1990-1991
				As exciting as the school year of 1989-1990 was, Perry Falcons could not wait to start off their next school year with a new decade. It, too, would prove to be one of many exciting events. Homecoming for 1990 would be very interesting for Falcons because it was their high school’s eighteenth birthday, which was also the theme for homecoming. Each day of the homecoming week and a dress theme which went as follows: Monday, sweatshirts and tee-shirts displaying favorite colleges, Tuesday, shirts created by students that represented the theme, Wednesday, bandanas that were sold in the bookstore and buttons from past homecomings, Thursday, blue and silver day, and Friday, black to mourn the death of the Columbus North Bulldogs at the homecoming football game. The Falcons defeated the Bulldogs with a score of 35-24 (Passages XVIII 128). The homecoming King and Queen were names that were widely recognized because of Homecoming the year before. The crowns went to Jason Belch ’91 and Tonya Meadows ’91. The parade was a site to behold. It started off with a group from the Indianapolis Police Department performing motorcycle stunts. They were followed by the marching band, the girl’s swim team, football, volleyball, and boy’s tennis teams. Each class was able to build their own float and the sophomores won the contest of best float followed by the freshman with second place. There was also the annual pushcart race, and this year it was won by the two senior teams taking first and second place (Passages XVIII 126) The Prom of 1991 would be one that would be loved by all Falcons, which was very fitting since the theme was “Sea of Love.” The theme was based on the song by the Honeydrippers. The prom was held at the Murat Shrine Temple and the colors were very patriotic. Ten O’clock marked the moment for the King and Queen candidates to strut their stuff on their way to the crowning ceremony. Tony Bieszczat ’91 and Liz Pinna ’91 were crowned prom King and Queen of 1991 (Passages XVIII 14). In athletics, records were being broken, athletes were developing into skilled team members, and school spirit was rising. The track and cross country teams were dominating for the first time in a long time. The girl’s track team placed third at state with Holly Hyche ’90 winning first in the 100 meter dash and 400 meter run (Passages XVIII 133). Martha Reece, who was the coach of the girl’s track and cross country teams for about seventeen years, remembers very well how outstanding her teams were. When she retired, she said, “I will certainly miss the closeness that I developed with the teams and their families (Reece Personal Interview).” The boy’s track team placed the highest ever in Perry Meridian’s history with four qualified runners for the state competition, and for the first time in eighteen years, the girl’s cross country team placed first at Sectionals (Passages XVIII 133). Many awards and honors were given in athletics and academics as well. In volleyball, seniors Sara Daniel and Kelly Kosten earned high honors making All-County, All-Metro, and All-State. In baseball, Jeff Montfort ’90 was named All-State pitcher. Falcons from other athletic teams were qualifying for championships, sectionals, and all sorts of other honorable programs to be involved in. In academics, Mrs. Burdine was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 1990 (Passages XVIII 45). The fall of 1990 was a year of many events. One of the biggest that still affects us as a school today was the appearance of Channel One. This is a news program that is broadcasted throughout the country to hundreds of different schools, and it keeps teens informed of what is happening worldwide (Hildebrand 2). Some of the things discussed on this program were later talked about among the students and staff at Perry. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, for instance, was a widely discussed topic among Falcons. Mr. Cunningham was asked to predict the outcome of the war and he said, “I think nothing will happen in terms of war – the thing will be resolved (Hildebrand 3).” Students were also asked what their thoughts were about it. Doug Naue ’94 said, “It didn’t really hit that close to home for me (Naue Personal Interview).” He said that he wasn’t quite educated enough in that particular study to really understand how big of a deal it was (Naue Personal Interview). The case was different, however, for Michael Braverman. When asked what a major event was that took place during his attendance at Perry Meridian, the first thing that came to his mind was the Iraqi war. He was even able to remember the radio station he was listening to when the radio announcer said that war had been declared. When asked to comment, he said, “It was surreal. There was a lot of misinformation regarding the strength of the Iraqi military (Braverman Personal Interview).” Another new thing that came into the picture was the waive-a-final incentive for seniors only. This was made in order to increase attendance rates. Any senior having an ‘A’ in the class and having attended school the day before and the day after spring break would be allowed to skip their finals (Brown Personal Interview). A new group that came into the scene at Perry in 1990 was the magic club. The purpose of the club was to teach Falcons the basics of magic and that it could be taken seriously as a career (Passages XVIII 107). Many teachers and students have always felt that Perry Meridian is a very academically challenging school and has taught its students well. Mrs. Fasbinder said, “The students here at Perry care more about learning and not just about the grade (Fasbinder Personal Interview).” Mike Braverman felt that Perry was a very strong school when it came to academics because the students really applied themselves (Braverman Personal Interview). Perry’s intelligence was really tested when it came to the Brain Game team. They were able to make it to the final four but were defeated by Shelbyville with a score of 54-74. Mark Kemple ’90, who was a very active member of the team said, “Nobody expected us to go far at all, and we proved them all wrong (Passages XVIII 87).” There was one incident that really seemed to stick out to the students at Perry. This was in 1990 when two members of the Junior Varsity boy’s basketball team smuggled alcohol onto the bus that was taking them to their game. The players and cheerleaders drank on the way to the game and on the way back, and then they were caught and punished (Murphy 1). A popular group to be involved in at Perry Meridian was music. The Falcon Marching Band reached Regionals with their outstanding performances. Karey Sledge ’90 won the Outstanding Band Member Award and Max Placke ’90 won the John Philip Sousa Band Award. Also, the Symphonic band was invited to represent Indiana at the spring celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of Washington D.C (Passages XVIII 92-94). Those who attended Perry Meridian High School were very proud. In an interview, Mike Braverman ‘94 was asked if his attendance at Perry Meridian prepared him for college and the real world. Mike felt that it did prepare him for college because a lot of the classes that he took in high school were the same as those that he took in college. He did say, however, that not even college can prepare you for the real world. “Perry does as good a job as any to prepare the students and certainly does better than most (Braverman Personal Interview).” Michael’s advice is to take advantage of writing labs and to be as active as you can in all that you do in school because it makes things much easier (Braverman Personal Interview). Doug Naue was also a graduate of 1994 and was asked the same question. He said “No.” Doug said that from an individual level, it did not. He said that no high school can really prepare anyone for that. He did say, however, that the best thing was the diversity of people at Perry. “It was a taste of the real world and all of the different people you’ll have to work with (Naue Personal Interview).” Doug said that for him, the education programs were there, but it all has to do with how much you care and he cared more about the sports that he was involved in. Doug Naue had a few closing words of advice for all of the students. He said, “When it comes to having four hard years of school, you can either have them in college or after college. It is way too easy to have a good time in college and you can either bust your butt during those years or you can bust your butt after college. The most important thing you can do is to listen to your parents because they are pretty much right about everything (Naue Personal Interview).” The school year of 1990-1991 was one of many changes, but also many good times for the students of Perry Meridian. Their Prom, Sea of Love, is one that will always be remembered, as well as their homecoming, Happy 18th Birthday. Most of the students and teachers will remember the impact that the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait had on them, if any, and they will also remember the ridiculous styles of clothing that were actually popular. The 1990-1991 school year would end with valedictorian Conrad David Engel and salutatorian Rosendo Lim Tansinsin VI saying their farewells to the class of ’91 (Murphy 1).