As with any student publication, current events are the bread and butter of The Peak. These pages have always been a lightning rod for hot takes from students who are eager to flap their fledgling ideological wings, certain that they’re unearthing hidden gems of insight into what’s happening in the world. Here’s a look at some headlines past students probably “unpacked” since the first issue was printed.
1965 — U.S. troops arrive in Vietnam
Though the conflict had been escalating over the course of several years prior, in 1965 the U.S. stepped up armed conflict. The move came in response to flailing South Vietnamese troops in the face of an aggressive Viet Cong. By the end of the year, there would be nearly 200,000 American troops in Vietnam. It would be a decade before the war ended.
1975 — Beaver becomes official symbol of Canada
Associated with the fur trade since even before Canada’s first European settlers, the beaver finally got its due in 1975. On March 24, 1975, an act to “provide for the recognition of the beaver (castor canadensis) as a symbol of the sovereignty of Canada” received royal assent.
1985 — Gorbachev becomes leader of Soviet Union
The eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union took the de facto leadership position on March 11 of this year. His reform policies of glasnost and perestroika (openness and restructuring, respectively) would play a large part in bringing an end to the Cold War. In November of 1985, he met with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The two agreed to engage in arms control talks with a goal towards nuclear disarmament.
1995 — The first Americans are welcomed aboard the Russian space station Mir
On March 16, Dr. Norman Thagard of NASA was “greeted with a kiss on the cheek and bear hugs” by Russian counterparts, The New York Times reported. The interstellar scientists would spend the following three months together, conducting experiments aboard the space station.
2005 — Islamic terrorists hit London
In what is considered the worst attack the city had sustained since World War II, London became the target of Islamic terrorists. Reportedly, 52 were killed and about 700 injured in the July 7 bombing of the public transportation system, including three in the underground subway and one on a city bus.
2015 — Syrian migrant problem turns to crisis
The release of a photograph of a dead toddler in September served to incite a media frenzy into what has been described one of the worst refugee crises since World War II. A brutal ISIS regime encroaching on their homeland is now prompting many Syrians to relocate to the West. Many lives have been lost in a desperate attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
