In the four school years that the class of 1999 attended Dartmouth, the world outside of Hanover changed in many ways, often unnoticed in the isolation of the Upper Valley. Here's a rundown of the some of the most memorable news events.
1995
1995 was the year of O.J. Simpson. Television viewers nationwide were transfixed by the Simpson trial and the details of the lives of the ex-football player's and his alleged victims ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
Although described as a soap opera by many, the trial also triggered national debates about race, justice and equality. The media-proclaimed "Trial of the Century" ended with Simpson's acquittal on October 3.
The United Nations celebrated its 50th Anniversary in October, an event that was ignored by most Americans, but was celebrated with a splash in much of the rest of the world.
The U.S. almost acquired another neighbor to the north - the Quebec separatist movement narrowly lost a referendum asking Quebeckers if they wanted succession from the rest of Canada. On October 30, the final numbers were 50.6 percent "no" and 49.4 "yes." A yes vote would have been a first step to a formal demand for independence.
Two lives were tragically cut short: one, a peacemaker, the other, a crusader for human rights. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was assassinated on November 4th by a fanatic opposed to the Middle East Process. Despite worldwide protest, Ken Saro Wiwa, a Nobel Peace prize nominee, was executed along with eight others by the Nigerian military regime.
The French government also ignored the opinion of the rest of the world and detonated six underground nuclear devices in the South Pacific.
The fifth test came two days before Christmas, and equaled almost 30 kilotons of explosives, about 10 kilotons more than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
But the news wasn't all bad. After a hiatus of several years, the James Bond franchise was revived with Pierce Brosnan becoming the latest incarnation of the suave Agent 007 in "Goldeneye."
On December 14, 1995, the presidents of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia signed the Dayton Accords, a treaty to end the three and a half years of war that had cost the lives of 200,000 people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Although violence continues in that region till today, the accords at least allowed elections to take place the following year.
Beatlemania came back as fans around the world bought "Beatles Anthology One," which featured a newly released song by the late John Lennon. In addition, in November, ABC aired six hours over three nights of interviews, clips and tapes.
Thanks to this boost in popularity, at the end of the following year, the Beatles managed to beat Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones and Arnold Schwarzenegger by earning $139 million in 1996. The only entertainers who raked in more were Oprah Winfrey, $171 million, and Steven Spielberg, $150 million.
1996
1996 was an election year and Bill Clinton easily won relection defeating Republican nominee and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.
At the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, tragedy struck with the bombing of the city's Olympic Park. A crude pipe bomb killed one person and injured 111 on July 27.
The event overshadowed the games, but the Olympic spirit prevailed. Over 10,000 athletes from a record 197 countries competed, including American gymnast Kerri Strug, who did her final vault with a dislocated ankle to ensure the gold for the U.S. women's gymnastic team.
In March, the reported death of 10 people from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that they contracted after eating beef from British cows diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow" disease set off a worldwide panics.
Fears of "mad cow" disease led to European Union bans of British beef, a worldwide slump in British beef imports and the slaughter of millions of cows.
In other health-related news, the Federal Drug Administration approved Olestra in January and many snack-food companies launched new products the fat-substitute .
Olestra molecules, made of sugar and vegetable oil, are too big to be digested, so they leave behind no calories.
Although the fat fake may have fewer calories, it does have other unfortunate side effects. Consumption can decrease vitamin-intake and can cause "anal leakage" or abdominal cramping and loose stools.
Christmas-shoppers developed a craze for "Tickle Me Elmo," a vibrating and talking version of the red Muppet character.
According to CNN, store employees in Frederickton, New Brunswick were injured when 300 people stampeded a Wal-Mart in search of the fuzzy animal. Other Elmo lovers paid as much $2,500, hundreds over the original retail price for their own doll.
1997
Famine in North Korea caused the deaths of millions of people and forced the isolationist government to ask for aid. Governments and international agencies responded and shipped of food aid to the country.
Three obituaries worth noticing: Deng Xiaoping, Princess Diana and Mother Theresa.
Diana, her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul were killed after her Mercedes crashed at high speed in a tunnel in Paris on August 31. Authorities believed Paul was speeding to elude paparazzi, who were following Diana and Fayed from their dinner at the Hotel Ritz.
People around the world mourned by sending millions of condolence cards, laying flowers in tribute and waiting in lines for hours to write their thoughts in remembrance books.
Deng, who led communist China to greater economic freedom , died at age 92 on February 19. Mother Theresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity order died in Calcutta in September.
As well, the sun set on the British empire when the colony of Hong Kong was returned to Chinese control on July 1.
A heated debate on cloning and genetic research was launched with the February announcement of scientists at Scotland's Roslin Institute that they had cloned an ewe, Dolly.
Dolly, the result of cells cloned from another sheep's udder, was the first mammal to be cloned from a cell other than a sperm or egg.
1998
Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr were Time Magazine's Men of the Year in 1998 reflecting the prominence of the Starr Investigation and the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Political commentators wondered if Clinton "wagged the dog" by announcing airstrikes on Iraq as an attempt to distract from efforts to remove him from office
The stated purpose of the December airstrikes by the United States and the United Kingdom was to punish Saddam Hussein for not cooperating with U.N. weapons inspector.
In both February and October, announced airstrikes were cancelled at the last minute due to last minute negotiations between the UN and the Iraqi president.
In the end, the president was impeached anyway by a divided House but an abbreviated trial in the Senate failed to convict him.
East Asia experienced a financial crisis as the values of the currencies of Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the Phillipines, Hong Kong and Malaysia fell at the end of 1997.
The economic crisis caused political change in many countries, leading to mass rioting and the ousting of President Suharto of Indonesia.
However, despite bailouts by the IMF and the World Bank, there was massive unemployment and economies around the world including Japan, Russia and Brazil suffered.
After over a year, 46 states and five U.S. territories signed a $206 billion settlement with four major tobacco companies in November. The states had sued to recover Medicaid costs incurred while treating smokers.
An earlier settlement reached in June, 1997 was scrapped after Congress and tobacco industry representatives could not agree on a figure.
1999
On March 24th, the United States and NATO launched airstrikes on Serbia in response to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's brutal offensive against the Kosovo region's separatist ethnic Albanian majority. The plight of the Albanian refugees has touched the hearts of people around the world, and Milosevic became the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes on May 26th, by a U.N. tribunal that accused him of responsibility for alleged atrocities in Kosovo.
A fragile peace agreement was reached in June only after Russian concerns about NATO enforcement of the deal were satisfied.
