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

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LITTLE EXTRAS Midday surprises brighten gloomiest of afternoons I was running late. That snooze but- ton was working too well that morning. 1 grabbed by books, headed out the door and got to the IF stop just in time to jump on the crowded bus. As I stood in the aisle clinging to the bar overhead, I dreaded the rest of the ride towards campus. Excuse me, I heard someone say. Turning slightly, I saw the guy behind me stand up and offer me his seat. Thanks, I said. If he only knew how much that little gesture had turned around an otherwise awful morning. Everyone had their bad days, but some days were worse. Imagine getting home at the end of a long day to find your key no longer fit in the door. For Eric Nelson, accounting lunior, this was a reality. MM I. CALL: A mailbox overflowing with cor- cspondence cheers Mischelle Creel, pharmacy emor ROSK IN BLOOM: Ron Patterson (clivers flowers to Jennifer Torbett, law student, in Valentine ' s Day. The manager changed the locks on everybody ' s apartment without telling anyone. I waited two hours for him to get home, Nelson said. A night on the town was cut short when rain doused Dana Edelen ' s plans. I ran out of gas on the way to a party, and it was raining, said Edelen, business junior. Although it often seemed students were prime targets for a bum deal, the simplest thing could turn the whole day around. An unexpected letter, package or phone call provided students with the perfect pick-me-up. For Dana Giles, data processing senior, a Valentine ' s card perked her up one February after- noon. It was very sweet. It blew my mind, actually, Giles said. Taking a closer look, students found that anyone could chase gray skies away. A friend that I don ' t see regular- ly dropping by to say hello, would help make Nelson ' s day. According to Michelle Boyd, special education senior, it was a boost when, somebody goes out of their way to do something for you. Bad days seemed to be a dime a dozen to students as homework and bills piled up, but little bits of serendipity were not hard to come by. Gifts and big achievements were not so important. It was the little things that meant a lot. by Amy Kysela

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1 8 Features

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For 50 years, the Tower has watched Over the University of Texas campus As history and tradition were made The UT Tower has some secrets. If only its walls could talk. For 20 years, the 27th floor observation deck had been closed to visitors. But, with a flash of my almighty press pass, I was allowed to see what the world looks like from the top of the Tower. I met the security guard at the elevator. It was eerie to be retracing the steps that several people had taken in the last minutes of their lives. In fact, the most remarkable part of seeing the top of the Tower was imagin- ing all the history there, including several student suicides and a shooting spree in 1966 that left 14 people dead. The elevator opened at the 27th floor to a locked door and a sign that read, Absolutely no sightseeing at any time. The guard knocked. We were led jhrough an office and then to the stairs. As I walked up the stairs on which Charles Whitman had dragged a foot locker full of ammunition and shot a family of four, it occurred to me how complete- SIDEWALK STROLL: The telephoto lens captures a couple strolling on the South Mall. ly tainted this building was by that one event that happened before I was even born. I tried to think of the other things the Tower stood for: a symbol of the University, the heart of the campus, and an observation deck which offers the most beautiful view anywhere in Austin. From up there, the campus, all of Austin for that matter, seemed so in- consequential. The sky was faultlessly blue, and within the 360-degree view were Barton Creek Square, a Round Rock water tower, busy lanes of freeway traffic and miles of green Hill Country. This view conflicted with my first im- pression of the University as a bureaucracy factory, relentlessly con- gested with 48,000 students. From the Tower, the campus im- pressed me again. The perpendicular malls reached out in every direction, dotted with students strolling to class, stretched out in the sun or kicking around a Hacky Sack. This expanse of mismatched buildings seemed so innocuous and easy to figure out from there. The deck itself was a narrow walkway just below the Tower clocks. Pen and pad in hand (security wouldn ' t let me bring anything big- ger), I walked around, recording my observations: . . . red brick floor lined with foot-wide orange and white lights . . . plaster blotches cover bullet holes . . . thick, gold rim around clocks is tarnished, scratched and or- nately decorated . A sign on the foot-thick wall sur- rounding the walkway warned, Danger keep off. Gee, and I was just about to check the view hanging upside-down from the ledge. The drainage holes in the walls af- forded a straight shot to the Drag in front of Wallace ' s Book Store and other places people died under fire in the sniper attack. It was really quite peaceful up there, standing eye-to-eye with that ugly god- dess on the Capitol. The sun ' s rays were hotter and more direct, and the only sound was the muffled roar of traffic on the freeways. But it was, of course, not that much different from standing on any other tal building. Except for the fact that th general public wasn ' t allowed to do it. So what ' s so great about the Tow observation deck? Those foot-thick walls sure aren telling, by Valerie Ahern