SUNY Plattsburgh - Cardinal Yearbook (Plattsburgh, NY)

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During the late summer and early fall, hours upon hours of television coverage came live from Rome. Pope Paul VI died as did his successor. 34 days after he became Pope John Paul I. Within a short two months, the cardinals of the Catholic Church were confined to the Sistine Chapel twice, both times to elect a new Pope. The cardinals elected a pope, who for the first time in 455 years, was not Italian. Karol Wojtyla, a native of Poland, is now Pope John Paul II. According to many, the papacy seems to be headed for a new era of openess. The new pope seems quite concer- ned with world justice and peace, unifying the Catholic Church with other Christian churches and greater authority for the bishops of the church. Pope John Paul I gave Pope John Paul II a head start with changing the papacy. The smiling pope, as John Paul I has been remembered, showed the world a beautiful warmth and humor. The Smiling Pope also changed some of the rituals of the popes of the past; for example, when he refused to accept the traditional tiara it marked the first for that occasion. Pope John Paul II has continued to make changes in the usual manner of the papacy. Many people have noted his exuberant personality. When he mingles with people anywhere, and fluently speaks in the native tongue of the country he is in, John Paul II continues to show this per- sonality. Pope John Paul II seems to have a strong organizational system. He has reappointed many top of- ficials in Rome, and has voiced his disapproval on the matters of divorce and abortion. In the year of 1979, Pope John Paul II will face many trials and tribulations as similar to those in the past. The new Pope has thus far shown to have much confidence in himself, and relays this message to the papacy and the people. He once said to a cheering crowd, As you can see, this is no longer a church of silence. The church speaks. The Pope speaks. Louise Brown, a blond haired, blue-eyed little girl, was born at 1 1 :47 p.m. weighing five pounds, ten ounces. This sounds like any typical birth announcement, but it wasn ' t. Louise was the first child born in history, to be conceived outside the mother ' s womb. For about twelve years, Dr. Patrick Steptoe and his medical assistant Robert Edwards had been ex- perimenting ways to help women who for various reasons could not conceive children. In this new technique, the doctor examines his patient for a period of time until he finds a mature egg and removes it. This egg is then placed in a culture dish which contains nutrients and sperm. After the egg is fertilized, it is placed in another solution where cell division can take place. This process takes approximately two and one half days, thus, the egg is ready to be placed in the uterus, where it attaches itself to the uterine lining. One question most frequently asked about this process was; Would there be any mental or physical defects? Thus far, Louise Brown is a perfectly normal child, with no extraordinary problems. Perhaps the biggest worry she may have, is the fact that she most likely will be watched for the rest of her life, and always referred to as the test tube baby.

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It seems like the toga phase is wearing away as do all phases. The movie National Lampoon ' s Animal House , brought about the creation of toga parties. College cam- puses from New York to California became filled with hundreds of enjoyable toga parties. A question that was frequently asked was, What really is a toga party? It was described as a bed sheet that was wrapped around oneself, in an attempt to leave as much bare skin un- covered as possible without being naked. The spirit of Animal House is presently being kept alive by the television series Delta House. It contains the basic ideas from the original movie, and stars many of the original characters. It is questionable as to how long the series will last, but it most likely will continue until a new crazy and farout phase comes along. IS

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Jonestown, situated in the jungles of Guyana on the northern coast of South America, was the scene for an act of self-destruction for some 900 members of the Califor- nia based People ' s Temple. The followers of the Rev. Jim Jones, a once respected Indiana-born humanitarian, first ambushed a party of visiting Americans, killing California Congressman Les Ryan, three newsmen and one defec- tor from their colony. Then, adults and older children picked up paper cups and sipped a concoction of potassium cyanide and potassium chloride. Parents and nurses used syringes to squirt the concoction onto the tongues of babies. Such an act demonstrates the way in which a charismatic leader could bind the minds of his followers with a devilish blend of professed altruism and psychological tyranny. Cult members started as seekers after meaning, direc- tion, comfort, and love. The People ' s Temple had filled their lives with purpose. The gravest threat to such a group is for someone to try to take members out of the family ' . Perhaps Les Ryan ' s mission to Guyana may have been such a threat, the spark that triggered the tragedy. 21