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

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TEXAS TRADITION: Former cheerleaders conduct students in the Whisper Cheer at the Homecoming pep rally. photo by Kllaine Ferioli. STAND UP AND CHEER: Danny Ruiz, pharmacy senior, and Candee Emig, science education junior, lead the West Mall crowd in a cheer during the Homecoming pep rally. photo by Ellaine Ferioli. YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS: President William Cunning- ham pins a yellow rose corsage on UT Sweetheart Amy Thomas, finance senior, while his wife Isabella looks on. photo by Robert Kirkham arm ' tadr ft duna ad studio an Homecoming 17

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Homecoming Returns After a 25 year absence, the Homecoming Task Force brings back a football institution In 1962, John F. Kennedy was president, the Beatles were at the forefront of the Brit- ish invasion, and Homecoming was still an annual UT tradition. But in the words of Bob Dylan, the times were a changin ' , and by the end of that turbulent era, JFK, the Beatles and Homecoming were all relegated to the history books. However, in the fall of 1987, Michelle Gray, marketing senior, decided to change part of that. She formed a committee to bring students and alumni together in the return of a tradition Homecoming. Gray headed up the Homecoming Task Force ' 88. The task force sent out 350 letters to campus organizations to involve them in the planning of events. At their first meeting, 50 organization members came to show their support and by the second meeting this num- ber had doubled. The task force scheduled many activities to promote Homecoming, but the most popular was a talent show that benefited disabled students on campus. This was the activity that got the most student response, Gray said. The talent show raised hundreds of dollars and many campus organizations en- tered the contest. Other activities included a breakfast with Longhorn football coach Da- vid McWilliams. The committee also started a new tradition called Pin the Yellow Rose. This gave UT students a chance to buy tickets for a yellow rose to pin on their date at the game. The task force hoped this would become a tra- ditional part of Homecoming. The task force raised all the money to sponsor the events themselves. The Univer- sity provided no financial support, so the committee relied on an ad book, car washes and corporate sponsors to fund the events. Former students also offered their support and help in any way they could give it. Alumni were very receptive to the Home- coming idea, Gray said. Although the task force put up signs, ran ads in The Daily Texan and tried to pass the word around, still few people knew that UT once again had a Homecoming. I think for a first year try we pretty much got the student support we expected but hopefully it will improve over the years, Student Involve- ment Committee chairman and studio art freshman, Carey Smith, said. I really didn ' t know what to expect out of Homecoming. Though I knew when it was , I really didn ' t know if it was going to be that big of a deal, Christine Stewart, pharmacy junior said. Homecomings of the future were already being planned as new chairmen were chosen and new committees formed. Some ideas placed on the backburner, such as a Home- coming court and parade, might soon find themselves a part of the tradition. The goal in 1988 was just to simply let people know that Homecoming had returned. Each chairperson worked many extra hours to make sure Homecoming was a sue- 1 cess. Although Gray, along with the other I chairpersons, was glad Homecoming was over, each said the hard work and effort was well worth the chance to be a part of bring- ing back a tradition. I think UT needs tra- dition, Gray said. It ' s important for stu- dents to feel a part of a school as large as Texas. Jennifer Jones 16 Homecoming

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Fifty colorful years The Huntington Art Gallery again unveils world-class art by University faculty Leiden Plaque, fifth century A.D. ink drawing, courtesy of the Huntington Art Gallery The Huntington Art Gallery has long brought priceless works of art from all over the world to the University. Once a year, however, students have the opportunity to see undiscovered masterpieces by local art- ists. The works ranged from a painting of God in a nightshirt creating the world, to a lady in purple eating a chicken wing the size of a microwave. Yet all the diverse works had a common thread all were created by members of the Department of Art faculty. The 1988 faculty art show marked the 50th anniversary of the Department of Art and was a milestone for the faculty which grew from two members in 1938 to 75 today. The faculty is taking more chances and pushing themselves further, David Willard, public relations coordinator for the Depart- ment of Art and the Huntington Art Gallery, said. With 43 current faculty members and nine professors emeritus participating in the month-long exhibit, the diversity ranged from David Deming ' s nine-foot sculpture Brazilian Bee Keeper, to vivid tapestries of green, turquoise and pink by Doris Hutton, to Bob Anderson ' s eerie lithograph Good Old Days. The exhibit runs the gamut of whatever is being taught at the University, Mary Craddock, a Huntington Art Gallery docent, said. But besides obvious media differences, the diversity of the artists was manifested in their different perceptions of art and execution. Peter Saul, a faculty member of seven years, said that he refuses to work on anything that interests only himself or someone else. I have never had a conflict between pleasing myself and other people, Saul said, speaking to an audience which gathered at the Hun- tington Art Gallery. Mary Fish, a new arrival at the Department of Art, called her work selfish. I try to solve my own questions, said Fish. In one of her works, she showed how six folded origami cranes could form a St. Andrew ' s cross, a symbol of martyrdom. Although the trans- formation intrigued her, she wondered if others would derive any meaning from the work. Who cares if it takes six birds to make a cross? she said. Regardless of the reasoning behind each work, the audiences that wandered through the gallery viewed the works in relationship to themselves and found things pleasing. At the gallery tour held for elementary and junior high students, the children were solicited to give responses to what they saw. After examining Don Herron ' s ceramic piece Mortar Repair Series 7, a sixth- grader at O. Henry Junior High, 1 1-year-old Jesse Taylor, likened the piece to a glad- iator ring with the seats missing. In the back of the crowd, an adult whispered, It looks more like a bedpan to me. Whether considered a bedpan or an arena, beautiful or atrocious, the glory of the art show was its ability to give something to everyone. The art faculty succeeded in doing this with their unconventional techniques and unique styles. They also proved that some of the greatest works of art weren ' t found in New York or Paris - - they were right here on campus. Leslie Wimberley ART AND ARTIST: Peter Saul, senior lecturer in the art department, explains his painting to patrons of the art show. photo by Hannes Hacker 18 Faculty Art Show