Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Miners end longest coal strike ever The longest coal strike in our nation ' s histo- ry ended March 25, 1978 in a settlement be- tween the United Mine Workers union and in- dustry management. The union ' s 10,000 striking members, under pressure from the government to return to work, resolved major issues over pensions, productivity and health care, concluding their 110-day strike. Both sides reportedly agreed to an increase in pensions for retirees before 1976 from $250 a month to $275 a month and a reduction in funds companies had previously provided for health care. Management de- creased the amount of money workers could deduct from their annual medical costs from $700 a year to $200 a year for employed miners and $150 for retirees. Carter to oil companies: ' You ' re a rip-off Seeking support for his faltering energy pro- gram. President Carter defined the oil problem as the biggest ripoff in history at a nationally televised press conference on Oct. 13, 1977. Carter told Congress that if legislation to prevent profiteering by the oil companies was not implemented, he would enforce gas rationing or levy taxes on imported oil. Senate leaders shrugged off Carter ' s at- t tempt as a hardline approach to the energy !• crisis and blamed the White House for failing to address real issues. Oil company executives directed similar accusations at Carter ' s admin- istration and said his statements were mis- leading and exaggerated. His energy programs involve the largest peacetime tax increase ever imposed on our citizens, said the chairman of an Indiana oil company. While the bickering continued, Americans- waited on longer lines for gas and swallowed harder and harder as the price for a gallon of gas soared above a dollar. After strikers refused a settlement offer by President Carter and Union President Arnold R. Miller on March 5, Carter invoked the Taft- Hartley Act. The federal district court March 9 ordered the mine workers to return to their jobs and not to interfere with those willing to return to work. The union ignored the court order, but end- ed the strike two weeks later. They returned to work April 5, Economists and business executives blamed the strike for sending inflation skyr- ocketing, causing a lag in corporate profits and hitting the nation ' s railroads record losses. Indian government arrests Indira Gandhi Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was arrested at her New Delhi home October 3, 1977 on charges that she was involved in official corruption during her term. As she was taken into custody, four of her former minis- ters were arrested in other parts of the country on similar charges. Gandhi ' s indictment was the result of a gov- ernment investigation into alleged excesses of her regime. The beginning of the investigation was announced by Indian Home Minister Charan Singh in April. Following that an- nouncement, members of Gandhi ' s opposition Congress Party charged Singh with engaging in a witchunt. Gandhi was released the next day when a magistrate ruled that the police had no case against her. Although her party officially stood behind her, Gandhi ' s subsequent bid to regain her leadership of the Congress Party was de- nied. Words remembered: Organized crime is not welcome in Atlantic City Atlantic City. Keep the hell out of our state. — Gov. Brendan Byrne of New Jersey while signing b June 2, 1977 - warn them, keep your filthy hands out of to legalize gambling in Atlantic City U.S. gives canal back to Panama government Ending 13 years of negotiations, the govern- ments of the United States and Panama an- nounced on Aug. 10, 1977 that an agreement was reached to shift control of the Panama Canal to Panama by the end of the 21st cen- tury. Drawing equal amounts of criticism and ap- proval from politicians. President Carter signed the treaty with Panama ' s leader Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrara Sept. 7 in Wash- ington, D.C. The treaty still had to be ratified by the Senate. Former Governor of California Ronald Re- gan said he would do everything I can to convince the Senate to kill the treaty. Robert Dole (R-Kansas) was one of many legislators who felt the two countries had differences on how the Canal could be defended by the Unit- ed States during a military emergency. In November, a clarifying statement was is- sued stating that after Panama took over the canal, the United States had the right to pro- tect it during military emergencies. Praised for his actions by former President Gerald Ford and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Carter won enough support on Capital Hill to win ratification for the treaty in 1978. Hijaclcings spread On Nov. 3, 1977 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning hi- jacking and asked all countries to improve air- port security. The resolution followed two months of hijacking incidents. On Oct. 18, West German commandoes forced their way onto a Lufthansa airliner in Somalia, freeing 86 passengers and crew members who had been held hostage for five days. The plane had been taken by four gueril- las who demanded $15 million in ransom and the release of 13 prisoners in West Germany and Turkey. The hijackers had shot the captain in front of the passengers and pushed his body onto the runway. Three of the hijackers were killed during the rescue. A guerilla group formerly associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization took credit for the hijacking. Closer to home, an alleged bank robber out on bail seized control of a Frontier Airlines jet as the plane left Grand Island, Neb., with 27 passengers aboard. The hijacker, Thomas Hannan, demanded the release of his alleged robbery accomplice from jail, $3 million, two parachutes and sever- al guns. The demands were never met. Fifteen hours after hijacking the plane, Han- non shot and killed himself while talking to his attorney on the plane. In late September, an armed man who hi- jacked a plane flying from Paris to Lyons de- manded that a pre-recorded tape of his politi- cal views be broadcast over two commercial radio stations in France. As 50 policemen stormed the aircraft, the grenade he was hold- ing exploded, killing one passenger and in- juring others. An engaged couple, employees of Czecho- slovak Airlines, hijacked one of its planes at gunpoint in October and forced the jet to land in Frankfurt, W. Germany. Once in Frankfurt, the couple asked for political asylum and sur- rendered peacefully, abandoning their plan to fly to Munich.

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The Year No more war With a simple gesture ttiat attracted world-wide attention both for its historic significance and bold- ness an Egyptian leader met with an Israeli leader in Israel for the first time since 1948. Egypt ' s President Anwar Sadat flew to Israel on Nov, 19, 1977 to try to work out a peace agreement with Israel ' s leader tvlenachem Begin, It was a move that would alter the lives, of both men as well as shake-up an already troubled tvliddle East region. Pledging no more war between the two nations that had been fighting for three decades, Sadat and Begin would become central figures in peace talks that would last nearly two years. After setting the stage with his flight to Jerusalem, Sadat was praised by Begin for accomplishing a great moral achievement. President Jimmy Cart- er ' s administration became a mediating factor in the negotiations and devoted a large part of its foreign policy to achieving total peace in the Mi66 e East. A formal conference was set for Dec. 14 of that year between the governments of Egypt and Israel in Cairo. But talks were stymied on Christmas Day. Although Israel agreed to withdraw its settlements in Egyptian territory, its Parliament backed off when Sadat demanded that an independent Palestinian state be set up on the Jordan River ' s West Bank. Despite continued efforts on both sides to arrive at some agreements, negotiation seemed to reach an impass. Stating that Israel was seeking land, not peace, Sadat summoned his delegation, which was in Jerusalem, to return to Egypt on Jan. 18, 1978. The signing of a formal peace agreement appeared hopeless. Sadat, meanwhile, was drawing political fire from fellow Arab states. He severed diplomatic ties with Syria, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen. He also closed some Soviet cultural centers and consul- ates in Egypt after deciding that Soviet presence was hindering the peace efforts. Now It ' s Perfectly Clear One year after being intervlevi ed by David Frost and saying, I gave them a sword, For- mer President Richard Nixon re-emerged on the national scene vi ith memoirs of his political career. The book, published in two volumes, re- ceived mixed reviews but, as expected, be- came a bestseller. Newspapers began pub- lishing excerpts in April of 1978. In discussing his decision to become the only American President to resign from office, Nixon said, I told myself that I had not been involved in the things that gave (H.R. Halde- man and John Eriichman) potential criminal vulnerability. But there were things I had known. The difference between us was that Halde- man and Eriichman had been trapped . . .; so far I was not. I was faced with having to fire my friends for things I myself was part of. Other Arab nations and the Palestinian Liberation Organization led a boycott of products manufac- tured by Egyptian companies. But continued urging from the Carter Administra- tion through letters and visits to the two nations by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Vice President Walter Mondale managed to keep communication between Israel and Egypt alive. In August of 1978, the White House announced that Sadat, Begin and Carter would meet Sept. 5 at Camp David for peace talks with the United States taking the position as a full partner in the negotia- tions. Bert Lance resigns President Carter ' s Administration took its first major political stabbing Sept. 21, 1977 when Office of Management and Budget Di- rector Thomas Bertram (Bert) Lance resigned from office amid a flurry of investigations into his banking practices. A former Georgian banker, Lance defended himself to the end stating that the amount of controversy forced him to resign. One week earlier he had testified to a Senate Govern- mental Affairs Committee that his financial practices were totally justified. Under scrutiny were a $3.4 million loan he secured from the First National Bank of Chica- go shortly after that bank had established a correspondent relationship with the bank he was associated with in Georgia, a $2.6 million personal loan from Manufacturers Hanover Trust which coincided with the opening of a correspondent relationship between Manufac- tuers and The National Bank of Georgia where he was an official and a series of family loans causing him to overdraw his accounts. The Senate committee in July found nothing improper about the Chaicago bank loan, but banking regulations prohibit use of bank funds as a compensating balance for a personal loan to a bank official, as was suspected in the case of the loan from Manufacturers Hanover. One of his most persistent critics was Comptroller of the Currency John Heiman who flatly stated that this recurring pattern of shifting bank relationships and personal bor- rowing raises unresolved questions as to what constitutes acceptable banking practice. White House Press Secretary Jody Powell confirmed Aug. 26, 1977 that Lance used a single block of shares as collateral for two separate loans from two separate banks. After the resignation. Carter said he never regretted hiring Lance, Another Georgian, James T. Mclntyre was hired to fill Lance ' s spot. The Securities and Exchange Commission would later charge Lance, after its own investi- gation, with making improper use of bank funds by a bank official. The lighter side Wisconsin elected its first female judge Sept. 7, 1977 when voters decided to can Dane County Judge Archie Simonson in a re- call election, Simonson found himself in the middle of public controversy when he decided in court that a teenage boy was reacting normally when the youth raped a 15-year old girl who had been wearing provocative clothing. The elected judge, Maria Krueger was one of four candidates opposing Simonson.

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The Year A leader dies Hubert H. Humphrey- statesman, senator and teacher- died of cancer in his Waverly, Minn, home on Jan. 13, 1978 af the age of 66. A few years earlier doctors had removed a benign tumor, but spreading cancer made his condition inoperable. A champion of the Democratic party and admired even by his sharpest critics, Hum- phrey won and lost many political battles. His first bid for elective office, as mayor of Min- neopolis in 1943, was unsuccessful. But so was his first attempt at obtaining a college dregree, which he had to postpone for finan- cial reasons. His persistence and optimism though enabled him to earn his bachelor ' s de- gree from the University. of Minnesota in 1939. He also went on to earn a master ' s degree in political science from Louisiana State Univer- sity. It was the sam ' e kind of persistence which convinced him to run for the mayorship of Minneapoliss again in 1945. That time he won the election. Yet Humphrey is not as well remembered for his early political life as he is for his influence in helping pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through the Senate. During his 15 years in Senate Humphrey introduced legislation on tax reforms and medical care for the elderly. He is also remembered as Lyndon John- son ' s vice president. Humphrey was one of the most vocal administration members in support of the Vietnam War. I ' d rather be remem- bered for being wrong than for being a hypo- crite, he once said. And he tried to be President. In 1960 he lost his bid for the Democratic nomination to an Irishman from Massachusetts named Jack Kennedy. In 1968 he won the nomination, but lost the election to Richard Nixon by 500,000 votes. Following a brief stint in academia, he returned to politics and made an unsuccessful attempt, in 1972, for the party nomination. But he was not through. In one of the gran- dest and most emotional political gestures of the decade, the dying senator from Minnesota I ' d rather be remembered for being wrong than for being a hypocrite. returned to the U.S. Senate in 1977. Addressing a throng of reporters and legis- lators in the Capitol, Humphrey displayed more of his eternal vigpr stating, What a won- derful place this is where we can argue, fight, have different points of view, and still have great respect for one another. Wendall R. Anderson, a fellow Minnesotan, stated, To those who feel there are no longer heroes left in the world, to them I say they have never known Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey ' s body was flown to Washington the day after he died, and lay in the Capitol Rotunda while political figures including Nixon, Ford and Carter paid homage. Two days later, his body was flown back to Minnesota for burial. i i PI jr E J l H| • «, H B k Stf ' M ■ BELI The governor of Minnesota appointed Hum- phrey ' s wife of 42 years, Muriel, to the vacant Senate seat until a special election could be called in November. Balloon power Supreme Court oks affirmative action but says no to college racial quotas In a historic (5-4) decision, the Supreme Court ordered the University of California to admit a 38-year-old white engineer named Alan Bakke to one of its graduate programs because, in the court ' s judgment, the school ' s affirmative action system was guilty of reverse discrimination. While supporting the widely-accepted view that affirmative action programs are neces- sary, the court decided that admitting stu- dents based on achieving racial quotas was unconstitutional. A spokesman for the N.A.A.C.P, called the decision a clear-cut victory for voluntary affir- mative action and President Carter said affir- mative action made a great gain. But many college administrators saw the decision as a complicating factor in the deli- cate area of affirmative action. A Yale law professor named Robert Bork, a former solici- tor general of the Ford Administration, said, We ' re told that we can count race somewhat, but not too much. Words remembered: It ' s nice to be back in Alabama. — Former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell June 22, 1977 entering prison in Alabama to serve his Watergate sentence. Three Americans, Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman, rode a balloon across the Atlantic Ocean in August of 1978 accomplishing a feat that had been tried v ith- out success at least 17 times in the last cen- tury and claimed at least seven lives. The Double Eagle V landed in a wheat field outside Paris, France on Aug. 17, six days after taking off from the United States. Their 3,200 mile journey drew as much attention as Charles Lindberghs solo flight in an airplane across the Ocean several decades earlier. The flight sparked a national interest in bal- loon racing and, within week, giant helim filled balloon festivals were occuring across the country. Words remembered: As is the case in time of war there is poten- tial war profiteering in the impending energy crisis. This could develop with the passing month as the biggest ripoff in history. — President Jimmy Carter in a news conference Oct. 13, 1977. We agreed we are going to continue our dialogue and ultimately out of it will come peace ... a momentous agreement was achieved already. No more war, no more bloodshed, no more attacks. — Israel ' s Prime Minister Menachem Begin Nov. 20, 1977