Mater Dei High School - Hi Lights Yearbook (Evansville, IN)

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' UNIFORM ' LY SPEAKING: During 1981-82, juniors Greg Bergwitz and Jill Rexing found themselves surrounded by the preppy craze. Although students still wore uniforms to comply with the dress code, preppy clothing dominated the first Friday scene. (Photo by Rob Zigenfus) 83 Joe Mlschler, Laura Hutchison John Townsend Ms. Karen Flhpatrlck

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82 o CO Attention all non-preps! Be on the lookout for preppies who can usually be identified by their ox- ford shirts and flat shoes. Many MD students openly dis- liked the new preppy styles. Seniors John Seibert and Tim Dol- letzki jokingly commented, It looks like unusual circus clothing and whoever wears it is the clown. I dislike the shirts with no collars. Do they wear them because they are cheaper or something? added science teacher Mr. Carl Voegel. Although many disapproved, the trend was catching quickly, as seen by looking down the halls on first Fridays. Laurie Layman, junior, ex- plained, The very first Friday (this year) I walked down the hall and you should have seen the looks on their faces. They thought I was from outer space. Now everybody loves it. My cute little shoes which were once the only ones are now all over the place. Marilyn Spahn, junior, com- mented, I think preppy clothes are comfortable. You can mix and match them so well. What exactly was the preppy fashion and how did it come about? The Official Preppy Handbook offered the explana- tion: Preppies dress alike be- cause their wardrobes are formed according to the same fun- damental principles that they absorb from their parents and peers. These principles include neatness, attention, practicality, the sporty look, and quality. One confessed preppy, English teacher Ms. Karen Fitzpatrick, de- fined, It is not only a fashion trend, it is also an attitude. It goes back to England. The upper social eco- nomic people wore prep. It be- came associated with the rich and snobby attitudes. The prob- lem comes in when people associate the style now with the rich and snobbish attitudes. Robb Bumb, senior, was first in- troduced into the preppy way of life by his brother. I fashioned my- self like my brother when he was away at college. On the other hand, Laura Lay- man, became a prep initially be- cause she liked the clothes. The question of girls wearing prep was certainly controversial in itself, however, the male prep issue overrode it. I like males in prep clothes. A lot of guys don ' t like prep be- cause they don ' t like to change. They wear button down collars and that is all the prep they wear, stated Marylin Spahn. Robb Bumb added, A lot of guys look down on it because they think it is not macho. The girls were the ones who were sup- posed to dress up. They think they look feminine. Although some like male prep, others do not. Marlene Schentrup said that she would rather see them in anything but prep. Even some female prep dres- sers dislike male prep as did Missy Hinton, They (guys) look so stupid. Girls look cute. Guys look sort of funny, especially with boat shoes, no socks, and straight legs. Ms. Fitzpatrick ' s husband had even gone preppy however, every now and then the cowboy in him appeared. My husband dresses preppy and western. Just the other day we got rid of all his shirts that don ' t button at the collar — except for his western shirts. Some preps go overboard like people who own only things from Nieman Marcus, speak preppy and eat preppy. Some people ' s whole lives are surrounded by alli- gators, stated Robb Bumb. Laurie Layman felt that some carried prep too far as she witnes- sed at a college football game. I saw guys who wore the wackiest looking pants. They were plaid and plaid on plaid. Knickers, sparkly socks, and those disgusting shoes are too much, commented Mary Beshears. The way you dress reflects on your self-image, concluded Ms. Fitzpatrick. This looks good on me and I ' m going with it. Tim Dolletzki and John Seibert were asked how long they thought the preppy fad will last. For men ' s sake, not long, they replied. — Felicia Smtih — Sherry Schneider Laura Layman, Missy Hinton

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' PAC MAN ' MAN: Geoff Cooles is just one of the many Mater Dei students that spent their time and quarters playing the new game called Pac Man. (Photo by Greg Bourdeau) MUNCHIN ' MANIA: The screen of the ' pac man ' game is covered with little dots and tiny munchkins with eyeballs. The pac man, shown on the bottom, runs along the screen eating the dots on the way towards eating the other men. (Photo by Greg Bour- deau) 84 s Q m He stands there, palms dripping with sweat, waiting for the onslaught of enemy ships. He sees them coming and tries to escape, but it ' s too late! His ship is de- stroyed; what is he to do? Probably put another quarter in the slot and play again! This is a scene that could be found in just about any of the thousands of arcades in this coun- try, including the several which sprung up around Mater Dei. Re- cent advances in technology have brought about a sudden boom in the electronic games in- dustry. An industry formerly consist- ing of only pinball machines was being dominated by video games. Bob Pfingston, owner of the new Wild West Arcade on Sonntag Avenue, felt the games were pop- ular because of the challenge and it ' s just plain fun. I think the electronic game craze will be strong for a long while; it ' s just getting started, said Pfingston. By far, the most popular video game had to be Pac-Man. In just one year, it brought in over 800 million quarters in arcades and bars across the country. The Atari munchkin popped up everywhere from T-shirts and instruction manu- als to even a hit song. The goal of Pac-Man was to make your way through an intri- cate maze and eat up 240 col- ored dots, while avoiding four ghosts along the way. Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia got caught up in the big ' Pac ' attack and composed the song Pac-Man Fever, which sold over one million copies and hit number 14 on the national charts. MD stu- dents indentified with the lyrics, I got Pac-Man fever, it ' s drivin ' me crazy, I ' m goin ' out of my mind! Because of its growing populari- ty, the Atari company, which con- trols about 80% of the five billion a year video market, came out with a Pac-Man cassette to be used with the Atari home video game sets. A single cassette, which cost anywhere between $20-$30 went with the $150 base unit. Many teenagers, who spent large amounts of money playing Pac-Man bought the home cas- sette, hoping to eventually save some big bucks. Lisa Hall, senior, remarked, I think Pac-Man is so popular be- cause it is exciting and people need some excitement in their lives. It ' s a fun way to pass time. Lisa admitted that she spends between four and five dollars a night playing different video games. I always want to do better than I did in the game before! v she said. In some towns, there were laws forbidding people under 18 to go into arcades during school hours. This legislation was due to con- cerned parents who felt the arcades were a corruptive influ- ence upon teenagers because they spent all their time and money playing the video games. Pfingston disagreed, comment- ing, I would rather see my children challenging a video game than walking the streets with nothing to do. Senior Cathy Roe added, I like them (video games). They give you something to do when your weekends are as boring as mine are! — Brian Johns — Mary Ellert