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Do you remember what was happening on campus, in Chicago, around the world, and in arts and culture during your years in the College?
- The male-to-female ratio ran about 65% to 35% during this class’s entire stay at the College.
- Ida Noyes was being renovated to include a movie theater, bowling alleys, and a pub. The Bernard Mitchell Hospital opened.
- The Housing Activities Resource Council was formed by students to address social concerns in the housing system.
- Students met to debate the controversial topic of adding pluses and minuses to the grade point average tabulations. The “A-” was thought to be a solution to the otherwise “unattainable A.” 58% thought such a system would increase “grade consciousness” and competition.
- In fall 1983, the two-day reading period was implemented after students complained that they had no time to study between the end of the tenth week and the beginning of finals.
- In January 1984, the second Kuviasungnerk winter games and break were held. The winter exercise regimen and festival replaced the earlier “Winter Weekend” trip.
- The largest-ever Lascivious Costume Ball was held in May 1984, complete with strippers, “nearly naked” dancing, and 2000 participants. The following year, the Administration prohibited the Ball. It returned in a smaller, milder form in 1987.
- Divestment in South Africa was the biggest political issue on campus. President Hanna Gray opposed the effort, but in an historic meeting in April 1986, the Faculty Senate of the University voted in favor of a resolution calling on the Trustees to begin the process of divesting the University of its holdings in companies that maintained investments in the Republic of South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a guest speaker on campus in 1985.
- Alpha Omicron Pi, the campus’s first sorority, formed in 1985.
- A strict new policy banned the serving of alcohol at all University-sponsored events, including dormitory parties.
- General education made a comeback in fall 1986 with a new two-year “Common Core” requirement.
- Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap and the Falcon Inn, both popular campus haunts, were named two of Chicago’s 15 best neighborhood taverns by the Chicago Tribune.
- Quantrell Award winners in 1987 were Frank Merritt, James Redfield, Lorna Straus, Karl Weintraub, and Joseph Williams.
- Mayor Washington secured some notable achievements in office, including passing a real estate tax hike to balance the budget and a strong ethics bill for city employees (including aldermen).
- In 1985, the new State of Illinois Center, an impressive dome-shaped building designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn, opened downtown.
- The Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 46-10 to win the 1986 Super Bowl.
- In 1986, the infamous Lake Shore Drive S-curve was finally straightened out after months of snarled traffic. In another victory for commuters and tourists, the Blue Line extension to O’Hare Airport had been completed in 1984.
- The fall of 1983 was an eventful time on the world scene. In September 1983, the Cold War heated up as Soviet fighters shot down a Korean Airliner with 269 people aboard. A little over a month later, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon were heavily damaged by a truck bomb, resulting in the death of 241 Marines. Two days later, a force of U.S. Marines invaded the small Caribbean island of Grenada because of the “imminent danger” to 1,100 American citizens posed by a leftist takeover of the government.
- Apple Macintosh personal computer was launched, signaling the end of the typewriter era.
- President Reagan signed legislation to make Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday starting in 1986.
- U.S. and French teams independently discovered the AIDS virus.
- The Soviets boycotted the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles largely in retaliation for the United States abstention from the 1980 summer games in Moscow.
- Indira Ghandi, prime minister of India, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
- Strategic Arms Reductions Talks in Geneva continued, with both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. making constructive proposals.
- The U.S. space shuttle Challenger was launched on its maiden flight and completed three missions in 1983. In January 1986 it exploded after liftoff with school teacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe on board, generating national mourning.
- Halley’s Comet made a return to Earth in 1986, after 76 years in deep space.
- Mikhail Gorbachev, who rose to power in 1985, campaigned for “glasnost” and “perestroika” in 1987.
- A reported affair with model Donna Rice put a damper on the presidential campaign of Senator Gary Hart in 1987. Senator Hart had lectured on campus in 1986.
- Books and Literature: The best-seller list was dominated by Stephen King with five top sellers in four years. James Michener, Robert Ludlum, and Tom Clancy all had strong showings as well. Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time was a major non-fiction best-seller; University of Chicago Professor Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, in which he lambasted American undergraduate education, topped the New York Times Best Seller list in 1987.
- Music: By the end of 1983, the popular music scene was dominated by “synthesizer” and “glam” rock music. Other major acts included Madonna, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Lionel Ritchie, Prince, and George Michael. Rap music began to make its mark on the national scene with groups like Run DMC and Public Enemy.
- Movies: Popular movies included Terms of Endearment, The Color Purple, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Amadeus,and Out of Africa. The Motion Picture Association of America created the PG-13 film rating in 1984.
- Television and Radio: Top TV shows included “Dynasty,” “Dallas,” “The Cosby Show,” “Family Ties,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “The Golden Girls,” and “60 Minutes.” The miniseries The Day After was watched by half the adult population of U.S.
- Sports: Many flocked to health clubs, donned their aerobic shoes, and “felt the burn.”
Researched by the University of Chicago, Development and Alumni Relations, 2006. The Chicago Maroon was the primary source for the “On Campus” section.