SUNY Plattsburgh - Cardinal Yearbook (Plattsburgh, NY)

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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

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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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Even if the average baseball fan is not a Yankee fan, he must admit that the succession of events that led to a second consecutive championship for the Yankees was quite incredible. Yankee fans remember July 1978, when their 1977 World Series Champs were fourteen games off the lead. The change in one year had been astonishing. The team seemed to be wracked with many injuries. Two of their million dollar pitchers were out for the season, Messersmith and Gullett. Mid-season, Billy Mar- tin was fired and replaced by Bob Lemon. At that time the Yankees were ten games back. Then the tremendous climb came. The season came down to a one game divisional playoff, which the Yankees won. The Yanks finished off Kansas City in a repeat per- formance of the previous year ' s playoffs. The World Series went six games. Los Angeles won the first two games 11-5 and 4-3 and Yankee fans were shivering. The Yankees then won four consecutive games, 5-1, 4-3, 12-2, and 7-2. Yankee fans were again content. Their team owned the title of World Champs again. In the end in the Yankee ' s million dollar lineup, it was their nickel-and-dime hitters who did it. And now everybody knows who Bucky is! One for the Book |i| ever ones to do things the easy way IH when difficult or dramatic means are available, the New York Yankees completed their season of miracle comebacks with a record-setting World Series victory over the Los An- geles Dodgers. The Yankees became the first team to stake their opponents to a two-game lead and then sweep four straight games Sports Notes — Pittsburgh guns down Cowboys in Superbowl XIII— Ali loses to Spinks, A night to remember — Jack Nicklas — Sports Illustrate d Sportsman of the year — Lake Placid readies itself for the 1980Olympics — Dorothy Hamill shoots a film in Plattsburg. 22