John Wesley North High School - Aurora Yearbook (Riverside, CA)

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THE NEWS PAGE Catastrophe Strikes NASA On January 28, 1986, the United States ' space program suffered its worst tragedy ever. At 11:38 a.m. EST, 73 seconds after liftoff, all our exhilaration turned to hor- ror, as the space shuttle Challeng- er exploded above the Atlantic, de- stroying the vehicle and killing all seven astronauts aboard. Among these seven heroes were Francis R. Scobee, Flight Com- mander; Michael J. Smith, Pilot; ' Oh, God-Don ' t let happen what I think just happened ' Ellison S. Onizuka, Aerospace En- gineer; Judith A. Resnick, Electrical Engineer; Gregory B. Jarvis, Elec- trical Engineer; Ronald E. McNair, Physicist; and Christa McAuliffe, the world ' s first schoolteacher in space. McAuliffe was chosen for the position in a national contest for teachers in space. The cause of the accident is still, at this time unknown. Speculation, however, gave us many theories as to how the shuttle destroyed itself. Most believed that one of the two main booster rockets, located on the sides of the shuttle, burned through the large fuel tank. This ruptured the tank and caused the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to mix, thus causing the spacecraft to explode. 30 student life Destroying itself along with seven crew members, the space shuttle Challenger explodes off the coast of Florida. The two main booster rockets can be seen flying off in different directions, away from the main explosion.

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Participating in the talent show for the first time, Lisa Graccy and Lisa Del Pizzo strut their stuff. Both Del Pizzo and Graccy found their drill team experience useful in preparing their routine. Performing with enthusiasm, keyboardist Phillip Rush plays with the newly formed band Scotland Yard. The band, composed of local high school students, took Grand Prize with their two original songs. I I I I I I I I I I I i M I I I I H -i-H Love has a mind of its own, sang Jerome Lewis in his act during the second half of the talent show. Lewis not only wrote the song, but performed it unaccompanied by music. talent show 29

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AIDS Gains Attention Not since the Black Death of the 1400 ' s has the world feared a disease as it has feared AIDS. Acquired Immune Defi- ciency Syndrome, AIDS, placed fear in the hearts of millions as cases were re- ported in epidemical proportions. After gaining national attention because of the death of Hollywood movie star. Rock Hudson, over 3,042 cases had been reported in California to date. No cure has been discovered as of yet, but re- search in France has opened up new hopes with special drugs to combat the syndrome. In late 1985, a test was created to find the disease in blood transfusions. This happened after scientists discov- ered it could be transmitted by sexual encounters with an infected person or by blood donations. The Chicago Bears destroyed the New Eng- . land Patriots in Super Bowl XX, with a score of 46-10. An incredible defense shut down all hopes of a New England victory. In baseball, the interstate 1-70 World Se- ries was played between the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals. With an j 11-0 victory in the 7th game, the Royals J gained property rights to the freeway » ■•• their first World Series victory. ' i Mexico City was rocked by an earthquake g on September 19th, measuring 7.8 on the .i Richter scale. Many buildings were leveled in the downtown area, killing over 20,000 people and leaving over 150,000 homeless in the devastation. The town of Armero, Columbia was buried when the dormant volcano, Nevado del Ruiz, exploded into life in November. A wall of mud ranging from 7 to 15 feet thick • swept over the town, killing over 1.09 vil- . ' lagers as they slept. j 1986 marked the return of Halley ' s Comet, after a 76 year absence. Scientists, with the use of satelites. were able to probe the inside of the comet for the first lime. Groups Exercise Terrorism Terrorism ran wild in 198b as the PLO added yet another crime to their annals. On October 3rd, members of the Pales- tinian Liberation Organization hijacked the Achille Lauro, a passenger cruise ship, in the Meditterranean. Leon Klinghoffer, a handicapped tourist aboard ship, was murdered in cold blood and thrown overboard as the terrorists waited for their demands to be met. After three days of bargaining, the tour- ists were set free off the coast of Egypt. The hijackers were then placed under the custody of Egyptian forces. Afterwards, however, when it was discovered that the terrorists were to be allowed to escape from Egypt, President Reagan ordered two F-14 fighter planes to force the 737 carrying the terrorists down to a military base in Sicily. ' They ' ve just killed a passenger. ' In early autumn, a group of Shiite Mus- the aircraft, and killed a U.S. Marine, lims hijacked TWA flight 847 after tak- The plane then flew to Algiers, Algeria, ing off from Athens Airport. After being where more captives were released at denied the right to land in Syria, the night. Flying back to Beirut Airport, the hijackers sent the plane to Beirut Air- plane was destroyed after a crack com- port, making a forced landing under the mando team rescued the remaining hos- threat of killing a passenger. In Beirut tages. Airport, the hijackers released seventeen women along with two children, refueled Marcos Falls To Aquino Under the threat of civil war, the dictato- rial regime of Phillipine leader Ferdi- nand Marcos came to an abrupt end as he was forced to flee his country. His opponent, Corazon Aquino, housewife- turned-politician, took office shortly afterwards. Elections were held in the Phillipines on February 7th, shortly after Aquino de- clared her candidacy. Corazon ' s hus- band, Benigno, who was originally sup- posed to be Marcos ' s opponent, was as- sassinated in 1983 after returning from exile. By the 15th, Marcos had been de- clared the winner, but the U.S. State De- partment felt that the elections had been fixed. The following day, followers of Aquino began a series of nonviolent demonstra- tions in the streets of Manila. These demonstrations intensified, however, and rather than risk a confrontation, Marcos left the country. The problem was not to stop there, though. After flee- ing the islands, it was discovered that Marcos had embezzled over twleve bil- lion dollars in his term of office. newspage 31