The View from Grading Jail

I really need to get these papers done, but they're irritating me. I think I'm going to put this assignment on hold for a couple years and use a different one; it's that sort of thing.

Do you know what was the most important event of 1980?

Several of my students have assured me that a given event was it, and even though I was 20 in 1980, I have no memory of the event at all.

1980 started for me with a wonderful "end of the decade" costume party. One of my friends went as Indira Gandhi. Another went as the missing Idi Amin. I went as Diane Feinstein. One of my friends was going to go as Karen Ann Quinlan and have a really good time for the first half of the party, and then just sit there the rest of the time. Instead, she went as Kermit. We also had someone come as Rising Inflation (the most creative approach) and a random terrorist or two. And someone came as Cutter John. (Remember that?)

Oscar Romero (Archibishop of San Salvador) was murdered. I remember long discussions trying to understand the problems in El Salvador.

The US army had a terrible accident killing US soldiers in a messed up attempt to rescue the hostages held at the US Embassy in Iran.

Mt. St. Helens erupted.

I went to see The Empire Strikes Back when it opened in my college town with my friends.

I sat with my friend as he filled out his draft registration, covering it with "conscientious objector."

The Solidarity movement in Poland was all over the papers. (Remember those, papers?)

Voyager! (I was the only person who didn't get the whole "V-ger" thing in the Star Trek movie until the end. I suck.)

I went to a local memorial for John Lennon. We all stood outside and held little candle things, sang, and some of us cried.


These things I remember, but the big event my students name, not a bit of it.

Have you guessed it?