University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 91 text:

H H JANUARY DECLASSIFIED MILITARY DOCUMENTS SHOWED THAT 800 PEOPLE WERE USED AS NUCLEAR GUINEA PIGS FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II TO STUDY RADIATION. CONGRESS ANNOUNCED THAT AN INVESTIGATION WOULD TAKE PLACE AS EVIDENCE ACCUMULATED 5 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND 2 WOUNDED WHEN A ROCHESTER, NEW YORK MAN MAILED BOMBS TO HOMES AND WORKPLACES ACROSS THE STATE TO RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF HIS GIRLFRIEND. HE DID SO AFTER A FIGHT WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND VATICAN AND ISRAELI OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WOULD BEGIN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER PRESIDENT CLINTON FACED THE FIRST MAJOR SCANDALS OF HIS PRESIDENCY. ALLEGATIONS SWIRLED OF MARITAL INFIDELITY DURING HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN THE PREVIOUS YEAR. A MORE SERIOUS SCANDAL INVOLVED THE WHITEWATER DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IN ARKANSAS. 5 BOXES OF PAPERS WERE SUBPOENAED BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE THE CLINTON ' S INVOLVEMENT IN THE ALLEGED COVER-UP FIGURE SKATER NANCY KERRIGAN WAS ATTACKED WITH A CLUB AT THE U.S CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DETROIT. AS THE PLOT UNFOLDED, A CONSPIRACY, LED BY PEOPLE CLOSE TO SKATING RIVAL TONYA HARDING, WAS DISCOVERED THE DETROIT PISTONS ANNOUNCED THAT UPON ISIAH THOMAS ' S RETIREMENT, HE WOULD HAVE A MANAGEMENT JOB WITH THE TEAM. ALSO, HE WOULD BECOME A PART OWNER OF THE TEAM. HIS SHARE WOULD BE WORTH APPROXIMATELY $55 MILLION 1 00 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN MEXICO DURING A PEASANT REBELLION IN THE SOUTHERN STATE OF CHIAPAS ON NEW YEAR ' S DAY. THE REBELS, CALLED THE ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION, WERE COMPOSED MAINLY OF MAYAN INDIAN DESCENDENTS. THEIR GOAL WAS TO EARN BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS PRESIDENT CLINTON ' S NOMINEE FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, BOBBY RAY INMAN, WITHDREW HIS NAME FROM CONSIDERATION. HE CLAIMED THAT THE VICIOUS ATTACKS BY THE REPUBLICANS AND THE MEDIA WERE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION. DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM PERRY SUCCEEDED INMAN AS THE NOMINEE LORENA BOBBITT WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY OF MALICIOUS WOUNDING. SHE WAS COMMITTED TO A MENTAL HOSPITAL FOR 45 DAYS + A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 6.6 ON THE RICHTER SCALE STRUCK LOS ANGLES KILLING 55 AND CAUSING $30 BILLION IN DAMAGE NASA ' S SPACE MISSION TO REPAIR THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WAS A COMPLETE SUCCESS. PICTURES FROM THE TELESCOPE THAT HAD BEEN FOGGY AND BLURRY BECAME CLEAR AND PRECISE . H o H Retrospect 89

Page 90 text:

The region was already on edge following the riots, and a general feeling of lost security from the violence plaguedthe area. Tensions increas ed as aftershocks continued to be felt for days and weeks. Closed off roads and bottleneck traffic j ams added to the tension. However badly the region was battered, however, one could not deny the assets of Southern California. On the day of the earthquake, while the rest of the country froze, Los Angles re- mained a balmy 80 degrees. So despite the onslaught of catastrophes that ravaged the state over the past few years, a majority of people stayed and attempted to rebuild yet again. Also, the thousands that flocked to the state every day continued to pour in with dreams and wishes that they expected the Golden State to fulfill. MICHAEL JACKSON One of America ' s biggest pop icons was put through an arduous ordeal, when a 13 year-old child accused Michael Jackson of molesting him. The news was splashed across newspapers and tabloids around the world when the Los Angeles Police De- partment began to investigate the charges. The boy, his half sister, and his mother traveled to Monte Carlo and Disney World with Jackson, where, the boy claimed, Jack- son slept with him. The boy told his thera- pist that in Monaco, Jackson lured the boy into a bathtub and performed oral sex on him, and then told him that he would be sent to juvenile hall if their relationship was revealed. Over the ensuing months, Jack- son and his image both suffered a tremen- dous loss of prestige. He was dropped by Pepsi as a spokesman for their products, and then was sued for more than $20 mil- lion in a fraud and breach-of-contract suit filed when he canceled his world tour amidst the allegations. Many of his friends and family also bailed out on Jackson. Sister LaToya hit the talk show circuit yet again, this time to throw mud at her superstar brother. She said that their mother, Katherine, had called Michael a damn faggot even as Katherine was on TV de- fending him. It seemed as though most of Jackson ' s friends were on vacation during the controversy, as none lent their public support. Only Elizabeth Taylor continued to proclaim her friend ' s innocence through- out the ordeal. As the winter dragged on, more claims came to light. Jackson ' s former maid, Blanca Francia said that the star had slept and showered with little boys, and may have abused these children. She said that Jackson had given them the nickname Rubba, which meant that he rubbed the boys against his genitals. In return for making these allegations on the tabloid TV show Hard Copy, she earned a reported five-figure payment. Even Brett Barnes, an 1 1 -year-old Australian boy who spoke in Jackson ' s defense, said that the star had shared a bed with him. In Oprah Winfrey ' s interview with Jackson the pre- vious year, Jackson said that the thing he missed most about his own childhood was slumber parties. After months of being the head- line on countless tabloids, hear ing con- stant rumors about the entire controversy, and being subjected to a strip search that he called the most humiliating ordeal of my life, Jackson settled out of court with the 13-year-old. Lawyers refused to discuss the details of the settlement, but sources said that the amount fell between $10 and $20 million in addition to a trust fund that was also set up. Many questions were raised by the settlement. Why did Jackson take so long to settle? Many blame some of Jackson ' s lawyers and private investigators who feared a settlement would induce oth- ers to come forward with false claims in the hope of reaching a similar settlement. Despite the settlement, L.A. County District Attorney ' s Office contin- ued with its criminal investigation of Jack- son. The settlement was expected to have the silence the 13 year-old, which meant that the D.A. ' s office had lost its star wit- ness. ' Retrospect

Page 92 text:

Even though Jackson appeared to aided his cause by the settlement, he lost in the court of public opinion. Because of the settle- ment, it was unlikely that the truth would ever be completely known. Which meant though Jackson could not called guilty, he also did not clear his name of wrong doing. Jackson lawyer, Howard Weitzman said the entire controversy had, taken an icon of our lifetime and destroyed him. Nancy arrived as the favorite, and seemed to be at her best on the ice. However, on January 6 her dreams of winning a gold, or even of competing in the Olympics were put in to serious jeopardy when she was struck on the knee by an assailant. TV cameras captured her anguish and pain as she cried out, Why me? Why anyone? Why? after the attack. The attack soon made headlines around the world. Many theories about the attack circulated. Some though it was another obsessed fan, like the one who attacked tennis star, Monica Seles. Another theory was that it was a random act of violence, fitting the crime-ridden city stereotype of Detroit. No matter how shocking these rumors may have seemed, the truth proved to be far more heinous. As the F.B.I, and police pieced together events, evidence slowly materialized that linked associates of Nancy ' s biggest American skating rival, Tonya Harding, to the attack. The piece that broke open the case was the evidence provided by private investigator, Gary Crowe. He produced a tape that had been given to him by a student in a course that he taught at a local college. The tape implicated Tonya ' s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly; her body guard, Shawn Eckardt; Derrick Smith and Shane Stant, two thugs hired to stalk Kerrigan. Gillooly, whom she still lived with prior to the attack, was questioned by the F.B.I, and later pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in exchange for his testimony. In his testimony, Gillooly asserted that Harding was completely aware of what was to take place, and that she helped coordinate it. Harding refused to admit to any part in the crime, but she later pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and received a fine and three years probation. In Lillehammer, the two skaters remained under the close scrutiny of the press as they skated in the Olympics. However neither one could pull off a gold medal victory, despite a flawless program by Kerrigan. Ukraine ' s Oksana Baiul won the gold, narrowly defeating silver medalist Kerrigan. Harding was not able to overcome a rough start and finished out of medal contention. It was a shame that the performances of these two skaters, as well as the other Olympic athletes, had to be overshadowed by the intrigue and mystery surrounding the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. Stories By: John Whelan ICE ESCAPADES Nancy Kerrigan dreamt of winning a gold medal in the Olympics since she was a child. In the 1 992 Olympics she came close to realizing this dream, finishing a close third. She came home with the bronze medal and an even greater determination to win a gold medal at the 1994 games. In January 1 994, she along with all U.S women skaters, flocked to Detroit in order to compete for one of two spots on the team. 90 Retrospect