By Gordon Brown
Lawrence Today magazine, Spring 2004
Giving credit where it is due, it was Jerald Podair, associate professor
of history, who wrote our headline. As chair of the Committee on Public Occasions,
it fell to Professor Podair to introduce President Warch at last fall’s
Matriculation Convocation. Noting that this would be the president’s
last matriculation address, Podair described the 25-year Warch presidency,
a period of challenge and change, as spanning the years “from disco
to J. Lo.” In that spirit, here are some benchmarks from the first
of the Warch Years.
Twenty-five years ago. 1979. Apocalypse Now is
one of the top-grossing motion pictures of the year, but The Deer Hunter wins
the best-picture Oscar. The Soviet Union and Afghanistan begin what will
be a ten-year war. Mother Teresa
receives the Nobel Peace Prize. The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin is introduced.
Arnold Schwarzenegger graduates from the University of Wisconsin–Superior.
Three Mile Island melts down. The American embassy in Iran is seized and
the embassy staff held hostage. Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister.
Rhodesia
becomes Zimbabwe. Richard Warch becomes president.
In 1979, for the first time, women outnumber men in college enrollments.
The U.S. Department of Education is created as a separate cabinet-level
post. A study
indicates that college freshmen are more interested in status, power, and
money than at any time during the previous 15 years. In higher education
as a whole,
business management is the most popular major.
The average salary in 1979 is around $16,000; the minimum wage is $3.10 per
hour. A BMW costs $12,000; a Mercedes 280E $14,500. Milk is 33¢ a quart, bread
24¢ a loaf, round steak $1.30 a pound, regular gas 86¢ a gallon.
Things we haven’t yet encountered in 1979 include AIDS, Baby Bells, dolphin-free
tuna, the Euro, feng shui, Iran-Contra, the Hubble, mad cow disease,
MP3, NAFTA, plug-ins, Ritalin, smart bombs, Tailhook, Viagara, webmasters,
and Y2K.
Things with which we are familiar in 1979: an oil embargo, the VCR, Rubik’s
Cube, test-tube babies, bell bottoms, Watergate, pop art, punk rock, pet rocks,
and All in the Family.
Those were the days.
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