Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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our Of Spurgeon Bell, distinguished Senior class president Paul Gerling alumni, and junior Ned Sherman lis- speaks to students and guests at ten to Dedication Day ceremonies. Dedication Day. first, third and fifth period fi- nals, and on Wed., May 23, second, fourth and sixth period exams were issued. The exam periods were an hour long for the seniors and the graduates were required to attend the classes between each final exam. Also, on Thurs., May 23 seniors were expected to be in their classes for a daily grade. Any classes missed on Thursday were counted as an absence toward the five day limit. According to Principal Jaq- cuelyn McGee, in the past years, seniors were never re- ally released from school a few days early, they just took it upon themselves to miss those days. She went on further to explain that the major differnece in this years ' s schedule was that the absence policy was strictly en- forced and that this year seniors were not exempt from finals becaus of HB 72. Seniors were scheduled to graduate May 28, at2;00p.m., but were not required to be in school on Fri., May 24 or Mon., May 27. Most seniors expressed glee in getting out of Texas ' schools before House Bill 72 and all of it ' s reforms did any- more damage to them. One example of the reforms that even the district felt impelled to execute was a new final exam schedule for under- classmen this year. Students complained that the state ' s education proposals were bad enough without the help of the district. On Fri., Mav 24, when seniors were out of school, underclassmen took their first period final from 8:55-10:55. Then they resumed regular classes through sixth period. The following Monday, they took their second period exam for two hours and then com- pleted the average school day. On Tues., May 28, the stu- dents took one and a half hour Milderd Pickle Mayhal, former Social Studies teacher, was honored at the Dedication Day ceremonies. Tenth Anniversary Celebration ends with Dedication Day X he lakefront campus for Austin High School was dedi- cated on May 2, 1976 as AISD ' s Bicenntial gift to Au- stin. Ten years after the in- stitution opened on Town Lake, the Student Council celebrated its anniversary April 29 to Dedication Day on May 3. Each year SFA observed the anniversary of the ' dedica- tion ' of the lakefront campus, but since a decade passed at the location and since Spring Thing was cancelled the coun- cil planned a week of activities leading up to Dedication Day. Their plans included trivia an- nouncements, receptions, photography and art exhibits, school tours, and spring-time intramural sport ' s competi- tions. The council sponsored a fun run, and a golf and Softball tournament. The fun run was held on May 1. Neal Tuttrup, junior, and freshman, Melissa DeLeon ran to two top times for the male and female divisions in the three mile run. Alumni and faculty joined the stu- dents in the fun run as well as the golf and softball tourna- ments. Due to April showers the golf tournament was can- celled for students and faculty after Ken Macaluso took the winning alumni title. Despite the rain, student softball players from each class and the faculty battled for blue rib- bons. Of course, the senior class robbed the under- calssmen of their egos and smushed the faculty team. Consequently, the seniors took home the blue. An all-school Dedication Day assembly on May 3 wrap- ped up the week ' s activities. The Hall of Honor Steering Committee announced Dis- tinguished Alumni, Spurgeon Bell, class of ' 25, and Jaquelvn McGee, class of ' 46; Honored Faculty installed in the hall were Mildred Pickle Mayhall, Social Studies (1956-1964) and Maurice Price, English (1956- 1978). Also the Maroon Soci- ety representives installed were Melissa Macaluso, Catherine Schneider, David Shivers and Becky Youman.

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Editor s Journal | by the Soviet government, Davis and Martin feel that, al- though the package would probably be checked by the government and a few items may be removed, the mater- ials would eventually get through. They did note, how- ever, that it is possible that they would never receive a reply from the Soviet school. Senior Talent Show Despite the many changes in the school calendar due to House Bill 72, the Senior Tal- ent Show remained a Maroon tradition. For a while, seniors were unsure whether the show would be produced because of the new anti-assembly policy outlawing class inter- ruptions. However, the show appeared as planned, after Senior Class President Paul Ceding convinced a teachers committee to allow the show to go on. The show was cut down from an hour or more to half an hour. And in order to in- sure that the acts only take up 30 minutes, tryouts were held weeks in advance to choose only seven acts. Also, in years past the show was only for fun. This year, the acts com- peted to involve the entire student body. When the student body en- tered the gymnasium on April 25, students were given bal- lots with the seven acts listed. Seniors, Pete Moreno and Phillip Patterson of the band. The Matrix opened the show as students found their seats. After this hard-rock band music ceased. Red Jacket of- ficers, Courtney Parsons, Tina Thomas and Laura Witt danced to the music of Ynz. Many of the voters felt the girl ' s performance was so pro- fessional that the other acts could not meet the competi- tion. Following the officers ' dance was the Jackson Five act. Kenneth Black, Wayne Brum- ley, John Donovan, Rod Edens, Doug Ruby and Drew Tate played the well-known performers. Then, a large clan of mean, motorcycle mamas came out on the gym floor to dance to The Gap Band ' s Burn Rubber. The group of senior girls were: Amy Francis, Jennifer Williamson, Stacia Harris, Suzanne Schulze, Tami Johnson, Grace Benevides, Melanie DuPuy, Charlette Ro- gers, Nicole Tatum, Elizabeth Turley, Nancy Sanders and Maria Adams. The most unforgetable act was performed by Michael Quiroz. Not only did he lip- sync to Tina Turner ' s Better Be Good To Me but he dressed and moved like her. Some stu- dents said it was the mini- skirt and high heels that won the talent show for him, while others claimed it was his guts. The Stop-stops follwed Michael ' s act. These girls were have said to be the younger sisters of the Go-gos. Laura Williams sang, as Susan Skaggs accompanied with voice and tambourine, Becky Youman played the bass guitar, Michelle Ullman banged the drums and Susan Locke played the keyboard. The girls performed Head Oi ' er Heels. We Are the World was the most touching and final act. The entire talent show cast and crew joined in a multi- person lipsync act called AHS for AFRICA. Some of the most memorable performers were Earl Kinard as Stevie Wonder; Susan Skaggs as Cyndi Lauper; Clif Jenness as Willie Nelson; Becky Youman as Bruce Springsteen; Chuck Coffman as Kenny Rogers; and Eric Meizner as Daryll Hall. The act was particularly meaningful because it was de- dicated to all of the students and faculty who gave money in December to Africa. Many tears were shed by seniors and their teachers and spon- sors during and after the show, proving that the show was indeed a moving and memorable success. Calendar changes The proposed school calen- dar for the 1985-86 school year was announced at the end of the year, and it included some changes. The fall semester was to start after Labor Day, on Tues., Sept. 3, and school should be in session until a staff development day on Oct. 18. Winter vacation will start on Dec. 23 and classes should resume on Jan. 3. Three more staff development days in which the students will have the days off were proposed forJan.23and24, andFeb. 7, A one week spring break, March 24-28, which will in- clude Good Friday, will coin- cide with The University of Texas ' spring break. And fi- nally, school will be ending much later, with Tues., June 3, the last day for students, and Wed., June 4 as the last day for teachers. Prentice resigns During the first week of May, journalism advisor Tom Prentice called his editors and future editors of the SFA Ma- roon and Comet into his glass- walled office. He said he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that he was offered a job with the Texas Daily Newspaper As- sociation (TDNA) which not only paid more, but was far away fromthe frustrations and bureaucratic hassles of the high school teaching pro- fession and its House Bills. The bad news was that after seven years of supervising yearbook and newspaper pro- duction, he was going to leave Austin High to accept the job offer in June. He was going to stop working with the kids he had grown accostumed to and cared for. ■Some of the students shed tears while others simply stared at Prentice with mixed feelings of congratulations, admiration and disappoint- ment. Well, what are you going to be doing in this other job while you are not here, hassl- ing us? asked one of the stu- dents. Prentice, who had origi- nally planned to teach for ten more years, smiled and said he would become the director of TDNA ' s publications and many other activities, such as a summer internship program for college level students. The students knew he would have a successful future because of the work he completed at Au- stin High. In the seven years that Prentice advised SFA ' s journalism department, its Wayne Brumley as Michael Jackson i 0 I i, lf ' Clif Henness lipsyncs Willie Nelson i senior class ' rendition of We Are -World . publications received a well- known professional reputa- tion. At the end of Prentice ' s an- nouncement, he asked the students to leave before he shed a few tears himself. Then the phone rang for the third interrupting time during the meeting. The students laughed. At least, I ' ll have a secret- ary to answer that %?! phone, judas priest! exclaimed Prentice. Graduation and finals This year ' s spring semester final schedule was the most bizarre ever recorded. Not only were seniors required to take all of their finals and at- tend classes after they took the exams, but the under- classmen final exam dates and times confused students and teachers alike. On Tues., May 21, seniors were required to take their Hu

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Editor s Journal F finals for third and fourth periods. Afterward they were dismissed for lunch and or the commencement cere- mony. The final day of exams was the same as the past with fifth and sixth period finals lasting two complete hours. In previous years, two-hour exams were held for each period on three days wih two exams per day. Lucky artist suspended Cartoonist, Whitney Ayres was suspended from school and banned from commence- ment and prom exercises after the publication of his comic strip in Austin High ' s news- paper the Maroon. Lucky comic strip con- tained two characters master- bating in this year ' s final issue. Tom Prentice, SFA jour- nalism instructor and student publication advisor said the artwork was lewd, obscene and not protected by the First Amendment. Prentice re- quested disciplinary action to- ward Ayres after a number of students brought the material to his attention after the news- paper was distributed Fri., May 17. Budget cutting plan approved by Congress When President Reagan re- turned from one of the most grueling and controversial as- signments of his career, the European tour with his con- troversial stop at the Geman War Cemetery at Bitburg, he found a victory for spending restraints and no tax increase in the national budget cutting plan for 1986. While the president was across the Atlantic, Vice Pres- ident George Bush broke a 49- 49 Senate tie vote which brought the GOP deficit bus- ters a tactical victory. The plan consisted of a budget that would cut out $56 billion in 1986 and about $300 billion over the next three years. Although the GOP felt the passage in the Senate was a victory, it was something of a strategic defeat for Reagan. The plan included a one-year freeze on the cost-of-living al- lowances (COLA) for social security, a major contradic- tion to one of Reagan ' s few campaign pledges. While the plan ignored COLA impor- tance, it also included a no in- crease budget beyond infla- tion for the Pentagon. Even though the budget cutting plan survived the Se- nate, it was unlikely to clearly pass through the House. The Democrats were eager to aviod new taxes, but were de- termined to reject a cap on so- cial security COLA. The next item on the agenda was the presidential tax reform plan. Despite the bipartisan agreement on a need for the plan, Reagan ' s proposals were expected to evoke considerable disagree- ments during the summer months. Daily extracurricular participation limited In May, AISD announced it was complying with the pro- vision of House Bill 72 which required school districts to limit student participation in and practice for extracurricu- lar activities during the school day and school week. The State Board limited to ten the number of days that could be missed for activities out of a 175-day school year. It was up to each individual district to decide how to space them out over the spring and fall semesters and the six- weeks periods. Some districts decided to split the 10 days 5-5 over each semester. In some areas, special cases were discovered. For exam- ple, golfers, baseball players, debaters, and even jour- nalism students needed more days off for their activities in the spring semester. Con- sequently, the AISD decided to simply leave a 10-day maximum for the entire school year. Any coaches, sponsors, or directors with comments or complaints about the limitations were in- vited to contact the State Board directly. In addition, the AISD im- plemented the state-required eight hour per week limit on practice time for a single ex- Katherlne Von Driesler at Commencement tracurricular activity. Senate Bill 525 Throughout the school year, in the halls, the class- rooms, the offices and even outside the building have been endless complaints about the ever so popular House Bill 72. However, toward the clos- ing of the year, rumors were heard that the legislature might bring some changes in the educational restrictions that the bill imposed. Senator Carl Parker prop- osed Senate Bill 525, a bill which would refine some as- pects of HB 72, such as, in- creased funding for the teacher career ladder or relax- ing restrictions on extracur- ricular activities. According to a bill analysis of SB 525, it would insure the most effec- tive implementation of HB 72. If passed, the bill would au- thorize the State Board of Education to provide for grade reporting periods of less than six weeks in imple- menting the no pass no play rule. In other words, if a stu- dent in a sport fails a course, the time which he cannot play that sport would be less than six weeks. In addition, honors students would be exempt from the no pass no play rule if the student maintained a certain defined level of achievement. Another effect of the bill would be to require teachers and administrators to take a basic skills exam, but the State Board of Education would study the results of the exam as well as the results of im- plementation of the statewide appraisal system to determine the need for any further test- ing in subject matter areas. Student discipline is also addressed in the bill. School districts would have greater W