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

Page 28 text:

Summer politics heat controversy by JULIE DEL BARTO Politics. This was the watch word for the summer of 1984. While students were trying to get over finals and get ready for the first summer sessions they found themselves more involved than ever with the primaries and the con- troversy surrounding them. The most hotly contested race involved the U.S. Senate seat John Tower vacated. Lloyd Doggett came from behind in the Democratic primary to take the win over opponent Kent Hance, provoking questions as to the validity of the primary system. Controversy. This word, too, fit hand in hand with politics as the watch words of ' 84. The Students ' Association got directly involved in the political process by taking a vocal stand on the nation- wide raising of the legal drinking age to 21. President Rodney Schlosser and vice president Trey Monsour traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby against the bill, which would withhold highway funds from non -comply ing states. The Democratic convention began in San Francisco, and on July 19, Walter Mondale accepted his party ' s nomina- tion for president, and Geraldine Fer- raro became the first woman ever to gain the vice presidential nomination. It wasn ' t a week later that America ' s shining example of womanhood, Miss America, was forced to give up her crown. Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America, resigned her title after Penthouse magazine published con- troversial photos taken of her before she was crowned. The campaign trail hit Austin with President Reagan ' s appearance at Auditorium Shores, while a national tragedy unfolded in San Ysidro, Calif. A gunman killed 20 people and injured 13 in a McDonald ' s restaurant in the worst massacre by one person in U.S. history. This called attention to the con- troversy surrounding the 1984 Summer Olympics and the Soviet boycott. The Soviet Union and other communist bloc nations pulled out of the Games, calling the Los Angeles site a security risk. Political rallies were the event of the sum- mer as Austinites gathered to show their support for their favorite candidates. Photo by Cris Bouroncle , and FEKRARO 20 Summer Calendar

Page 27 text:

RATE UNIVERSITY ALUMS CREATE SPECIAL MOOD CELEBRATING 100 YEARS by ROGER GRAPE Throughout the University ' s 102 years, graduation commencement ceremonies came and went. In recogni- tion of the UT Ex-Student ' s Association ' s 100th anniversary, however, the 4,900 members of the class of 1985 had some extra speakers at their ceremony on the plaza in front of the Main Building on May 18. The ceremony followed the ceremonies put on by each in- dividual college and school, held earlier in the day. Those ceremonies recognized each graduate in- dividually as they walked across the stage. The Univer- sity invited four prominent alumni to serve as speakers at the official campus-wide ceremony. The speakers delivered brief commence- ment reflections on the decade or decades in which they graduated. The speakers were chosen from a list drawn up by the Ex- Students ' Association Century Commit- tee, and UT President Peter Flawn made the final decision on the speakers. As Flawn made his opening remarks and introduced the speakers at the beginning of the ceremony, two students and one non-student climbed out of a window to the Main Building ' s top balcony. The three then shouted slogans in favor of divestiture of the University ' s holdings in South Africa. The three were apprehended by Univer- sity policemen and taken off the balcony. They were later charged with criminal trespassing and disruptive ac- tivity. FEATURES Edited by Joanna Fields and Lisa Gaumnitz Jane Weinert Blumberg, a former member of the U T System Board of Regents from Seguin, represented the alumni of the 1920s and 19308. Dr. Mairo Ramirez, a nationally known physician from Rio Grande City, spoke for the alumni of the 1940s. Lloyd Hand, former U.S. chief of pro- tocol from Washington D.C., represented the 1950s, and Prudence Mahaffey Mackintosh, an author and contributing editor to Texas Monthly magazine from Dallas, spoke of the 1960s to the present. To add another alumni touch to the event, 100 former UT students were asked to march in the evening processional. Instead of wearing tradi- tional academic caps and gowns, they were iden- tified by bronze medallions, suspended by orange ribbons. The special medallions were engraved with the Ex-Students ' Association ' s 100th an- niversary logo. Following the remarks of the speakers, approximately 4,900 degrees were conferred by Jess Hay, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, and by Flawn. After doctoral candidates were in- dividually recognized, and closing com- ments made, the Tower ' s shaft and observation deck were lit orange. Following the closing of the ceremony, the class of 1985 tossed their mortar boards into the air, symbolizing the end of their years of studying, going to classes and losing sleep at the Univer- sity, and their beginning of a new life out in the real world. Features

Page 29 text:

The effect of the boycott was a major question throughout the games because of those countries ' strengths in many events. The U.S. dominated the games and set a new record for gold medals with 82, and 157 medals overall. The U.S. men ' s gymnastics team won the gold for the first time in history. University of Texas student Rick Carey took home three golds in swimming events. With national spirit at an all-time high, students gathered to support their candidates for the November election. Mondale and Ferraro made a historic stop at the Texas Capitol Aug. 1, and thousands flocked to Dallas for the Republican Convention. The summer of 1984 was a time for getting involved, fighting for what you believed in and being part of an up-and- coming major force on the national political scene as a university student. With temperatures soaring and mandatory water rationing becoming necessary through the summer, even Littlefield fountain dried up. - Photo b John Davenport Lynn Fisher, accounting senior, unpacks her lounger for those lazy Sunday afternoons at the KniMilving sun deck before cool fall weather sets in Photo by - oft n Dai ' fnport Summer Calendar '