We witnessed a lot as the 1960s transitioned to the 1970s. We mourned as both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated in the same year. We joined millions of people around the world to see the first human walk on the moon, from the comfort of our living rooms. We watched and listened as popular music continued to evolve, bringing both Woodstock and the disbanding of the Beatles.
The political landscape was changing as well. The turbulence of the past decade was starting to give way under the influence of the “silent majority” of voters who had swept President Nixon into office. Time’s annual “Man of the Year” feature took a different direction in 1970, displaying on its cover an abstract image of two people representing “Middle America.” And 1972 was a big year for women, bringing Congress’s approval of the ERA, the enactment of Title IX (barring gender discrimination in education), and the launching of Ms. magazine. Then, just as we were graduating, we started hearing about something called “Watergate.” These were different times.
