1990-1994

Life at Buena High School from 1990 to 1994 was very different from what it is today.  For instance, the cheerleading team was called the pep squad (Gustafson 5), there was a self-defense class, and Santa would even pay visits to Buena and take pictures with fellow students.  For homecoming and different dances, they would come dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and casual clothes other than the fancy attire that we would wear today.  Other differences include sports attire and the uniforms that we used to wear, as well as how the gym looked. The sports they had available back then are still very similar to the ones we have today, such as girls' volleyball, boys' volleyball, girls' soccer, baseball, softball, swimming, and more. Although some things were different than they are now, many of the experiences and opportunities that Buena offered to its students have remained the same.

School spirit appeared to be common throughout the 1990s, from how students would cheer for our teams during sports events to the players themselves competing for our school with their Bulldog spirit, everyone was very involved in the Buena community and had fun within it. Even the Academic Decathlon team received accolades for getting first place in the county (Saillant B6). ASB proved to be effective as more and more students became involved with Buena’s community and more new clubs started popping up (McGrath 3). Today, we still have the same Buena Bulldog spirit as we cheer our school on. There were even talent shows and tutoring which had been established in 1992. Tying in with rules we have in place today, meetings began taking place in February of 1992 to officially ban hats from being worn around campus. Finally, this time period saw the end of the Michael Shanahan era as principal, as he took an early retirement before budget cuts took place, and a boundary change would alter the demographic makeup of the school (Goodman A1).

Newspaper Articles

Narrative

Across the world, students have always been the face of change, and of course, Buena is no different. As apathetic as teens are they have never shied away from the world of politics. In the Buena Speaks and Buena Vistas of the early 90s, there are many articles written about politics, many of these stories being about the political beliefs of individual students. There are, however, a fair share of political articles about various current events of the time. The school went from discluding the GSA club in the 90s, the club then called Spectrum, from being in the bulletin, to now proudly displaying the GSA in the bulletin on Wednesdays (Karen Rodrigues interview),. The school has gone from racial divides amongst students to having racial divides amongst students, to having a more inclusive and accepting atmosphere. 

In many ways, Buena’s politics have stayed similar. The article “Black, White, Yellow, Purple” (Buena Vista Vol. XXXII Issue 5 pg. 12) tells about the writer's feelings on racism in society and how racism needs to be addressed and condemned. There are current articles in Buena Speaks that share a similar sentiment of how racism in our society runs deep.

Of course, the 90s were a different time. Sometimes in the pursuit of making a good-intentioned point, people say things that just miss the mark. In an issue of Buena Vista in 1993 (Buena Vista Vol. XXXII Issue 5 pg. 11), the writer makes an article outlining problems with stereotyping people in the article “More Than Meets the Eye”. The article shows that stereotypes don’t really make sense as well as being hurtful. However, this article is accompanied by a political cartoon showing stereotyped people. This cartoon depicts an Indian man working at 7/11, a Jewish man with a large nose exclaiming “Oy Vey!”, a ditzy looking blonde white girl, and a gay couple flirting, one wearing a shirt ‘I [heart] Flamers’. While this cartoon is being used to point out the absurdity of stereotyping it’s easy to see how a cartoon like that would not fly on today's campus. 

Works Cited

Buena High School. Conquistador, Vol. 29. Ventura: Graduating Class of 1990. Print Archives, Buena High School Library.

Buena High School. Conquistador, Vol. 30. Ventura: Graduating Class of 1991. Print Archives, Buena High School Library.

Buena High School. Conquistador, Vol. 31. Ventura: Graduating Class of 1992. Print Archives, Buena High School Library.

Buena High School. Conquistador, Vol. 32. Ventura: Graduating Class of 1993. Print Archives, Buena High School Library.

Buena High School. Conquistador, Vol. 33. Ventura: Graduating Class of 1994. Print Archives, Buena High School Library.

Goodman, Adrianne. "Buena High Principal to Take Early Retirement." LA Times, 7 April 1991, A1.

Gustafson, Joel. "The Spirit of Pep Squad" Buena Vista [Ventura, CA], vol. 31, no. 1. Oct. 1991. 

McGrath, Debbie. "ASB Not Just and Extended Lunch Period." Buena Vista  [Ventura, CA], vol. 31, no. 1. Oct. 1991. 

Parker, Jim. "Buena Loses Longtime Friend." Ventura County Star-Free Press, 13 September 1991, B1 & B5.

Saillant, Kay. "Buena Takes Academic Decathlon Crown." Ventura County Star-Free Press, 18 November 1990, B6.

Wilson, Kathleen. "Buena Grateful to Laboratory" Ventura County Star-Free Press, 26 November 1991, A3.

This part of the project was completed by:

Researchers: Jocelyn Saucedo & Ryker Dolley

Archivists: Isabella Saliby & Alexa Mares

Web Designers: Sawyer Reeder & Adriana Aguilar Perez

Narrators: Hunter Clark, Chris Badillo, & Evan Zuber

Editor: Mr. Downey