Robbinsdale High School - Robin Yearbook (Robbinsdale, MN)

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t Those lazy, crazy days of summer have rolled by , Now, leisure time It limited and everyday small talk becomes more important than before. No matter who's around. The excitement of Africa is for a moment suspended. Bill Potter shares a mood of serene indifference. tScattered make up for faces and personalities prepare you for your role. When the play Is over, you are still on staqe. I I r b

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Nixon's decision of gradual troop withdrawal wasn't much of a surprise; it didn't take a Jeanne Dixon to predict it. Occasional peace marches and silent Nixon supporters hung in-there, while the RHS majority, silertt or not, remained unified at least by fondness for the word, peace. J • The initiation of the draft lottery system brought the war a little closer to male RHS'ers. Who would have thought that one's birthdate written on a $fip of paper, crammed into a plastic capsule, and thrown in with 364 others, could possibly determine the span of one’s life? However, controlled existence is nothing new, especially not in high school. Students sometimes resented the administration's domineering hand of authority, stretching further than education. Detention for not carrying an I.D. card at all times, or for not conforming to the established mode of dress, had little to do with betterment of the soul, much less the gaining of credits for graduation. Leniency on the part of the administration concerning the dress code did seem to reduce the relevancy of outward appearances on character judgment, until students were habitually reminded to tuck in shirttails, lengthen skirts, or get haircuts. The lack of communication touched not only school life, but home life as well . . . Dad looks up from his Esquire and downs his after-dinner drink, before informing Junior that he is grounded for smoking . . . Escape. Kids sought people and places to identify with. Relationships, sharing, solitude, music, art, poetry; all were mental withdrawals from uptight situations. For some, the world could be seen from an entirely different point of view. A rising percentage of students experimented with drugs, causing concern among friends, and the older generation. An auditorium pertaining to drug abuse was held, and surveys were taken in social classes. But the truth as to the extent of harm drugs could cause was undetermined. Not all kids blew their Friday nights on pot, natch. If one didn't have to serve as a member of the working class, the night could be spent at Alice's Restaurant, Easy Rider, or with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But there were those who stayed within the protective arms of high school life, whose entertainment generally consisted of ball games and slumber parties. That is, if one wasn't grounded because of grades, or if there wasn't a research paper to write. Try-outs for David and Lisa, supplied a temporary break in constant exasperations. The performances were a success, portraying two emotionally-disturbed young people who eventually overcame their hang- ups together. Added effects'of background music, and slide projections coinciding with the events of the play, were firsts in local high school drama. No sooner had the departing stampede of David and Lisa's satisfied audiences subsided than try-outs for Hello Dolly began. Students interested in theater auditioned vocal chords and acting abilities, anxious to be part of fhe most publicized dramatic production of the year. Bunkie, Boogie and other weird buttons pinning down musical members, plus a parade ramp constructed in the auditorium, were visual evidence that musical preparations were well on their way. Then, winter break: the best tension-reliever of them all. Two short, school-free weeks were congested with religious observances, parties, skiing, boredom, and sleep. Recovery from Auld Lang Syne was cut short by the inevitable return to school, and the second semester. If the action was too tough to hack, one could always Get Plowed. Student consumption of alcoholic beverages was still frowned upon, but with a slight push, the slogan, Get Plowed, It's Sno-Week, miraculously passed censorship. Morning pepfests, flower sales, sweater and hat days, were topped off with the crowning of Sno-Royalty, Pat Beyer and Steve Kranz. The booking of the Youngsters encouraged attendance at the Sno-Dance, leaving only three weeks for girls to get up enough nerve to ask some dude to Winter Formal. As money slipped away on tickets, formats, and boutonnieres, girls realized the hassle guys go through for a good time. Despite the option for involvement in activities, RHS couldn't evade the winter slump. Mother Nature didn't blow up a school-closing blizzard, but on Feb. 3, she dropped the temperature low enough to break a water main. That unscheduled break was . . . well, no one complained about it. Bits of relaxation were of more value as it became increasingly difficult to discipline oneself to the life of the student. In just Spring, tantalizing thoughts of summer fed impatience for the three-month liberty. Winter clothes were put in mothballs, grass got greener, and X'd off calendar days led to a big red circle around June 5th. Finals were dreaded, then completed; graduation anticipated, then past. . . . But we all knew RHS as an experience. Whether good or bad was purely a personal judgment, but nevertheless it was an experience. We came slightly knowledgeable. We left slightly more knowledgeable. We must wait for wisdom. Student Life-17

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 If a mountain 'n there, climb it Student Life-19