George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

Page 48 text:

A playful glimpse of red garters while dancing the “Can-Can” climaxed the Georgie Girls’ per¬ formance at the Regional Playoff football game halftime. The Drill Team displayed vitality and exper¬ tise at all home football games while executing routines with the Marching Band to such tunes as “Sailing, Sailing,” “Royal Fire¬ works,” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” Daily practice during football season, with the band or tapes of the numbers to be performed, paid off in sparkling routines and enter¬ taining halftimes throughout the season. 1 1 m f. . - -Bafe ■y. 11 ppm Hi ! iirta .s ' ,■ t..;- y AM J J » ... . ; ' 1 ,: ?. .• mH Jar ' ' . X : . pr -j ' iHffll B - 4 I t I •■ •- • ipi§ v« »• . H H fPB Is. v f . , JpP ., ■ ■jKriT 1 ' ■ .4 .-.41 : ? t5

Page 47 text:

that the election excitement was strangely lacking. Economic and foreign policy were also differing points of the opponents’ plat¬ forms, but Viet Nam remained the campaign’s major issue. Nixon’s de-escalation of the war while striving to negotiate “Peace with Honor” during his presidential term was pop¬ ular with voters, and as the autumn progressed and Dr. Henry Kissinger’s Paris peace talks with the North Vietnamese began to show encouraging results, Nixon’s popular¬ ity grew. McGovern’s pacifist pledge that the U.S. would completely withdraw from Viet Nam within sixty days after his election seemed more and more unneccessary and un¬ desirable to the voting public. Along with the Eagleton affair and the premature statement of a poorly-thought-out economic policy, Mc¬ Govern’s Viet Nam plans turned off more and more Americans as the fall progressed. Opinion polls showed Nixon gradually ac¬ cumulating support from both sides of the po¬ litical spectrum — conservative votes from Wallace supporters, and more liberal ones resulting from the seeming success of his war policy. In the last days of October, Kissinger’s achievements in the Paris negotiations became more pronounced; his election-eve statement, “Peace is at hand” probably did more than anything else to sway voter favor towards Nixon. The election result, which surprised no one after the repeated polls showing McGovern’s sliding popularity, was a landslide in favor of Nixon, by the largest margin in history. Marshall government classes sponsored a mock-election the same day as the national one. Every attempt was made to create a situ¬ ation as close to the real one as possible; before voting, students had to register. This was done simply by signing a master sheet. When the students returned to vote, they signed their name again and the signatures were compared. The mock election was planned by “precinct captains” elected by each government class. The mock election achieved its goal of simi¬ larity to the national one — even the election results agreed with the national ones. Marshall thus served as a microcosm reflecting the national political mood of the United States in 1972. Above: Presidential candidates Richard Nixon and George Mc¬ Govern campaign. Below: Marshall’s mock election results are enumerated in the Rank and File. Borders: Bumper stickers and buttons capture the spirit of the campaign. IcGover Sh river 1 GEORGE C. MARSHALL H.S. MOCK ELECTION RESULTS 1972 Candidate Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors Nixon 79% 77% 69% 67% McGovern 19% 22% 30% 33% Scott 64% 60% 49% 40% Spong 43% 40% 50% 52% Broyhill 60% 59% 51% 41% Miller 43% 41% 49% 53% Schmitz approximately l%of all school votes. 59% of the school population registered. 52% of the school population voted. 55% of the nation voted. 89% of Fairfax County voted. 1388 students registered to vote. 1230 students actually voted. 275 students registered but did not vote. 120 ballots were fraudulent, e.g. voted but apparently not registered etc. Total 73% 26% 53 % 46% 53% 46%

Page 49 text:

Sar uyfT -« . osSiSal ' STUDENT LIFE 45 Opposite page, above: Standing at attention, the Drill Team listens as the Homecoming Court is announced. Opposite page, below: At a late summer rehearsal, the Georgie Girls practice a chant to help get them in the mood for half-time performances. Left: Cap¬ tain Chris Waller awaits music before leading the Drill Team into a pep rally rou¬ tine. Below left: Georgie Girls get into the spirit of things by dancing to the music of the Marching Band. Below: This tightly-knit group helps to entertain and enliven the crowd with dazzling approaches and the use of traditional bright red and Columbia blue pom-poms. GCM