San Marcos High School - Crown and Sceptre Yearbook (Santa Barbara, CA)

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College Myth: Seniors Prepare College for seniors is still far away, a vague image of personal feedom and academic specialization. As application deadlines near, the myth of college grows, signifying a far off, almost unreachable plateau or for some just an extension ofthe ennui of high school. Students who have guidance or are naturally insightful will begin preparation in their junior year by paying attention to their grades, taking the SATS and investigating various schools. As high school resumes in the fall and seniors explore the novelties of being at the top once again, a kind of social status begins to surround the subject. Talk centers around Where are you applying? and What are your SAT scores? g actual learning becomes secondary to success, and grades gain A importance to being a stepping stone to honors and acceptances. Activities may be enjoyed in and of themselves, but increasingly they take on contrived values - i.e., the it looks good on your Brad Brown Carolyn Bruss Wendy Buckley Barbara Bullard Shari Bullock Ed Bundy Diane Bunson Lorie Button Jim Caesar Anne Canton Dawn Capovilla Terry Carder Mary Carman Martha Carracino J im Carroll Janna Carroll I30 SENIORS

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Y, lc- -Lrg, certain high schools and non-college bound students go to others. Students became so involved in the political situation, she said, that they went on strike in protest of the injustices they saw in the system. Linda is proficient in French, Latin, Italian and English and is very artistic. While living in Italy she painted to earn money and was offered the opportunity to display her works in a Florence art gallery. Linda characterizes her work as very meticulous? She has considered setting up a booth on the waterfront of Santa Barbara, but is put off for the moment by the high price of obtaining a license. For all her achievements in languages and art fincluding placing high in a national art contest in Italy, a country known for its dedication to and appreciation of artj, Linda says that what she enjoys most is simply being with people. She reveals to those she talks to a deep knowledge of politics and education, presented with a large vocabulary and a lack of naivete about how governments and schools are run. Regarding the country she has moved to, she says, 'lltaly is always one step behind America, Americans do not realize how lucky they aref, 1 ' 1 1 Adele Bocalli Sheryl Bohn Gordon Booth Kate Borden Robert Borella Dennis Bornand Randy Bornand Melissa Bower Jackie Bowman I . ' Courtney Boyle I Wesley Bredall I Robin Bremer Bob Brennand Mark Brisby Marc Brody Debbie Brooks SENIORS 129

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.SL 'wi 5 .Yi 'I ia? 5... R . ,Q fx. ,- 'TH v sa 5 . Q ff 1 4 H, 1' liek: ef 5 l PB-ark.. ' , ,l ul ,- l ,4f 4 X 'H college applications state of mind takes precedence, Most extracurricular involvement, from running for office to joining community organizations, is in this sense a lie. On the positive side, perhaps it is the means to the end that is of essential value, certainly this is experienced by some. One student comments, In the process of applying to colleges, I came to learn all sorts of things about myself, especially my past, my motivations, my goals and my shortcomings. This self- evaluation is what's really meaningful. College-prep students, eventually, get into one or another college and take their leave of San Marcos. Some go to City College, some to the ivy covered institutions of Princeton, Yale and Harvard. There they put to rest the myths they have created to explain the unknown world of college. Laura Carroll Tom Carroll Cathy Carter Kristin Carter Patricia Casselman Gerald Castillo Maria Castillo Marilyn Castillo Vivian Cavalli David Challinor Scott Chambers Carol Chapman SENIORS 131