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Stepping beyond the Ivory Tower, 1984-85 was a banner year for political action, controversy and celebration in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In case you missed it, here's one brief look back at the year that was:
Waging War
Protests over nuclear weapons production and chemical warfare research in the City of Cambridge brought national media attention to New England's hi-tech capital. In September, 47 non-violent demonstrators were arrested by Cambridge police for trespassing at Charles Stark Draper Laboratories near MIT. Draper Lab is one of the Department of Defense's largest producers of missile guidance systems in the nation.
Meanwhile, the Cambridge City Council launched its own non-violent attack on the Arthur D. Little research firm which has been testing nerve gas within city limits. Cambridge banned all testing, storage, and production of chemical warfare agents, but Arthur D. Little challenged the city regulation in the Supreme Judicial Court. The case is still pending on appeal and is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Metamorphosis
As the growing number of young, highly educated professionals flock to the northern shore of the Charles River, Cambridge's ever-changing demographics say much about the direction the city is taking.
As the luxurious Charles Square complex opened in March beside the equally plush University Place, gentrification crept further and further into Cambridge's traditionally blue collar neighborhoods. Penthouse condominiums in Charles Square and University Green reportedly sold for over $1 million, sending the price tag for one house on Mt. Auburn St. well above the million dollar mark.
Meanwhile, MTV and Showtime will be making their Cambridge debut around this time next year'. City Manager Robert W. Healy selected American Cablesystems of Beverly, Mass, to wire the city for cable television by 1986.
Subterranean
From Harvard Square to Porter and from Davis to Alewife, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority's (MBTA) Red Line is looking and riding a whole lot better these days.
After congratulatory speeches and much ribbon-cutting, these four stations opened this past spring as part of the 3.2 mile MBTA northwest extension costing $574 million.
But just as that gargantuan hole in Harvard Square disappeared after seven long years, a menacing cavity of similar proportions sprang up in the heart of downtown Cambridge--right above the Central Square subway station as its renovations began last month.
Politics As Usual
While the rest of the nation drifted to the political right this past year, the liberal university community of Cambridge held fast to its leftist course.
Among the more notable achievements of the elected officials down at Cambridge City Hall included:
* the creation of New England's first civilian police review board, set up to monitor the behavior of the Cambridge police department and to respond to charges of racial harassment.
* the designation of the city as a sanctuary for E1 Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Haitian refugees. In addition to opening all public schools and hospitals for refugees, the city council ordered municipal employees not to cooperate with federal authorities seeking to extradite political refugees.
The city council is still working on a measure which would link new real estate development to a low-income housing fund after a first attempt was defeated by the so-called independents sitting on the nine-member body.
Town Meets Gown
Harvard and Cambridge often found themselves at loggerheads this year on a number of overlapping issues ranging from Harvard Real Estate's policy of preferential housing for faculty members to the threatened seizure of University-owned properties.
So while City Councilor Alfred E. Vellucci ranted and raved about how Harvard should become a city unto itself. University officials moved quietly to allay perennial town-gown tensions.
At a dinner with city councilors last February, President Bok announced the establishment of a $1 million endowment for community service projects on campus.
Twenty-one Bottles of Beer
June 1 was the magical day for Bay State bar-hoppers after the Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill raising the minimum drinking age from 20 to 21. A grandfather clause protected anyone born before June 1, 1965.
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