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

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26 Rimmed Pennsylvania got its first test tube baby-Jillian Johnston was born. Unexpected. Sep- tember was full of unexpected surprises, some devas- tating, others pleasant. Septemberfs news kept people crying tears of sorrow or tears ofjoy. The tears of the friends and relatives of the 269 passengers of the Korean Air Lines flight 007 were joined by the tears and outrage of all Americans and several countries for the barbaric act of the Soviets. Tears of grief were also shed for Benigno Aquino, the Philippine opposi- tion leader who was murdered in Manila and for the smiling Jim ftJimboii OiBrien, the popular newscaster of Philadelphia who died during a parachute jump. In Israel, a sorrowful Prime Minister Begin resigned while an equally sorrowful country watched him leave. But, there were tears of joy. A tearful Vanessa Williams became the new Miss America, the first black woman to ever win the prestigious contest. Things were just as unexpected in Happy Valley where students were beginning to adjust to classes under the semester system. The most shocking event of the month was the possible loss of charter for Alpha Tau Omega fraternity until 1986. The IFC reported that the fraternity had violated written University policy and local, state, or federal law. This was due to a complaint a woman filed August 29, alleging that she was a victim of gang rape at ATO. The University only hoped that, if it was true, it would not cast a bad name over the entire organization. Penn State rose to new heights in September. Among others aboard the space shuttle Challenger was Penn State alumnus Paul Weitz. The 54 graduate of an aeronautical engi- neering degree, also piloted the first manned Skylab in 73. Weitz remembered his alma mater by present- ing President Jordan with the Penn State tee shirt he wore while in space. -Diane DiPiero Confiicts. Along with the colors and chills of autumn, October brought many conflictsafrom bombings to earthquakes, inva- sions to protests. From the shake-ups on the interna- tional level down to the conflicts and pressures in Happy Valley, October covered everything. The Bei- rut bombing, the Grenada invasion, Wattls resigna- tion, ATOls dilemma, the pressures of adjusting to semesters-all were dealt with by students at Penn State. By the 12th, statistics released by the Universi- ty showed that the student drop-out rate increased by 4M: fall semester of 83 over last fall term. Although semesters were not directly blamed, students included excessive stress and being overwhelmed as the rea- sons. And, the National High Council of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity unanimously voted to liinvoluntarily surrender the charter of the fraternityls Penn State chapter. The reasons cited for the action included several incidents involving alcohol. The woman who claimed she was raped at ATO filed a formal com- plaint with State College Police. But, later if the circumstances were right, the fraternity may someday return to Penn State. -Sue Sturgis Retrospect INTERNATIONAL If the international scene had to be summarized by one word, turmoil would be the definitive answer. Due to the depression and sad- ness he had faced from the death of his wife and the dismal situation between Israel and Lebanon, Israel's Prime Minister Begin resigned. President Hurzog reluctantly replaced Begin with Foreign Minister Yitzhah Shamir. In the early morning hours of Octo- ber 23, a pick-up truck loaded with ex- plosives crashed through the lobby of an airport building in Beirut, where American Marines and Navy men, part of a multinational peace-keeping force stationed in the city, were still asleep. The blast levelled the four-story build- ing, killing over 225 men. Moments later, one mile away, a similar attack destroyed the building housing French troops, killing 58 men. In another early morning surprise at- tack, 2000 US. Marines and Army paratroopers, along with forces from Caribbean islands, invaded Grenada. The invasion was met with resistance from Grenadian troops and armed Cu- bans. Two weeks prior to the invasion, THE AUSTRALIAN Australia If beat the US. Liberty in the 25th American Cup to become the first foreign victorr Grenada had been overtaken by a Marxist regime. President Reagan or- dered the invasion to protect some 1000 Americans on the island, and to restore order and democracy to the nation. NATIONAL There was also a number of shake-ups on the national scene. US. Secretary of the Interior James Watt announced his resignation. Controver- sial since assuming his post, Watt had already succeeded in offending many groups with his remarks. But with his statement about appointing 0a black, a woman, two Jews, and a cripple'l to his coal advisory commission, he lost his core of GOP support and chose resigna- tion over a no-confidence vote in the Senate. There was an inspiring note for blacks in America. The space shuttle Challenger not only enacted the first US. night space launch, but also car- ried the first black astronaut to travel in space, Guion S. Bluford, Jr. Also, it was RESCUERS PREPARED to lower a US Ma- rine on a stretcher to safety after being trapped in the wreckage of the US. Command Post in Bei- rut after the terrorist bomb blast which killed hundreds.

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The worlds population was calcu- lated as 4,721,887,000-the largest in history. t 276 37,000 students returned for classes in the beginning of the semester system at Penn State. 250,000 people renacted Martin Luther Kingls March of 20 years ago. 2. lca. Basically, the committees goal was to reach a higher perspective on the ongOing battles in this area and to gain Congressional support for an increase In US. aid to friendly governments. Things were looking bleak in the South. Hurricane Alicia came swoop- lng down the coastline of Texas, and for the first time in three years, that wild lady slammed onto the mainland at 1 15 m-P-h., causing millions of dollars in damage, even inland. n a much more innocent note, re- turning home was Samantha Smith, the young lady who wrote a letter to Andro- POV inquiring about his stand on a war. .He-assured her he wanted peace, and mvrted her to the Soviet Union. STATE In Philadelphia, July 3 marked the restoration of service to the commu- ntty by the transit system after a 108 day strike. The strike affected 45,000 c0mmuters daily. The workers settled for a 69:3 wage increase over 47 months. In Pittsburgh, Louis Bodura was sen- tenced to ten years in prison. Bodura, CINCINNATI REDS JOHNNY BENCH tips hIs hat to the fans after playing his Final game. He played over 20 years for the Reds. an unemployed resident, had threat- ened to poison the products of the HJ. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh if not given $88,000. He pleaded guilty to sending the extortion letters through the mail. The House Education Committee and the State Board of Education gave preliminary approval to new regulations requiring that two more years of both math and science, and a computer course be added to the current requi- sites for high school graduation, and that 21 credits instead of 13 be the minimum. LOCAL People flocked to the Penn StatelState College community in July. Once again the Central Pennsylvania Festival for the Arts was held here. From July 6-10 thousands gathered for this 17th annual event. By air, more and more people visited via the University Park airport, making it the ninth bu- siest airport in the state. The airport authority approved plans for a new ter- minal. The terminal now in use was a converted mobile home. The plans had to be approved by the FAA and Pen- DOT. FORMER SECRETARY of State Henry Kis- singer, now the head of the Central America Commission. tries to help the US. get a higher perspective on the battles occurring in Nicaragua and El Salvador. S umm er is 51221110 g Sales Floating across the summer breezes, the new re- leases of both old and new artists were heard on the radio and now even could be seen-on MTV. Thanks to the nation's revived interest in pop music, the re- cord industry had the best season after four years of stagnant business. The new zeal for music was big business; the beat continued all summer long. Michael Jackson1s No. 1 Thriller was predicted to sell over 16 million due its to overwhelming popularity. David Bowiels Lefs Dance moved one million in just three months, and Synch- ronicity-the latest Police album-sold over two mil- lion in less than a month. MTV beamed rock videos into 14 million homes across the nation. No wonder groups gained new identity after TV exposure. As PolyGramls Jack Kieman said llYou can feel the sales right away.', Averaging about $35,000 to produce, the videos were originally just clips of lip-synched concerts. Now they accompanied every album and contained plots- ltminimovies. Michael Jackson's uBeat Itll was a $150,000 mini West Side Story. It included gang dances and a showdown. Albums, tapes, now videos, what new gimmick could pop up in the music industry? People will even- tually want something new, something different. Retrospect 25

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t2 year. The student drop-out rate at Penn State increased 4170 over last A bomb blast killed 225 An earthquake. 7.1 on the Richter US. Marines and Navy scale, left 75,000 homeless in Tur- men in Beirut. key. the first time a black woman took the top two positions in the Miss America Pageant. Vanessa Williams, was Crowned Miss America, and Suzette Charles was chosen first runner-up. There were more bright sides. For Some baseball fans, the bright side was the victory of the Baltimore Orioles Over the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. STATE There was a loss in the Philadel- Phia area. Jim O'Brien, one of that areas highest paid and most popular pCWScasters, died during a parachute JUmp, when he became entangled with a riend and cut himself loose, too close t0 the ground for his chute to open. The 43-year-old OiBrien. a veteran of over 0Ojumps, left a deep feeling of sorrow among his colleagues and viewers of Channel 6-Station WPVI. The media also had another loss. Television. news anchorwoman Jessica Savitch, 35, of New York Cityefor- merly of Philadelphiaeand New York Post excctutive Martin Fischbein. 34, drowned in a car accident in New Hope, PA. After the couple left a New Hope restaurant, the car Fischbein was driving overturned in the nearby Dela- ware Canal. LOCAL The State College Area School District decided that Mark Twainls classic, Huckleberry Finn, did not pro- mote racism and would not be banned from the ninth grade classroom. The decision was triggered by a complaint earlier by State College resident Mar- garet Allen. The year before, Allenls son, Antwi, was asked to read the part ofJim, a runaway slave. Allen had felt the novel promoted racism by present- ing a demeaning view of blacks and us- ing the word llniggcrlT repeatedly. But a study by the school district in conjunc- tion with the University found that stu- dents who read the book in class ude- mostrated both a deeper sensitivity to racial matters and a llmore positive atti- tude towards racial acceptance. There was also much clamor over dis- puted stipulations for downtown living. After a number of Penn State students were fined for having more than three unrelated people residing in a house, much ado was made about this and oth- er housing laws, including the noise or- dinance. Soviet Shooting It was to be an ordinary flight for the 269 people who boarded the Korean Air Lines jet. The plane landed in Anchorage to refuel and prepare for the long stretch ahead. Probably none of the passengers knew it would be their last glimpse of land. Now, the story becomes obscure. The pilot was to take the most northernly route to Seoul bypassing the Kamchatha; the site of Soviet missile testing. Al- though the pilot reported the plane was 115 miles south of Hokkaido. Japanese radar spotted it at 115 miles north of it, heading for Soviet territory. Then a conversation could be heard and was translated. uTake aimf' llAim taken. Then, one minute later, llWhere did it go? The reply, 2We shot it down. At first, the news was that the plane was forced to land in Soviet territory, then that it landed safely. Then much later, the devastating news came . . . Outrage could not strongly enough describe President Reaganls reaction, as he and others called it a tlwan- ton, calculated, deliberate murder. Although they first denied it, the Soviet Union admitted to shooting down the jet, simply because the US. had sent over a uspy plane? The jet had carried Senator Lawrence McDonald, the leading anti-Com- munist in the government. Whatever the Soviet ex- cuse, the results of the ghastly bombing will never be forgotten-269 lives were lost. VANESSA WILLIAMS Uem. the new Miss America, is crowned by the outgoing Miss America, Debra Maffett. Williams is the first black to ever win. Retrospect 27