University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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INTERNATIONAL All around the globe, the year that was 1984 was marked by death, wars and negotiations. It was a year of fighting in Grenada. in Lebanon, in South Korea. in Beirut. It was a year of deaths, of Andropov s, of peace keeping Marines, of 269 people on a downed Korean airliner. It was a year of talks. with Andropov, with Castro, with Thatcher, of Strategic Arms Limitations. There were certainly mixed feelings all around. Who was right and who was wrong were mere formalities — what to do was more the question. And just what did they do? Repeated bombings and breakouts of fighting in Beirut tested Reagan s policies on Mid-East affairs. Indeed the bombings were tragic, but why the Marines were there to begin with, makes it seem all the less explainable. They were first sent to monitor the withdrawal of the P.L.O. Then they were to provide stability as Syria and Israel pulled out of territories they occupied. The Israelies eventually pulled out. but as the Lebanese remained, so too did our Marines. Questions were raised on the U.S.'s right to exert its military prowess around the world. Nevertheless, over 200 Marines are dead without any clear reason and still the conflict has not been resolved. Soviet leader Yuri Andropov's death was best described in 6 Introduction lntemational Newsweek: Only in a gerontocracy could it be said of a leader of 69 that he died young. Yet that is what befell (him). He was. if not a man of vision, a man of intelligence, toughness and caution. But he had to wait until he was 68 for the chance to lead — and by then it was too late. He showed signs of revitalizing Russia by promoting a younger group of his own following. Relations with the U.S. improved somewhat. He was tough, but he was too late. Only his successors will prove if his legacy will be carried on. Of course, the downing of the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 on September I by the Soviets did not help anyone. The airliner's destruction was the nadir of Andropov's first year. It showed lack of firm command and poor

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And here you sit with the 1984 will the future hold for us? Well edition of the Panther Prints. Ti- ... at least .. . revisions, tied, aptly enough, Revisions. For the staff of the Panther Prints it also applies. We have set out to give the yearbook a new look. A more detailed, more reminiscent view of the year that was. An overall, more total, complete picture of the changes and revisions most affecting and affected by .. . us. Revisions. Shall we call it the word of the 80's? As we emerge from the decades of peace, and love and me and chaos. What Introduction Revisions 5

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judgment.” According to Soviet sources. Andropov was not consulted before the Soviet military. acting on standing orders, used force to stop a violation of Soviet airspace. But he bore the responsibility for the disastrous stance the Soviets adopted after the plane hit the sea. For six days, the Soviets refused to acknowledge that they had shot the plane down, even though the G.S. had already made pub lie tape recordings of Soviet pilots describing the kill. The So viet stonewall compounded the calamity. As the Soviets walked out on SALT talks and Pope John Paul paid a defiant second visit to Poland, the world wide turmoil raged on. Policies and decisions were enacted and revised. Patriotism was on the upswing, but at what cost? Who is to say what the real results are or will --------------