Class of 1980

From USAFA Folklore

Class of 1980
No. of appointees:	1593
Inprocessing Day:	28 June 1976
Fall Cadet Wing Commander:
Spring Cadet Wing Commander:
No. of graduates:	899
Graduation Date:	28 May 1980
Graduation Speaker:	SecAF Hans Mark
Class Motto:	"Strive Not to Equal, But to Excel"
Class Greeting:
Class Exemplar:
Class Color:	Blue
Class Web site:	http://usafa80.tripod.com/

The Class of 1980 is the 22nd class to graduate from the Academy and the first class to include women. There were 157 women admitted with the Class of 1980; 97 of those women graduated. Women in the Class of 1980 are sometimes referred to as "80's Ladies".

[edit] Trivia

• The Class of 1980 was the first class not to be issued Class Colored Blankets. They instead had the "gray magnet."
• The class motto, "Strive Not to Equal, But to Excel", is sometimes abbreviated to "strive not" in cynical moments.
• The closest fast food was the McDonalds and Baskin Robbins way down on Academy Blvd by Village Seven.
• The Citadel seemed to be the only real "Mall" to go to watch a movie.
• Went to Denver to see the 1st showing of some crazy new space movie---"Star Wars"
• Our freshman year the upperclassman were very vocal about not wanting the women there, but you never so them walking down Academy Blvd... always a firstie car to help them out!
• One of the first times they ever cut back on Jack's Valley activities because of rodents with bubonic plague and non-stop rain/flooding. How many relieved themselves out the back of their tents instead of venturing out past the upperclass tents to the bathroom?
• Favorite TV shows: Mork & Mindy, Saturday Night Live, the original Battlestar Galactica
• Arnold Hall had a bowling alley, 10 cents a game and pitchers of 3.2 beer (near-beer)at age 18
• '79's famous poster proclaiming Gen Richards "...can make it harder but can't make it longer!" cost them their sabres.
• '80 gets "Brevit Lt" privileges last semester. Now all the folks living downtown with their significant squeeze were legal!
• Russian Flu strikes the Cadet Wing so bad that classes are cancelled. If you weren't on bed rest you were getting meals for eveyone who was or sitting CQ
• Our slogan, "80 Proof" comes under attack for not being politically correct, but we still got it on our rings!
• Just imagine how many millions of dollars we would have saved if we had cell phones instead of having to use the pay phones!
• An illegal, renegade radio station transmits from the Cadet Dorms proclaiming a brief escape from the tyranny of the Commandant of Cadets. Does anyone remember their lead off song? I believe it was "If I Only Had A Brain", from The Wizard of Oz.
• Learning how to be the last one to be picked to fill-in the formation for parades and hanging out in your room until it was over instead of watching from the stands.
• We pick-up our new cars, get them back to the Academy only to have them covered in snow in a freak, late May storm!
• We had to man Mitchell Hall during the blizzard that kept the faculty and staff from getting to the Cadet Area our doolie year. At rest and Arnold Hall movies all day!
• Yeah - two of us jumped off the wall that night into the snow drifts down in the courtyard of Vandenburg Hall yelling "I can't take it anymore" after watching "Moby Dick" at Arnold Hall! Later received a Class V CDB and awarded the "Bite the Bullet" award. Marched many weekend "tours."
• Corofram (sp?) shoes came into being in 1978 (?). One shot of Windex and voila! Greatest. Invention. Ever. Although those shoes did not breathe for squat and were complete sweatboxes for parades and formations in warm weather.
• William Shatner gave a presentation at Arnie's in 1978 or 1979. Roommate and I showed up late and he actually walked right past us, exiting out of a back door, on his way to the limo. Didn't even look at us. Had this crazy, far-off stare in his eyes, although he was smiling slightly. Must have been thinking about a future career with Priceline.Com.
• Class personality: Mellow, realistic. Maybe the first Gen X class. We had three years of upperclassmen blaming us personally for the fact that there were girls in our class, something we had absolutely no control over. '79 raged, raged against what they saw as the dying of the light. '80 had a couple of beers and got on with it.

[edit] Graduation

• The Thunderbirds flyover was early, drowning out the last word in the traditional "Ladies and Gentlemen, You Are Dismissed," causing an unsynchronized hat toss.
• Bob Hope taped his annual TV event at USAFA the week of Graduation -- his famous guests included Diana Ross, Barbara Mandrell, Loni Anderson... and Andy Gibb for the women.

[edit] Distinguished Graduates

• BGen Susan Helms -- spent 210d 23h 06m in space, flying on four space shuttle missions and served on the International Space Station for five months
• William F. Andrews -- recipient of the Jabara Award for Airmanship in 1991, following his time as a Prisoner of War in Desert Storm
• Corby L. Martin -- recipient of the Jabara Award for Airmanship in 1992
• Ali C. Frolich -- recipient of the Jabara Award for Airmanship in 1993

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