Page Four
Crash Victims Stranded In Andes
Rugby Team and Followers Survive
Alive: The Story of the Andes
Survivors, by Piers Paul Read. A
social-psychological analysis by
Cecilia Hamilton, Alla Leever,
and Scott Campbell, edited by
Eleanor Hall. (This analysis is
based on papers written for
Psychology 417.)
On October 13, 1972, a char
tered plane left Montevideo,
Argentina, carrying a rugby
team, its supporters, their
friends, relatives, and fellow
students, . and a few extra
passengers. They were bound for
a rugby game and a short
vacation in Chile. A few hours
later, the plane crashed in a
remote, snowcovered area high
in the Andes. The survival of the
crash victims for seventy days is
one of the most amazing accounts
of our times. It is a splendid
example of the processes in
volved in leadership in the
emergence of new norms within a
group, in stratification, in
cooperation, as well as in con
formity and obedience.
Immediately after the crash
there was a tendency for
leadership to reside in those who
had been leaders previously. This
could have been expected in light
of Homans' theory. He asserts
that if obedience to a leader's
orders has brought success and
net reward in the past, there is a
tendency for him to be obeyed in
the present. The crew of the plane
was probably the natural place to
look to for leadership. But the
pilot was dead and the copilot
seriously injured.
The other person who had
previously exercised leadership
was Marcelo Perez. He was the
captain of the rugby team.
Presumably, since rugby 'is
described as requiring directed
group effort and since this rugby
team was a highly successful one,
the members of the team had
gained a net reward through
obeying Marcelo in the past.
Homans would predict that they
would tend to obey him after the
crash. And they did.
Marcelo Perez formulated
plans for immediate survival and
gave orders to put them into
effect. He was optimistic about
their emminent rescue and his
main concern was to take care of
the immediate needs of the crash
survivors. He ordered the in
terior of the plane to be cleared
and prepared for habitation. He
gathered the available food
supplies and determined the food
rationing system. His orders
were carried out and the group
felt more comfortable and more
secure as a result of his
leadership. His contribution to
the group was valuable and for
the time being he remained the
undisputed leader.
Cannibalism?
His leadership did not remain
effective for long, however. His
optimism and hope for rescue
sustained the group for a time in
spite of the scepticisms of a small
group of pessimists. But by the
ninth day this optimism was
fading. Yet Perez reluctant to eat
the bodies of the dead, still in
sisting that it was best to wait for
rescue. By the tenth day the
group was turning against him.
He no longer seemed effective in
helping them to survive. The
rewards of following him were
decreasing, as Homans would put
it. The crushing blow came when
it was heard by radio that official
search efforts had been canceled.
The "platform" which he stood
for was no longer valid. "His role
as their leader became empty
and automatic and the life went
Sundaes
1 SUN
DAR, o Sodas
DRIVE-IN Cones
I , .
VV
Carry-oirt Foods Sandwiches
Peny's Hand Dipped Cones
Weight Watchers Ice Cream
OPEN 11 to 11
7 Days a Week
3334 Buffalo Rd.
Wesleyville
out of his eyes." On the seven
teenth day he died in an
avalanche.
It was not then, however, that
other leaders began to emerge. It
was evident long before Perez's
falling from authority that
certain individuals were to be
more influential. Among them
were Robert Canessa, Nando
Parrado, the Strauch cousins and
Danile Fernandez (a cousin of the
Strauch's). Unlike Perez, these
individuals, who made up the
ranks of the "pessimists", were
seen as able to face the situation
as it really was. In particular,
Fito Strauch and Canessa had
played leading roles in the
group's agonizing decision to eat
the bodies of their companions
who had been killed in the crash.
The others looked to these
seemingly stronger members for
answers.
A major source of leadership
was the counsins Eduardo and
Fito Strauch and Daniel Fer
nandez. None of them were
members of the rugby team.
Their connection with the team
seemed to be only in Eduardo's
friendship with Marcelo Perez,
and Fito's with Roy Harley,
another team member. It seemed
that their leadership was in no
part due to a past history of
successful leadership with this
group. Therefore their influence
must have derived from their
behavior after the crash.
Fito Strauch very early showed
useful to the group. He was the
one who devised a method of
melting snow into water and of
using the seat cushions as snow
shoes. Later he found a way to
fashion sunglasses for protection
against the snow's glare.
So the group came to view Fito
as having good ideas and sound
judgement. Fito's relationship
with his cousins reinforced his
leader's role and he reinforced
theirs. These three cousins were
the only subgroup of friends and
relatives that remained intact
among the survivors. Their
closeness gave them an ad
vantage over the others. They
were better able to withstand the
psychological stresses of the
situation.
Team Leaders
Their individual qualities were
also mutually compensatory Fito
was inventive and his faith in
their ultimate rescue was
sustaining for the group. But he
was also tempermental. Daniel
Fernandez balanced this with
consistent calm, reason, and
fairness. But he lacked physical
strength and assertiveness.
Eduardo Strauch filled this lack.
He is described as bossy. But he
was also kind to the younger,
weaker boys. These three
together could fulfill several
different aspects of the leader's
role. They could provide task
leadership and psychological
support, reduce tensions in the
group, and if necessary
demonstrate intimidation.
During the days that followed
Fito and Eudardo Strauch and
Daniel Fernandez performed the
most unpleasant task of cutting
the flesh of their companions
bodies. The power of the Strauch
cousins was all the more effective
since they possessed the most
important resource in the group.
C.J.
DUSOCAS
FUNERAL HOME
2607. Buffalo Rd.
899-2812
`Seuddep See
tae 1946"
Behrend Collegian
Their ability to provide food to
their companions was
synonimous with life itself.
As the cousins exercised
leadership the survivors found
they gained a net reward from
following them. They became
more and more firmly en
trenched as leaders as the group
became more and more likely to
obey them.
When hope of rescue was
completely gone, plans began to
crystallize for an expedition to
civilization, and the ex
peditionaries became the elites of
the group. They were chosen on
the basis of physical fitness and
ti cir greatest chances to survive
the rigorous trials of an ex
pedition through the Andes. They
were pampered in every respect.
They did not have to work, they
were provided with all the food
they could eat, and their every
whim was fulfilled. Everything
was done to build up their health
and strength for the expedition
which would take place later in
the spring when the snow would
have melted somewhat.
Expeditionaries
The relationship between the
expeditionaries and the rest of
the survivors seemed to have
been a straight forward example
of Homan's exchange theory,
which describes social behavior
in quasi-economic terms. The
reward for the group was that the
only way they could be rescued
was if the expeditionaries con
tacted the outside world and sent
them aid. The rewards for the
expeditionaries were that they
received extra food they were not
required to do any of the work,
and everyone strove to keep their
morale high. The costs to the
group were the depletion of the
food supply, the extra work they
had to do and the subordination of
their emotional needs to those of
the expeditionaries. The cost to
the expeditionaries was the
discomfort, exertion and danger
of the expedition itself.
Yet in spite of the difficulties,
the expedition was a success.
After a ten-day journey through
the mountains, Nando Parrado
and Robert Caneesa met some
Chilean peasants who contacted
government authorities. The
remaining survivors were
rescued by helicopter.
Upon the return to civilization
all members of the surviving
group became heroes. A new type
of leadership became essential.
The ability to cut human flesh
was not important any more.
However to convey the group's
experiences in the mountains
required eloquence. It - was thus
that Pancho Delgado the
scapegoat of the group rose to the
rank of greatest prominence.
In a press conference, Delgado
was able to justify to the world
the group's difficult decision to
eat the bodies of those who had
been killed in the crash and in the
later avalanche. Delgado's
companions did not develop
greater fondness for him. It
seems likely that the reason for
their dislike of Delgado might lie
in the fact that they felt that
Delgado contributed little to the
group's survival in the mountain
and yet was reaping dispor
portionate honor and recognition
after their return.
TERMPAPER AND THESIS RESEARCH
FROM $2.50/ pg.
Monday-Friday 10:30-6 Saturday 11-4
Data Type and Research Services
2 Sylvan street, Rutherford N ..l. 07070 (201) 933-6117
‘‘ev t ow
\lke \i ‘ o i vA it
Frozen Pizza
Fresh Lunch Meats
Soft Beverages Ice '
Ice Cream Drugs
Open 9 a.m. to
10 p.m.
7 Days A Week
Station & Nagle Rd.
Finals Schedule
Classes for the Spring Term 1974 will officially end Wednesday, May
22. Final examinations will be held on the succeeding two days ac•
cording to the schedule below.
Students are reminded that the final examination is in integral part
of the course, and failure to attend-could result in the student's failing
the entire course, regardless of the quality of the course work sub
mitted before that date. In accordance with section 0-4 of the Senate
Regulations, "A student who is absent from a final examination for a
cogent reason may have his grade deferred upon the authorization of
the Director of the Commonwealth Campus at which the student is
enrolled."
The Senate Regulations also provide in Section 0-8 that "Any student
with two or more final examinations at the same time should file a
conflict of examination at the time and place specified in advance by
the instructor for the course." Any student with three or more exams
on the same day. may file a similar request, and conflict examinations
will be arranged if feasible..
THURSDAY, MAY 23
Course
Anthy 45
Chem 13
Chem 33
Ed Psy 14
E Mch 810
Eng I 195
Psy 101
C Lit 103
Eng I 1
Eng 13
Ent 2
Fr 307
Mktg 122
ME 807
Psy 417
Biol 13
Fr 31
G Sc 2-21
G Sc 303
Ger 3
Psy 431
Anthv 1
EE 52
E Mch 13
Math 71
PI Sc 1
RI St 4
Acctg. 201
Biol 22
E Mch 811
Engl 133
Engl 133
Soc 19
Phys 201
Phys 203, 204
Phys 237
PI Sc 14
Acctg 806
Biol 12
Biol 496
IE 811
ME 22
Meteo 300-303
Ph Sc 7
Chiricuzio
(Continued from Page 1)
all the years that I've known and
it would be such an instrumental
tool to use on the SGA, so many
things you learn by ex
perience...the SGA is my love.
Q. That's a good attitude for an
SGA president to have. Anything
that deals with people. I believe
it's important to have a love for
it. I know I love what I'm doing
now—interviewing people and
finding dut how they feel about
things. But in light of everything
you've said, what advice could or
would you give the new officers?
A. I'd say work hard-in-hand
with Dean Lane and your new
advisor whoever that's going to
be. If things don't go well, I hope
the students demand a can
didate... Between Paul and Brian
I hope Brian will choose to run for
some position on SGA because
he's got valuable in
formation...and Paul (Seif
fer)...Paul's a good man...he
knows you can't snow students
although it's happened, huh?
Q. What do you think of
Behrend students?
A. They communicated this
year... People are together...it is
a haven here...
Q. Do you think Behrend
students are the average type of
college student?
Holiday Texaco
Rts. 97 and 1-90
Discount of 2c per gallon of gas and 10%
on all parts if you bring this ad.
Open Daily
Phone 866-9026 7. a.m. to 6 p.m.
Section Room
8:30-9:50 a.m.
N 8
8101
8120
8124
Nlll
T 204
8121
10:00-11:50 a.m
8113
T 206
8101
8123
Nll3
Reed sect
Nlll
8117
1:00-2:50 p.m.
Reed Lect.
Nll3
8101
8101
8114
8121
3:00-4:50 p.m
Reed Lect
8113
FRIDAY, MAY 24
8:00-9:50 a.m.
8123
N 8
Nll2
Nlll
Nll4
T 204
10:00-11:50 a.m
N 8
8113
8118
5123
1:00-2:50 p.m
8123
N 8
Nll3
Nll2
8118
8101
Reed Lect
Talks
A. I can't answer that...l really
can't ...I haven't seen much
change, on the whole the Behrend
student is politically unaware.
Maybe it's not an important thing
for them so they don't bother...l
don't know...it's a hard
question...my opinion is from
what I've seen they're not
average people.
Q. What advice would you offer
the Behrend student?
A. Get involved. Communicate.
I think the thing I would advise
Behrend students to do is to come
back and stay here. Be here for
four years if they can. The tone
and tradition of the students is set
by those students who have been
here and that's how you develop a
college. It's been a definite ex
perience that I would never have
missed...Behrend needs growth
and the only way it's going to get
it is if the students keep pumping
their bodies back here and keep
taking classes here.
Q. I'm glad I decided to stay
A. And I'm glad too.
on,
J O L s
• cv s 7
1.0,7064
May 16, 1974
Instructor
Kolb
Balmer
Chisholm
Tauber
Zakrzewski
Chiteman
Mizusawa
Eilenberger
Hilinski
Home
Jubb
Hovanyecz
Hem berger
Zakrzewski
Hall
Cunningham
Hovanyecz
Tucker
Tucker
Eilenberger
Mizusawa
Kolb
Pierce
Wilson
Chung
Yena
Frankforter
Monahan
Eckroat
Grode
Scott
Small
Barnett
Foote
Scott
Baker
Yena
Monahan
Mastel ler
Cunningham
Grode
Zakrzewski
Baker
Hagenbuch