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

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tober6, riminal in was h Hd to raise Contra d the h ' s de- pnpc art spending ti, and fcpjkhtrt in Austin, liar. I Men liwrvtntion in IMI poup, orpn- L-fcwtbejondsup- K pok in Central i 4-. irsmg ; htwas some of AUSTIN-BOSTON CONNECTION: Austin Community College student Mi- chael Burlison and Wendy Boswell, ed- ucation junior, cheer for Senator Lloyd Bentsen at a rally on the st eps of the State Capitol. NATIVE SON: Senator Lloyd Bentsen speaks out on election issues of national and local concern while his wife B.A. listens. photos by Francis Teixeira Politics 27

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With two Texas candidates battling for the nation ' s highest offices, the election is driven home for students Politics, Texas style After two years and no less than 20 can- didates, America chose her leader. The new chief executive would lead us into the ' 90s. A huge trade deficit, mounting domestic debt and a renewed detente with the Soviet Union loomed ahead. Amid fierce campaigning, students found ways to exercise their political beliefs. Rallies with Lloyd Bentsen and Jesse Jackson, as well as protests against Iran-Contra figure Oliver North, highlighted a year of intense political activism. One of the biggest events of the year was a send-off rally for vice presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen from the State Cap- itol. Hundreds of people crowded the south steps to hear speeches by Bentsen and prom- inent Democrats from all over the state. But after the band stopped playing and the red, white and blue balloons had all floated away, some students were left with a hollow feeling. The entire speech was without sub- stance, Martin Prazak, business graduate student, said. It was the same old rhetoric. They all danced around like true Texas politicians. Eric Almgren, an MBA student who trans- ferred from the University of California- Santa Barbara in 1988, was surprised at the tone of Texas politics. At UCSB, the lib- erals are more vocal and more visible, and the conservatives are apathetic, he said. Here, the conservatives are more vocal. The next major rally came one week be- fore the November 8 election, when Jesse Jackson spoke to students on the West Mall and encouraged them to keep hope alive. The Daily Texan estimated the crowd at over 2000, and afterward Jackson led hundreds of students in a march to the Flawn Academic Center to vote on the absentee ballot. Not all of the political gatherings ended on such a positive note, however. On October 6, one man was arrested on charges of criminal mischief after he kicked a sprinkler over at a protest against Oliver North. North was speaking at the Doubletree Hotel to raise defense funds for his trial in the Iran-Contra affair. North supporters paid to attend the speech, and the money went to North ' s de- fense fund. Affluent people are spending $50 apiece to support Oliver North, and there ' s a lot of needy people here in Austin, Isolda Ortega, Plan II senior, said. Chicanos Against Military Intervention in Latin America, a University group, organ- ized the protest. We oppose aid to the Con- tras, Ortega said. He went beyond sup- porting administrative policies in Central America. He broke the law. The Young Conservatives of Texas dis- agreed, however. Several members attended the rally to provide moral as well as financial support for North. He was standing up for his country, Gretchen Wilson, nursing freshman, said. He did what he thought was best and I agree with him. Thus another election year was over. Once again, scandals surfaced concerning some of the candidates, but they were soon forgotten in the fervor of activity that accompanied last-minute campaigning. Many students vot- ed for the first time in a presidential election, and their participation would mark the be- ginning of yet another generation of political involvement. Barbara Neyens 26 Politics

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RADIO DAYS: April Ferrino, radio-television- film senior, assists morning disc jockey Mike Butts at B-93 radio station. photo by Pat Humphries. ALMOST MADISON AVENUE: Jeff Farrell, advertising senior, interns with the Robert Miller Advertising Agency. He was offerred a full-time job with the agency after graduation. photo by George Bridges Al ' 28 Internships