William B Travis High School - Rebel Roundup Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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temporarily tearing them apart Anxiously waiting, Rosa Perez raises her hand to ask a question, while Jason Quick works on his study sheet, pausing for a moment to think about the question At the Homecoming game, Cheerleaders Beth Maloney and Elizabeth Kidd organize their mums on the sideline and pick out some to wear Putting their ideas together, Mark Strange, Beth Maloney, Mary Gittinger, Trudy Gittinger, and Debra Hinoiosa. help each other with their English . . Opening — 7

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And Rebels crash through the Cougar Crunch sign with determination prior to the Homecoming game. For its first 1 5 years, Travis High School was a whole. But as South Austin expanded, the need for a new school arose. In 1 968, Crockett High School opened and Travis was divided, half of the student body going to the New South. We grew further apart until a fierce rivalry brewed between the schools. The New South was always a challenge to the Old South in every aspect. In a way, desegregation, which seemed to split up so many friends, was a reunion of sorts 1 2 years later. When transferring Crockett students first entered the doors of Travis High School in the fall of 1 980, not only did they bring their enthusiasm and inspiration, but also fresh ideas which they transferred to every organization in the school. Between us, we discovered new ideas for clubs and activities that could be added to our traditions. Putting the schools together in 1980 merged the New with the Old and gave us the best of both Assistant Principal Elena Vela was one ot the per- sons responsible for making the desegregation plan successful at Travis. Wherever she may be, Vela can be seen helping students with their schedules, permits, or any other problems they may have 6 — Opening

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GOP victories dominate election In a landslide victory that left many Demo- crats stunned, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan was elected 40th President of the United States. Two solid years of campaigning came to a close on Nov. 4, 1980 as voters rushed to the polls to cast a vote for their preferred candi- date. Although the race for the presidency was mocked by some as the Nobody for President election, voters made their opin- ions known that the only man for the job was ex-showbusinessman and former governor of California, Ronald Reagan When the dust finally cleared, it became apparent that the Democratic Party had been dealt its worst defeat since Dwight Eisenhower ' s landslide in 1952. While President Jimmy Carter limped away with a disappointing total of 49 electoral votes, winning only six states, Reagan overwhelm- ingly captured 498 electoral votes and approximately 43 million of the popular votes. Vote Republican, for a change seemed to be the attitude most Americans leaned toward when it came to punching in their decision. Indeed, many changes did occur as people dissatisfied with unfulfilled Democratic prom- ises elected more Republicans to other con- gressional offices. A political shift in power was witnessed when a quarter-century of Democratic domi- nation in the Senate ended. Republicans scored a net gain of 1 2 Senate seats, their biggest gain since 1946, while the Democrats failed to pick up a single Republican-held seat. Other than the two major-party candidates, also in the race for the presidency, were John Anderson, running as an independent and Libertarian Ed Clark. Anderson became well- known for his frank television commercials in which he promised no miracles for the Ameri- can public. Clark was concerned with giving people an outlet from the traditional Republican-Demo- cratic ticket. He stressed more freedom for cit- izens and less government control. Critics claimed that each man had made a fairly decent showing, but in a call-in tele- phone poll, two out of every three Americans believed Reagan had out-debated the Presi- dent. Ohio Democratic Chairman Paul Tipps summed up the feelings of a shaken and con- fused Democratic party as to the outcome of the election. He said, The election tells me one thing. That is that any public figure who is a liberal Democrat has tw o choices: find another job or change his philosophy. As one student at Travis remarked, The bickering between the Republicans and Dem- ocrats must be quieted or else this country will never be able to take a united stand on the critical issues facing us. 8 f