Kentridge High School - Accolade Yearbook (Kent, WA)

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Do You Remember? Directed by the relentlessly steady pace of time, we, both as observers and participants witnessed many local, national and international events that molded and shaped the slot in time that we will nostalgically refer to as 1981. On March 30, 1981, in the midst of only his second month in office, Ronald Reagan our 40th president was shot by John Hinkley. Six shots from a .22 caliber Saturday Night Special shattered the still Eastern air. Reagan was hit by a bullet that entered under his left arm and after ricocheting off the seventh rib, came to rest in the Presidents left lung. He was not critically in- jured however, and was released from the hospital in a matter of weeks. Press Secretary James Brady was shot in the forehead, making partial removal of the right frontal lobe of the brain necessary. Fortunately, he too survived the ordeal, and was released after six months of hospitalization and therapy. No brain damage was sustained. A mere few weeks later in April, Pope John Paul ll was assaulted by gunfire while parading through the streets of Rome in an open car. The assailant was a Turkish radical thought to have been affiliated with the Soviets. The Pope was listed in critical condition but recovered quickly and was released from the hospital a few weeks after the assasination attempt. ln entertainment, Ordinary People, won the Oscar for best picture while Robert DeNiro won best actor for his performance in Raging Bull. Sissy Spacek received the honor for best ac- tress tor her role in Coal Miner's Daughter. In the meantime, the summer burst into a movie theme of high adventure with the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman ll, the two biggest blockbusters of 1981. But not even Raiders could push away the unpleasant persistance of reality. The first week of August marked the beginning of an issue that was literally up in the air and would remain so for quite sometime. The air traffic controllers went on strike. PATCO, the air traffic controllers union, was denied by the President and Congress the right to strike because government hired employees are not allowed to form unions. Reagan refused the unions demands and Congress ignored PATCO's very existence. With the coming of September, students returned to the proverbial grindstone and Kentwood High School opened to student enrollment for the first time. Due to budget cuts, a major cut in Washington Education Funds was proposed in late September. A court injunction in Olympia sup- ported the proposition and thus set the stage for severe cut backs for the following year that would affect education on every level. Other recipients of federal funds other than education also felt the money crunch of Reaganomics. Massive cuts in spending put economic restrictions on many other federal pro- grams as the Reagan administration began to unfold it's plan to balance forty years of national debt. The international shooting gallery continued when Egypt's President Anwar Sadat was assasinated on October 6, 1981. Sadat, a long with many other Egyptian government officials were sitting in a reviewing stand at an armed forces base watching a military parade when the shooting broke out. Sadat, who was killed instantly by the gunfire was considered as one of the great advocates for peace of our time. The entire free world mourned the loss of such a in- strumental key to the sustaining of peace in the Middle East. On the European scene, Polish Solidarity continued to stick to their guns and refute Soviet op- pression. Polish resistance however, was met with Martial law instituted in December. The even- ing following Christmas day, Americans demonstrated their support for the Polish Solidarity Movement by placing a lighted candle in their windows as a symbol of Solidarity strength, in- dividuality and freedom. 1981 was a good year for college football in Washington as the Washington State Cougars went to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego against the Brigham Young Cougars. Meanwhile, the Washington Huskies, after clenching the pac-10 championship, made their fourth Bowl ap- pearance in five years by traveling South for the 68th Rose Bowl game against Iowa. The Huskies shutout the Hawkeyes 28-O before a capacity crowd of 105,611 The 1981 football season murked a definite power shift of dominance from the prominent schools of California to the State of Washington. tcontinued on Page 185j 164 Do You Remember? D.J0hnS0n1. K. Linden 2

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+--. S. Smith L v 4 f-1' Yi kan , ig' QQMA 5'-3' Ssmxww T. Sanchez 5. D, Johnson 5, T. Sanchez 2. 6 nfl' T. Sanchez 4, 1, Working diligently, JROTC member Shirley Moody completes her assignment with care. 2. Gathering at a favorite hang-out, students share idle conversation during lunch. 3. Getting involved in the enthusiasm, students display their spirit at a pep assembly. 4. Hurdling a freshly packed snowball, Steve Desjardins finds time to enjoy the snow between classes. 6. Patiently typing her assigned work, Coy Snyder concentrates on proc- ticing her speed skills. Condids 183

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-4nsl 'i Once again freedom prevailed when on February 1, 1982, U.S. Brig. Gen. James Dozier was rescued after 42 days of captivity by five Red Brigade terrorists in ltaly. Italian Leatherhead com- mandos stormed into the apartment in Padira and seized the captors. Dozier, besides a loss of twelve pounds, was unharmed. It is difficult to speculate what events will occur in the coming years, but as history will testify, it is those events ofthe present that shape the fate of the future. 1981 was a year of elation and optimism, but also a year of concern and to some extent, nervous anticipation. We can only hope that the events of 1981 are a bright representation of the future as the steady pace of time pushes our world closer towards a rendezvous with destiny. N. Keyes l K. Landen 5 1. The calm of rural Kent is reflected in peaceful backroads. 2. Through all strige, the colors of freedom wave strong. 3. The prominence of Seattle is reflected in the twilight hours. 4. A single precious moment is held suspended in time. 5. The KingDome beams in the even- ing hours. 6. The fast pace of city life becomes a blur. K. Landen 3. ...--f,:Lav D. JONTSOH 5. Do You Remember 185