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

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“Ttfafany 76e Scene Turn, turn , turn: To every season there is a sport, too. Whether skateboarding, playing football, or skiing, each activity is topped off with a smile. Whoth uv £ulU The, £eaioft kiing down a steep, snow-capped mountain . . picnicking in a local park . . basking in the sun’s heat . . . raking crumpled brown leaves . . . Students en¬ joy all seasons because each one provides its own character and activities. Many students prefer summer because it serves as a two and a half month vacation from school. Others enjoy the brisk weather and outdoor sports of winter. Spring and fall provide a “hap¬ py medium” between the warmest and coldest periods in the yearly cycle. Fashion, clothing, and style also vary as the weather changes. In the winter, worn- out brown leather jackets, warm furry mittens, and heavy wool sweaters become a must. Spring time offers the opportunity to begin wearing outrageous hot pink t-shirts, white cotton pants, lighter-weight windbreakers, and docksiders (without socks, of course!) By the time summer arrives, skimpy neon bathing suits, khaki shorts, and revealing tank tops prevail. Fall clothing consists of blue denim jack¬ ets, ripped, washed-out jeans, and long-sleeved plaid flannel shirts. No matter what the weather, sweatshirts always provide an easy solution to the morning quandary of what of wear. Whether the temperature soars to 90 degrees or takes a dip toward the zero mark, students wear colorful sweatshirts. Some advertise a well-known college such as Kansas with its red, yellow, and blue Jayhawk: others indicate patronage at the Hard Rock Cafe and Ed Debevics. Whatever the season, stu¬ dents enjoy fun activities and a wide variety of clothing to “suit all types of weather. Debbie Brodsky Mini Mag 1

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WtotitMug tC r HE HEAT. It melts the snow away, causes plants to grow, and brings a new generation of animals to life. It also dries our clothing and our hair and cooks our food. Without heat, many things would be im¬ possible. Most people can’t tolerate the thought of an ice age in which there would be no spring or summer trips to the hot sands of Florida. Heat caused by the sun means summer, tanned skin, and no school, and these in turn represent re¬ lief to every burned-out, almost-crazed student longing for a time to ex¬ perience non-thought-re¬ quiring activities. To¬ wards the end of the school year, in late May and early June, a time when the brains of stu¬ dents have reached the “relief needed” level, heat also causes a slow¬ down in academic pro¬ duction. Summer means a vacation for thought cells, and the school sud¬ denly fills with sweaty, zombie-like students. An immediate remedy for heat exhaustion is a cool atmosphere. A few years ago, this cure was “attempted.” The goal: keep the building cool; the method: blocking up half the windows in the school. The students still feel the results: less air circulation, less sunlight, and more need to keep doors open to create a draft in the class. Of course, these procedures brought on growing com¬ plaints of noisy hallways, so the halls were closed, ■■■■■ NO WAY OUT. The sweltering heat is not outside, but inside the building, causing these students to race for the door. Enjoying the unusually warm fall weather is one thing, but Senior Hak Kang imagines himself in the jungle, swing from vine to branch. causing more people to flock to places like the over-crowded cafeteria, which, in turn, caused more gathered heat and more unrest among stu¬ dents. An additional rem¬ edy for noisy halls ap¬ peared suddenly over one summer: the infamous carpeting. One can only wonder of what synthetic fibers that turf consists, but it certainly has the 1 V capacity to trap heat and especially humidity. Ap¬ parently, the decisions made many years ago have not only not solved the problem, but have also caused more prob¬ lems. Overall, the stu¬ dents have been left to suffer the heat from both Mother Nature and the angry faculty (the latter having few complaints about the heat because the teacher’s lounge is air-conditioned). Niles North students enjoy the same comforts as our teachers, since their school is air conditioned. So, it seems that West students are being denied the privileges the faculty and Northerners are granted. Hmmmm. Can these be causes for revo¬ lution? “The needs of the Westerners vs. the satiat¬ ed faculty and Northern¬ ers.” Well, those op¬ pressed may rise up! — but maybe when the heat cools off a bit. Nikoletta Antonakos 16 Mini Magazine

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Tfta in? 76e Scene . . Entertainment - An Imaginative Other World T o express their abounding cultural interests students may participate in activities, or they may observe others performing them. Though many students sing or play an instrument, most also enjoy listening to tunes on the radio or watching music videos. They may even spend an evening at the Civic Opera House to enjoy a musical. Cultural interest don’t always reflect students talents. Sit¬ ting in a theater with a bag of popcorn and a Diet Pepsi provides many people with all the entertainment they need. For simple amusement, reruns of “M.A.S.H.” entertain and relax many students. When television becomes tiresome, a quiet evening reading a paperback, playing the Nintendo Entertainment System, or spending an extravagant evening at the theater watching “Les Miserables” takes the students into an imaginative other world . . . When students find interest in an activity, they discover others who enjoy the activity and introduce them to many other interest as well. Some of these interests merely remain enjoyable activities, while others become increasingly involving, but all relieve school worries and provide simple pleasure. Meet George Jetson! Cartoons still hold a place in the hearts of teenagers, providing a silly break in all the serious periods of study. 1 Throughout the day, the sound of music fills the corridors and classrooms of the Music Wing. Eat, Relax, And Be Merry The most common pastime for students, aside from catching up on lost sleep, comes in the forms of a variety of entertainment. Many weekends are spent at the movies, but everyday, students enjoy music and eating snacks and real food. Here are the top radio stations tuned in by West students: 88.7 FM WLUW 27.8% ■ 105.9 FM WCKG 19.0% 94.7 FM Z95 15.2% 97.9 FM the Loop 10.1% • 101.1 FM Q101 6.3% 96.3 FM B96 5.1% The weekend delights. Here are the favorite types of movies watched by West students: Comedy 32.9% Action 20.3% Romance 17.7% Drama 12.7% Horror 12.7% Musical 2.5% Finally, nutrition may keep students’ bodies going, but taste counts a lot, too. Here are the favorite foods of West stu¬ dents: Pizza 21.5% Chinese 10.1% Junk food 10.1% Italian 7.6% Seafood 7.4% Fruit and salad 6.3%