by Jessalyn Pinneo
Special Projects Writer

Courtesy University Archives Students leave Funger Hall in 1984. After years of turmoil, GW becomes a conservative campus in the 1980s.

During the years following the Vietnam War, GW became an internationalist community, focusing on global issues more than ever before, as did The Hatchet. In the late '70s and early '80s, the paper more than tripled in size, growing from a five- or six-page publication to a 20-plus-page newspaper that printed articles about the U.S. hostages in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This was a noticeable shift from covering fraternity keggers.

In May 1979, the liberal movement of the '60s and '70s was still in full swing, fueled by such events as the anti-nuclear arms march on the Capitol. "1-2-3-4, we don't want your nukes no more Š 5-6-7-8, we don't want to radiate!" chanted protesters, according to The Hatchet.

The feminist movement was also gaining ground, both nationally and at GW. The Jan. 14, 1980, Hatchet announced a $300,000 grant from the Revson Foundation to set up a program ³designed to increase academic research on womenıs issues and train more women to participate in public policy formation." The donation was enough to send 10 interns per year for three years to Capitol Hill, working on congressional committees and receiving an $8,000 stipend.

Although it seemed as though the years of free living and a population united in support of humane causes would go on forever, hints of the conservative, high-powered, corporate decades to come soon emerged. In the same Jan. 14 Hatchet, an article ran titled "Econ profs express views on gold." In the article, GW economics professors discussed the dramatic increases in the price-per-ounce of gold, and their beliefs that the price would continue to rise, with great benefit to the American economy.

Ads began to appear in The Hatchet for Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics, a speed-reading course that ran ads like this one: "Eight Chapters of Babylonian History for tomorrow's exam and Cathy's waiting. YOU CAN DO IT!" promoting the do-everything-there-is-and-then-some mentality that would become part of the 1980s corporate go-getter identity. Kaplan test prep courses also began to be advertised in The Hatchet, offering Stanley H. Kaplan's expert advice in how to succeed on the GMATs, GREs, LSATs and more.

By fall of 1980, GW was caught up in the national transformation of the ideal person from single swinger to corporate yuppie. The Oct. 20 Hatchet ran an article titled "Successful dieting requires common sense" and another called "Activity, balanced diet key to proper health." The campus' obsession with health and appearance had begun.

In November, Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in the presidential election, and the GW student body was divided in its reaction. Some students supported Reagan wholeheartedly, especially the Youth for Reagan student organization, but many students were appalled that he was elected at all, let alone by such a large margin.

"I hope he dies in office. I really donıt like it," then-freshman Adam Frix told The Hatchet.

Others agreed.

"I think heıs dangerous. I voted for Carter. I think (Reagan) will disturb the equilibrium of the country," said then junior Torin Roher.

Despite some studentsı negative reaction to Reaganıs first election, by the time he was re-elected in 1984, the majority of the student body supported the president. His nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court had helped to win over the more liberal-minded students.

Although the Reagan administrationıs early cutbacks on education still occasionally marked the pages of The Hatchet, GW became a mostly-conservative school. The Hatchet chronicled that transition on Sept. 13, 1984, in an article titled "GW students lean toward right." The piece discussed how the trends in GW students' political beliefs generally followed those of the rest of the country in leaning toward the right. In doing so, The Hatchet said, students were widening the gender gap. A month later, another article ­ "Students explore careers in the '90s" ­ summarized a forward-thinking career fair that was held in the Marvin Center to help students decide how to best gear their studies toward a fast-paced, high-paying career of the future. The article, printed amidst ads for speed reading help from Staley H. Kaplan and a "Graduate and Professional School Fair" to be held in the Marvin Center, illustrated that GW had become the quintessential yuppie university of the 1980s. Students dreamed of futures featuring shoulder pads, corner offices and three-piece power suits.