VoL 55, No. 18
Loyola Marymount University
March 6, 1978
Second flooding prompts LMU
to consider storm drain needs
AFTER THE ST. ROBERT’S BASEMENT FLOODED for the second
time last week, the University called in civil engineers who
recommended that sandbags be placed parallel to Alumni Mall, to
funnel water from heavy rains into the Sunken Gardens. Physical Plant
workers worked Thursday filling and placing the sandbags. (Loyolan
photo by Jeffrey Penhall)
Ramp for handicapped
started at St. Robert's
by Patrick Lynch
Construction has started on a
walkway adjacent to St. Robert’s
Hall, making the building accessi¬
ble to handicapped people, accord¬
ing to Bill Wilson, director of the
Physical Plant;
An estimated $10,000 will be
spent on the project, Wilson said.
Excess dirt available from the new
apartment complex construction
site has prompted the building of
the walkway. Wilson stated that
the dirt allows for a more “attrac¬
tive, sloped walkway,’’ instead of a
concrete bordered ramp similar to
one on St. Robert’s north side.
Mr. Elvin Watts, Controller, 1
explained that the project will be
funded through the Remodeling
Fund. Watts also said the project
will enlarge the Business Office,
affording greater access. Included
in the plan is anew doorway for the
Business Office.
The walkway will allow better
access for the handicapped to St.
Robert’s, which presently causes
them difficulty at registration time.
Kathi Marriott, Coordinator of
Special Programs , commented that
the walkway is part of an effort to
qomply with Section 504 of the 1973
Rehabilitation Act . Section 504
concerns itself with discrimination
against the handicapped at the
college level. “The project will look
nice, not like the hideous things
people imagine these things to
be,’’ she added.
Marriott and Wilson serve on the
Section 504 Compliance Commit¬
tee , which has suggested ‘ ‘the
most acces s ibility’’ to buildings on
campus. The committee was set up
to develop programs adapting the
entire campus for the handi¬
capped.
Currently, the only building on
the LMU campus that meets re¬
quirements for serving handicap¬
ped students is the Von der Ahe
Library. The library’s new addition
provided greater conveniences for
the handicapped, including eleva¬
tors operable by persons in wheel¬
chairs and redesigned restrooms.
Plans for the future include a
physical survey of the campus and
program suggestions to be presen¬
ted to the committee in June.
by Chuck Bostwick
Prompted by a second flooding
of the basement of St. Robert’s
Hall, the University is considering
plans to beef up the storm drain
system serving the campus .
“With the area we have and the
size of our buildings, we need a
new drain of about three times the
present capacity along Alumni
Mall,” said John Pfaffinger, vice
president for Business Affairs. He
pointed out that the new buildings
and expansions finished since the
last years of heavy rainfall have
cut down the area in which rain can
soak into the ground.
“ We thought we had taken care
of the drainage when we built each
building,” Pfaffinger commented,
“but we hadn’t considered the
master plan, the campus as a
whole.”
Heavy rains early last Wednes¬
day morning — part of a storm
system that dropped over five
inches of rain on Los Angeles
between Tuesday morning and
Thursday night — flooded St. Ro¬
bert’s basement for the second
time in three weeks, despite sand¬
bags placed along Alumni Mall and
around the basement stairwell.
The rains also filled the excava¬
tions for the new apartment build¬
ing at the south end of campus,
halting work there entirely .
Bill Wilson, director of Physical
Plant, called the monetary loss
from the latest flood ‘ ‘substantially
less” than the first February 10
flood, and said that mainly labor
costs were involved.
Damage from the first flood was
estimated at $8,000 by employees
of Campus Graphics and the Com¬
puter Center — both located in St.
Robert’s basement— -including
ruined carpeting, artworks, nega¬
tives, computer cards, and paper.
Wilson pointed out that the
damage was less the second time
because the original flood damage
— like the soaked carpets— had not
yet been repaired.
Thursday afternoon a civil engi¬
neer from the architectural firm of
Albert C. Martin and Associates,
the developers of the University
master plan, inspected LMU’s
flood precautions in preparation for
I another heavy rain.
“The soil was already saturat¬
ed,” Pfaffinger remarked. “Any
more rain would just start flow¬
ing.”
The civil engineer recommended
that sandbags be placed parallel to
the Mall between the Von der Ahe
Library and St. Robert’s Hall, to
channel any flood water into the
Sunken Gardens.
Pfaffinger explained, “There’s
no good in Tunneling water into the
drain under the walkway when it
doesn’t have enough capacity to
begin with'.” He noted that the
Sunken Gardens were originally
designed for just such a use, to act
as a catch basin for rain water.
“They empty so quickly because
they have good soil underneath,”
he commented, in addition to a
larger drain than that under the
Mall.
The Sunken Gardens filled with
water as a result of Wednesday
morning’s rain — though not as
quickly or extensively as in the first
flood — and again over the week¬
end.
Early Friday morning, Wilson
announced that a representative of
Physical Plant would be on campus
around the clock until the present
rains abate to watch the sandbags.
When the flooding occurred
Wednesday morning, Wilson said,
a Campus Security officer had been
assigned to check the drain under
the walkway at Regents’ Terrace
every half-hour. Wilson pointed out
that the depressed area around the
Personnel Office windows at the St.
Robert’s basement was filled in 12
to 15 minutes during the February
10 downpour, according to calcula¬
tions made later.
“Debris probably clogged up the
drain between the times the officer
checked,” Wilson said about the
Wednesday flooding.
The storm that finally rolled
(Continued on Page 6)
LAX jet crash kills 2, injures 74
A Horiolulu-bound Continental
Airlines DC- 10 crashed on take-off
Wednesday morning at Los Angel¬
es International Airport, killing two
people arid injuring 74, four criti¬
cally.
The jet blew two tires— -for an
as-yet unknown reason — as it was
taking off in a heavy rainstorm, and
the pilot was unable to halt the
plane in time when he decided to
abort the flight.
The DC-10 came to rest at the
end of the north runway/ near
Sepulveda Boulevard, narrowly
missing a parking structure, and
began to burn.
Flaming fuel spread around the
airplane from its ruptured wing
tanks. Two passengers were killed
when they leaped from an exit — ig¬
noring shouted warnings from a
stewardess— and landed in a pool
of fire. The blaze was extinguished
in seven minutes.
The casualties were rushed to
several local hospitals for emergen¬
cy treatment, including Marina
Mercy Hospital. LMU Health Ser¬
vice personnel volunteered their
aid to the Marina hospital but,
according to Liz Purtell, Nurse
Practitioner, the hospital had suffi¬
cient help to handle the injured.
In addition, one LMU student
(whose name was withheld) who
witnessed the crash had to be
treated for shock.
The jet’s burned-out hulk re¬
mained blocking the north runway
for three days, as heavy rain
hindered efforts to remove it. The
wrecked jet was finally towed to a
Continental Airlines hanger Satur¬
day.
An 80-person investigative team
from the National Transportation
Safety Board has been examining
the crash site and interviewing the
airliner’s passengers and crew.
The. team has so far ruled out
pilot error, and is inspecting the
plane’s braking system to deter¬
mine why it took so long to stop.
Inside
Tut, Tut .... . . Pages 10&11
If you’re among the lucky ticketholders, this two-page collection often
photos of “The Treasures of Tutankhamun’ ’ exhibit by Nels Israelson
should whet your appetite for the real thing. If you don’t have a date at the
L.A. County Museuiri of Art, however, these beautiful pictures of equally
beautiful artifacts should give you a small idea of what you’re missing.
Pumping Iron . . . . . Page 13
A trip tb world-famous Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica by LMU writer
Michael Bonin opens up the fascinating world of bodybuilding, the strict
regimen behind it, and the personalities who make up the world of the
weightlifters.
Shake your booty . . .. . . . . . . . Page 16
Entertainment writer Donnell Bruck reviews the current best (and not
quite best) of the ever-growing world of disco music and the artists who
are producing it.
A HONOLULU-BOUND DC-10 crashed and burned Wednesday morning, coming to rest near Sepulveda Blvd.
bn the LAX north runway, less than half a mile from Westchester’s main business district. (Note collapsed
emergency chute at left of plane.) Two passengers were killed and another 74 injured, four critically. Personnel
from the LMU Student Health Center volunteered to help treat victims at Marina Mercy Hospital. The burned-
out hulk was removed Saturday. (Loyolan photo by Nels Israelson)
