Oak Park High School - Cambia Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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Students gi e attention to crucial orld- ide issues --. Above right, A student relives the take-off of the space shuttle by watching a video tape in AV. Below right, While studying in the media center, senior Lisa Bonavia asks Mrs. Marilyn Hawkins, the librarian, about her yellow ribbon she is wearing in honor of the American hostages in Iran. v-r 'f I 1 5 ,1 rv-...z IJ, 1 t ,Q Se ' ' ' zkiwd' A f TA O . . .1 t 1 ,ot . 11.1, - 1 'iff Q , oming to Oak Park, students wrapped their thoughts around the new changes at school - their effects on friends, classes, and lives. Yet the year also brought sporadic changes to the outside world. At times, Northmen found the need to break through the walls of Oak Park to witness politics, turmoil, death, and progress. As the Northmen opened the doors to Oak Park in September, the United States sat amidst a prolonged crisis involving the hostages in Iran. Each day a dismal news voice added one more day to the ongoing count. On Ianuary 20, though, students' feelings were relieved as the hostages came home to a welcoming citizenry. The same day as the release, the U.S. witnessed a change of power in the executive branch. When students began their first months of school, the hooplah of election days had struck in full force. Students witnessed a movie star assume the most prestigious American job from a former peanut farmer. Throughout 1980, death and assassination attempts commonly crossed the television screens. The killing of Iohn Lennon by a crazed fan grieved Beatles' fans - young and old. A few months later, an assassination attempt on President Reagan shocked the nation and renewed forceful arguments for a ban on hand-guns. But people coped better with the Reagan attempt than with one on the Pope, a principal symbol of peace, weeks later. Yet the year of '80-'81 was not nine solid months of sorrow. The year saw major progress in space activities. After one unsuccessful attempt, the United States launched the space shuttle into space for a test run. The diverse scope of news events in '80-'81 made a huge impact on the feelings and actions of Oak Park students. Not only did Oakies experience mixed feelings about their days at O.P., but the myriad of changes in the world around them gave students the chance to create opinions, and interests, on every facet of everyday life. CONTENTS 2 3

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Concern melts into relief as first da commences W he Northmen approached the familiar blue doors with expectation and slight apprehension. In preceding Oak Park years, upperclassmen had grown accustomed to the routine activities associated with each grade level. But now they must prepare for the freshmen and the changes to come with the renowned reorganization. The Northmen found need to yield apprehensions to an acceptance of change. In short, the Oakies were challenged to be flexible. As they entered the building, students searched the halls for traces of reorganization. But at first glance, students found no visible signs of change. Time, though, brought a tangible meaning to awaited expectations. The crowds in the corridors increased with each passing sec- ond -bringing realization that change had indeed begun. . At intervals, freshmen stooped over puzzling schedules, trying to piece together rooms, numbers, and classes. Giggling, nervousness, and an occasional look of dread characterized their faces. Despite the four-minute confusions, students, old and new, quickly found the new version of the student lounge. Because of the closed Media Center, most Northmen spent off mods in the relaxed, though smaller, student lounge. A few doors over, a class of students sat visible to every passing student in the glassed-in northwest corner of the cafeteria. Due to crowded conditions, students in the Fishbowl were challenged to excel in social studies and to ignore the tempting hallways. Despite their success in this academic endeavor, Fishbowl students did not pass by the watchful eyes of the local TV news cameramen. Newsmen featured the first day of school in the changed Oak Park on the evening news. Above left, the English office was crowded with teachers desks due to the influx of freshmen and teachers. M 7 .1