February 18, 1985
Archeological Dig
on Leavey Campus
Uncovers Fascinating
Array of Artifacts
—see page 3
By TINA WELSH
Loyolan Editor-in-chief
■ ccording to Webster’s New World
Dictionary , core means, “the cen¬
tral part of anything; the most important \
part, the essence.” The Loyola Mary-
mount University Bulletin defines core —
as it relates to the curriculum — as a
“strong, undergraduate humanistic
education... an integral part of the
academic program of each student.”
For a diverse group of twenty LMU
students last Wednesday evening, such
generalizations proved unsatisfactory;
what they wanted were specifics : is a fine
arts acting class a genuine necessity? Will
the scientific thought course really make a
student more “well-rounded”? What ex¬
actly is the “core” of LMU? The students
may not have found concrete answers to
these or any other questions; but their per¬
sonal insight and candid concern for
LMU’s academic program provided
enough substance for a lively and in¬
telligent discussion of the university’s core
curriculum.
Over the past two weeks, Alpha Sigma
Nu, LMU’s honor society, sponsored a
series of three open sessions, affording
students the opportunity to offer impres¬
sions — both negative and positive — of
the gerleral education courses required for
undergraduates.
SjDecial Report
by Joel Jimenez
Students, faculty and administrators pictured here attended the first Core Curriculum
session on Thursday night, February 7.
Heading the discussion on the night of
February 13, Lenny Dias spoke of the
forum’s goals before turning the floor
over to those in attendance.
One studdiit on the forum’s panel — a
senior English major — felt that the core
program was “too concentrated,” and
suggested that required courses should be
more evenly diffused over the four-year
period. But a fellow student- objected to
this proposal: “It’s good to have a lot of
general ed. classes in the beginning,” she
countered. “A lot of people don’t know
exactly what they want to do, and this
gives them the chance to explore all fields
of study.
Another student — a business major —
said the scientific thought (ST) require¬
ment and the acting classes were ‘ ‘useless”
to the average student and should be
“eliminated.” Additionally, he offered
the suggestion that speech classes should
enforce mandatory attendance, and
remarked that the Philosophy department
was too “vague.”
“If you have seven professors teaching
‘ethics,’ you will have seven entirely dif¬
ferent courses,” he said. “The
Philosophy Department should be more
centered. ‘Ethics’ is too broad a term.
Students need to know what kind of class
they’re getting into . ”
While agreeing with his call for a “cen¬
tralized” ethics course, another student
dissented with the business major’s stance
on fine arts and science. “They do serve a
purpose,” he said adamantly. “Both pro¬
vide a look at a subject the average student
might not encounter, otherwise.”
As disparate as the viewpoints were,
there were several areas in which the
students strongly concurred. One of the
greatest problems addressed concerned
the level of writing at LMU.
“I work at the LRC,” one student said.
“And it’s frightening to see how many
people — university students — cannot
write a cpmplete sentence.”
Not only did all agree that there should
be more required writing courses beyond
EN 1 10, but everyone acknowledged the
(continued on page 7)
Survivor Tells the Brutal Truths of Auschwitz Life
Concerned Students
Curriculum
By ADAM WARD SELIGMAN
Loyolan News Writer
Phi Alpha Theta, Loyola’s history
honors society, hosted a highly rele¬
vant duo of speakers last week on cam¬
pus. Dr. Knapp, in charge of education
for the Simon Weisenthal Center for
Holocaust Studies, and Renee Firestone,
a survivor of Auschwitz, spoke for nine¬
ty minutes in front of thirty members of
the History Society and invited guests. It
was an emotionally charged presenta¬
tion, and in light of the fortieth anniver¬
sary of the discovery of the death camps,
a much-needed one.
The two speakers were invited to
make the first presentation of the
semester by the President of Phi Alpha
Theta, Mike Dibb, who said that the of¬
ficers of the society felt it was an “in¬
teresting and important topic. Dr.
Angus Hawkins, faculty advisor to Phi
Alpha, feels strongly that the lessons of
the holocaust are ones we should never
forget.’1
Dr. Knapp spoke briefly about the
historical and theological implications
of the Holocaust. It was “one of the
most difficult and disturbing issues in
history, and its impact could be com¬
pared to Christ’s crucifixion in terms of
how millions of lives were affected.”
The theological implications are there
for both Jew and Christian, “Where was
God? Where was man? If Hitler had
been successful it would have been the
end of both Judaism and Chrisianity.”
After speaking for a few minutes, Dr.
Knapp introduced Renee Firestone, a
survivor of the death camps who
volunteers to speak of her experiences
before college groups. Firestone remind¬
ed us of Santana’s comment that those
who learn nothing from history are
doomed to repeat it. With the rise of
neo-Nazi groups throughout America
and Europe, it seems vitally important
to remember the terrible events forty
years ago, when the “Final Solution” to
the Jewish question was being put to the
test by the Nazis.
Renee Firestone’s story is not an
unusual one. Over six million Jews died
in the death camps, and five million
non- Jews as well. Few survived, and
when they left the camps, they were
homeless and without families. Many,
like Firestone, emigrated to the United
States, or to Israel. What was unusual
about Firestone’s story was her openness
in discussing the brutal truths of life in
Auschwitz.
Firestone was from Czechoslovakia, a
democratic country molded after the
United States. Up until the Nazi inva¬
sion in September 1938, she lived a mid¬
dle class life, and a happy one. Then one
day, all of this changed when the Nazis
took over and sent Jewish males from
Czechoslovakia to work camps in Ger¬
many. In 1942, the Germans came for
the women and children left at home.
Firestone, along with her 14-year-old
sister, were herded onto cattle cars at a
railroad station, and told that they were
being taken to work camps in Germany.
She believed this, because the truth was
too unbelievable. They were actually be¬
ing taken to a death camp: Auschwitz —
where the weak would be put to im¬
mediate death, and the strong would die
slowly, eventually being taken to the gas
chambers.
The train ride lasted for three days
and three nights with no food or water,
and a small bucket serving as toilet for
the cattle car. Twenty thousand Jews
were on that train.
When they arrived at Auschwitz,
Firestone was one of the first off the
train. She looked around and saw a
desolate landscape of barbed wires and
small sheds, that appeared to be for
animals. When she saw the chimneys of
the ovens next to the train station, she
thought that she would be preparing
animals for the abatoir.
A Nazi with boots so bright you could
see your reflection in them, randomly
pointed (with a small whip) to those peo¬
ple who would be sent to immediate
death, while the rest were allowed to live
only to face eventual death. He was
Dr. Mengele, the “Angel of Death” who
would be responsible for the deaths of
three million Jews over the next few
years. He remains uncaptured to this
day, and is the most wanted of the Nazi
war criminals.
Over the next few hours, the Jews
from occupied Europe were stripped of
their clothing, forced to take freezing
showers, shaved of all body hair, and
sprayed with DDT. They were given rags
to wear, and a yellow stripe was painted
on their backs to identify them as Jews.
They were no longer human beings, but
inmates awaiting death.
Renee realized very quickly that they
were not in a work camp, but something
infinitely more horrible. She was beaten,
starved, and soon knew not to ask ques¬
tions, not to cause trouble or to stand
out. Her 14-year-old sister cried for their
parents. Their mother had been taken to
the gas chambers the first day, “and she
was fortunate to have died the first day
and not suffer as the others did.”
Firestone spoke also about the
“Righteous Gentiles”, like Raul Wallen-
burg, who saved one hundred thousand
Jews from the death camps.
It was an incredibly moving presenta¬
tion, and one story Firestone told about
the Holocaust will most assuredly stay in
the minds of listeners forever:
When she was a young girl, growing
up and attending school, a poor Jewish
boy used to follow her home every day,
trying desperately to make friends with
her. She would never talk to him,
because she felt superior to him. One
day he stopped following her: he had
been sent to a work • mp. She forgot
about him.
One day at Auschwitz, while she was
starving, a group of workers walked
through the camp. One of them broke
away from the ranks, and rushed over to
her. “My God, what have they done to
you?” he asked. She didn’t know who
he was, but the voice was familiar. It
was the young boy who had followed her
— npw a man. He asked her if she was
hungry, and when she nodded, still un¬
willing to speak to him, he reached into
his pocket and gave her three raw
potatoes. He walked away, and rejoined
the other workers. She never saw him
again, but was thankful for the extra day
of life he had given her. She said she has
never forgiven herself for her behavior
towards him.
Renee Firestone survived the Nazi
death camps. Her 14-year-old sister did
not. ■
