Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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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-

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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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Editor ' s Journal more during his second term as California ' s governor, and he intended to achieve greater success in his second presi- dential term. Mendez suspended In January, students and faculty were informed that Assistant Principal Jose Men- dez had been charged with in- decency with two minor girls. Mendez was suspended from his position at Austin high. An editorial in the February Maroon said, a personal in- teraction between student and teacher to nourish the de- velopment of young people is necessary in creating a human learning environment. But it is also important that both student and teacher have an understanding of the formal relationship and that there is no misinterpretation. Shultz and Gromyko talk in Geneva Revival of arms-control dis- cussions between the U.S. and Soviet Union in snowy Geneva took place in mid-Jan- uary. Fifteen hours of talks be- tween George Shultz and An- drei Gromyko proved to be a success when after the meet- ing when the Soviet leader said, goodbye and best wishes to you. Before the meeting, the Kremlin made it clear that the USSR wanted to improve rela- tions with the U.S. Reagan called the meeting a new dialogue with Moscow. The result of the meeting was sim- ple planning of future re- sumed arms-control negotia- tions where both countries would bring three distinct sets of delegations on: long-range nuclear weapons; inter- mediate-range nuclear arms; and weapons in space. To re- duce nuclear arms and in- crease stategic stability were the culminated objectives. Within the actual meeting, little discussion on arms-con- trol was administered. These complex issues were again de- layed to be discussed at a later date; but at least both sides agreed to be flexible, patient and determined. State of the Union message On his 74th birthday, at the height of his popularity after a landslide victory last November, President Reagan delivered his State of the Union message after 535 sen- ators and congressmen and political Washington joined in a chorus of Happy Birthday. Reagan created bright vis- ions for the future with hope of arms control and plans for tax reform. His speech sum- marized his presidency motto of hope and opportunity and the leadership of a sec- ond American revolution to less dependency on govern- ment. He made it sound so easy. bay by day, we are shat- tering accepted notions of what is possible. Anything is, if we have faith, the will and the heart. The White House was im- pressed with Reagan ' s ability to accentuate the positive when in reality, national is- sues were questionably gloomy. Officials commented that the Union Message was notable for what Reagan did not say. He had almost no mention of his proposed 1986 budget and the $180 billion deficit it entailed. Meese ' s nomination stalled In February Edwin Meese 111 was intensely examined by the U.S. Senate, primarily by the members of the Democra- tic party, upon his nomina- tion to attorney general. De- spite the control of the Senate by the Republicans, Democ- rats on the Judiciary Commit- tee were critical toward Meese. Delaware Senator Joseph Biden announced that Meese was below the extraordinary stature and character needed in the office. He said that not only should the man in the federal position be honest and ethical, but of higher standard than Meese had de- monstrated. The charges against Meese only stalled his nomination, but after the investigation, he was cleared of any violations of the law, was confirmed. and Meese pledged to be an attorney general of whom the nation can be proud. Extracurricular time limited The State Board of Educa- tion passed a new policy which limited after student participation in extracurricu- lar activities to no more than eight hours per week per ac- tivity. The rule became effec- tive on the first of January and was scheduled to expire at the end of the semester unless the state board mad it a perma- nent rule. It did. The wording of the policy left many sponsors confused about which activities were exempt from the policy. The State Board was to destin- guish between extracurricular activites as being non-related to classroom instruction and cocurricular activites as being an enrichment of instruction. The policy did not cleariy state whether it included cocurricular programs such as debate or drama. Principal Jacquelyn McGee said that she held extracurricular spon- sors responsible for interpret- ing and enforcing the 8-hour policy. D grade resurrected Teachers throughout the state repeatedly requested the resurrection of the D grade after the State .Board of Educa- tion eliminated the grade from public schools in re- sponse to HB 72. The legis- lators believed that the D grade promoted excessive social activity therefore taking time away for academic activ- ity. So the D grade was re-insti- tuted, but with different num- erical value than before. The newly-adopted rule in- troduced a grading system that changed the numeric value of each letter grade. The new grading system was an- nounced as follows: 100-90, A; 89-80, B; 79-75, C; and 74-70, D. Previous to House Bill 72, a letter grade of D was given to those students who scored in the 60-69 range, signifying a below-average perfor- mance. School districts throughout Texas were required to adhere Ho Austin winter -=-=- .-- ' — -TJC. Downtown Austin D, ' uring the last few hours of the winter vacation, Austin was hit with a rare snow storm that forced the AISD and the majority of Texas districts to close school Jan. 2 and 3. Again on Jan. 14, icy condi- tions from a weekend snowstorm delayed the open- ing of school doors to 10:55. It was peculiar bad weather timing because the first day of final exams were scheduled for that day. The testing periods were moved up to Tuesday through Thursday. A final blanket of snow co- vered Austin at the end of Jan- uary, making Feb. 1 an official snow day out of school class- rooms. The closings caused the un- usual problem of making the snow days up within the school calendar. The district administrators figured the days could be made up by shortening the spring holi- days, eliminating the two holidays around Easter, or ex- tending the spring semester