University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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Interregnum Regnum From the balcony of Saint Peter ' s Basilica, on Oct. 16, 1978, the news was announced that John Paul II had been elected by the College of Car- dinals of the Roman Catholic Church. Reacting to the news from Rome that the second pope in 54 days and the first non-Italian to be chosen in 456 years, historians sharpened their quills. For Karol Wojtyia, life in Poland was hard. His mother died when he was nine, and he was brought up by his father, who subsisted for the most part on army sergeant ' s pen- sion. Though many Cardinals and Popes have been trained from early youth in the hothouse atmosphere of minor seminaries, Wojtyia went to an ordinary high school. While he at- tended Mass each morning and headed a religious society, he had equally strong adolescent passions for literature and the theater. He was the producer and lead actor in a school troupe that toured south- eastern Poland doing Shakespeare and modern plays. The Nazi occupation of Poland closed the Jagiellonian University of Cracow, where the young Karol Woj- tyia had begun to study philology. He spent World War II working in a stone quarry and a chemical fac- tory. A devout tailor interested him in the writings of the 16th century Spanish Carmelite mystic, St. John of the Cross, and in 1942, the year after his father died, he decided to begin studies for the priesthood at an illegal underground seminary. While that was risky enough, Wojtyia also became active in the anti-Nazi resistance. A high school classmate, Jerzy Zubzycki, now a sociology pro- fessor at the Australian National Uni- versity of Canberra, said of those years: He lived in danger daily of losing his life. He would move about the occupied cities taking Jewish families out of the ghettos, finding them new identities and hiding places. He saved the lives of many families threatened with execution. At the same time he helped organize and act in the underground Rhap- sody Theater, whose anti-Nazi and patriotic dramas boosted Polish mo- rale. In 1946, the Pope-to-be was or- dained a priest, just as the Soviet- backed Communist Party was begin- ning to smother all opposition. After completing two years of doctoral work in philosophy at Rome ' s Pon- tifical Angelicum University, he re- turned to Poland as a parish priest and student chaplain. Later, in 1954, he began teaching at the Catholic University of Lublin, the only Catholic center of higher edu- cation in any communist country, and soon became the head of the ethics department. He was appoint- ed auxiliary bishop a few years later, and in 1962, at the age of 42, he was elevated to the post of Archbishop of Cracow. He first established the international regard and contacts that were to make him Pope during the Second Vatican Council (1962- 1965). During the Council he made eight speeches, the most memora- ble in favor of religious liberty. Church honors followed a Cardinal ' s red hat in 1967, election as one of three Europeans on the council of the world ' s bishop ' s council in 1974, and an invitation to conduct the Len- ten retreat for Pope Paul Vl ' s house- hold in 1976. At home in Poland, Karol Wojtyia is considered to be a resilient enemy of Communism and a threatening figure to the party as a powerful preacher, and intellectual with a reputation for defeating the Marx- ists in dialogue, and a churchman enormously popular among younger Poles and laborers. Before his elec- tion to the papacy, it was widely ex- pected that the regime would exer- cise its veto power to block him from succeeding Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski as Primate, the leading figure of the Church in Poland. Wojtyia has written four books and more than 500 essays and articles. A Polish publisher is planning to put out a thin volume of his poetry on the theme of the fatherland. In the area of philosophy, the Pope is an expert in phenomenology, a theory of knowledge that bases scientific objectivity upon the unique nature of subjective human perception. He has written a major work on it, PER- SON AND ACT (1969), which is being translated into English. Summarizing the Pope ' s complex thought, Anna- Teresa Tymieniecka, a Pole who heads the Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research, said: He stresses the irreducible value of the human person. He finds a spiri- tual dimension in human interaction, and that leads him to a profoundly humanistic conception of society. The new Pope is known as a staunch conservative on specific is- sues of doctrine, morality and Church authority. On the birth con- trol issue, he went on record against all artificial methods in his book, LOVE AND RESPONSIBILITY (I960), before Paul VI took the same posi- tion in his much attacked HUMANAE VITAE encyclical (letter to all the churches) of 1968. But the book also emphasized the personal love relationship of the married couple, in all its dimensions, an advanced view for a pre-Vatican II archbishop. Wojtyia wrote in 1977 that Jesus Christ is a reproach to the affluent consumer society . . . The great pov- erty of people, especially in the Third World — hunger, economic exploitation, colonialism — all these signify an opposition to Christ by the powerful. When asked on West Ger- man TV in 1977 whether Marxism could be reconciled with Christinity, Wojtyia replied bluntly: This is a curious question. One cannot be a Christian and a materialist; one can- not be a believer and an atheist. As the Communist attitude of mind has pervaded his world, people might expect of him a somewhat rig- id response, theological conserva- tion and intransigeance. Theological development does not thrive under conditions of siege, but there is nothing to suggest that personal ex- perience such as his — steeped as it is in personal suffering — will stamp out theological enquiry where it is most needed. In his first sermon as Pope, John Paul subtly outlined his objectives: The absolute and yet gentle power of the Lord corre- sponds to the whole depth of the human person, to the loftiest aspira- tions of intellect, will, and heart, does not speak the language of force and expresses itself in charity and truth .. Fr. Michael Twardzick Wg M IP ' IHI IIHI ■ ■ H -v i . | PI K M| M 1 1

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zure, Jimmy gave Seta a cold show- er while she was unconscious. The possibility of death by drowning was not ruled out by the medical examin- er, but this line of questioning was not pursued during the inquest. As Jimmy carried Seta from the shower to the bed, he dropped her on her head and back. After being placed in the bed. Seta suffered an- other seizure which was so severe that Jimmy and Carol placed a spoon in her mouth to prevent her from swallowing her tongue. At approximately 6 a.m., Jimmy and Carol went out to breakfast, leaving Brian with Seta. Brian testi- fied that during this time he checked her pulse several times and that she was still alive yet unconscious, and had now been in that condition for about five hours. When first ques- tioned, Brian said he was alone with Seta until 12:30, when her condition suddenly took a turn for the worse, at which point he finally called an ambulance. However, further ques- tioning revealed that he was in fact not alone — he called a friend who was a nurse to come and look at Seta. The nurse arrived at 12 noon and testified that Seta was still alive at this time, but that he suggested to Brian that he should call an ambu- lance. His allegation that Seta was still alive at noon is a direct contra- diction of the statement of Dr. 01- sen, who placed the time of death 10 to 12 hours earlier. Yet again, the judge did not deem it necessary to investigate this time discrepancy. Brian deserted Seta at 12:30 and she was found an hour later, dead and alone. The Committee against Repression, a multi-racial group consisting of both working people and students, and the Third World Women ' s Task Force worked exten- sively since the inquest to force Franklin-Hampshire County D.A. Thomas Simons to re-open the Rampersad case. It is our feeling that many prominent people would be implicated if the whole story were revealed and that this is why the case was closed, despite the many unanswered questions. A letter was sent in May to D.A. Simons which contained the names of five individ- uals who have consistently been mentioned as having attended the party on the night of Seta ' s death. Simons refused to act on this infor- mation, saying he would work only with facts and not with mere ru- mor and speculation. Yet it is his duty to investigate and gather con- crete evidence — we do not have detectives to do this. This is why Mr. Simons was elected to his office. We made no accusations against those five people; we merely brought to his attention a line of inquiry which, in the opinion of many concerned members of his constituency, was insufficiently covered by the in- quest. It should also be remembered that Seta was a black woman, the daugh- ter of working class people who did not have the money to hire attor- nies, nor the political influence to in- sure that the D.A. would look after their interests. Seta ' s case is not an isolated inci- dent of violence against Third World people in Amherst and in Boston. One only has to look at the unex- plained death (termed suicide by au- thorities) of Jose Pontes at UMass or the 10 murders of black women in Boston to realize that this is true. The legalities which obscured the death of Seta Rampersad worked most viciously against Third World and working people. However, the fact that an individual is not a Third World person does not make one exempt from such devouring injus- Take Back the Night tices of the judicial legal machine. What has happened to Seta Ramper- sad is a possibility that confronts us all. On May 15, 1979, a rally was held in front of the Court House in North- ampton to present to the D.A. peti- tions containing the names of about 2,000 people who feel that the Ram- persad case should be re-opened. The rally was attended by over 150 people. At this writing. May 1979, the D.A. has refused to re-open the case, despite the large amount of public support being generated by the Committee Agains Repression and the Third World Women ' s Task Force. We will continue our struggle, a struggle for people ' s justice. A commemoration of Seta ' s death in September and a meeting with state Attorney General Frank Bellotti was planned for the future. Lynn Bonesteel Chanting slogans such as Yes, that ' s right; we ' re taking back the night, UMass and area women marched once in the fall of 1978 and again in spring 1979 to protest vio- lence against women. The marches were similar to hun- dreds of Take Back the Night marches organized internationally in major cities and on college cam- puses. The marches were designed to symbolize a woman ' s right to walk alone at night without fear. Both the November 18 march through down- town Northampton and the May 3 march through Amherst center and the UMass campus wound through dimly lit streets and areas where rapes were reported. Organizers of these and similar marches asked men not to march but to show their support by lining the streetsides in a candlelight vigil. Over 2,500 women and about 500 men demonstrated in the North- ampton streets while over 1,000 women marched and about 100 men stood in the rain from the Am- herst Common to the UMass Stu- dent Union building. Eggs were thrown at the demon- straters in Northampton, and water balloons were thrown during the spring march from the vicinity of a UMass fraternity. Reactions to both marches were mixed. Both men and women said they questioned the effect of the march in preventing violence against women, but others said publicizing a once forbidden subject makes peo- ple aware that violence against women is not uncommon. More awareness, rape counselors said, will increase safety precautions and reportage of rape, sexual harrass- ment and wife-beating. In 1978 the FBI estimated that only one in 10 rapes is reported. One of the changes called for by march organizers was improved lighting on campus, yet physical plant officials said there was not enough money for additional light- ing. And in 1979, several rapes were reported in dimly lit parking lots and walkways on campus, where march- ers shouted A woman was raped here, and I won ' t be next.

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■feoston Red Sox 1978 The record shows that the Boston Red Sox lost the pen- nant in 1978. Numerous rea- sons could account for their failure. Some will think, at one time or another, that the Sep- tember Slide was caused by 1) the manager, 2) lack of hitting, 3) lack of consistent pitching, 4) Hobson ' s Horrors, 5) injur- ies, 6) the absence of the mir- acle worker Bernie Carbo, 7) pressure from outside sources or, 8) the New York Yankees, who happened to play better ball when it counted most. For the first half of the sea- son the Sox played extremely well. The pitching staff which had been subject to daily spec- ulation in pre-season by the media carried the team. And the hitters exceeded every- one ' s expectations, led by Jim Rice. At the All-Star break the Sox were in a commanding lead. Since no team had ever come back and won a pennant after being down eight games at the break, the Red Sox seemed the heirs to this year ' s flag. But after the All-Star game, strange creatures could be seen in uniform. Practically overnight the manager turned gerbil, the first baseman bal- looned out fo proportion from a diet of pepperoni pizzas, and a Spaceman crashed into the Boston bullpen, which, from that day on, was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Along with these additions a contagious myopia spread through the team. It seemed everyone was affected. Not only did it affect the Sox ' field- ing and batting, but the myste- rious disease blinded the Sox off the field when they read the American League standings. They couldn ' t see the Yankees slowly creeping, gaining ground on them. The culmination of all this came on October 2. The Yan- kees edged the Sox in the standings, and the scramble was on. Art Simas Carl Yastrzemski, Edward King, and Senator Kennedy State Elections He was liberal. He was honest. He mastered the state fiscal crisis. He also lost. Michael Dukakis was the only incumbent governor of the state of Massachusetts in recent history to lose an election in office. Edward J. King, formerly of the Massachusetts Port Author- ity, defeated the former governor in the Democratic primaries in November and went on to win the state election in November against Francis W. Hatch of Beverly. Discovering a $450 million deficit, he in- creased sales and income taxes after promis- ing not to increase taxes during his campaign. The state employees were not granted a pay raise, and social services were trimmed by the governor, upsetting the liberals of the state. Edward Broke ' s renomination for the Unit- ed States Senate against Avi Nelson of Brook- line, a local radio personality, created a prob- lem for incumbent governor Dukakis. Brooke ran into trouble with his own party over his support of the Panama Canal Treaty, his posi- tive position for federally financed abortions for poor women, and the divorce suit with his ex-wife Regina. Liberal Democrats supported the incumbent senator while opposing Nel- son, who was in favor of anti-bussing and anti- taxing legislation. A total of 30,000 people voted in the G.O.P. primary, many of them Democrats who switched their party to support Brooke. In all, approximately 270,000 people voted in the 1979 primary election. Though Brooke won over Nelson in a 6 percent margin, Brooke lost to U.S. Representative Paul Tsongas from Lowell in the general election. Since the Democrats who supported Brooke left the party, the support for Dukakis was heavily damaged. Former mayor of Cam- bridge. Barbara Ackerman received 2% of the vote, Dukakis 47%, and King 51%. Francis W. Hatch of Beverly won the prima- ry election over Edward F. King in the Republi- can election, only to be defeated by King in the general election. Hatch received 208,387 votes to King ' s 247,660 votes. The former football player scored better in some Massa- chusetts areas, but was behind where the Democrats were strong four years ago, espe- cially in Western Massachusetts and the Five College area. Since Proposition 13 had passed a few months earlier in California, the conservative ideals in America blossomed, with Massachu- setts in the front lines. King ordered a hiring freeze on all public agencies, including UMass. The guidelines specified that no posi- tions, transfers, or reinstatements, as well as initial openings. The University had a committment to the students to hire more faculty when necessary for discussion classes, and the students em- phasized their rights to receive a proper edu- cation. The freeze was owed to agency bud- get cuts. During the opening months of King ' s ad- ministration, several of his major decisions backfired. Four men appointed by King were forced to resign. One was tied to the Mafia, another dealt with Union funds, causing a conflict of interest. A third associated with a lawyer convicted of fraud and arson, while the fourth was forced to resign due to fraudu- lent degrees from prestigious European uni- versities when he was actually a high school drop out. Twice, the Governor shot down a 6% in- crease in cost of living funds to AFDC families (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), only to pass an overdue increase of 7% in August of 1979. During King ' s moves toward the AFDC increase, the Governor ' s Commis- sion on the Status of Women voiced opposi- tion to King ' s measure on the cost of living increase. King turned around and fired the 22