KU news cited
the ROTC controversy and all its effects was the year's top campus story, according to the vote of the Kansan editors Friday afternoon. The Chancellor's review, through the University Disciplinary Board's public and private hearings, through the suspension of student body vicepresident Marilyn Bowman, and on to the efforts of Kansas State Senator Reynolds Shultz, R-Lawrence, to seek the release of the Disciplinary Board's confidential records—the entire chain of events was the biggest single story affecting the KU campus.
Based on a list of more than 60 major campus events, the editors selected those which they thought were the top 20.
The remaining 19 follow:
Chancellor Clark Wescoe resigns, leaving KU to become vice-president of Sterling Drug Co. E. Laurence Chalmers, Jr. assumes the administrative position.
The national observance of Sept. 15 Moratorium sees the hippies and the "straights" united side by side, to march peacefully for peace.
With an extra man on the field, in the midst of all the final seconds confusion, KU looses to Penn State in the Orange Bowl.
The Black Student Union (BSU) demands equal representation in many KU activities, and soon after receives places on KU's pom-pon squad.
The KU Student Senate code passes, signalling the demise of the All-Student Council.
ROTC is once again surrounded in controversy, but the end result this time leaves its scholastic grade credits intact.
The Independent Student Party (ISP) wins the student elections. Dave Awbrey, Hutchinson senior, takes office as president.
The Kansas Board of Regents raises fees again and, Kansas Attorney General Kent Frizzell opens a new controversy, centering around the constitutionality of University fees.
Jim Herschberger, former KU trackman, comes to the rescue of the fading Kansas Relays, and presents the university with an all-weather tartan track.
Classified research is banned from the campus.
The University obtains a permanent injunction against future demonstrations.
The BSU crowns a black homecoming queen.
Mrs. Irene Nunemaker, a KU alum, donates $350 to KU for a new college-within-a-college building.
The Student Senate stalls the Satellite Union.
A Black History course is inaugurated at KU.
The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) holds demonstrations, and demonstrations, and
Chancellor Chalmers suggests that students should evaluate their teachers.
KU wins its 1000th basketball game.
And last, a group of radicals manage to steal a ballot box from Strong Hall Rotunda.
TV: key to the 60's
Television, with its development in the sixties, has become the greatest instrument of public awareness our world has known. Television has assumed the role the public demanded, giving coverage of virtually everything within the physical and technical limits television possesses.
Of course television was not new to the 1960's. What did happen, though, is that the public discovered what television could offer to satisfy their individual tastes. They discovered that through this unique medium they could learn about politics, sports, science, and world affairs and know how they could affect everyone. Yes, television was different.
Perhaps the earliest event that took place in the sixties in which television played its new, significant role was in the Kennedy-Nixon debate. For the first time, people nation-wide could see and hear both candidates, side-by-side, discussing national and international issues as if they were in the room with them.
No other medium could offer quite the same. More people were free for the first time to make their own judgments on the candidates and the views as expressed live on television. The precedent was set now: political figures from all levels of government had the means to reach and communicate with the masses of interest.
As the decade progressed, television continued to develop in its important role. Men started out to conquer space and television went with them to record their progress for history. The world watched Alan Shepard first. Complete details of his mission were constantly available on television from the time his rocket lifted off, to when his capsule finally splashed down.
This was the beginning of what now the public expected to be standard procedure on every new space flight. And because of this demand, peoples of all nations watched as the first man put his foot down on the surface of the moon. We saw and knew because of television.
Not only were the masses able merely to see the actual flights, either. Efforts were made to explain and inform the viewers exactly what was happening and why. Because of these efforts, words like "synchronous orbit," "lunar landing module," and
"extra-vehicular activity" have become standard terms known to every walk of life.
Like anything else new, television was not without faults. On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Seconds after the fatal shot, the public knew. Television, through the use of films, reconstructed the tragic event and was able to show the public what happened. Television's treatment of the assassination coverage and funeral may have over-assumed its role. Television may have played too much on the emotion of its viewers.
Another precedent was set, though. Viewers still wanted coverage of events dealing with important national figures and the deaths of Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Dwight Eisenhower, and Joseph Kennedy were closely covered by television just for that reason.
Man has always been interested in sports, and again television in the sixties gave man more of what he wanted. Not only has television increased the spectatorship of all sports but actually helped narrow the gap separating nations with coverage of the Olympics and other international sporting events.
Of course the other function of television is entertainment. People watch television because they find program material they want. Whatever needs are actually satisfied is unimportant in a discussion of television in the sixties. The important fact is that television is changing its programming with the needs of the people. As people become more aware of what goes on in the world, new programs replace the old, utilizing what the people know.
Technical advances helped make these things possible, but man's dependency on television and television satisfying man's needs still provided the basic motive behind the greatness of television in the sixties.
Probably the most efficient method television has used to emphasize what people know or want to know more about is through the use of "specials." Specials evolving through the sixties have informed the public about almost every subject of education and entertainment. The result was a tremendous success.
1969 in ret
Bv LUIS SANTOS
There was no contest. In 1969 two events—Vietnam and space—loomed high above all others in attracting the world's audiences and in monopolizing news coverage by the mass media. But the second stringers were not far back. Europe, Africa and Latin America made plenty of noise during the year to attract considerable attention.
Two year-long developing events which didn't miss a week without creating news were the Middle-East and Biafran conflicts.
The Arab-Israeli dilemma set the pace in a tension-ridden year. The year had barely begun when the Israelis launched their biggest reprisal since the war, boldly attacking Beirut's International airport, leaving $100 million in damage. This prompted enough news to occupy several week's newspapers, as it prompted France's General DeGaulle to place an arms embargo on the Israelis.
Beside the weekly skirmishes across the Suez Canal, and the accusations, and the frustrated negotiation efforts, and the Fedeyann guerrillas, and the air raids, and the different versions, which became everyday history, a few events caused considerable commotion. The hanging of 11 Israeli spies in Baghdad, which brought an uproar of world criticism, and the burning of the Al Aqa mosque—the holiest shrine in all Islam—almost occasioned a 'holy war' in 1969. Fortunately it did not go beyond that.
Biafra was less sensationalist
but more gruesome. From it came the daily story of hundreds of starving children, and of bombing of hospitals and market places. From Biafra we got and continue to get—the developing story of the extinction of the Ibo tribe. We saw the number of deaths hit one million. And though in Biafra we saw romantic and valiant efforts to help the Ibos—lone dangerous night flights to bring food to the area, and volunteers risking their lives to help the children—there was one thing we did not see—hope.
Beside Biafra, Africa was also a constant source of news. Assassinations cut short the lives of two of Africa's most promising and able leaders: In Tanzania Eduardo Mondlane, head of the Mozambique Liberal Front; and in Kenya Tom Mboya, who was establishing himself firmly as the possible successor to President Kenyatta. Mboya's death caused rioting and a resurgence of tribal rivalries in Kenya. With the year closing Kenya enters elections as a one-party system and with the possibilities of tribal violence.
Segregationist Rhodesia also made news with its decision to make a total break from Great Britain, and for its apartheid policies. And the rumble of developing nations provided its usual dose of items. In Ghana, following Nkrumah's steps, President Ankrah was ousted and the new regime of Akaasi A. Afrifa took over. The Sudan moved farther to the left with the take over by the new regime. And little Equatorial Guinea gained
its independence and became the 28th member of the UN.
Europe in its usual fashion was the center-place of activitie Berlin almost caused anothe East-West confrontation whe East Berlin announced it was closing all roads to West Berli But after the usual dose of diplomatic preoccupation, nothir happened. What did happen we the election of Willy Brandt replace Kurt Kessinger as Prim Minister of West Germany. Fro Berlin we also got the usual defections through the wall, ar thrilling spy exposes.
Another hair-splitting conflit which developed tension an anxiety was the Sino-Soviet border disputes. For weeks troo massed in the border of China SinKiang region with the Sovi Kakahstan, and accusations at threats traveled daily between Peking and Moscow; but aga to the relief of the world, no mo jor conflict developed. What c develop was a deeper Sino-Sov split.
Reminiscent of religious warfare 280 years ago, Catholics or Protestants violently fought each other in Northern Ireland, to t point the territory approach total anarchy. After much hesitation, Great Britain sent troops restore order. From Northe Ireland also came Bernade Devlin, 22, the youngest memb of Great Britain's House of Commons, as MP from Ulster.
Great Britain's troops not o traveled to Northern Ireland what was called England's Bay Piglets, the British were t source of considerable amu ment when they landed in t
The electronic mec
(Editor's note: The following script, purporting to be for one of those year-end wrap-ups done by the electronic-media types, fell into the editors' hands, making it unnecessary for us to do our own top 20 stories selection.)
(Music fade in and up. NBC
Peacock unfolds. Cut to Huntley.)
"This is Chet Huntley, NBC News, New York."
(Cut to Brinkley.)
"And this is David Brinkley for NBC News."
(Music fade up. Cut to Huntley, overcut title—"1969: That Was The Year That Was." Announcer: "From New York, NBC News presents "1969—That Was The Year That Was," with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley." Cut to Huntley.)
"The top 20 stories of 1969: No 1, Man on the Moon. Neil Armstrong steps from the ladder of the Lunar Module Eagle and into the history books. Buzz Aldrin followed soon after while colleague Michael Collins circled in the mother ship Columbia. By the time the crew of Apollo 12 landed in November, the whole thing was old hat."
"Meanwhile, a more down to earth sort of story was brewing in a remote tropical village in
South Vietnam. More than 100 Vietnamese civilians were allegedly murdered by U.S. troops for harboring Viet Cong. The United States was to learn the lesson of Nuremburg at My Lai." (Cut to H.)
"And in Massachusetts, Sen Teddy Kennedy lost his way to the beach, and possibly his chance to be president."
(Cut to B.)
"Richard Nixon announced the first major troop withdrawals of the Vietnam war, thus partially redeeming his promise to get the United States out of Vietnam. The war, he said, would be turned over to the Vietnamese."
(Cut to H.)
"Back in the United States, though, the troop withdrawals were not enough. Thousands marched at home and in Washington in protest of the war."
"And the younger generation reaped the benefits—and the frustrations—of Nixon's new youngest-first draft lottery. The Army is expected to reap most of the younger generation."
(Cut to H.)
(Cut to B)
"For the first time in 30 years the Senate refused to confirm a Supreme Court nominee, asking themselves what is Haynsworth?"
(Cut to F
"And in Gaulle shoc mitting the him."
(Cut to E)
"In Hanoi and peace looking for
"The Sen Ballistic M after much NBC News continue a from ours Industrial c
(Cut to title.)
"The Pen mirals, wh mirals, who blame North Kore eblo."
(Cut to "Seventeers, eight y gap, six yee由y, Brica inaccurate United Stat
Cut to H "Back ir
Ike's funeral t
Kansan editors surveyed the top Kansas news stories of 1969 and selected the funeral of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower at Abilene as the most important event of the year.
Eisenhower was born in Abilene and the family home and museum are located there. He was probably Kansas' most famous son, and thousands of persons from all over the world and from all walks of life gathered in Abilene to attend his funeral.
The second most newsworthy event of 1969 in Kansas was judged to be the de-activation of the 69th infantry brigade. The 69th was activated during the
Pueblo Crisis. Many of the young men forced to leave school or a wife to wait in readiness for a tense situation to settle.
When it became apparent that the crisis had disappeared, Kansans began to clamor for the return of the men. In August, the 69th was deactivated.
Kansan editors picked last spring's ROTC demonstrations and the later demand in the fall for the release of the names of those involved as the third most important Kansas story of 1969. The University Disciplinary Committee interviewed those persons involved and exacted punishment at the time of the trouble. The names of 21 demonstrators the demon
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