Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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Gas Prices Soar The last summer of the '70's will not be a pleasant remembrance for those who suffered the pains of the worst gasoline crisis in U.S. history. In the critical months of June and July, truck- ers rebelled at the high cost of diesel fuel, and many Americans spent their lunch breaks in the gas lines. There were several causes which led the price of gas to skyrocket past the $1 mark. One of the causes, price fixing by the Organization of Petro- leum Exporting Countries tOPECi, was compounded by the intricacies of gov- ernment regulation all the way from the wellhead to the pump. In Pennsylvania, Governor Thorn- burg layed out an odd-even gas ration- ing plan that led to the reduction of long gas lines. And in several regions of the South and West, produce began to rot since truckers refused to trans- port it. Despite President Carter's signing of the SALT treaty with the Soviet Union, his approval rating plunged to 29 per cent in the mess of the gas crisis. Experts predicted the crisis would worsen the inflation rate, cut economic growth, and add 800,000 people to the jobless category by the end of the year. ' The crisis also became the impetus for alternatives to petroleum energy and provisions for the utilization of synthetic fuels. Skylab Falls The American orbiting space station and laboratory, Skylab, returned to earth in July, 1979, after a six-year orbit. The Skylab vehicle, nine stories tall and weighing 77.5 tons, was expected to slip into the earth's upper atmosphere, then disintegrate into a celestial show- er of flaming metal somewhere at sea. Ten fragments, each weighing 1,000 lbs or more, would crash to earth at speeds of up to 270 mph. The falling of Skylab was anticipated worldwide due to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's inability to predict its point of impact on earth. The North American Air Defense Command iNO- RADl tracked the re-entry of Skylab into the earth's atmosphere, using in- fra-red devices as well as radar. The remains of Skylab finally fell into the Indian Ocean and some uninhabited portions of Australia, finally eliminat- ing the concern over the possibility of endangering lives as NASA had feared. More than fifty scientific, technical, and medical experiments were con- ducted, and 183,000 unprecedented pictures of the sun's surface were snapped through Skylab's telescope. Ironically, despite NASA's concentra- tion on solar research with Skylab, the agency's failure to anticipate the extent of the sunspot activity during the ve- hicle's years in orbit contributed sub- stantially to the craft's death. Gas Crunch slogan AP photo courtesy Centre DAIly Times Briefs PA Boasts Series Win The year 1979 was a grand one for the state of Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Pirates were crowned world champions as they won the World Series, 4 games to 3. They rallied from a 3 to 1 deficit to win the seventh and decisive game 4-1. The comeback was led by Series and League MVP, Willie Stargell. Philadelphia also could boast as the NHL Flyers had a 35-game unbeaten streak-a new record. Chrysler Gets Loan Congress agreed to extend a $1 :5 bil- lion loan to the ailing Chrysler Corpo- ration, provided it can find $400 mil- lion in new loans. The loan is designed to save from bankruptcy our nation's third largest automaker, whose ex- pected 1979 deficit is $1 billion. The loan will extend the life of America's tenth largest manufacturer, and will preserve the jobs of its 137,000 em- ployees, as well. Crash Grounds DC-105 Last spring, 138 DC-1O airplanes were grounded for 37 days following the worst plane crash in U.S. aviation his- tory. On Memorial Day weekend, all 273 passengers on an American Airlines DC-10 were killed when the plane crashed at Chicago's O'Hare Inter- national Airport. FAA inspections later found cracks and broken fasteners at- taching engines on nearly 40 DC-105. Who Concert Marred Thousands of fans of the rock group The Who crashed the gate at Cincin- nati's Riverfront Coliseum, leading to the deaths of eleven people age fifteen to twenty-two. The stampede began when holders of general admission tickets were de- termined to obtain the best possible seats. In the outcome, Ohio legislators demanded a ban on the first-come, first-served seating procedure. Review7National 29

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reviewl nanna -f: 4. . ..syi . N'V . . Three Mile Island nuclear plant TMI Site of Nuclear Accident Last spring, in what was labeled the worst accident in the history of United States nuclear power production, the nuclear power plant at Three Mile ls- land, near Harrisburg, malfunctioned and began releasing radioactive steam and gas into the atmosphere. Later investigations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission showed that simple human error on the part of plant workers was partly responsible for the series of events that caused thousands of residents to flee the Har- risburg area. Gov. Richard Thornburg ordered evacuation of pregnant women and preschool children within a five mile radius of the plant. , Workers tried for days to discover the source of the malfunction and to lower dangerously high temperatures in the reactor core. Radioactive steam and gas continued to leak periodically from the damaged plant, and a 280- 28 RevievWNat ional cu.-ft. hydrogen bubble developing in the core kept pressure and tempera- tures at frightening levels. Nuclear en- gineers at the plant discussed the re- mote possibility of the bubble inter- fering with water circulation, heating the core up to the point of meltdown. The core would have melted its way down through steel reactor walls, the floor of the containment structure, and into the ground where it would con- taminate the soil or meet with water to form radioactive geysers. The bubble eventually subsided, and a few weeks later the plant was safely shut down. TIME magazine summa- rized, The price of progress, like the price of anything, has a ceiling, and for the nuclear power industry, the radio- active gases drifting from Three Mile Island have undeniably raised the price-and public consciousness -about the risks of nuclear power. AP photo courtesv Centre Daily Times 1979 Ends Decade It was more than just the end of a decade. For Americans, 1979 marked the beginning of new trends in enter- tainment, music and lifestyle. At the movies, the early part of the year was dominated by horrorHantasy films. Newsweek called it Holly- wood's Scary Summer in their cover story on the horror boom. Films like Dawn of the Dead, Nightwing, Proph- ecy, Halloween, Alien, The Amityville Horror, and The Black Hole, all shocked their audiences with the sus- pense of the unknown and with costly and gruesome special effects. But the true horror in the movies was the portrayals of the Vietnam War. It began with Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter, about the wars effects on the minds and lives of men from a Pennsylvania steel-town. Then ap- peared Coming Home and Francis Cuppola's Apocalypse Now. Even The China Syndrome could be called a horror movie for it's true-to- life version of a nuclear mishap. Of course they weren't all horror movies-there were some comedi- es-John Belushi's 1941, Monty Pyth- onls Life of Brian, 10, and The lerk. And there were more serious films such as ... And lustice for All with Al Pacino in the starring role; The Seduc- tion of Joe Tynan with Alan Alda; The Rose with Bette Midler; Kramer vs. Kramer with Dustin Hoffman and Me- ryl Streep; The Electric Horseman with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford; and Star Trek with William Shatner, Leon- ard Nimoy and the Enterprise crew. It was death-to-disco as music took on a new trend with new-wave bands like The Cars, Cheap Trick, The Knack, Dire Straits, and Talking Heads. But these new rock 'n' rollers didn't replace such elders as Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. At year's end, every one of these old timers was in the Top Ten. Styles for women began with slit skirts and ended with the western look and designer jeans. America also got moving with a craze in roller-skating. With everyone in their chic new skates, we're ready to roll right into the '80's.

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President Jimmy Carter .' a I : ny I w Rosalynn Carter Carter's Toughness Tested During the past few years, critics have called President Carter meek. Soon after Teddy Kennedy announced his candidacy, Carter fell evenfurther into trouble with the American citi- zens. However, on May 9, 1979 SALT ll was signed by the United States and Russia. The treaty put nuclear provi- sions on both the US. and Russia. This action greatly reinforced many citizen's faith in their president. How- ever, many Americans still felt Carter was too meek for a US. President. But today, feelings have changed in favor of the peanut farmer as many feel he has handled the situation in Iran to the best of the United State's diplomatic ability. Carter was most concerned for the safety of the fifty hostages being held at the American Embassy in Iran. The Embassy was being held by Iranian stu- dents who wanted the return of the fallen Shah of Iran to stand for trial for crimes against the country. The coun- try is being run by revolutionist leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Carter said if any of the hostages were harmed, it would be a grave mis- 30 Review7National take by Iran. Iran said that some' of the hostages would be tried as spies, but Carter said that too would be a devas- tating mistake. However, even though the trouble in Iran kept the Carter administration dis- traught, the largest threat to world peace came from Russia. On January 3, 1980, Russia invaded the peaceful country of Afghanistan. Immediately, Carter was on national television with a roughly-worded ad- dress to the nation. He said that Russia should stop the invasion immediately. He cut off all extra trade with Russia and took the problem before the United Nations. Pending Russia's an- swers to Carter's request, the President indicated that he would use military action if necessary. Throughout all of the trouble, one person has always believed in Car- ter-his partner, and wife, Rosalynn. The First Lady is his confidante and closest advisor. She has also emerged as the most influential and political savvy First Lady in recent times. Mrs. Carter has campaigned across the na- tion in support of her husband. AP photos courtesy Centre Daily Times Campaign 1980 The 1980 Race for the Presidency has attracted a number of Republican and Democratic candidates-some an- nouncing their candidacies predictably, and some appearing by surprise in the race for the nation's highest office. Democrats running for the presiden- cy include incumbent President Jimmy Carter, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, and California Governor Jerry Brown. Vying for the Republican nomination are former Texas Governor John Con- nally, former California Governor Ron- ald Reagan, Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker, Senators Robert Dole and Philip Crane, and former CIA Di- rector George Bush. Lance Indicted Former U.S. Budget Director Bert Lance was indicted by a federal grand jury last June for conspiring to violate federal banking laws, making false statements on loan applications, and willingly misapplying bank funds. Lance was charged with engineering $20 million in fraudulent loans, and was believed to have granted overdraft privileges to family and friends. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and called them totally ridiculous . Lance's ambiguous banking practices resulted in the forced resignation of his cabinet post in 1978. Young Resigns Andrew Young resigned in August, 1979 after secretly meeting with the Palestine Liberation Organization and misleading the State Department about his actions. Young met in New York with PLO representatives to ask for a delay in a UN vote of Palestinian rights. Israeli leaders found out about the meeting and accused the US. of secret dealings with a terrorist threat to Israel. Young said he mislead the State De- partment about the meeting because he didn't want to implicate them in a sensitive matter. He resigned under fire.