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

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Vance Resigns . Secretary of State Cyrus Vance re- sngned from office in May 1980 in pro- test of President Carterls attempt to res- cue the American hostages in Iran. He was the first Secretary of State since William Jennings Bryan to leave a presi- dent on an issue of principle. After a final face-to-face meeting to change the Presidents mind on the issue, Vance wrote out his resignation. Carter recruited Senator Edmund Muskie to replace Vance. Muskiels nomination was well received in Con- gress, by the media, and around the world. In his 22 years on Capitol Hill, Muskie rose to become a member of the Senate's inner circle, as well as one of its most popular and respected members. Few doubted that his blunt style and Cengressional connections would make him an effective advocate of foreign poli- Cy and establish him as a formidable counterweight to White House national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. -Scott Smith Billygate For several months. Billy Carter had been paying visits to the terrorist coun- try 0f Lybia. No one paid much atten- tion until he applied for registration as a foreign agent six months after he re- ceived a $220,000 ttloan from the Ly- bian government. Members of Congress began raising eyebrows. Why had Billy waited so long to register and what part did the White House play? The new catchword became uBilly- gateii as a Senate investigation was con- ducted. Did Billy intervene on Lybiais behalf so the Carter administration Would lift the ban on the delivery of eight C-130 Hercules military aricraft to the country? Did someone in President Carteris State Department tip Billy off to register before he was found out? The Senate hearing revealed discre- pancies between the stories of Billy Carter, the White House and the Senate Department, but the committee could not conclude that anything illegal had occurred. The incident uncovered little except for a few more stones on the President's rocky road to re-election. -Cindy Halterman Draft Resumes A decision was made to register four million l9-and-20-year-old men in America for the draft. The $13.3 million plan. a reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. involved collecting the names. addresses. and dates of birth. along with the Social Security numbers of all eligible men. Draft registration methods were explained over 7.000 radio stations. 730 television stations, and in 2.500 newspapers. In January, a similar registration occurred for all the men who had reached the age of 18. Anyone failing to sign up faced a $10,000 fine or a five-year jail sentence. though the Selective Service admitted it would have a difficult time identifying offenders. However, registration at local post offices went rather smoothly. The event was stalled for a short time while the American Civil Liberties Union took the issue to court. complain- ing that a men-only registration was dis- criminatory. But the protest was short lived. If the quality of the all-volunteer army continues to deteriorate, the need for a partial draft may develop. -Jim Metzgar j Women Graduate Last spring. for the first time in histo- ry, women were among the graduates of the nations service academies. At the US. Military Coast Guard Academy New London, Conn, 227 women received diplomas and became commissioned officers in the armed forces. Although some of the traditional physical training requirements were re- laxed for them, the women held their own in the classroom; many graduated in the upper third of their classes. Howev- eri dropout rates for women were sub- stantially higher. For those who made it to graduation. problems still remained. Combat duty. the quickest route to promotion, is barred to women by law, leaving admin- istrative jobs for them. Additonally, the women graduates agree that the acade- miesl hazing rituals were particularly in- tense for them because they were such a novelty. One graduate offered this ad- vice to those women who will follow her: liHang in there. his not impossible. We muddled through. alill Rippey J National 1 l

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r- National Presidential Election In a startling landslide victory, Ron- ald Reagan was chosen by the voters of the United States as their 40th presi- dent. Earlier in the year, a field of faces dominated the campaign. For the Demo- crats. incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy. and California Gov. Jerry Brown all drew public support. The Republicans were also well-re- presented by people like Rep. Philip Crane. Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker, former Texas Gov. John Connal- ly, Congressman John Anderson, Sen. Lowell P. Weiker. former ambassador and CIA director George Bush and Ronald Reagan. the former Governor of California. The Democrats let support for Jerry Brown fade as most backed the Carterl Mondale team. and the rest threw their support to Kennedy. But the Republican situation was more complicated. Since he had almost won the partyls 1976 nomination. Reagan was the early favor- ite. But when George Bush made a strong showing in New England and won the Iowa caucus. Reaganls dominance was questionable. John Anderson. a former GOP hope- L 10 National ful. announced his independent candida- cy. His decision evoked cheers from Democrats and Republicans alike who considered him a viable alternative to Carter and Reagan. Carter won 24 primaries to Kennedyls 10. giving him 1,982 delegates to the Democratic Convention - 316 more than he needed to win. In spite of the American peoplels increasing displeas- ure with his presidency, Carter was sit- ting comfortably. The July Republican Convention was held in Detroit. Reagan went into the convention smiling. the support and uni- ty of his party behind him. The only ma- jor tremor arose when it looked like Rea- gan might choose former President Ger- ald Ford as a running mate. He finally settled on his major challenger, George Bush. a choice which satisfied the party. As the Democratic Convention warmed up in Madison Square Garden in August. Kennedy was not yet ready to give up. The American pcoplcls support of Carter had dropped to 22 percent. even lower than Nixon's 25 percent after the Watergate scandal. Kennedyls ac- tion to win over some of Carteris dele- gates failed and Carter received his re- nomination bid. The campaign was ready to start mov- ing. Reagan tried to win over traditional- ly Democratic groups by appealing to union workers and minorities. pointing out Carter's inadequacies. Carter re- sponded by saying Reagan lacked a com- mitment to peace and social welfare. The Anderson impact faltered as the AndersonlLucey coalition concentrated on getting their names onto state ballots, instead of campaigning through their economically conservative, socially lib- eral ideology. When the League of Women Voters invited Anderson to an initial debatet Carter refused to be a part of it a Rea- gan and Anderson debated without himJ A week before the election, Carter and Reagan debated alone. Toward Election Day, pollsters be- lieved Carter had tightened the gap and that the election was too close to call. They were wrong. Reagan won 44 states and 489 electoral votes while Carter snatched only 6 states and the District of Columbia for 49 electoral votes. Reagan received 51 percent of the vote: Carter, 41 percent; and Anderson, 7 percent. The remaining one percent went to mi- nor candidates from other parties. 4Cindy Halterman

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National Inflation Americans are perhaps becoming con- ditioned to a soaring inflation rate, one which has increased more than 19 per- cent in the past year. Construction has slowed, along with industrial expansion. High interest rates have forced consum- ers to rely less on credit buying and begin using cash. OPEC has raised the price of energy resources by 99 percent since 1979, with gas reaching a high $1.30 per gallon. In addition, the prime interest rate went from 11.5 percent in 1979 to over 18.5 percent in a year. The Consumer Price Index, a standard measure of inflation, showed an increase of almost 100 per- cent in the past decade. But perhaps there are a few bright spots amid the gloom. Even though food prices are 20 percent higher than they were in 1978. a Barbie doll costs 10 per- cent less than in 1979, and the basic Bic pen still sells for its 1959 price of 29 cents. eCarol Koehler ABSCAM Operation ABSCAM uncovered a major bribery scandal while stirring criticism of its own methods. It was per- haps the largest. and most controversial federal investigation of corruption to in- volve Capitol Hill. As details seeped out, 31 federal, state and local officials were identified as subjects of the inquiry. Ca- reers were threatened, the entire New Jersey casino industry was thrown into turmoil. and Congress itself was under a cloud once again. ABSCAM also raised serious ques- tions about the undercover listing oper- ation used to snare the suspects. Federal agents. masquerading as wealthy Arabs, put out word of their interest in buying political influence and met with interest- ed parties at various locations. ult was a setup. a goddamn setup, thundered House Speaker Tip OiNeill. Others were troubled because the news media ran the story in great detail before a single piece ofevidence was pre- sented to a grand jury. Some congress- men and the League of Arab States also objected to ABSCAM for ttdistorting and abusing the Arab image. L eScott Smith 12 National Mount Saint Helens Erupts In April 1980, Washington State's 677-foot volcano. Mount Saint Helens, erupted several times, finally settling 1,300 feet below its original height and killing at least 18 people. Nearly five inches of ash and dust covered surround- ing areas before it was cleared away with snow removal equipment. Over 150 miles of timber was knocked down and the officials feared damage to three nearby dams. In addition, ash and dust had to be blown off crops to prevent damage. The volcano, part of the Cascade Range, lies 40 miles west of Portland. Heat Wave Hits Southwest Early last summer. the southwestern states experienced one of the worst heat waves to ever hit the area. Temperatures soaring up to 110 degrees claimed the lives of many. The heat wave originated when a massive high-pressure system moved north from the Gulf of Mexico, stopping over Texas and covering the Southwest with a six-mile-wide blanket of tropical air. For many, the heat wave was only a minor inconvenience to be combated with air-conditioning in homes. cars, and offices. However, the poor and elderly could not find such reliefand. therefore, fell victim to the unrelenting heat. Loss of crops and animals were also high. eJim Metzgar Mount Saint Helens is a relatively young volcano. about 37,000 years old. The eruption was the first in the continental United States since 1917 when Mount Lasson in North California completed a series of volcanic events. Since Mount Saint Helens was to erupt for some time. the event came as no shock to authori- ties. The mountain first began to roar. and in the next few days, the volcano issued a column of smoke, debris, and ash that towered 20,000 feet above the mountain. Mount Saint Helens contin- ued to be active into the winter months. -Jim Metzgar Toxic Shock News of a disease labeled toxic shock syndrome, which claimed seven lives in a relatively short time. Symptons included fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, de- creased blood pressure and internal or- gan malfunction. Fifty-two of the 55 re- ported cases were women, most of whom were having their menstrual period. Death was caused from a rapid drop in blood pressure. Investigations showed that nearly all the women used tampons. particularly a new brand named Rely. Proctor 8L Gam- ble immediately recalled their product, while other tampon manufacturers is- sued warnings on their packages. The disease. which infects 2,000 peo- plc a year, is probably caused by a toxin released into the blood stream by a bac- teria. eCindy Halterman