Bishop Noll High School - Marquette Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

Page 19 text:

On a Friday night in October, the fieldhouse began to fill with people. Curiously, they were here not to see a basket¬ ball game, as the season had not begun yet. There was no pep rally, the football season was over. The reason the crowds thronged to BNI was to see the Battle of the Bands. Traditionally, an event such as this would be held in the school cafeteria, but this was by far no traditional event. The event was sponsored by National Honor Society, who outfit¬ ted the gym floor with risers to accomodate the bands and refreshments to accomodate the spectators. Soon the fieldhouse was packed with enthusiastic stu¬ dents who turned out to support their favorite bands, whose members must include one Bishop Noll student. The air was vibrant with the fiery music and excited applause. The floor was alive with people swaying, bobbing, and moving around in ways generally associated with dancing. After each band had its turn exhibiting their talent, the mass of spectators was allowed to vote for their favorite. When the ballots were totalled, Monarch featuring Noll’s own Brian Westfall, was found to be the winner of the $150.00 first prize. It was an extremely close race among Monarch, Fury, Pearl, and Cyanide. The crowds went away satisfied with what they had heard and disappointed that it was over so soon. The bands, them¬ selves, were amateur but the sounds provided were profes¬ sional. The fieldhouse now stood silent; awaiting for another day to congregate the student body for another event, that would unite us both physically and socially. Opting for less hard rock’n roll tunes, Ben Likens of Pearl sings his version of Genesis’ hit “Paper Late.” As lead singer for Monarch, Brian Westfall pauses shortly before con¬ tinuing with a string of songs. With fans crowded around the ris¬ er, Todd Drury of Fury, jams on the drums to entertain everyone present. BATTLE OF THE BANDS ... 15 j

Page 21 text:

WEAK DAZE It seems to affect every one of us and the harder we try to get rid of it the worse it gets. From a horrid look in the mirror to a burial of a face in a pillow, from dawn to dusk— before, during and after, it is a continuous process. Living! We all do it, some show it better than others. Five days of school and only two for relaxing or catching up often leave us in a weak daze. The less we accomplished the day before and the more we have to do today the harder it is to get out of bed each morning. The electric blanket ran all night long but the fur¬ nace didn’t so we decide to stay in bed where it is warm and safe. Yet most mornings there is always some disturbance which forces us out of bed—usually an angry mother or cry¬ ing baby. Getting ready for school in the morning is always an interesting venture. Some of us have a cut and dried, never-fail routine to spruce up the ailing appearance and some of us have no routine and just go to school look¬ ing like we did when we climbed out of bed. And then there are those unpredictable peo¬ ple who surprise us each and every day, nev¬ er looking the same twice. In class we wish that the teacher would either promise an interesting lecture or prom¬ ise not to wake us up if we happen to doze off into outer space. Lunch time rolls around and if you are a Freshman it is breakfast at 9:55 and if you are a Junior it is supper at 12:25. No matter what time they serve us the menu can still make heads spin and stomachs turn. Seventh hour is always a clincher. It is sometimes mellow and other times it is ex¬ tremely rowdy. The end is signaled by a few words heard daily over the P.A.: “May 1 have your attention please.” All through the build¬ ing signs of relief echo out of classrooms and into hallways. The evening still brings a dreadful thought for many as it is the time to accomplish the task of completing all of the homework as¬ signed and still getting some sleep. It is diffi¬ cult for some since there are other commit¬ ments such as: a job, a sport, a club or activity, a little brother or sister, or any other timely endeavor. There never seems to be time to recover from the weak daze. Refuge is found by some who sleep during study hall, lunch, or a lec- ture.The latter being somewhat risky since some teachers are picky about having an au¬ dience that is alert and responsive. We should even consider the faculty. They are confronted with the same problem we are. Their homework is our homework, so to speak. They have to correct all of the test papers and assignments in order to calculate grades for each of their students. It is prob¬ ably true that faculty meetings with the ad¬ ministration can resemble some of the lec¬ tures that we get during classes. Nevertheless, it is a daily battle that lasts all week long, from one week to the next. Some are worse than others but it is never unlikely to find ourselves caught up in a weak daze, searching for a way out. Giving his eyes a rest, Vernon Simpson removes his glasses and rubs his face to try to make himself last just a little while longer through the lecture. With a bit of a smile on his face, Coach Vla sic, Dean of the Boys, reads excuses written on tardy slips and signs them for all of the late students. WEAK DAZE ... 17