Munster High School - Paragon Yearbook (Munster, IN)

Page 32 text:

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD. Although students may consider lunch the high point of the day, lefty Ken Walczak and righty Matt Proudfoot find their seating arrangement puts a damper on their eating tech- niques. EYE-BRAIN-HAND concentration is needed to ace a shot. Sophomore Roland Murillo proves that being left- handed has no effect on his game concentration. WITH CRISS-CROSSED HANDS, freshman David Holler tries to overcome the inconvenience of a right- handed desk in his Earth Science Class.

Page 31 text:

hronic Sliding in Lateness can be hazardous to your health “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say hello, good-bye. I’m late, I’m late, I’m late ...” This familiar song from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Won- derland” could have served as a motto for frantic students as they scurried through their hectic day. Whether students were hurrying to catch the bus or trying to scribble the last para- graph of a five paragraph theme before the bell rang, they found that in most cases tardiness would not be tolerated. “At the beginning of the year I hurried to all my classes, but then I learned which teachers gave detentions. Then I only rushed for those teachers,” joked freshman Bridget Yekel, with a smile. “I really didn’t mind having tardies marked,” stated another freshman, “but I couldn’t stand the feeling that everyone stared at me when I walked in late.” Three tardies resulted in a detention, while four earned a suspension from class, and five earned a one day suspension. This system ran for six weeks and each grading period presented students with a clean slate. Principal Dr. David Dick explained that this new system was established to cut down on tardies. Not only did students have to make it to class on time, but they also had to have their work finished on time so as not to be penal- ized. “In Comp, Mrs. Brasaemle subtracted a half a grade per day on major assignments and a full grade a day for smaller work,” said senior Mike Nelson. ”In Chemistry, labs had one point deduc- tions for each day late and notebooks would not be accepted if they were late,” stated sophomore Brian Wilkinson. “The guide- lines were not unfair. If the rules weren’t that way most people wouldn’t have turned their work in on time, and that wouldn’t have been fair to those who did complete their work.” Getting to work on time was another chal- lenge to students. Junior Jonathan Gross said, “sometimes it was hard to make it to work on time with second trip bus, but I usually managed to clock in on time.” Senior Lisa Schweitzer said that when she worked after school her boss usually let it go if she was a few minutes late, but she felt she should explain anyway. Although part time jobs and homework due dates demanded promptness, the blar- ing morning alarm clock had its demands as well. “I had Project Biology, and it was drudgery trying to get up before the birds so that I could arrive at my 7 a.m. class,” stated senior Kathy Fitt. Even though freshman Suzette Vale did not have Project Biology, she still found it difficult to rise on time. “I had a tendency to sleep through my alarm until I was so late I had to run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get ready,” she said with a grin. Whether students were racing to finish studying, get to work, or just get out of bed in the morning, like the rabbit in “Alice in Wonderland” they could be heard slurring, “I can’t talk now, I’m late.” UNAWARE OF THE time, freshman Bridget Yekel BECAUSE HE WAS late in the morning, junior Jeff sleeps through her blaring alarm, forcing her to hurry Moore has to acquire a pass from Mrs. Lil Horlick, the through her morning routine when she finally awakes. South Office secretary, before he can go to class. — Chronic Lateness 27 —

Page 33 text:

I J Couthpaw Invasion Warning! Heavy-handed Southpaws have invaded the Universe. Heavily armed with green-handled scissors, specially spi- ralled notebooks and desks with left-sided table tops, they have encountered the has- sles of school life. Left-handedness has created problems for those in school. As a lefty enters a class- room and finds all the desks made for right- handed people, he reluctantly sits down and tries to adjust to writing with his left hand on the right-handed desk. This situa- tion was common to senior Karen Little. “School desks were made for right-handed people, and it becomes difficult to write when there is no where to rest your elbow on the chair,” she explained. Besides the desks creating a problem, the cafeteria contributed to the inconve- nience of being a lefty. Wendy Silverman, senior, stated , “while I am eating lunch, sometimes my friend and I bump elbows and it becomes a bother to eat.” For some sports enthusiasts, left-handed- ness created advantages. One senior ex- plained, “when your pitching in baseball or softball, throwing left-handed patterns can confuse a right-handed batter on the oppos- ing team.” Although people think playing sports as a lefty would be an advantage, Karen views this statement differently. “When I played softball, I could not play most positions be- cause the softball diamond was made for right-handed people.” Moreover, left-handedness may affect a person’s sight. Freshman Marcy Lang said, “when I was younger I used to be left-hand- ed, but my doctor told me it affected my sight, so I began to use my right hand. As a result, my eyes were not bothering me at all and being right-handed made sports easier for me.” Finally, spiralled notebooks created a problem. Mark Levine, senior, explained, “while writing in a spiral notebook, the spi- ral rings interfered with my writing. Also, when I am writing, the ink will get all over my finger and part of my hand.” Despite all the disadvantages, students feel that being a lefty makes no difference. Junior Lori Goldberg stated, “since I was born left- handed, there is nothing I can do about it. It does not matter if I am a lefty or not.” Confused by the pitch of a righty or frus- trated by “odd-shaped” desks, Southpaws continue the search for specially-suited ma- terials for surviving in a right-handed world. WORKING ON HIS art project, junior Cort Savage angles himself to prevent his left-handedness from in- terfering with the completion of his initial sketch. BEING LEFT-HANDED IS no problem in the Chem- istry Lab. Lefty Abby Labowitz and partner Jim Krawczyk, sophomores, puzzle over the mystery of “the blackbox lab.” —Lefties 29—