The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 47, Issue 11 - February 23, 1970

Los Angeles LOYOLAN VOL. 47 — NO. II A LOYOLA-MARYMOUNT STUDENT PUBLICATION FEBRUARY 23, 1970 RICHARD CRUZ engages in heated Forum on racism in Los Angeles S,elf -study retreat Faculty propose sweeping changes By John Armstrong The demythologizing of the Uni¬ versity, the abolition of general education requirements, and the construction of communal-living facilities on and off campus were among the prominent proposals discussed at the second annual faculty self-study and self-im¬ provement retreat. The event, held at the Daugh¬ ters of Mary and Joseph retreat house in Palos Verdes, attracted forty-one faculty members, eleven students, and eight adminis¬ trators. Carraher elected pres, in fourth ASMC attempt By Linda Lester After three run-off elections and a constitutional amendment, Marymount finally has a new ASMC president. Dolores Carra¬ her defeated Betty Barham 165 to 146 last Tuesday, February 17. In her campaign speech, Do¬ lores spoke of her conviction that “a student leader must be open, adaptable, and concerned.,, She stated that she has the necessary experience to cope with the situ¬ ation at the Loyola - Marymount campus. Dolores is presently junior class president and a member of the Student Affairs Council. She is also associated with the Gry¬ phon’s Circle, a Marymount serv¬ ice organization, and the Westside Symphony. In the past, she worked for Eugene McCarthy’s presidential campaign and tutor¬ ed in Watts. “There exists a need,” Dolores stated, “for Marymount to be¬ come a functioning community working as a part of the commu¬ nity at large, the community of scholars here on this campus, and the community of Loyola - Mary¬ mount students.” To create this community, Do¬ lores suggested several major re¬ forms. She stated, “I would like to entirely re-vamp (Marymount) student government. I would like to see fewer rules which are more respected and better enforced.” Dolores also listed dorm regu¬ lations and day student represen¬ tation as problems she would deal with. The first election was held Feb¬ ruary 5. The vote returned was 127 for Betty Barham to 121 for Dolores Carraher. However, it has been Marymount policy to re¬ quire a margin of 10% on ASMC elections. Accordingly, a run-off was held the following day. This election resulted in a 137-137 tie, and thus solved nothing. A second run-off was set for (Continued on page 2) The retreat was an exhausting mixture of academic discussions, informal sensitivity sessions and late evening parties. A number of students and faculty stayed up to four and five o’clock in the morn¬ ing engaging in prolonged dis¬ cussions. The retreat > began on Friday night with a three hour general assembly of all the participants during which the purpose of the weekend was discussed. The body then broke up into three sub¬ groups to meet the next day in five, hour-and-a-half sessions. The sessions on Saturday dealt with general education, urban in¬ volvement, student life, religious dimensions, and decision making. On Saturday evening and then again on Sunday, the entire group met to hear the various reports from each sub-group. The mood of the meetings var¬ ied from euphoric agreement to angry frustration. The tone of dis¬ cussion ranged from pompous self-defense and petty parlia¬ mentary bickering to sensitive and concerned probing. Disappointment was expressed by many over the absence of the highest administrative officials from Loyola and Marymount at the meeting. Fr. Merrifield and Fr. Clark told the group in ad¬ vance that they would not be able to attend the conference. Loyola Chancellor Casassa, Marymount President Raymunde McKay, and Marymount Deans Renee Har- rangue and Mary Ann Desmond (Continued on page 3) Catolicos speaker charges Archdiocese with racism Racism in the Roman Catholic Church was the subject of an emotional discussion on the Lair Patio last Thursay. Richard Cruz, a third year law student at the Loyola Law School and one of the founders of Cato¬ licos Por La Raza (CPLR), spoke before an attentive audience of Loyola-Marymount students. The speech explained the nature and background concerning the formation of Catolicos» including its activities and recent demon¬ strations against the previous Archbishop of Los Angeles, James Frances Cardinal McIntyre. Cruz commented that the rea¬ son for discontend among the Mex- ican-American population of East Los Angeles grew out of inactivity on the part of the Archdiocese. He continued saying that much of the racism in the Archdoicese is promoted or condoned by the church. He explained the history of Mexican Catholicism as a strug¬ gle for reform. He pointed out how the Spaniards used “super¬ stition” and “mysticism” to sub¬ due and exploit the Indians. According to Cruz the Catholic Church in the Southwest has al¬ ways existed side by side with the establishment in every act of op¬ pression committed against the Mexican- Americans (which repre¬ sent 67% of the Catholics in the five Southwestern states). He pointed to the absence of any Chicano representation in the hierarchy and the lack of any Catholic Church support in the Delano Grape Strike. Cruz commented, “When Chi- canos got busted for picketing around the vineyards, they dis¬ covered that the eleven clergy¬ men arrested with them were all protestant Ministers. Why didn’t the Catholic Church say anything in support of La Huelga (the Grape strike)?” In a question period following the speech, Cruz answered a num¬ ber of questions concerning the conduct of the CPLR at St. Basil’s Cathedral last Christmas Eve. Cruz answered by emphasizing that the CPLR was organized not with violent intent, but rather to confront the Cardinal with the dis¬ satisfaction that was growing among the Mexican Americans in East L.A. The question and answer period lasted almost two and one-half hours, during which there were many heated disagreements. Bertrand Russell Memorial (see page 4)