Ava Canlas – staff writer

The 1980s were a lively time full of neon colors, tight clothing, and big hair. During this tubular decade, many sports teams broke records and made headlines: the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first NFL franchise to win four Super Bowls, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV 31-19 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series beating the Kansas City Royals 4-1 in-game six. The New York Islanders lifted the Stanley Cup, and the United States Olympic Hockey Team defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
In the world of entertainment, millions of viewers tuned into the TV soap opera Dallas to learn who shot the lead character, J.R. Ewing as “Who shot J.R.?” became a national obsession. Entertainment ranged from the uplifting (young people overcoming severe handicaps to lead normal lives) to the unexplainable (a park ranger who had been hit by lightning over 7 times) to the simply stupid (a stuntman jumping a motorcycle over the spinning rotors of 3 helicopters).
In music, the 1980s saw the emergence of dance music and the new wave. As disco fell out of fashion in the decade’s early years, genres such as post-disco, Italo disco, Euro disco, and dance-pop became more popular. Rock music continued to enjoy a wide audience. Soft rock, glam metal, thrash metal, shred guitar characterized by heavy distortion, pinch harmonics, and whammy bar abuse became very popular. Popular songs of the era include “Call Me” by Blondie, “Another Brick In The Wall” by Pink Floyd, and “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield.
Here at Foothill, the school welcomed computers and the very first computer science club was formed. In the 80s the Foothill Marigolds sang at every assembly and wore uniformed outfits. These Marigolds would go from classroom to classroom to sing Christmas songs during the month of December. In 1981, each of the four classes was assigned a holiday movie and had to dress up as the characters of the movie. ASB would set up games and activity centers around the quad to match the theme.
Another “interesting” Foothill tradition in the ’80s was Servant Day when each senior would adopt a lower classman who would have to wait on the senior for an entire day.