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

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The student of ' 85 For students entering the University in the fall, the world began in 1966. The 18-year-old grew up in a world of high inflation, high interest rates and unemployment. The student carried what he had lived through into the classroom. Gary Hanson, UT assistant dean of students, gave an over- view of events in the last 18 years to new faculty members who attended a weeklong seminar coordinated by the Center for Teaching Effectiveness. The Vietnam War is a good example, Hanson said. Most of us who have been on campus for 10 years see that as a pret- ty recent event, but these kids were three years old. They don ' t remember it at all, so they don ' t have a feel for what the The waters of Waller Creek reflect business freshman Tiffany Soergel as she waits for the WC shuttle on a walkway by the Winship Drama Building. Photo by Jim Sigmon nation went through. By 1978, the time of Three-Mile Island, the Iranian hostages and the invasion of Afghanistan, this year ' s freshman was 12 years old, he said. Every four or five years, a survey was made of the entering class at the University in order to analyze changes in student attitudes and perceptions. We do notice some changes, Hanson said, particularly if you go back and think of the students from the ' 60s. Many of the new faculty were students at that time. As commencement nears in May, psychology senior Dan Bell takes ad- vantage of the bleachers set up for the exercises to read the Daily Texan. Photo by Jim Sigmon A fastball gets by Longhorn baseball player Dennis Cook against Cal- State Fullerton early in the season. As the season progressed, fewer pitches got by as the team climbed to No. 1. Photo by Kevin Gutting

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PHOTOGRAPHERS Cris Bouroncle Robert Cohen Lisa Davis John Davenport Marci Doane Kathy Gilbert Morris Goen Kevin Gutting Joseph Jaworski Doug Layton Karen Messerman Steve Reed Ken Riddick Steve Schroeter Jim Sigmon Judy Walgren TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES SPOTLIGHT ACADEMICS ATHLETICS STUDENT LEADERSHIP SPECIAL INTERESTS PROFESSIONALS MILITARY LIMELIGHT GREEKS CLASSES INDEX 18 56 94 136 202 276 346 404 426 468 606 696 1985 Cactus Yearbook 3

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TUo A difference in attitudes and perceptions characterizes today ' s student as one with high expectations of success by KATHY GLOVER, UT News and Information Service That was their college days, and they don ' t understand why students are so materialistic, why they are so career motivated, why they are so competitive, why they will do anything to get a grade, he said. In fact, students had changed since the mid-to-late ' 70s, judging from differences in surveys taken in 1978 and 1983. More students were describing themselves as politically conservative, Hanson said, with almost one-third of the enter- ing class in 1983 saying they were conservative and one-fourth saying they were liberal. They are more conservative in terms of sexual attitudes even compared to five years ago, he said. They are less like- ly to say that it is all right for two people to have sex if they like each other or that people should live together before they are married. Today ' s students were less likely to agree that marijuana should be legalized, he said, since 70 percent of those surveyed said no. During the seminar for new faculty, Hanson said, he tried to emphasize the fact that students had changed. Also, he noted that most students had very high expecta- tions of success when they entered the University. Over half of the entering freshmen come from the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, he said. That means every other student in the class will have graduated in the top 10. A small percentage of the students expected to fail a course, and less than 2 percent expected to ever drop out, yet records showed about 20 percent of the first-year students did. A rainy OU weekend in the Cotton Bowl greets members of the Longhom Band in Dallas. The game marked a negative turning point in the Horns ' football season, as rain plagued the team throughout the campaign. Photo by Doug Layton Openin g 5