{"id":1683,"date":"2025-07-07T14:57:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/?page_id=1683"},"modified":"2025-07-07T14:57:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:57:51","slug":"class-of-1990","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/class-of-1990\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 1990"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as seniors were returning to Cortland for their final year, on August 20th<\/sup>, 1989, two young college-aged brothers, Lyle and Erik Menendez, brutally gunned down their parents in their Beverly Hills home. Initially claiming the murders to be a mob hit, it was later revealed that they shot their parents at point blank range. They were eventually arrested in March 1990 after confessing to a therapist that their father had abused them for years while their mother stood by. After two trials as well as mistrials, the brothers were convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.  As of 2025, they were both re-sentenced to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 9th<\/sup>, 1989, it was exclaimed that the \u201cgreatest street party in the history of the world\u201d was held when East and West Germany were reunited as the Berlin Wall came down. East Berliners flocked to border checkpoints chanting \u201cTor Auf!\u201d meaning \u201cOpen the Gate!\u201d  Within hours, guards were letting crowds through, and West Berliners greeted the East Berliners with flowers and champagne. People used hammers and picks to knock away chunks of the wall and became known as \u201cmauerspechte\u201d or \u201cwoodpeckers!\u201d The wall was a symbol of ideological and physical separation and signified the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. East and West Berlin was united for the first time since 1945.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1990 Cortland seniors returned to campus with the news that Manuel Noriega, Panama\u2019s dictator, had surrendered to the U.S. Noriega, accused of drug trafficking, was brought down on January 3rd<\/sup>, 1990 by Operation Just Cause, with more than 20,000 US troops invading the country to seize control of key military installations.  On the other side of the world, Nelson Mandela was released from prison on February 11th<\/sup>, 1990 after serving 27 years under brutal conditions. Mandela had been arrested for having been one of the leading voices for peace and equality in his quest to end South Africa\u2019s apartheid. Four years after his release, Mandela was elected as South Africa\u2019s first black president. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than studying for midterms in the Spring semester of 1990, Cortland students were glued to the TV as they watched the premier two-hour episode of the much publicized \u201cTwin Peaks.\u201d  On April 8, 1990, David Lynch\u2019s surreal TV drama posed one question: \u201cWho killed Laura Palmer?\u201d  The show\u2019s main character was the relentlessly quirky Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle McLaughlin. The show was highly promoted by ABC, and shot more like a movie with cinematic pacing, complex themes, character development and eccentric humor. After the first season, viewership waned, and the show was cancelled. The third season was launched in 2017 on Showtime which picked up where the show had left off, but it was now 25 years into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable Events<\/p>\n\n\n\n