Weldon E Howitt High School - Hi Life Yearbook (Farmingdale, NY)

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Left Together, Beth Johnson and Jane Mikolowski find last minute studying more enjoyable with their shoes off while stretched out on a Commons bench. Below: It's not unusual for friends, like Kara Daugherty and Patty Bates, to share a locker in a convenient hallway. Above: A warm radiator by a sunny window in a small corner of the school is the best atmosphere for an open- minded Joann Abruscato to listen to Ann Eugenio's dilemma. Above: An eight-track tape deck in a quiet hallway makes the free period entertaining for Keith Spalding. Terri Woods. Jeff Smith, and Artie Pure. Friendships 7

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Friendships Enhance School Years Middle: Monique Arian is greeted by companion, Fran Ollivari, after getting off the morning bus. Left A lake, the surrounding woods, and a sunny day provides a peaceful setting for friends, Barbara Roth and Randy Weiss, to chat about the day's events. Above: While waiting for the bell, Janine Czarnec and Jeff Guetta find Marie Argento's story amusing. A room crowded with people can be the loneliest place on earth if you don’t know anyone there. In the same way, spending day af- ter day in a school as large as Farmingdale without having any friends would be devastating to most people. Yet of all the aspects of high school life and friend- ships are probably taken for granted more than anything else. We are so used to having friends around that we don’t realize how hard it would be to get along with- out them. The morning ritual of meeting one’s comrades is probably the most impor- tant part of the school day for many students. The meeting place can be at a locker, a particular bench in the Commons, or a special corner in a hall or stairwell, but wherever it is, students head for it automatically when they enter the build- ing. I always meet my friends at my locker in the morning. From there, the three of us walk around the school and see what’s hap- pening that day,” Rosemary Jones, senior, said. To ar- rive at a meeting place and find a friend is absent can often spoil the whole day. It’s disappointing when they’re absent,” Doreen Armstrong, senior, admit- ted. “There’s suddenly no one to talk to and walk around with.” For all but a few students, it is equally important to have companions in every class. On the first day of school, schedules are ea- gerly passed around to see who has what class togeth- er. An unpleasant teacher can be tolerated with friends around, but even the best classes can be- come a chore if there is no one to talk to. And students who don’t feel like working during a free period are of- ten at a loss as to what to do if none of their friends are also free. “I just sit in the library and read a magazine if no one is around that day,” Scott Kramer, senior, com- mented. Even getting to and from school, whether by bus or on foot, can be a pleasure or a drudgery, all depending on whether there is a friend alongside. In future years, memories of high school will be nu- merous and varied. But nearly all of them will in- volve the friends who were so loyal throughout the school years, and for that reason they will be all the more cherished. 6 Friendships

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Below: Tom Quinn and Tricia Goodwin find a place to sit and Right Sue Moran confides in a talk. friend while waiting for the buses. High School Romances Flourish Everywhere In the hallways and the stairwells, in the Commons and by the pool, every- where you look there are couples. Some have been going strong for months, while others change so of- ten they’re easy to lose track of. But whether they’re permanent or just for a day, high school sweethearts are alive and well, and very much a part of daily school life. It is not uncommon to see couples walking hand in hand or with their arms around each other, nor is it unusual to see them kis- sing, often quite passiona- tely. Most students don’t mind these displays, for they realize it may be the only time the two get to see each other during the day. It really doesn’t bother me as long as they’re not in my way, Sue Moran, senior, commented. There are a few students, however, who are embarrassed or an- noyed by these public em- braces, and wish they could be done somehwere else. I don’t think it’s the proper place for it,’’ Patty Bates, senior, said. Teachers, too, get upset by the lack of pri- vacy in their students’ love lives. “I have nothing against kissing, but I think it’s in poor taste to do it in public, Mr. Seymour Kopi- low, Chairman of the Sci- ence Department, stated. Yet the couples continue in their activities, regardless of the controversy. Often it is difficult for onlookers to determine just where a relationship stands, especially if they don’t have the terminology just right. There are varying opinions among students as to whether going out with one person is preferable to dat- ing different people. I think dating different people is better because you don’t tie yourself down and you can experience different per- sonalities, Mike Avallone, senior, commented. Most students agree, however, that it is important to have some sort of dating ex- perience before leaving high school. Those who don’t ever have a date can suffer a great deal of envy and depression seeing hap- py couples. Occasionally high school romances develop into life- time commitments, but more often they end after only a short while. They are not forgotten, however, for they provide valuable ex- perience and emotional growth that most students wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. 8 Romance