Valparaiso University - Beacon / Record Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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Campus LifeHall

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Campus Lifemews US. economy takes dip President Carter's llNew Economics weren't in time to save the American economy from one of the worst slumps in recent history. Nearly everything went bad. The Federal gov- ernment was forced to bail out the Chrysler Corporation after the worst quarter in the company's history. And just a few months after that, General Motors, which supposedly goes like the nation , chalked up its worst finan- cial quarter. All the major steel companies reg- istered huge declines and sent large numbers of employees home. Unemployment ap- proached 140A, and everyone from presiden- tial candidates to workers cried out for a tax cut. Gold took its place along the Dow Jones in- dustrial average and commodity prices in the standard list of economic indicators. The price of an ounce of that precious metal e which once stood at $43 in 1971 and $100 in 1976 - remained at the inflated sum of nearly $700 1 during most of 1980. Nature takes charge Mother nature made her presence known in two ways this year: the continuing eruption of Mt. St. Helens and the summer heat wave in the Southwest. Mt. St. Helens, in Washington's Cascade Mountains, erupted first on May 18, killing over 75 persons and leaving hundreds home- less. The volcano remained active throughout the year, periodically erupting or spewing lava and ash over the state. Meanwhile in the Southwest eleven states suffered through a devastating drought and heat wave. Temperatures hit 1000 in Dallas for 33 consecutive days. Over 1200 humans died in the scorching heat, and the toll in animal lives was nearly uncountable. The loss of many farm crops sent some consumer prices soaring in the fall. The yeafs best quote Sometimes when I look at my children, I say to myself, 'Lillian, you should have stayed a vir- gin. e Lillian Carter 16 News Memories of the year ' - After The Brethren -set the nation buzzing with stories of the Supreme Court's inner workings, the Court moved to the'right on several key issues. For example, it ruled that states can refuse to pay for abortions performed on poor women. , e The still-new Pope John Paul II continued his quest of world peace, visiting South America. - Although the 1980 census' preliminary findings showed a loss of population in America's large cities, two major urban areas tried for comebacks - Detroit by hosting the Republican national convention, Cleveland as the site of the Carter-Reagan presidential debate. .. Presiderit Carter and the US. Olympic Committee agreed to boycott the summer games in Moscow as a pro- test of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. - The president re-instituted draft registration for males in the face of mounting world unrest. Signs reading Hell no, we won't go and post-oftice protests brought back memories of the 60ls. - The new census also led to speculation that Los Angeles would overtake Chicago as the second largest American city. ' - The Shah of Iran finally died of cancer in Egypt - an ironic end to the Iranian militants' demand for his return home. - President Carter received the lowest approval rating ever given to amodern chief executive. - The ever-unpopular Susan B. Anthony dollar became a thing of the past. The federal government discontinued production, to the delight of store owners who had com- plained that the dollars looked and felt more like quar- ters. - Some 120,000 Cuban refugees were allowed to enter the United States and were relocated in camps across the country. - Raquel Welch, Fred Astaire, Angela Davis and Bjorn Borg were married .. Anita Bryant and Jerry Lewis di- vorced their spouses ... and Peter Sellers, Steve McQueen and the Cisco Kid died. - On the international scene Prime Minister Begin almost lost control of lsrael, Japan witnessed a smooth tran- sition of power after its prime minister's death, and in Poland a labor strike ended in a victory for the workers, as suits Communist rhetoric. e And just to prove that the rebellious 6015 were over, Abbie Hoffman wrote a book and gave up the life of a tugitive, while Jerry Rubin accepted a position as a securi- ties analyst on Wall Street.