Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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1 Editor s Journal to this system no later the Sept. 1, 1985. Aqua Festival location moved The annual problem of overcrowding at Auditorium Shores for the Austin Aqua Festival finally led 79% of Au- stin voters to approve a bond issue to move the festival to a permanent location at Lake Long. With the cooperation of the City Parks and Recreation Department, the unde- veloped parkland at Lake Long will eventually hold three large amphitheatres for entertainment, a children ' s play area and restroom facilities. The 3,000 acres of land will provide festival goers the ad- vantages of more parking facilities, more room for people, and more room for booths and activities ' areas. The Lake Long location was planned to accomodate all the events that previously were held on Auditorium Shores. The three major events that will not be moved to Lake Long are the River Raft Race on Town Lake, the Land Parade down Congress Av- enue, and the Night Water Parade on Town Lake. Although the new lake loca- tion would be somewhat of a disadvantage due to the lengthy drive, the city will be actually be saving cost be- cause permanent facilities created. Shuttle buses will also be operated during cer- tain events for those who do not wish to drive to Lake Long. The site will not be moved until 1986. Marcii in Geneva Reagan ' s national security advisors questioned what should be the opening U.S. bargaining proposals at the Geneva arms-control negotia- tions in March with the Soviet Union. But it was apparent that without new agreements in Geneva, both countries could find themselves trap- ped in a potentially destabiliz- ing race. The President and his cabinet responded to this challenge. Notably, never be- fore has Reagan given such an ambitious mandate to stimu- late superpower strategic thinking. Yet, he refused to use Star Wars or the MX mis- sile as a bargaining chip for the Geneva talks. Rather, limiting intermediate range nuclear arsenals in Europe would be discussed. Editor ' s note: Possibli the Republican negotiators realized that the quest for international ac- cord on arms-control could try American patience to the point of affecting the 1988 presidential election. When the public showed its deep concern for threatening technology that could ultimately cause assured destruction, the party probably saw that their ad- ministration could no longer abs- tain from creating arms treaties. It was time to try to give the vot- ers what they wanted most: peace and international security. Cheerleader elections Sixteen students competed for cheerleading positions on March 20 in front of the freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Eight were elected to lead the school spirit for the following school year. The 1985-86 cheerleaders elected were: Surrenden Angly, sophomore; Suzanne Be- nevides, sophomore; Mary Gilbert, junior; Melanie Milner, junior; Kino Moore, sophomore; Suzanne Skruggs, juior; Kelli Weedon, junoir; and Millay Wood, sophomore. Sophomores and juniors who tried out needed to have a physical exam, a report of citizenship by their teachers, and a grade average of a 70 in all of their courses for the six weeks period preceeding try- outs. Students who had at- tended Austin High for more than seven semesters includ- ing the ninth grade were in- eligible to try-out. Before try- outs are held, a review com- mittee determined the eligibil- ity of the applicants who prac- ticed jumps, cheers and chants during a two week clinic taught by veteran cheer- leaders. After the applicants were reviewed as eligible they partiscipated in the try-outs. On that morning the candi- dates presented two chants and a cheer in small groups, then the senior cheerleaders gave a goodbye cheer. A few seniors who disreguarded a stategically scheduled meet- ing found their faces wetted with happy tears as their classmates tumbled on the gym floor for the last time. Crime Prevention Week After completing a course in Street Law, Student Coun- cil President Philip Jabour felt that the council should stimu- late crime awareness to the student body. Crime Preven- tion Week was planned for the last week of March, and the project was sponsored by the Student Council under Emily Swiff as head chair. The project included infor- mation about home safety, personal safety, and traffic safety. A day of prevention demonstrations, distributing information, and visits by members of the Austin Police Department (APD) was dedi- cated to each aspect of safety. On Tues., March 26, home safety was the theme. To in- form students about home safety, members of the APD came during lunch to display various locks and alarms for the home. Property records were also avail able for stu- dents to register their valuable items in case of theft. Wed- nesday was dedicated to per- sonal safety . Activities in- cluded a rape prevention film shown during the student council meeting that morn- ing. A karate expert gave tips on self-defense during lunch. Crime Prevention Week con- cluded on Thursday with traffic safety . A crash simulator was the main attrac- tion. On this machine, volun- teers were carried down a short ramp at about five miles per hour and stopped sud- denly to experience the sensa- tion of a car collision. Swiff commented that the student community should under- stand that buckling seat belts can literally save lives. She explained that 98 percent of last year ' s automobile-related fatalities were the result of a person not wearing a seat belt. Since New York had im- posed a law requiring seat belts to be worn, the state re- ported 38 percent fewer fatalities. As a growing con- Pat Roach is belted Into a crash simulator by Michael Jones. Mary Gilbert chats for cheerleader ( tlons. cern spread due to the alarm- ing statistics and the success- ful law results in other states, Texas legislators were consid- ering making seat belt buck- ling a law as well. Texas boosts tuition Texas had a billion dollar deficit due to higher educa- tion. While trying to limit budget reductions, the Legis- lature proposed to increase tuition to make up for $569 million of the state ' s deficit. The proposal would raise the tuition from the current $4 per semester hour to $24 per hour by 1994. Tuition would be increased at the rate of $2 per school year for resident students if the proposal pass- ed, increasing the fees as fol- lows: 1985-1986 school year, $6 per semester credit hour; 1986-1987, $8 per hour; 1987- 1988, $10 per hour; 1988-1989, $12 per hour. A portion of the revenue 1 ■ to Hm

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blanketed with three snowfalls in early months ' ■ ' ■: Trey Halley and his sister play In the Christmas snow . Seniors Robert Jomanson and Leah Stubbs experience Icy conditions and traffic Seniors MItzl Parrls, Louis Black, Carol Billings, Laura Witt, Sydnl Case, Lisa Renz and Nicole Tatum celebrate the third snowfall Hawaiian style. into June to meet the minimum in school days re- quired by law. After one school day in January was considered a make up day (due to the rescheduling of final exams), administrators decided to take two days off the Easter Break, April 4 and 8 to make up for the lost class hours. However, students and teacher were given a short holiday on Good Friday since the Texas Education Agency excused one of the snow days. Dr. John Ellis, the Superin- tendent of school, had the re- sponsibility of deciding whether Austin students should stay home or get the bodies in school after extraor- dinary weather. The condi- tions to close the schools vari- ed. We have security forces, Ellis explained. They travel in the AISD along the bus routes to check and see if the routes are passable. The ques- tion is: can our students be transported safely to and from school, and if 10% of our Superintendent of school. Dr. John Ellis awaits snowfall as a part of his respon- sibilities to declare snow days. buses can ' t make it, we close school. 1 tried to decide by 10:00 p.m the night before, but sometimes with this Texas weather it could have changed. So, I woke up at 3:00 ci.m. and see how the roads were. Also, 1 contacted the Weather Bureau to see what the forecast was, Ellis said. To inform the public of school closings, Ellis called the media and then sent a chain call to school administrators. We had our people out all night and in the early morning hours to see about the icy con- ditions, explained Ellis. Editor ' s note: During fall fi- nals in 1982, Austin was slightly covered with a belated White Christmas. The AISD gave us p ' ermission to leave in the middle of our second final. Most students icere overjoyed beyond the sight of the snow for being dismissed from exam stress. Unlucky for nu I was merely bouncing a bas- ketball around the gym in a P.E. class. Wow, what a break. Nevertheless, I was happy to see snow in Texas, and the truck drive home from a friend ' s older brother was unforgetably fun. Have you ever heard that Texans cannot drive in icy conditions? Well, it ' s true. After a feiv 180 turns and close calls in hitting the spinning cars around us, wc made it home to plow snow balls at passing vehicles. That was when I was a freshman, of course. The first snow of my senior year was your average romantic snow experience. 1 stayed inside by the fire most of the time with the exception of going outside to take pictures for this historic event as my Dad put it. When Austin snowed again before fi- nals, I was astonished by the ad- ministration ' s planning. We came to school two hours late to sit instead of taking our pre- scheduled finals. This snow Dad did not insist on taking pictures. In February when it snozued the hardest, guess who decided to be an average Texan on icy roads? Besides spinning around on bridges and skidding across inter- sections with red lights, I slid into a tree from on top of a steep hill. I think 1 killed the tree. m

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from a tuition increase, ap- proximately 25 percent, would be alloted to financial aid. The Texas Public Educa- tion Grants Program would handle this financial aid pro- gram for higher education in Texas. SFA teachers retire T ' m the kind of teacher that puts ever ' thing into my teaching, commented Ver- nice Smith, English teacher. .Along with Smith, Charlie Davis, vocational education counselor, and Jim Dumas, math teacher, retired from their educational careers at the end of the school year. I ' ve enjoyed working in the schools in general. Austin High ' s a good place to be, recalled Davis, whose career m education has spanned 35 years, 16 of them at SFA. All three reflected on their j , years of teaching as being re- ' l| warding and agreed that being a part of SFA was an unforgetable experience. I ' m going to miss teach- ing. ..the kids, Austin High, and especially Jacquelyn McGee, said Dumas, who has taught math at SFA for 12 years. I ' ll miss my friends. Smith, having been an En- glish teacher for 19 years, de- cided last year that she would retire. I ' ve given 150% of my- self, she said proudly. But it ' s a great love for kids that has kept me from feeling how much I gave. She is one who believes that teaching is not only taught from the book, but from the heart. I think the greatest tribute, the kind of action that makes all of my work meaningful, was when a student of mine th at had made an ' F ' in my class came to me after school had ended, and thanked me for all that I ' d taught him, recalled Smith. Sometimes 1 wonder if my teaching has North Hill given to family memorial for a beautification project. By SARAH ENGLAND X hanks to Helen and Charles Morton, SFA ' s North Hill was the subject of a beautification project that fi- nally took advantage of its strategic position and natural assets. The plans included the planting of over 100 native Texas trees, shrubs, and flow- ers, and the construction of a wall for people waiting for the buses and an area for holding classes outdoors. All of the plants and funds for construction were donated by the Mortons as a memorial to their daughter Jane, SFA class of ' 60, who passed away in 1964 from a brain tumor. The first time I came to the new Austin High building I looked out the library window and saw that rocky hillside and thought, ' wouldn ' t it be nice to make that beautiful, ' said Mrs. Morton. We wanted the memorial to be somewhere where her friends would be reminded of her. The two ideas just came to- gether; helping Austin High and Janie ' s memorial. On Sat., March 23, about 50 students joined in to help clear away weeds and rocks and plant trees and flowers. With the help of most of the football team taking out their frustrations on the shrubs, the job was completed ahead of schedule. The volunteers were organized by Kim Curtis and Rod Edens and the whole affair was supervised by Brian Schenk. The Mortons treated the volunteeers to a lunch catered by the Pit Bar-B-Q. Prior to the meal, everyone held hands in a circle to sing the school song, Loyal Forever . R