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

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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

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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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While conducting freshmen elections, Sen¬ ate vice president Eric Orsic is almost fooled by seniors Eric Biljetina and Scott Moreth, who try to pose as freshmen. A car, a guy, and a gal - all the fixings for a date, or, in this case, a preparation for their final Homecoming. Seniors Henry Rodriguez and Melissa Connell put a lot of effort in Homecoming events, committed to enjoying themselves. The Joker Strikes Again r he Joker stormed into the office at Niles West in search of a hiding place from the Dynamic Duo. He marveled at the thought of seeing a rerun of one of his performances on the t.v. screens there. To the Joker’s dismay, they were not televisions, but Macintosh computers. The cunning culprit soon got over his misery because he discovered the senior student files and began changing names to better suit his deranged disposition. When Batman and Robin arrived, they found the office swimming in banners of printer paper, on which the Joker had printed the changed names. “Holy candy corn cakes, Batman! Look at this!’’ Robin held up the paper, and they saw . . . Matt was Lincoln instead of Adams . . . Mia was a subtracter instead of an Adler .. . Suzanne was off instead of Ahn ... Lisa were then instead of Arnow ... Jed was humble instead of Arrogante . . . Marty was Mozart instead of Bach . . Esther was a pond instead of a Bae . . . Aaron bakes instead of Boyles . .. Janine was dim instead of Breit ... Neil was a chauffer instead of a Butler Bob was chills instead of Burns Swiftly Passing Days s this the final year be¬ gins, seniors have a lot to think about. Some of them will go to college to con¬ tinue studies while others will enter the world of work. Recalling the past three years of high school, seniors have many stored experiences that will last forever. Recollections of athletic events, the drudgery of every school day, Homecom¬ ing, and Prom remain long after graduation. This last year marks a change in the lives of all seniors who realize that this ends four years of sharing ex¬ periences with friends they may never see again. Guys and gals seem more unified, with strong feelings of togetherness. New¬ found maturity helps them re¬ alize that they don’t have much time left to be with each other for in June, the seniors will go their own separate ways. Tim Queen The football team plays its last games as Indians, hoping for a win to make the memory sweet. Meanwhile, the varsity cheerleaders relish their moment in front of the fans. George was a blister instead of a Callas Peggy was Lipton instead of Campbell Carlos was houses instead of Casas . . . Rachel was ice cream instead of a Cohen Michael was Carrington instead of Colby Andy was Abott instead of Costello .. . Arnold was a flight instead of a Cruz .. . Steve was a sailor instead of a Farmer Megan was a silver plate instead of a Goldish ... Urik was a school day instead of a Halliday .. . Lenny was dogs instead of Katz . . . Ron was a hug instead of a Kiss . . . Julie was a Dominick’s instead of a Kohl Andy was la jusice instead of LaLiberty Judy was a mile instead of a Lapp . Corinna was a crime instead of a Law Ed was Levis instead of Lee . . . Beth was Belgium instead of Lichtenstein ... Charlie was a woman instead of a Man Chris was a panther instead of a Minx Keith was McHistory instead of McMath David was Garfield instead of Morris . . . Mindy was a pastawoman instead of a Nudelman . . . Nancy was a pencil instead of a Penn Nicole was the cost instead of a Price Tim was a king instead of a Queen . . . Calvin was a goat’s ear instead of a Ramseyer . . . Cyndi was a cat later instead of a Ratnow . . . Amy was Milano instead of Roma . . . Wally was Vanna White instead of Sajdak . . . Linda was Marshall Fields instead of Sax Danielle was a dancer instead of a Singer Rea-Kyung was a poem instead of a Song . . . Becka was a canoe instead of a Shipp Li Mei was IBM instead of Wang . . Lisa was a prisoner instead of a Warden Evan was Marlboro instead of Winston Maria was wrong instead of Wright . . . Janey was me instead of Yu ..., and Leonard was a twinkie lady instead of a Zingerman. On the bottom was written, “Boy Blunder instead of Boy Wonder! . . . The Drowning Duo! .. . I’ve escaped, Caped Crusaders! — the Joker.” “Ratts, Batman. What now?” “Tune in tomorrow, same Bat time.” “Same Bat channel, right?” “Right, Boy Blunder. — I mean, Boy Wonder.” Megan Goldish Nikoletta Antonakos Mini Magazine