By: Lesley Clements and Kim Reece
The nation and the campus was held captivated by the end of the Trial of the Century; the pageantry of the last Olympics to be held in this century; we hated the Macarena, but danced to it anyway; the re-election campaign of a President who wanted citizens to help him "Build A Bridge to the 21st Century;" Disney World turned 25 years old in Disney style; and the Hale-Bopp Comet glided across the evening sky.
The Summer of 1996 saw the United States and Atlanta open its arms to
the world as we celebrated the last Olympic games of the 20th Century. The
US racked up medals in all categories. Michael Johnson ran faster than any
other human ever clocked when he took the Gold in world record time in the
200-meter. His double Gold 
in the 200 and 400 meter races were
done in style-- it's gotta be the gold shoes!! Dan O'Brien showed those
beautiful biceps as he sprinted, vaulted and jumped his way to victory in
the decathlon. The towering, multimillionare men's basketball team crushed
all in its path to gold. American's cheered loudests for the women
athletes as the gymnastics, softball, basketball, soccer, and 4x100 swim
team all captured gold. The festivities were marred by the death of two
people and injury of several hundred others in the Olympic Park bombing.
There has still been no suspect identified or arrested.
Oklahoma bombing suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols had their cases moved to Colorado and await the start of their court trials for their roles in the Oklahoma bombing. Ted Kaczynski was arrested and charged as the "Unabomber" when his family reported to authorities their suspicions.
Millions "Macarena-ed" to the polls in November to cast
their votes in the election between Bob Dole and President Bill Clinton.
The Midwest spent most of the Winter buried under record-breaking snows
and freezing cold. "Tickle-me-Elmo" was the hot toy for kids for
Christmas. The adults who pursued Elmo either found none, competed in races
for the privilege of buying one, or paid BIG $$$ to get them in charity
drives.
The day after Christmas people began wondering what happened to the little beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey when she was found murdered in her Boulder, Colorado home. President Bill Clinton began his second term of office. Clinton's first months of his second term were marred by scandal over campaign solicitations and his continued private legal troubles with Whitewater and sexual harassment.
The nation 
mourned along with the Bill Cosby family when Ennis Cosby
was murdered along a California highway. TheGangsta Rap world was dealt
a double blow when both Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were murdered
in violent gun ambushes. Many felt the two rap artists deaths were linked
to their long-standing rivalry. Other celebrities deaths included George
Burns, Tiny Tim, Pete Rozelle, Erma Bombeck, Carl Sagan, Audrey Meadows,
Gene Kelly, Dean Martin, Minnie Pearl, Barbara Jordon, and Ella Fitzgerald
The largest death toll ever from commercial flights was recorded with 1,187 people dying worldwide. Among crashes making the news included the death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown (along with government and corporate officials) in Croatia; ValuJet Flight 592 into the Florida Everglades with 110 on board; and TWA Flight 800 crashed off of New York's Long Island killing 230 people.
Madelaine Albright was the first woman appointed to Secretary of State.
US Astronaut, Dr. 
Shannon Lucid made history to become the women's world
record holder for spending 140 days in space on the MIR spacestation. NASA
announced that a softball-size meteorite held evidence of "bacterialike
life" on Mars. Ethical and moral debates began with the announcement
of the successful cloning of "Dolly," a sheep cloned from a single
cell in England.
The Trial of the Century ended when O.J. Simpson was found responsible in the Civil Trial for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman and was ordered to pay damages in the amount of $38 million.
Comet C/1995 01 (or the Hale-Bopp Comet) lit up our evening sky's
in March and April. Discovered in 1995 by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, the
Hale-Bopp is the fartherst comet ever discovered by amateurs. The appearance
of the comet was a divine signal for members of "Heaven's Gate"
as 39 of their members committed mass suicide in March, 1997. In taped personal
euology's, some of the members stated their belief that a UFO was hiding
behind the comet and was coming to take them home.
The New York Yankees became the world champs in baseball. The Green Bay
Packers became the REAL "America's Team" as they defeated the
New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The University of Florida became
the National Champions in I-A football. Evander Holyfield defeated "Iron
Mike" Tyson for the heavy-weight championship of the world. Eldrick
"Tiger" Woods amazed 
the Pro Golf world with his skills and his
endorsements ($60 million over five years with Nike and Titleist). The "Road
to the Final Four" was paved for the University of Arizona Wildcats
as they rolled over Kansas, UNC, and Kentucky to win the NCAA Basketball
Championship. Micheal Jordon and Scottie Pippen continued to lead the Chicago
Bulls in NBA domination.
Major League Baseball and America began a season long celebration of
the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's entry into MLB. He joined the
Brooklyn Dodgers on April 11, 1947 and became the first African-American
to cross the color barrier into the segregated area of professional sports.
Michael Jackson got married again. He and his lovely wife, Debbie Rowe, brought a bouncing baby boy into the world in February of 1997.
"Independence Day" excited audiences all over
the world with the "earth against them" block
buster. ID4 will
knock off "Jurassic Park's" $850 million record after all the
worldwide grosses are tallied. "The Force" was with us all as
George Lucas celebrated the 20th Anniversary of "Star Wars" by
re-releasing the trilogy for all to enjoy again with record breaking audiences.
Independent studio, Miramax's "The English Patient" dominated
the Academy Awards. Madonna gained respect in her portrayal in "Evita."
Despite winning the Golden Globe, she was snubbed by the Academy Awards
and did not receive a nomination. 
In state events, the battle over the Regional Airport continued on with
still no final site selected for its construction. The Toyota Plant found
a home in Buffalo (Putnam County) and bought with it hopes to bring thousands
of new jobs to the area. Members of a West Virginia Militia group were arrested
for planning to bomb a federal building in Parkersburg. 
The elections moved
a little closer to home as West Virginians were asked to go to the polls
and vote for Charlotte Pritt or Cecil Underwood. The man who was the youngest
in the history of West Virginia to run the state as governor, made history
again in January by becoming the oldest governor to run West Virginia .
As the Winter rains moved in, the Ohio River rose as did many creeks.
Thousands across the tri-state became victims of the worst flooding in recent
history.
Huntington saw the flood waters rise along the Ohio as the
city's flood walls were closed to prevent the devastation that our neighbor's
were seeing in Hurricane, Milton, and Chesapeake.
In local news, Todd Hall was found incompetent to stand trial after the July fireworks fire in Waterloo, Ohio. President Clinton came to Huntington to begin his re-election campaign to "Build a Bridge to the 21st Century". Huntington opened its consolidated high school, Huntington High, and it was decided Vinson and Ceredo-Kenova high schools would close their doors to form another consolidated high school in Wayne County. Huntington jumped on the information highway and went On-Line and let the world find out what it has to offer. SuperBlock finally broke ground as a Holiday Inn will soon be built with the hopes of other establishments to follow. The city prepared to make it way to the polls again as the election for mayor would occur in May between incumbent Jean Dean and Democratic challenger, Bobby Nelson.
Marshall University made its own news this year both nationally and
locally. Northcott Hall was torn down to make way for the new John Deaver
Drinko Library. Marshall graduated a record number of students with 1,906
students receiving diplomas in 1996. The "Pike House" was closed
to make way for more parking lots. Marshall set a record in the Fall of
1996 in enrollment with 13,179 up from last year's 12,468 Fall enrollment.
"See Me, Feel Me" was this year's theme for the Artist Series
which bought sell-out headline performances for "Grease!", "The
Sounds of Christmas" featuring Peabo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Arron Neville,
and Melissa Manchester, and the broadway tour of "Tommy" to name
a few. In the spring, one of the hottests bands of 1997 appeared in Huntington
as the Main Event of Marshall's SpringFest
Lance West was named the new Athletic Director and will lead the athletic
department 
when the university moves back to the Mid-American Conference
(MAC) in the Fall of 1997. Bob Pruett, was named the new Head Football Coach
and led this year's team to a Perfect 15-0 record with the 49-29 victory
over The University of Montana in the NCAA I-AA Championship game. Freshman
sensation, Randy Moss, brought lots of attention to the program with record
setting season and selection as an All-American. Greg White was appointed
Head Basketball coach and took the men's team to a second place finish in
the Southern Conference championship. The Herd lost at the hands of eventual
Sweet 16 team, UT-Chattanooga, by one point in overtime. Keith Veney captured
the NCAA records for most 3-point-shots in a game and career high three-pointers.
He appeared on ESPN in the Three Point ShootOut during the NCAA Final Four
Celebration. The Women's Basketball Team (The Lady Herd) also made their
own mark in the sports arena as they won the Southern Conference Championship
and played in the first round of the NCAA Championship in Colorado.
Marshall University and College of Graduate Studies (COGS) in Charleston, merged into partnership. The TTA (Tri-State Transit Authority) tried to receive a portion of Student Fee Funds, a decision which was voted down by students in the Spring Student Government Association Elections. Nawar Shora passed the gavel of the President of Student Government to the newly-elected team of Matt Glover and James Jonathan "J.J." Spichek.