Niles Township High School West - Spectrum Yearbook (Skokie, IL)

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fighting a restriction, though the walkman movement was begun by complaints and edito¬ rials written by students. Most students seem content with the school environment, though there are closed halls and food is not allowed in the Oakton Lobby. There exists far less oppres¬ sion and reason for anger for students today than there was twenty years ago. Though we are products of a different era, students nowadays share in many ways the spirit of stu¬ dents twenty years ago. We emulate them quite often, wearing tie dye shirts, torn jeans, looking very much like “Dead heads,” and we enjoy the music that they created. We have our own individual styles, however, that distin¬ guish our two generations. Stu¬ dents now are much more in¬ volved in school activities, sports and clubs. Group efforts occur within the established systems of the school, the re¬ presentative bodies such as the senate and class cabinets. In short, there seems to exist more of a sense of school spirit through everything that is done. Mikhail Lyubansky Sharing thoughts and ideas are important parts of students’ days. Much learning goes on outside of the classroom in discussion with friends. Great Presidents hang on the wall behind him, but Junior Richard Yang does not merely look to the past. He concentrates building a bright future for Niles West and for himself. Bush’s Victory Post-Inauguration Results In a great election year as the one recently passed, opin¬ ions of students are aroused and displayed in a surprising¬ ly strong voice. The school mock election found George Bush the victor of the 1988 presidential election, but how did they feel about their decision afterwards, and what other concerns were raised by the election? How do you see the next four years under Bush’s Ad¬ ministration? — 64.6% see the term as favorable, 25.3% see it other¬ wise. An important thought for teenagers as they grow is whether they feel they have an influence with a vote. — 58.2% said they think it would give them power, 37.9% disagreed. Finally, many outside issues were brought up in the campaign. It was hard not to begin to become aware of current events while following the elec¬ tion. Here are the issues students listed as the greatest human concerns: threat of w ar need for peace 32.9% the hungry, impoverished, homeless 22.8% AIDS threat and sex education 10.1% material success 6.3% the environment 5.1% spiritual hunger 5.1% religious political freedom 2.5% Mini Mag 13

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7 e Sce te The 60’s Relived, Or Just Revisited? urs is a strange genera¬ tion. Walking through our carpeted hallways, one can’t help but see the so¬ cial groups that make up the diverse population of Niles West, each with its own unique hair style, dress code, taste in music, behavior or some com¬ bination of the above which distinguishes it from the rest. Many of these groups think they original, but the truth is that just about everything they do has already been done by someone else, probably some¬ one who went to school in the late 1960 ' s and early 70 ' s, for that was when originality and individuality were really in style. The 1960’s were a time of rebellion against authority and establishment, but they were also a time when teenagers had fun and sometimes upset the status quo just for the thrill of it. Some students in those days believed a thought commonly held at the time: nature cannot be improved upon; if one adds to it, it becomes unnatural. Girls did not primp in front of the mirror, and sports especial¬ ly body building, were frowned upon by students of both sexes. How amazing and strange all this sounds to us. Few things are of greater concern to our generation than appearance, and people are spending more money to improve what nature has given them than ever be¬ fore. Nature might be great, but it requires a little help. Girls start wearing make up before they enter their teens, and boys start working out in the weight room shortly there¬ after. In fact, it seems our gen¬ eration will go to any means to improve appearance. Students even take steroids to accelerate their natural development. The mirror is also back in style. Girls and boys alike spend quite a bit of time checking their appearance, practicing smiles. What really distinguished stu¬ dents of that era from other groups was their tendency to have an opinion about everyth¬ ing and to be outspoken about those opinions. For instance, during a teacher’s strike, the students who supported the teachers would join them in the picket lines. Three years ago when the teachers picketed here for higher wages, no cit¬ ings of concerned students were reported, and the over¬ whelming response of students was one of delight: an extra va¬ cation — what a nice treat! As for political involvement of students nowadays, there is considerable interest in the na¬ tional elections, but less in lo¬ cal politics. Some students worked this past fall for repub¬ lican and democratic cam¬ paigns. For the election of members of the school board, which affect students’ lives more immediately, however, there is much less inclination to be involved. Perhaps the students’ great¬ est concern was the war in Vietnam. They generally shared in the view that the United States had no business being in the war. But whatever opinion they held, their con¬ cern and awareness caused them to be confused and disil¬ lusioned. These thoughts were reflected in their writings and artwork collected in OPUS 1, which is now known as West of Edens. Underground newspa¬ pers also emerged at this time and were about the length of our present West Word issues. Some similarities in the spirit of those journalists and authors of papers such as SPLAT! re¬ flect the desire to give extra opinions on current events. Just as students in those days had opinions for almost every subject, so were they interested in almost everything. Religion and race were not things taken into consideration as much as they are now. with the popular¬ ity of ethnic clubs and Bible study groups. Nevertheless, in such a diversely populated high school, most students find “Underground news¬ papers, the predeces¬ sors to SPLAT!, emerged at this time. ” common interest with people of differing races and religious beliefs, and many students date people of other backgrounds. As for disturbing the status quo, students then perhaps had more threatening restrictions to battle than today. For in¬ stance, there was a strictly en¬ forced dress code which re¬ quire boys to wear slacks and button-down shirts and girls to wear blouses and skirts which reached below the knee. Girls would not be allowed to come to school wearing pants, until a plan was devised by the student body. Through announcements in the underground newspaper, a day was designated when all the girls were to come to school wearing pants. Many did, and because it would be absurd to send home nearly half the stu¬ dent body, they were allowed to stay, and the restrictions be¬ gan changing to the students’ favor. These days, the battles are fought through the student senate. No individual groups seem to take the initiative in continued . . . Freshmen get invohed in the school scene right away with elections in the fall. Eric Orsic supervises the novice voters. 12 Mini Mag

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14 76e Scene . . . With Upperclassmen o one can deny that the more concentration one puts into something, the less of a problem it becomes, and the more benefit it pro¬ duces. Inspiration is all one needs to open himself to billions of possibilities. School has been established to provide the necessary inspiration. It introduces students not only to knowledge but also to other people and interests. Seniors often look back to their years at West and wonder why they didn’t do certain things, many times regretting opportu¬ nities passed. But because of their somewhat developed maturity, seniors also look back and realize how many things they have accomplished, and how much they have enjoyed them¬ selves. A simple comparison between the attitudes of people who participate in activities can be made, for instance. Freshmen love to participate in clubs to be “in the crowd,” sophomores partici¬ pate passively, juniors because they be¬ gin to realize how good it would look on their transcripts, but seniors through the years have grown to truly care about the organizations and the people in them. They have broken from the crowd and become individuals, doing it all because they realize their presence makes a difference. It is an arrogant, yet humbling mindset, since along with in¬ dividuality comes responsibility. It is a mindset that may be applied to all fac¬ ets of life, especially in high school. Seniors have struggled to build them¬ selves, so now they live freely, without the burden or need to impress others. They have done it all, and they are hav¬ ing it all! Seniors’ Empire ost seniors have come to the conclusion that they hold the reverence of the entire student body and consider Niles West their “Empire.” Wher¬ ever this notion emerged from, ju¬ niors are wise to the misconcep- The West Word is very popular among stu¬ dents, and Senior Sally Ko especially enjoys the editorials written by her classmates. tion and accept this absurd facade. They know that seniors are all talk and no action. Juniors, however, do have a slight sense of admiration for their fellow upperclassmates. Seniors exhibit a feeling of freedom as they “float” through their last year at West with a carefree atti¬ tude; they stand ready to take a step higher in life, and ready to respond to different experiences regardless which path of life they choose. On the whole, juniors and sen¬ iors consider each other friends, sharing mutual admiration. To¬ ward the end of the school year, the groups become even closer, as the juniors learn the tricks of the trade to becoming “perfect” sen¬ iors. Eventually, the “Empire” is handed down to the new group of classmen who, like their senior friends, try to appear as the domi¬ nant force in the school. So con¬ tinues this never-ending high school tradition . . . Karrie Karahalios Mini Magazine