or around $1600, but the results turned out far better than expected: $2,504.66, The Austin High Fund for Africa was a project con- ducted by the geography and Asian Studies classes. Alice Davis, teacher of these courses, said that while the geography classes were studying a unit on world hunger, the idea for the pro- ject emerged. After studying the subject a couple of weeks and being exposed to so much news coverage of the situation in Ethiopia, they decided to do something tangible to help. Many projects were plan- ned to spark student and com- munity interest in the fund. Collection cans, posters, and name tags with slogans to en- courage contributions, such as Feed an African child for a month for the price of a slice of pizza and a coke were con- structed by the classes. Money was collected before school, during lunch, and during second period, and a videotape of Band-Aid , a music video performed by several British rock musicians where all profits from sales were dedicated to Ethiopian relief, was shown during the 15-minute break period. Also, TV Channel 36 and the Amer- ican-Statesman covered the SFA project to alert the com- munity of the school ' s activi- tites. The spirit of giving in the Christmas season enhanced the awareness of the incredi- ble intensity of the problems in Africa. The media has in- sured that Americans were re- ally hit in the face with the reality of world hunger. No longer could it be considered just another problem in coun- tries far away. During the fund drive, the students were made aware of the startling seriousness of the hunger problem. Experts estimated that 20 million people die of hunger- related causes each year. Meaning 40,000 starving people die every 24 hours or 28 people die a minute. More people died of hunger related causes in the past five years than in all the wars, revolu- tions, and murders of the past 150 years. These facts were shared by the geography classes with their fellow stu- dents to inspire contributions. The students were also as- sured that the money was going directly to the African Red Cross where every cent would be spent on relief, none on administrative costs. Responses from the stu- dents were overwhelming. Because feelings of generosity were at their peak and be- cause of the intense publicity everyone knew it to be a legiti- mate, urgent and good cause. Editor ' s note: The concern for u m j k ' - Africa ' s situation did not die within the school after the Christ- mas spirit diminished. It was in April when the senior class talent show lipsynced a final perfor- mance to We Are the World originally sung by a number of America ' s finest rock stars. The- seniors were either assigned a per- former to imitate on the gym floor or placed on the stage to hold up a banner that read, AHS for AF- RICA. The senior talents dedi- cated the touching performance tc all the people who contributec money in December, and pre sented T-shirts with the slogan printed on them to predominant students and teachers of th(. movement. Mandate offers graduation plans Students entering high school during the fall of 198 were faced with choosing be tween four new graduatioi plans due to a new state mar