The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 59, Issue 16 - March 15, 1982

INSIDE: , " * 7 ~ ' gj| I § щ ' щ V-, O'Connell Ж Eyewitness Account Editor's La! Artist Visits «AfttSlrt* °f Refu9ees ШШтЩВ Weare Tells of Tragic Conditions Farewell jhHI Loyola page8 и | 1 • i ™ see page 8 page 4 Loyola Marymount University March 15, 1982 Volume 59 Number 16 Fire guts gym sauna, locker room by Dennis Dlugos Fire broke out* in the new Albert Gersten Pavilion at ap¬ proximately 6:00 pm Friday evening, gutting the women’s sauna, severely damaging the ad¬ jacent women’s locker room, and causing smoke and water damage to much of the pavilion’s southeast comer. Although the cause of the fire has not been determined, of¬ ficials speculated it was either faulty installation of the sauna, or faulty electrical wiring. It is not known whether the sauna had been turned on before the fire started. Although opera¬ tional, the sauna was not yet open for use on Friday. One athletic official speculated that the sauna likely was turned on and the fire was caused by its poor construction. The sauna was constructed with the rocks for heating built directly into the redwood walls, the official said. The hot air, therefore, could not circulate well, and “something like this was inevitable.” Seven fire companies were present at the scene, mostly as a precaution because of the size of the building. L.A. fire department Bat¬ talion Chief Dave Parsons said, “It was a very intense fire. The wood in the sauna burned very hot and with very heavy smoke. LAFD Battalion Chief Dave Parsons on the Gersten fire: “It was a difficult fire to fight. It took my men about five or six minutes just to reach the sauna because they had to bellycrawl through the narrow, winding hallways. The fancier they build them, the harder it is to fight them when they burn.” (Loyolan photo by Peter Meyers) “It was a dificult fire to fight,” Parsons continued. “It took my men about five or six minutes just to reach the sauna because they had to belly-crawl through the narrow, winding hallways.” Parsons estimated damage at between $150,000 and $250,000, but admitted this was a ballpark figure. Facilities manager Dan Yocum did not give a damage figure, and said he did not know how soon the damaged facilities could be rebuilt. University insurance does cover the damage and an in¬ surance inspector is expected to¬ day. The fire’s heat and smoke delayed the start of the Jose Limon Dance Company perfor¬ mance for 45 minutes. Some of More fire photos on радей. the company's costumes and make-up were stored in the locker room near the sauna and could not be retrieved until firemen had used fans to blow the smoke out of the areas where the equipment was stored. Firemen were able to contain the fire to the sauna and the im¬ mediate surrounding area. While trying to cause as little damage to the pavilion as possible, Par¬ sons said the firemen “did an ex¬ cellent job in containing the fire to just one section of the building. This is the type of fire service that the citizens of Los Angeles pay for.” The chief added, “The fancier they build them, the tougher it is to fight them when they burn.” Chris Krause has been appointed editor of the Los Angeles Loyolan, vice president for Student Affairs Hank Durand announc¬ ed last week. Krause, a junior and currently Loyolan managing editor, was recommended for the position by Loyolan faculty ad¬ visor Pat Oliver and approved by the Student Communications Media Committee. One of the few upperclassmen to have par¬ ticipated on the Loyolan since his freshman year, Krause said he plans to “expand staff personnel to enhance coverage and strengthen the stance of the paper.” (Loyolan photo by Bob Elliott) Gersten Pavilion proves usable' in performing arts facility debut by Dennis Dlugos and Candi Carlyon The Albert Gersten Pavilion debuted as a fine arts facility Fri¬ day with the presentation of the Jose Limon Dance Company. Although LMU officials are cautious about staging concerts in the pavilion, the arena per¬ formed well in its first test as an arts facility, according to Jay Quantril, LMU manager of fine arts productions. “We proved Friday night that we have a very usable facility.” Quantril said. “But it’s not perfect by any means. We still need a nice auditorium.” Although some complained of muffled sound and poor acoustics at times, Quantril said that “any technical problems en¬ countered Friday didn’t arise from flaws in the system as designed. The problems stem¬ med from construction delays since the facility is not yet finish¬ ed. “The sound system perform¬ ed better than anyone had ex¬ pected,” Quantril added. Small-scale events like the Limon performance are necessary to gain working ex¬ perience with the pavilion before it can be considered usable for large-scale events, Quantril said. Although the pavilion was designed as a versatile entertain¬ ment facility, with a concert-size sound system installed, the com¬ plex’s future as a concert hall is uncertain. LMU’s administration, sen¬ sitive about relations with the community, is cautious about featuring concerts in Gersten. “We don’t have an exact con¬ cert policy right down,” a top official said. “It would depend on the type of concert. Some of the vice presidents have objec¬ tions to staging rock or punk rock concerts in the facility, but other types of concerts we’re probably open to.” Each concert request will be handled on an individual basis, and must be approved by the University facilities oversight committee, the official added. The University is particularly conscious of relations with the community because of the cur¬ rent attempt to acquire the Sum- ma property west of the present campus. By raising objections about LMU to the L.A. city council, the community could make it considerably more dif¬ ficult for LMU to gain use of the property. Quantril also cautioned against featuring events that will attract overwhelming numbers and create an adverse impact on the community. “I’d say the chances of having a rock concert in the pavilion this semester are almost zero,” the fine arts manager added. Athletic director Robert Arias is confident that the community (continued on page 2)