Bonita Vista High School - Excalibur Yearbook (Chula Vista, CA)

Page 247 text:

EACHERS' ON THE FOR BETTER EDUCATION l 1 lil Another local event which held great sway over the Bonita ..L Local In mid-February, a gunman opened fire in Chula Vista's Mountain View Mobile home Park. At the end of his ram- page of terror three people were dead, two others injured, and several hundred had been involved in some way. Alys McNair, a retired, reserved, resident of the trailer park was taken into custody and charged with the slayings. His shooting spree was caused by an argument with a non- English speaking neighbor whose dogs aggravated McNair. The SWAT team faced great difficulty with the incident because of crowd control and traffic problems in the area and because of the dangerous nature of the mobilehome park layout. Several trailers were punctured by gunfire and many residents were trapped in their homes during the shooting spree. At Bonita Vista High, tragedy struck in the form of fire. Vista campus was the threatened strike of Sweetwater Dis- trict teachers. In early March the problem erupted when the teacheras union called for a strike without an official vote. The District was forced to hire over 700 substitutes but when the teachers did not strike, under the premonition that a vote was not taken, the substitutes were sent home at a loss to the District of close to Sl00,000. The teacher's union voted to set up a fact-finding panel along with the District to examine if money was available to give teachers a raise. This quelled the situation but the vola- tileness of the issure remained exceedingly high as the year concluded. Entertainment The year in television found a soap opera craze sweeping the country. GENERAL HOSPITAL was termed TV's hot- test', show as the adventures of Luke and Laura fbefore she disappeared,'J, kept the interest of many high school and college students as well as the soap's more traditional older viewers. The soap opera genre crossed over to prime time in the mega-hit DALLAS. Elsewhere in prime time, M 'A S H producers announced that the show would end after an ab- breviated season next year and the CBS newsmagazine 60 MINUTES remained at the top of the ratings charts all Early in the morning hours of December l, 1981, the audio- visual room of the library was set afire by an arsonist. After accounting, several projectors, films, as well as close to 550,000 worth of books were destroyed. The final overall damage estimate neared 570,000 Bonita Vista's own Dean of Student Activities, Greg Cox was elected Mayor of the City of Chula Vista in November Cox, who had served as a city councilman for five years, won in a huge landslide over three opponents. He garnered an astounding seventy-one per cent of the votes cast. The entertainment industry was rocked by several tragic deaths this year. On March 5, 1982, former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE comedian John Belushi was found dead in Los Angeles, the victim of a drug overdose. Earlier in the year actress Natalie Wood drowned off of Catalina Island in a freak and unusual boating accident and Academy Award- winning actor William Holden was found dead in his L.A. home. Holden died from a blow to the head caused by his falling while in a drunken stupor. SC3.SOIl. 1 Popular movies of the year included the profitable ON GOLDEN POND, REDS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and SUPERMAN II. Overall, however, movie attendance was down due in large part to the growing popularity of pay-TV and video cassette movies. The Quest for . . . Information The News 243

Page 246 text:

News News News World ational In late December the Polish Communist Party cracked down on the powerful Solidarity labor union and imposed martial law on the Polish people. As troops remained on the streets, govemment leader General Woljciech Jaruzelski consolidated his hold on the nation. He placed Solidarity leader Lech Walesa under house arrest in a posh country home and refused to allow him leave even to attend the christening of his new child in mid-March. Throughout the U.S. various groups sought contributions in the forms of money, food, and clothing for the Polish people who were faced with a harsh winter, wide-spread food shortages, and the forced suppression of their human rights. The Reagan administration reacted harshly to the crack- down in Poland but did not attempt any notable action to change the situation. The Soviets expressed their support for the Polish government's actions and continued to give aid to the country. Unfortunately for the Polish people this aid was not substantial enough to offset the hunger and cold they felt. The U.S. government was faced with numerous foreign policy questions as several Central American countries were caught up in turmoil throughout the year. In El Salvador, a civil war tore the country apart as leftist rebels sought to overthrow a right-wing regime. The U.S. govemment sent aid in the form of military advisors and equipment. Many Americans expressed concern that U.S. involvement in El Salvador was too deep and was beginning to become too similar to the initial American effort in Viet- nam. In Nicaragua, the leftist Sandinista government supported the Salvadorian rebels and was in turn supported by Cuban and Soviet military and economic aid. In March, U.S. intelli- gence sources unveiled spy photos which showed that mili- tary bases and missile sites of a Soviet design had been built in Nicaragua. In Guatemala, the oppressive right-wing regime was overthrown by a more moderate junta in late March. The coup occurred less than two weeks after elections were held which produced a President who had had the support of the oppressive regime. Other candidates in the election cried voter fraud in the government,s running of the balloting. The coup was greeted with the widespread approval of most Gua- temalans. Even the Reagan administration seemed to lend its tacit approval to the new government. As the school year closed the tensions in Central America continued at an extremely high level with the Reagan admin- istration being faced with tough decisions as to what level its involvement in the area should be. 242 The News President Reagan displayed his strong will as he continued his controversial and strict economic policies. Labelled Rea- ganomicsf' the economic plans helped to throw America into a deep recession. Murray Weidenbaum, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, projected that the remainder of 1982 would find the economy sluggish. Wei- denbaum also anticipated unemployment to rise to nine per cent before year's end, its highest level since the Great De- pression. One positive note was the lessening of inflation as 1982 progressed. Unfortunately, for the President's plans, interest rates remained high. Reagan,s proposed 1983 budget contained the largest defi- cit in history and more deep cuts in social services spending. Cutbacks in financial aid programs worried most college- bound students. In October 1981, the world was rocked with despair at the death of Egyptian President and peacemaker Anwar Sadat. As he sat in a reviewing stand watching a military parade, Sadat was gunned down by several members of his own army who were considered religious fanatics. Sadat was often called America's partnern for peace in the Middle East and his efforts to calm this troubled area of the world will not be soon forgotten. In a surprising boost for woman's rihts, President Reagan nominated the first woman to the United States Supreme Court. Sandra Day O'Conner, 51 and a Stanford Law School alumnus, succeeded Associate Justice Potter Stewart. Ms. O'Conner boasted an impressive background serving as the majority leader in the Arizona State Legislature for several years, and, since 1979, presiding as a judge on the Arizona State Court of Appeals. A Republican, O'Conner was viewed by most as an exceedingly qualified and just appointment.

Page 248 text:

And All 0ur Yesterdays Wil