University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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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 --------------

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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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NATION The wave of change rolled across the United States, too. The American people entered a year of firsts, lasts and of course, changes and revisions. 1984 brought with it a new national holiday. This year President Reagan officially signed January 15 in as Martin Luther King Day. honoring the slain civil rights leader. Rallies on college campuses, in Washington and across the country exemplified the strong feelings Americans had in the desire to place King with the likes of Columbus and Washington. 1984 also brought the gathering together of the world's greatest athletes for the Olympics. The winter games, held in Sarajevo. Yugoslavia, showed the CJ.S. at its best with a gold medal in Men's Figure Skating (the first in over two decades), two golds in Men's Skiing (the first ever) and a Women's Skiing gold as well. The site of L.A., California brings the summer games back to the G.S. Four gold medals are expected from track superstar Carl Lewis, who has been likened to the great Jesse Owens. It's never easy to say good bye but that is what we did when ole Ma Bell broke up into AT T and the Bell system, giving us seven page phone bills and choices between MCI and Sprint. We also said farewell to a male-dominated world of space with our first women astronaut. Sally Ride. 8®S» 8 Introduction Nation