Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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A Peacemaker Is Murdered The chances for peace and stability in the Middle East suffered a serious setback on October 6, 1981, when Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat was assassinated while reviewing a parade of troops in Cairo. Sadat was in a reviewing stand, when several men jumped from a passing jeep and charged at the Egyptian President. They fired at the stand and hurled a grenade killing Sadat, several others, and injuring many of the attendees. Following the savage attack, Vice-President Hosni Mubarek spoke to a grieving nation informing them that their leader was dead. He added that Sadat ' s foreign and domestic policies would continue to be followed. Sadat had spent 11 years as President, and had established himself as a stable figure in an otherwise chaotic area of the world. His quest for peace with Israel had led to the Camp David agreements and an Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in 1979. Sadat was an original leader in his approach to the overwhelming domestic problems in Egypt. In dealing with foreign matters he was truly courageous, as demonstrated by his historic trip to Jerusalem in November 1977. This act paved the way for a peace between Egypt and Israel — one that he hoped would encourage similar pacts by other Middle East countries. Although Sadat received high acclaim throughout most of the world for his peace initiatives, he was isolated from the rest of the Arab world. His relations with Israel angered his former allies, as it allowed Israel to concentrate on its eastern and northern fronts. Nevertheless, Sadat ' s policies had brought a ray of hope into the region. He still had many problems on the domestic front, however, his foreign policies were his outstanding achievements. In 1978, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin) for his efforts to stabilize the region. Top Soviet Official Leonid Brezhnev, 75. General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died of a heart attack at 8:30 a.m. on November 10, 1982. Brezhnev was buried in ceremonies at Red Square where he had made his last public appearance eight days earlier. He had been reviewing the parade marking the 65th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution. Brezhnev had been the leader of the Soviet Union for 18 years after working his way up through the Russian bureaucratic network. He was born in the Ukranian industrial town of Kamensoye in 1907. The Bolshevik Revolution occurred when he was still a child. In 1923, he joined the Komosol, Communist youth organization. He attended vocational school, before taking his first job as a supervisor of land distribution in the Urals. Brezhnev became a Communist Party member in 1931, as he earned an engineering degree. He became a protege of Nikita Kruschev. and later took part in the conspiracy against him. In 1966, Brezhnev assumed the title of General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, which gave him control over the party. During most of his term, he led a furthering of detente, especially with Richard Nixon. As his health worsened, Soviet policy took a radical turn including the invasion of Afghanistan. This led to a cooling off of relations between east and west, so that at his death tension was extremely high. Soviets Down Korean Plane The Soviet Union faced worldwide protest following their attack on Korean Airlines (KAL) 747 . me on September 1, 1983. The incident resulted in the (I. : arsons, including 61 Americans, as the plane crashed int Japan. The Korean aircraft was allegedly off course when the ' -■■ attacked, claiming the passenger plane was within their air space. They claimed that the aircraft was on a spy mission, despite its obvious commercial intentions. An An i (5 reconnaissance plane had been in the area earlier, but the 747 was so different it was unlikely that it could have been mistaken for the US plane. The aircraft was destroy ' int the water. Russian and Japanese vessels unsuccessfully searched the area for wreckage and bodies. Gradually, some items washed ashore, but no bodies were ever found. President Ronald Reagan charged that the murder of innocent civilians is a serious international issue between the Soviet Union and civilized people everywhere. Congressman Lawrence P MacDonald of Georgia was one of the Americans killed in the disaster MacDonald was a strong opponent of communism and the national chairman of il Birch Society. Following his death, his wife Kathy claimed the attack was deliberately aimed at her late husband She compared the attack to the assassination attempt on Pope Paul II Although there was no strong US or world response, there was an important impact from the incident. Japan ' s perception of the potential Soviet threat to its security Increase . ngthened US-Japanese military ties.

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Mr. Northeastern Dies The entire Northeastern University community was saddened on April 17, 1981, when Carl Stephens Ell, a major figure in the establishment of NU. died at the age of 94. Under the guidance of Ell, Northeastern expanded from a small college to one of the largest private institutions in the country. Ell was born in Staunton. Indiana on November 14, 1887. His family had emigrated from Germany in the 1840s, and bought farmland in the nation ' s midwest. Ell grew up on this farm, before leaving for DePauw University. Following his graduation in 1909, he began his graduate work at MIT. While he was a graduate student, he was asked to teach a surveying course at the Boston YMCA in 1910. This marked the beginning of his 70 year association with Northeastern. Ell taught a class of eight students in the attic of the YMCA building. A short time later, the YMCA created its Cooperative School of Engineering, which included Ell as one of its seven instruc- tors. In 1917. Northeastern College of the Boston YMCA was established, with Frank Palmer Speare as first president. Ell was a dean, then vice president, before succeeding Speare as president in 1940. At the time of Ell ' s inauguration, Northeastern ' s enrollment in its three daytime undergraduate colleges was 2,677. In his inaugural address, Ell explained his concept of North- eastern ' s educational philosophy, ' There was in this Com- monwealth, a need for a university of employed men of intellectual ability but limited financial means; an idea which was soon to become crystalized in the phrase ' earn while-you-learn. ' Ell believed that the primary role of Northeastern was to allow middle class and economically depressed individuals to receive a col- ' lege education. Those individuals would be able to attend classes and earn money for their education at the same time. Ell said that it was fundamentally incorrect for only the upper class to gain a col- lege education. He noted that denial of education means frustra- tion, and frustrated youth are the fertile soil for radical and desperate ideas; for Fascism and Nazism. ' ' During Ell ' s tenure as president, the present campus began to develop. Prior to 1940, Northeastern administration and educa- tional facilities were compacted into the YMCA. Ell raised sufficient funds to construct the Mugar building. In addition, the building hous- ing Alumni Auditorium was constructed — this was later renamed after Ell in honor of his retirement in 1959. There were several other buildings constructed before his retirement including the Cabot Gymnasium. Dodge Library, and Hayden Hall. Ell was the crucial factor in establishing Northeasternls current residence on Hunt- ington Avenue. Despite his retirement, Ell continued to play an active role in Northeastern ' s activities. He maintained an office in Northeastern throughout the 1970s. To many people. Ell was a symbol of North- eastern. Although most students today only recognize his name as one of the campus buildings, he was the individual most noted for Northeastern ' s current status. Gainsborough Erupts in Violence Gainsborough Street has been the site of violent confrontations many times throughout the history of Northeastern, and our five years here was no exception. The street became a battlefield on Saturday, May 16, 1981, as several parties poured into the street igniting a night of violence. Problems reportedly began when students barricaded Gainsborough forcing motorists into an involuntary detour. One car attempted to pass through, but students refused to allow the vehicle access. The driver became upset and repeated his efforts to pass. Witnesses said this .ed to students throwing beer bottles and rocks at the frustrated driver and his car. Boston Police soon arrived and blocked off both ends of Gainsborough Street, but they did not move in to break up the disturbance, according to reports. Students then turned an apparently abandoned car into a bonfire. One eyewitness stated, I was up on the roof of 113 Gainsborough, and everyone was hanging out in the street. Then some people were taking turns banging the car with their hands, crutches, and bottles. They were having strength tests. Then about ten people turned over the car. I heard somebody yell to get away from the car, and the whole thing went up in flames. University officials voiced their disapproval of the incident. However, they added that Northeastern was not at fault for the disturbance. Director of Public Information, Christopher Mother stated, This is the type of situation where the university is frustrated and its hands tied. We do not have jurisdiction over people who live in Boston. There are no university-owned apartments on Gainsborough Street. We don ' t know how many involved were Northeastern students.

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Marines Die in Beirut Surely one of the most tragic stories of the last five years was the brutal terrorist attack on the multi-national peace-keeping force in Lebanon. The attack came in mid-October 1983, and left 240 Americans dead and many others injured. The attack occurred while most of the troops were asleep in the compound ' s barracks. A lone suicidal truck driver from a fanatical Islamic group, crashed his vehicle filled with explosives into the compound. The driver was able to pass guard booths with limited problems. Corporal Eddie DiFranco was one of those on guard duty that morning and commented, He (the driver) looked right at me, smiled, that ' s it. I kind of stared for a couple of seconds, then started to load my weapon. I got a round in the chamber after the truck was already through the gate. There wasn ' t much difference for that truck going that speed. News of the attack reached the United States early on a Sunday morning. President Reagan quickly went on national television to take responsibility for the deaths of the Marines. Unclear reports came from Beirut over why the troops were caught by surprise, and why they weren ' t allowed to fire their weapons unless they were ordered. The loss of lives brought vivid images of Vietnam back to many Americans. Public pressure for the withdrawal of these troops mounted, until they were removed a few months later. Innocent soldiers had been killed by the barbaric act of an Islamic group. The attempted peace mission (a truly hopeful chance for stability) was ended by this tragedy. Grenada Is Invaded ;• $x-.i 0 ii tow. A Nation Starves As the holiday season arrived in 1984, shocking reports were publicized on the massive problems of starvation in Ethiopia. Nearly 1 1 million persons were reported starving in the east African country as a result of war, drought, and internal government problems. An estimated 2 million had reportedly perished during 1984, due to a lack of food and medical care. The reports were effective ' in beginning an international effort to combat the desperate conditions. Food, equipment, and other materials were sent to the country from east and west. Although many of these supplies were distributed, sources claimed that the Ethiopian government was not allowing the full relief measures to reach the people. In the United States, relief agencies were never busier, according to officials at Oxfam. The charity organization reported that American contributions were sent at the rate of more than $1 million per month beginning in November. The European Economic Community sent 55,000 metric tons of grain during December. A group of England ' s most noted rock musicians recorded a Christmas song that raised mqre than $2 million for relief efforts. Despite these humane efforts, divisions in Ethiopian politics prevented most of this aid-from being delivered. The Communist government reportedly refused to provide food for suspected rebels, while rebels were accused of preventing people from going to government relief centers. The Reagan administration distributed 195,000 metric tons of food, while the Soviets donated 20,000 metric tons of rice.. In addition, the United States sent doctors and medical supplies to the country.