Ryan (Annabeth Gish) writes a paper that criticizes the presidency of Richard Nixon. Less than a decade later in Nixon (1995), Gish played Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of Richard Nixon, who offers to publicly defend her father from the very things described in Ryan's paper.
The skating rink used in the date scene was Sunset Skating Rink, located in Wilmington, NC. The original owners, the Carters, can be seen and heard during the announcement of "couples' skate". The skating rink has since been renamed Scooters, but looks much like it did during filming.
Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina using the school name of Topsail High School. There is a real Topsail High School near Wilmington and most of the props for the school were taken from there.