Catholic Boys High School - Rocket Yearbook (Little Rock, AR)

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Student Life Could any coach giving a locker room pep talk ask for greater attention than that evidenced by Rusty Mooney and jerry Rumbach? Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, Mike McCown contemplates matters of impor- tance.

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Irf- E PLURIBUS Although there are many qualities that make a good student body, there are cer- tain traits that make a student body great. Dedication to academic work and a devo- tion to extra-curricular activities are com- monplace at Catholic High. Generosity of spirit is shown by the many students who make Catholic High a better place by sac- rificing their time when they work in the office, or help to sort and distribute the multitudes of text books each year, or more humbly, just mow the grass. Beyond these characteristics of a good school, Catholic High has what is possibly one of the most important traits of a great student body: unity in diversi- ty. Claims to diversity are widespread, but at Catholic High diversity is a truth. At a typical cafeteria table one can find a national-class swimmer eating lunch with a jeweler and a political activist. Even though most of our students are white, a black Student Body President was elected. Our students hail from Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Saline County. Catholics predominate, but we have jews and Buddhists and non-believers too. We have those who yearn for the latest wares of Ralph Lauren and Reebok, and there are those who couldn't care less. It is amazing though, that in a school of numerous independently-minded individualists and assorted cliques, each student first holds allegiance to Catholic High as a whole and then second as members of their particular class or group. When one freshman was asked what the most memorable moment of his first week was, he said it was when a certain popular senior looked him straight in the eye and said, Hey. It may not sound like much, but it hints at a larger truth. The feeling of oneness before exclusivity develops as one grows older. Senior Phil Kerr, elected at Boys State to the prestigious office of State Treasurer, said, There is a need as freshmen to join in cliques to make friends and learn to ropes, but as juniors and seniors we can break out of those groups and still feel secure within the class. Senior jason Hicks, a part time talk-show host for the radio station KLRE said, By remaining inside of the same group it is easy for a student to become a clone and to lose all individuality. Everyone has a story of how he and a few others became close because of a shared experience, whether it was surviving one of Mr. Marczuk's map tests or some- thing much later such as Senior Ring Mass. Senior Chris Gibson, whose interest in politics led him to run for and be elected as the Vice-President of the Saline County Young Democrats, summed it up when he said, Pull- ing together for a common cause seems to come second nature to an involved student. I believe we have more reasons to stick together than to work apart.

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Walt Terry is amused as Michael Walker and Emmanuel McKe- ever debate his assertion that Thoreauls existential realism raises legitimate questions about his being a thoroughgoing Transcen- dentalist. LIFE Dear Faculty, We, the students of Catholic High, submit this resolution- cum-precedent to abolish, ban, can, and forever end academic work entailing non-school hours. Our reason for declaring independence from the manacles of schoolwork tedium transcend the mere indolence and apathy already so prevalent in those of pubescent and post-pubescent age. The cause may be summarized thusly: with respect to the term student life, we much prefer the life part. Though it is true we are students, that is most definitely not all we are. First and foremost, we are young men, and the environment an all -boys school provides does not often assist in easing the strains all young men endure. As the senior marriage course textbook in religion states, Dating is vitally important for young persons. As many of our more notorious charac- ters know, this is an extremely time-consuming endeavor. Many of us engage in other similarly distracting activities. Those possessing a strong sense of morals or conscience have involved themselves in church or social activism such as CYO or Peace Links. Personal poverty afflicts others, forcing them to find jobs Cso that they may pay for such items as senior rings, school supplies, ties, etc.j. All of us could use a little more bread for gas and miscellaneous social needs Cfootball, concert, or speeding tickets, etc.Q. Some feel inclined masochistically to torture their bodies by participating in sports. Others play golf. Though it pains me to write it, some of our more spirited for less spiritedj individuals occasionally lock horns with a faculty member, requiring their presence in Saturday detention. It is here that the double standard is employed most obviously. The administration has decreed that no work is to be done in D-hall, yet this same administration assigns schoolwork to be done over the weekend. We, the students, and especially we the seniors, need time to nurture the friendships made within our walls. Hanging out with the guys and going out for a pizza or going to a Rocket football game is just as essential as trigonometry, English, or art history C and a lot more funj. When it comes down to the grit and grime of daily existence, we don't turn to our books, we go to our buddies. We have so much to do, both within and beyond the param- eters of school, that homework and tests are almost a separate reality, especially when teachers, deluded into the common faculty notion that their class is the only class their students take, assign work accordingly. Maybe the mythical well- rounded student could handle the load, but we mortals cannot comprehend such an existence. Be it resolved, therefore, that we now and forever declare this institution of that very unnecessary evil, schoolwork. We shall overcome. Right, Marv? just keep away from those pink slips, I've got to work Saturday. 7