Northrop High School - Bear Tracks Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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ifsUSe, 9 3 rs Part Df Dailig Life When man looks back in retrospect, he will recall the 70 ' s and 80 ' s. ' The Age of Computers. ' This is the feeling of Alan Rupp, Northrop Computer teach- er. Considering that the computer in- dustry is relatively new, blooming just five or six years ago, our lives are al- ready being caught up in this whirlwind of excitement. Since the spring semester of the 1975- 76 school year, Northrop has offered computer courses, with approximately 200 students taking advantage of them each semester. Rupp says, We have a very good computer system compared to other high schools, but next year we will have a much bigger and better sys- tem. This system turned out to be the VAX 11 750, made by Digital Equip- ment Corporation, the second largest computer company in the world. There are fewer than ten high schools in the nation with a system having equal com- puting power. Each of the seven high schools in the Fort Wayne Community Schools has a system similar to North- rop ' s. When all of these computers are linked together, no other high school system in the nation has comparable equipment. The computer course is divided into two one-semester classes. Introduction to Computer Programming and Ad- vanced Computer Programming. In the introductory class, students learn to write programs, learn the workings of the computer and what the computer can and cannot do. In the advanced class, students stress data manipulation in files and learn additional program- ming techniques. Rupp says that he enjoys teaching computer programming because, It is a challenge to keep up with the new tech- nology. It is also an opportunity to pro- vide students with a vast amount of in- formation to help them in life. All stu- dents need to know a suitable amount of information about computers to get along in life. Rupp also feels that ev- eryone, whether interested in program- ming or not, should learn all that they can about computers because it is good training. As said before, the computer industry has just recently exploded into a mania that leaves no one untouched. Mr. Ply- ley, a sales representative from Compu- terland, said, There has been a steady increase of interest from the beginning . . . mostly because of heresay, and also because people don ' t want to be left out. Businesses use them to become more productive. One local businessman ex- plained that he bought a computer to help him in his business to become more efficient. But the computer isn ' t just for busin- esses. More and more companies are making it possible for home owners to enjoy the convenience of a computer through a wider range of prices and sizes. The computer is indeed becoming more and more a part of our lives, with more people than ever making, pro- gramming, repairing, teaching about, and learning about computers. New functions are being discovered every day. Elmhurst teacher, Carter Lohr, summed it up. The sky ' s the limit as to what the computer can do for us, he said, written by Jeff Wunrow Sophomore Rick Shaffer, intently studying his [J materials, enters a program into the terminal. S photo by Elana Crane. Watching to see if the program will work, junior Donna Spake, senior Paul Augspurger and sopho- more Wendy Haberstock stare at the screen in- tently, photo by Tim Shauver. 12 — Computer Feature

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Left — Freshman JelT Charltun and junior Andre Browning show that lies have not gone out ol style, photo hy Elana Crane Kelow — Juniors Jenny Wcllman exhibits her riair for fashion with a gray and black striped jacket and black pants, photo by F.lann Crane t Hair Do its dye it Dangle-y Earrings 1 OkJ Sweatshirt- Xr . sweat, optional t ' Wtu 0 Welder ' s Helmet- toptkxiall Black Bar Gloves gg fc Leather Mini-skirt Legwarmers Pumps. Hi-tops, W| or Combat Boots W - bM- The typical Northrop student(!?l Fashion — 11

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Below Senior Mark Coppock works to perlect Ki jht Northrop coriiijuter students work in the his program, photo hy Stt ' ( ' Hut;. study ouhiiles, photo hy ' I ' iin Shinivrr A Northrop student works fervently to complete his program on time, photo bv Steve Hug. Computer Feature — 13