University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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y the waves into pulses. These slave clocks, like the Tower clocks, were built in the 30s, and were first run in 1936. To insure their smooth operation, the clocks are inspected daily, thoroughly cleaned and greased every six months, and the exterior faces are polished approximately every twenty years. The Tower clocks have not malfunctioned in six years. This, Resales says, is due to the constant inspections, so that whenever you see a clock on campus, it ' s right on the money. Behind the face of one of the clocks, Resales checks the bearings which support the clock hands. The view from the clock seen by few people since the Tower has been closed to visitors.

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The Tower Clocks Mark 45 Years of Guillermo Resales, the caretaker of time outside the University ' s traditional timepiece, checks one of the faces of the Tower cli The Tower Clock is another institution. It, is a tradition for the University. The Tower on the main building has . traditionally symbolized the University. It beams a bright orange beacon across Austin after athletic victories, stands sol- emnly pale after defeats. On a tragic note, it has been the site of nine suicides and one sniper attack. Rising 307 feet above the campus, the Tower serves as a landmark, both of the campus as a whole, and as a guide to stu- dents new to the UT campus. To visitors, it is one of the most heavily visited tour- ist sites in Austin. The clocks, serving as the principle means of marking the pro- gression of the day on campus, signify the quarter-hours to the accompaniment of the Westminster Chimes. Guillermo (Bill) Resales, a University Communications Technician, is responsi- ble for maintaining the clocks and insur- ing that they remain on time. Actually, he says, the clocks pratically run them- selves, relying on waves from the National Bureau of Standards short wave radio station, relayed to the Tower clocks through slave clocks which translate

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Earl Campbell is still the only one to get an official No. I on the Tower The Tower Glows Orange for UT ' s Athletics at the University of Texas have always been taken very seriously. The Longhorn spirit is infectious and last- ing as evidenced by the alums who return to the campus for Dad ' s day and other home football games. It is not clear if the spirit is the cause of the excellence of our athletic teams, or if the spirit is an answer to the excellence. Athletic excel- lence grows with every passing year. If it was not already, having national champi- onship teams is getting to be quiet a Texas tradition. Many fans hoped, as the school year got underway, that this would be another year for a national championship football team. This hope increased in intensity at the start of the season, as UT beat Arkansas and Oklahoma, traditionally tough teams. When Texas lost to South- ern Methodist University, the hope fizz- led, and was thoroughly quenched after the loss to Texas A M and the Long- horn ' s relegation to the Bluebonnet Bowl Game for New Year ' s Eve. While football fans were disap- pointed, swimming fans certainly were not. 1981 was the year for swimming excellence. Both the men ' s and women ' s team captured their respective national titles the first time ever a UT women ' s team had won a NCAA title, and the first time in the history of the NCAA that the two titles in a single sport had gone to the same school. For both cham- pionships, the Tower was lit completely orange, though without the I of the 1 977 football team. Though none of the other Texas teams fared as well as the swim teams, it was probably difficult for an all-around Long- horn fan to have been completely disap- pointed by the year ' s overall outcome. The football team was 7-5, and placed fourth in the Southwest Conference. Men s basketball was 15-15 for the sea- son, ranked sixth in the SWC. Men ' s track and tennis were also sixth in the conference. Men ' s golf was first in the SWC, I 3th nationally. The baseball team did well, as many expected, with a record of 59-9-1, placing first in the SWC and fourth in the nation. The women ' s basketball and golf teams both took first place in the SWC and the TAIAW tournaments. Women ' s cross country was first in the TAIAW, SWAIAW, and 13th nationally. Tennis took second place in the TAIAW tourna- ments. Track placed 14th nationally. Gymnastics, which is being cut from var- sity status next year, placed third in the TAIAW. The men ' s swim team crowds the platform after winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship.