University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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JUNE JULY AUGUST JUNE 9 At 7:26 p.m., the lights go out across virtually all of Austin, Travis County and portions of four neighbor- ing counties. The blackout, caused when a station breaker between Austin and Bastrop blew, lasted 3 ' 2 hours. Those lucky enough to be on campus at the time are unaffected by the blackout since The University generates its own power. In a Daily Texan interview a few days later, the deputy director of Austin ' s electric utility department says, A bird carrying some type of metallic material to build nests seems to be the most probable cause of the fault on the circuit breaker. JUNE 9 Saying, Isn ' t it wrong to have an editor who is also a politician? Daily Texan editor Roger Campbell asks the Texas Student Publications board to reconsider the way editors are chosen. Texas is one of the few univer- sities in the nation that elects the editor of its student newspaper, but Camp- bell ' s proposal would change that. The plan would reduce student input to a preferential poll and have the TSP board appoint the editor. Although Campbell ' s plan on the sur- face seems innocuous, it meets strong opposition from several former Texan editors and Mitch Kreindler, Students Association president. Much of the op- position to the proposal is caused by the history of the paper ' s relationship with The University administration. Since the 1950s, Texan editors have repeated- ly clashed with administrators and regents, who have tried to exert greater control over the paper. Debate on the issue drags on through the summer, finally coming to a head at the TSP board meeting on Aug. 8. Mostly due to lack of support, no formal action is taken on Campbell ' s plan. A proposal by board member Isabella Cunningham, chairman, Department of Advertising, is unanimously accepted in its place. Cunningham ' s plan introduces a number of campaign reforms but re- tains student elections. That, so we thought, was the last of the issue. But it wasn ' t. On Sept. 20, the TSP board makes some changes in the roles of the Texan editor and managing editor. Henceforth, the editor will only be in charge of the editorial page. All major policy decisions and the day-to- day running of the paper are delegated to the managing editor, who, incidental- ly, is appointed by the TSP board. JUNE 11 The Longhorn baseball team wins the national championship by defeating Alabama 4-3 in the College World Series in Omaha. JUNE 18 In yet another victory for equality of the sexes, shuttle astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. AUGUST 18 Hurricane Alicia hits Galveston Island between 2 and 3 a.m., with 100 mph winds and 10-12 foot tides. Twenty-two persons are killed in the storm. Gov. Mark White, on a tour of the coast the next day, estimates damages at $1 billion. Although classes are not cancelled, the UT medical branch in Galveston suffers $9 million in damages. AUGUST 30 In yet another victory for equality of the races, shuttle astronaut Guion Bluford becomes the first American black in space. Alicia ' s Aftermath ) Summer Calendar

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MODERN NIGHTMARES wo of the year ' s major news events were remarkable for their promise of a world with no future. As NATO deployed new missiles in Europe, the specter was raised yet again of an apocalypse that threatened the destruction of modern civilization. And on Jan. 1, 1984, George Orwell ' s nightmarish tale of the ultimate totalitarian state arrived in title, if not in fact. Orwell ' s satirical novel described a state which invaded and con- trolled every aspect of a person ' s life. With its publication, the question was whether we would reach 1984 by 1984. But even with the examples of decay thrown about the West in 1984 was infinitely more free than in 1984. More threatening was the danger of nuclear war. After the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. fail- ed to reach an agreement reducing the number of Soviet missiles aimed at Western Europe, NATO went ahead with plans to deploy 572 new cruise and Pershing II missiles. In the midst of this, ABC-TV presented The Day After , a movie dramatizing the effects of nuclear war on the town of Lawrence, Kansas. Fortunately, the world wasn ' t paralyzed with a sense of impending apocalypse. After I all, we ' re still here. Brian r Zabcik In 7984, Big Brother was watching.

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The Ubiquitous Hackeysack Our Championship Baseball Season SUMMER Summer Calendar 21