By Matthew Sotlar / The Jambar
From space exploration to university funding, The Jambar has reported on many events since it was founded in 1931, and modern-day events often align with stories from decades ago. The Jambar has always found a way to keep students, faculty and staff at Youngstown State University aware of news both locally and nationally.
The Jambar published its 173rd edition of volume 64 on April 9, 1985. At the time, Dan Leone served as editor-in-chief over a staff of 16 editors and 17 general reporters. The Jambar was issued twice weekly and offered a subscription of $12 per semester.
The front page story, written by Staff Writer Richard Ceci, headlined a lecture by former University of Maine planetarium director Neil F. Comins, who visited DeBartolo Hall to discuss the origins and the continuous expansion of the universe.
This year, the Artemis II mission was launched at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1. The 10-day mission seeks to orbit the moon in the hopes of a future crewed mission to return to the moon along with learning more about the solar system.
Back in the 1985 edition, it was announced that YSU would receive $31.8 million in state funding for the 1985-86 school year, a $3 million dollar increase from the previous fiscal year. Despite this funding, Neil Humphrey, then president of the university, opposed the idea as it would freeze tuition costs by 4%.
In arts and entertainment, Staff Writer Kathy Delfraino wrote a spotlight on local band Unique. The band, composed of three YSU students, played a show in the Chestnut Room in Kilcawley Center on April 5, with covers of big band jazz songs, ballads, polkas and covers of select songs by the band Van Halen. Besides Unique, the reggae band Irie was set to perform April 10 in the Chestnut Room.
Other campus events slated for April of 1985 included a showing of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” at the Kilcawley Pub and Chestnut Room on April 9 and 10, respectively.
“WorldFest ‘85,” a foreign film collective, was set to show the Spanish film “Virinidana” on April 9 in the Ohio Room of Kilcalwey. Two days later, Ingmar Bergman’s Swedish film “Smiles of a Summer Night” was shown in the same room.
Columnist Lynne Yurcho wrote on the importance of victim’s rights, highlighting the controversial trial of Bernhard Goetz, a New Yorker who allegedly shot several individuals on a subway, and cited self defense.
The editorial, written by copyeditor George Nelson, discussed the agreement between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of electing a new mayor of Youngstown. Former mayor Patrick Ungaro announced that he agreed with local Republican party and chair of the political science department, William Binning, on the issue of biennial mayoral elections. Both favored the idea of mayors serving a four-year term rather than two years.
Despite 41 years between events covered by The Jambar, the resemblance of past and present stories continue to cycle through the pages of the student newspaper for the YSU community.