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

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24 Dccadw National

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Decade: National The Feminist Movement in the Seventies overturned traditional views of home and of- fice. proved that a womanTs place is not neces- sarily in the kitchen, and even set men to reth- inking the role society had assigned them. Women won the right to have abortions and later fought to retain it against a surging back- lash. On the average, they continued to earn less than men. But in 1978, more as a result of economic need than feminist principle, 50 per- cent of all women had jobs. The Equal Rights Amendment was stalled just short of ratifica- tion. partly through the efforts of an Illinois housewife named Phyllis Schlafly who orga- nized a potent anti-ERA campaign. Within only a few short years. millions of women had attained a measure of equality w on the job, in the military, and even as ministers of the church. In 1973. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, react- ing to the latest Israeli-Egyptian war, cut oil production and declared a boycott on ship- ments to lsraelts arms suppliers. The resulting disruption not only convulsed Europe and pro- duced the first gasoline lines in the United States. but also emphasized the level of power achieved by the loosely organized cartel. Within weeks. OPEC announced a quadru- pling of basic oil prices. As the prices contin- ued to spiral. Saudi Shiek Ahman Zaki Yamae ni warned that oil was a diminishing resource and that the West must learn to use less and pay more. Since each 10 percent rise in the price of oil added one percent to the US. cost of living, the price to Americans was high in- deed. Gasoline lines became even longer dur- ing a crisis in the late Seventies as an odd-even license plate rationing system went into effect and gas at the pumps climbed over the one- dollar mark. On July 20. 1976, - seven years to the day after the first men walked on the moon e the Viking Lander set down on Mars and began radioing information back to earth. What the cameras saw was a rock-strewn and apparent- ly lifeless plain, resembling deserts in Arizona and Northern Mexico. Disco surfaced as a new form of self-expres- sion in the late Seventies. In the pulsing. flash- ing atmosphere of the discotheque, 37 million people danced to the thumping bass beat of disco music. The craze became a $4 billion business comprising some 10.000 discotheques across the nation. New Yorkls Studio 54. the most famous and most controversial of the dis- cos. attracted celebrities from around the world. W Scott Smith DecadelNalional 23

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Decade: National The Seventies was a decade of individuality. and no one illustrated this better than the Bea- tles. Following the 1970 release of their 22nd hit album. Let it Be, the group disbanded. but only after having posted a record 47 sin- gles in the Pop Charts Top Ten. Despite nu- merous rumors about a Beatle reunion. the four group members parted ways. Paul McCartney and wife Linda formed Wings, 21 group which had nine hit albums in as many years. John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono delved into politics and a private life together, releas- ing 12 albums before Johnis tragic murder in December 1980. Drummer Ringo Star made movies and recorded; guitarist George Harri- son also continued recording. organizing the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. Although the Beatles had broken up, their music lived on. May the Force be with you was heard nationwide with the 1977 release of Star Wars? The movie, grossing over $400 million. was the biggest box office hit in history. and little RZ-DZ won the hearts of Americans ev- erywhere. Beginning with a 1970 non-title victory over Jerry Quarry. boxer Muhammad Ali went on to defeat George Foreman in 1974, followed by Joe Frazier in the 1975 llThrilla in Ma- nila. llThe Champ regained his heavyweight title from Leon Spinks in 1978, becoming the first man to possess the heavyweight crown three times. Wearing only running shoes and a smile, hundreds of people listrcaked through college campuses and city streets during a craze that peaked in 1974. A surge of sex symbols added special inter- est t0 the decade. Robert Redford did nine movies in the 19705. Starting out as the lovable punk of televi- sion's Welcome Back Kotter, sexy John Travolta discoed his way to superstardom through the enormously successful 1'Saturduy Night Fever. The pin-up girl of the decade. whose posters sold over seven million copies and whose hair became her famous trademark, was llCharlieis Angels Farrah Fawcett. But the predicted sex symbol for the Eight- ies, making her debut in the Seventies. was Mary Cathleen Collins - better know as Bo Derek. Bois cornrowed hair, wet shirts and movie 9107 made her poster the hottest seller of 1979 and launched the country into a 010 craze that made the rating game a national pasttime. e Carol Koehler DecaddNational 25