Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Editor ' s Journal and While Game was played j May 23 The I House Park stadium. May 23 U.S. House approved a fiscal 1986 budget plan that retained cosl-oMivmg increases for Social Security and targeted spending May 24 At the Wyndam Hotel, seniore congregated f their prom night. May 24 Underclassmen took their first period final. May 26 Baccalaureate Service was assembled in tl May 26 Commencement Exercise Tonney Burger Center. May 28-29 Third through six period final May 29 The 1984-85 school year hw addition to the mandatory credits, he must have three credits of science, one credit of fine arts, and two credits of foreign language. Twenty- two credits were needed to graduate under this plan. The only difference be- tween the Advanced High School Program and the Ad- vanced with Honors was that at least five of the total re- quired units should be desig- nated as Honors courses. The Academic Excellence Graduation Plan enabled stu- dents who graduate with the completed requirements and a grade point average of ninety to be recognized and distinguished on their trans- cripts. Dropout rate feared More than two million American high school stu- dents have dropped out of school before graduation. According to a study by the Office of Research and Evalu- ation in the AISD, 18 percent of the district ' s teenagers did not graduate from high school. The national percent of dropouts was almost 30 percent. With the new education policies included in House Bill 72 and 246, many educators in Texas feared that the drop- out rate would increase. Since the reforms moved toward higher standards and a more specialized curriculum, the bill could be ultimately re- sponsible for student discour- agement of secondary educa- tion. Although the implemen- tors of the bills felt the reforms would not alter the dropout rate. Superintendent John Ellis and Principal Jacquelyn McGee agreed that the new policies would deter school at- tendance. They felt that some students would choose not to make the adjustments ex- pected in the bill, and avoid the pressures within an ad- vanced academic curriculum by skipping class or dropping On the other hand, experts claim that teenagers drop out for reasons beyond school re- lated pressures. Studies indi- cate that some students would rather seek financial satisfaction with a full-time occupation. Others simply dislike school and are at- tracted to off-campus in- terests. Soft drinks regulated In accordance with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations, only sugar-free drinks were made available from vending machines serving students. In addition, these drinks were only available to students when the cafeteria was not serving food. The AISD has tried several times to satisfy these require- ments. All carbonated drinks, sugar or non-sugar, were re- moved from the schools and replaced with Hi-C fruit drinks, which are non-carbo- nated but do have sugar. Then sugar-free carbonated drinks were put into the machines and the Hi-C drinks were removed because of their sugar content. Foods and drinks with minimal nutritional value could not be sold in the cafeteria machines during mealtimes, but during lunch the cafteria sold sweet foods such as doughnuts, cookies, and fried pies. Also, nearby at the school tennis courts, there was a machine which serves sugar drinks. These machines were locked during breakfast and lunch, and students could not miss class to get a drink from the vending machine. Editor ' s Note: When viewed as a whole, the soft drink policy implemented in the AISD was somewhat useless because it could be weakened by the accessibility of drinks nearby. The policy should have been carefully revised to achieve a compromise between students ' wants and USDA re- quirements. Heavens as a battleground Due to advances in defen- sive technology, new weaponry was planned to be deployed in space. After Christmas the world ' s atten- tion was given to Washington ' s Star Wars m Van Fitzgerald plans to develop space-basec: antimissile systems and anti satellite weapons. While Washington ' s ac tions were closely observed the Pentagon maneuvered prevent cuts in defens spending until 1986. Thi stategic spending victoryi kept the U.S. in a public mod| characterized by strength arii determination despite tb| ever-increasing deficit. 1 The USSR reacted ij Washmgton ' s actions witi great concern for the succes of renewed arms talks. Sovi! leaders said there was no r{ tional alternative than nego ations to maintain peacef; coexistence. They conclud that banning weapons space would begin the pii cess in halting the arms raij however, if the U.S. plann; tests, the Soviet Union wo | match the efforts, therefoj continuing the race of nuci; arms.

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Chris Damon created graphic art for Project LIvesaver sponsored by Mr. Schenk ' s classes. Dwayne Gaslln 06ATiOMAL M ' S) - I Michael Bergin and Will Fitzgerald 9l In The FanUstlcks. il pfrfo ' ' eWoiW stirs, ft t(iWii«| iWstf m nW ■,df Iksloy ws of Hers , plans lallo ' date. Replacing the present AISD Graduation requirements and the AISD Academic Excel- lence Graduation Plan were the General Graduation Plan, the Advanced High School Program, the Advanced with Honors, and the revised AISD Academic Excellence Gradua- tion Plan. Under the General Gradua- tion Plan, a student must ac- quire four units of English or language instead of three; in mathematics he must have three credits instead of two; and one half credit of economics which was never mandatory before. Under this plan the student must graduate with at least twenty- one credits. In the Advanced High School Program, a student must have the same number of mandator) ' classes as the General Graduation Plan. In Controversial House Bill 72 resented by students and faculty. By HEATHER BROVSKY i t education reform bill railed House Bill 72 triggered criticism, controversy, and conflict, and caused major changes in Texas schools. It also caused teachers to retire or resign from teaching. Stric- ter policies and higher academic standards were the goals of the education reform package, invoking more strict rules on participation in ex- tracurricular activities, on ab- sences, implementing teacher testing and mandatory tuto- rials, and raising grade re- quirements. But many teachers and students were not pleased with the reforms. I resent the fact that (legis- lators) are using schools as guinea pigs, said Leyla Cohl- mia, chemistry teacher. They ' re playing around with kid ' s lives - and that hurts. One casualty of House Bill 72 was veteran teacher Jean McMillan. After a 35 year teaching career in Texas pub- lic schools, McMillan an- nounced her plans for an early retirement, leaving the pro- fession at mid-year in Janu- ary. She said that House Bill 72, compounded with per- sonal reasons, was, for her, the last straw. There was no- thing in House Bill 72 that of- fered me an incentive to stay , said McMillan. In Dallas, teachers call it ' House Bill to Retirement. ' McMillan was one of three SFA teachers who retired at the end of the first semester. We are in danger of losing our veteran teachers, said Principal Jac- quelyn McGee. I ' ve thought seriously about retiring my- self, she said. I think about it every day. In fact, also at mid-term media instuctor Don Lawson retired to seek a private Media occupation elsewhere. Many other teachers were dissatisfied with House Bill 72, saying it added to a grow- ing frustration and decreasing morale among teachers, in ad- dition to dehumanizing edu- cation. Students are not as- sembly line products, said drama teacher Larry Preas. Honors government teacher Brian Schenk said, House Bill 72 and it ' s application have systematically de- moralized and discouraged many student-advocate teachers and administrator. I feel that the heart of a great school has been replaced with a disinterested mechanical transplant. liH

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Regan repeats his presidential oath of office as fiis wife Nancy holds the bible at his Inauguration ceremony. Graduation tests required As a result of the back to basics policies of HB72, Texas public high school stu- dents eventually would be re- quired to pass a basic skills test before receiving high school diplomas. In October, 1985, the test should be administered to eleventh graders for the first time. Students who fail to meet the requirements on the test will have opportunities in May 1986 and in October and May of their senior year to pass the test. W.N. Kirby, Commissioner of Education, stated that be- ginning in 1987, high school diplomas would be withheld from those students who have not demonstrated satisfactory performance on the exit-level test by the end of their twelfth grade year. The test had no affect on students enrolled in the eleventh grade this year be- cause the State Board of Edu- cation ' s rule stated that stu- dents enrolled in the twelfth grade during the 1985-1986 school year shall not be re- quired to take the exit-level examination. In the past, students have had to pass a ninth grade TABS test before receiving graduation diplomas. Sarah Todd, an employee of the Texas Education Agency, con- trasted the new graduation test with the TABS test. She concluded that the new exit level test was more difficult than was TABS. The graduation test has angered many students who feel that passing grades should be sufficent enough to graduate. Inauguration ' 85 I do solemnly swear that 1 will faithfullv execute the of- fice of the President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Con- stitution of the United States. These are the words of the second article of the federal constitution that Ronald Wil- son Reagan repeated on two days of his 1985 inauguration, Jan. 20 and 21. The oath was repeated twice since Jan. 20, the traditional inauguration day, fell on a Sunday. The first White House cere- mony was simple, elegant and private with approxi- mately 100 guests. Chief Jus- tice Warren Burger recited the Constitution ' s word ' s as the President repeated them near the grand staircase landing on Sunday the 20th, and on the following Monday the words were restated openly to the public on the White House ' s front lawn. That sincere oath was all that really mattered during In- augural Weekend where balls, galas, parades and ban- quets were held to celebrate four more years of Reagan ' s leadership. During his first term, Reagan became widely popu- lar after succeeding four failed presidents. His optimistic spirit triggered patriotism and pride throughout the nation, and at 74 as he entered his second term, historians provi- sionally recognized the man as one in a handful of U.S. presidents who has left a per- manent mark on the nation and the world. His second term could either defend or destroy his successful reputa- tion. His policies continued to generate strong opposition. On his agenda three ma|or concerns were widely trans- cendent: arms control, tax simplification and the federal- budget deficit. He com- mented that he accomplished Sh-