Documentary Trek
in
Cuernavaca,
Mexico
— see page 12
Lough ran Dismisses Athletic Heads From Posts
By MARK A. LEGGIO
Loyolan Sports Editor
She status of Head Coach Ed Goor-
jian has been under close scrutiny
and re-evaluation for the past few mon¬
ths. And the status of Athletic Director
Robert Arias seemed to be rather stable.
But such was not the case as Universi¬
ty President Rev. James Loughran an¬
nounced the dismissal of both Arias and
Goorjian from their respective posi¬
tions.
On Friday, Loughran stated, “I want
to put together my own team of people
in athletics.” And that is exactly what he
plans to do although replacements for
either men have not yet been found.
Arias will be re-directed as the univer-
sity’s Director of Athletic Development.
His main responsibilities will include
fundraising and promotions in athletics.
Arias was not available for comment.
Goorjian’ s future, however, has yet to
The talents of former Head Coach Ed
Goorjian will most likely be re-directed to
another facet of LMU ys athletic depart¬
ment programs .
be decided. “Basketball has been good
to me and I hope I will be able to do
something related to basketball,” said
Goorjian.
Goorjian has been coaching basket¬
ball for over 20 years and his talents will
most likely be channeled into another
program.
This year looked to be very promising
for Goorjian until star forward Forrest
McKenzie was declared ineligible. Cap¬
tain Steve Haderlein was also sidelined
with an injury for a major part of the
season. The combination of these two
negative factors resulted in an 11-16
season record.
Commenting on the dismissal, Goor¬
jian felt, “we went through a rough
period of time. But now, two-thirds of
the work is done. The team was com¬
petitive in spirit even without Forrest
and Haderlein.
“However, next year should yield a
respectable team and I will enjoy coming
back and watching them play. I’m just
sorry I was not able to complete the job I
tried to do.”
Even after a disappointing season,
team captain Steve Haderlein felt op¬
timistic about the team’s future..
“The lack of unity that was created by
the present situation had to be resolved,
and it was by Father Loughran.
Hopefully, this will be a productive
move,” said Haderlein.
Loughran has made it clear that he
plans to be more involved with the
athletic department. At this year’s
Homecoming game, he stated that he
wanted to see Gersten Pavilion full at all
times.
“Ed Goorjian is clearly a fine man
who knows and loves basketball,”
Loughran said; “But I judged that on
the courts a change was needed in the
leadership of the basketball program.”
Though some regarded the dismissal
of Arias as shocking, Loughran said,
“This was the best time to make a com¬
plete change in the athletic leadership,
especially since we have a position which
can utilize Arias’ talents to the fullest.”
Under Arias’ direction, the athletic
department has expanded considerably.
Gersten Pavilion, George C. Page
Stadium and the University Pool were
all constructed under Arias’ five year
term> This is why Loughran feels he will
perform well as the new Director of
Athletic Development.
Regarding Goorjian’s replacement,
there have been numerous rumors
circulating as to who will be his suc¬
cessor. Among those rumored to take
over the position is former Laker coach
Paul Westhead. Westhead had applied
for the job at LMU in 1979 but lost the
position to Ron Jabos. Westhead then
went on the the NBA.
Westhead, however, has recently
denied having made any contact with
Loyola officials regarding the coaching
position.
Other candidates mentioned for the
job include former Clipper head coach
Jim Lynman and University of New
Mexico’s coach Gary Colson.
Regarding the coaching replacement
Loughran stated, “We will try to find a
successor to Coach Goorjian immediate¬
ly. I want to stress that we have not yet
spoken with any coaching candidates.”
The major criticism of Goorjian’s
dismissal comes from the fact that next
year’s team will be a WCAC contender.
LMU will star Keith Smith, Forrest
McKenzie and Marquette redshirt Victor
Lazzaretti.
Along with these veterans, such
players as freshman star Steve Haney,
Mike Yoest and Mark Armstrong will be
playing on the squad.
Mitch Chortkoff, the executive sports
editor of the Evening Outlook said, “I
believe Goorjian deserved another year.
He had assembled talent that can
challenge the best teams in the WCAC.
“Why not let him do the coaching? If
Robert Arias will now concentrate his ef¬
forts on athletic fundraising .
his team stumbled again, then there
would be a reason to make a change. But
that’s not the way it turned out.”
Others feel that the loss of Forrest
McKenzie and injuries to Steve
Haderlein hampered the entire Lion
season.
One of the biggest blows to Goorjian
was the academic release of star forward
Johnny Brown to the University of New
Mexico. Only a few nights ago, Brown
led New Mexico in scoring, and helped
bring his team a victory in the NIT tour¬
nament.
On the other side of the coin was
LMU’s basketball record. In five years
Goorjian was unable to produce a winn¬
ing season. His teams were 9-19, 3-24,
9-18, 12-15 and 11-16.
He was 45-91 overall (.330) and 17-48
(.211) in the WCAC. LMU’s best finish
in the WCAC was sixth.
Whoever succeeds Goorjian will
definitely have a seasoned squad.
However, only time will tell if it is possi¬
ble to turn the LMU basketball program
around. ■
Herman Gutierrez Speaks of Troubles in Paradise
By DAVID RESNICK
Loyolan News Writer
Jeff Herman Gutierrez, an American
who now calls Costa Rica his
“tropical paradise home,” spoke before
a small group of concerned LMU
students last Thursday about the perils
the third world is facing. Herman (his
journalistic name) warned that America
had better pay attention to the problems
in Latin America before it is too late to
help, indicating the potential dangers of
widespread social upheaval.
He encouraged students to raise their
level of consciousness about the pro¬
blems plaguing his new homeland and
region. Herman’s talk revolved around
the theme of local corruption in Costa
Rica and the useless “corpus” of third
world economies, focusing generously
on bulging debt packages and debtor na¬
tion inability to repay these loans.
Herman told the Loyolan that,
“America should support Revolution.
America should get behind the evolu¬
tionary process that is heading towards
social justice. ”
Herman, a UC Santa Barbara
graduate, visited Costa Rica for the first
time in the early 1970’s and moved there
permanently in 1980. “This is the first
time in 5 years that I have been out of
thecountry,”^ he remarked.
Herman underscored the economic ill
health of his nation and described it as
indicative of the widespread third world
problems. “You can look at Costa
Rica’s economic situation and consider
that to be a microcosm of the rest of the
third world. The debt had ballooned
from $164 million in 1970 to the
astronomical $3.5 billion in 1984.” Her¬
man attributed this ballooning debt to
Costa Rica’s prevailing local corruption.
“Our President earns $300 a month,
and our Vice Presidents earn $250 a
month,” he said. “Yet they are driving
around in limousines and living high off
the hog.” He produced numerous local
publications in English and Spanish
which had front page articles reporting
this corruption./
When asked why the people of Costa
Rica did not rise up in rebellion in the
face of the corruption, Herman remark--
ed, “First of all, there’s no infrastruc¬
ture. The newspapers and television will
not give coverage to our grievances.
Secondly, anyone who fights for reform
can ruin their career and will be labeled a
communist. Thirdly, there is a lack of
investigative reporting, like we have here
in the United States.”
However, Herman did concede that
there is, by and large, freedom of the
press and free speech. He said that,
“you can do what you want as long as
you don’t harm anyone, Costa Rica is
the most peaceful country in the world.”
Herman went on to describe his vision
of the economic outlook for the region.
“Over 61 percent of all people in the
third world are living at misery level.
That’s worse than poverty level. There is
no hope for recovery. There is no
remedy. A country can’t declare
bankruptcy.’’
According to Herman, “In less than
20 years, the third world has run up a
debt of $650 billion, and over $350
billion of that is in Latin America. Ex¬
ports just don’t cover what they are sup¬
posed to.” He went on to say that the
strong dollar is another of the many
third world woes. When asked about the
attractiveness of exporting goods into
the United States during a period of a
strong dollar, Herman metioned that the
Costa Rican currency, the “colones”, is
pegged at a fixed rate and therefore
Costa Rica is barred from enjoying the
fruits of this current market.
Herman finished by stating that “the
third world and Latin America have
been relegated to a position of slavery.
We are sending America over $11 billion
a year to help service your deficit.”
He has spoken at college campuses all
over the southland, including USC,
UCLA, Cal State Northridge, and
others. He is president of the Union
Benefica de Villa Colon organization
which recently donated more than
$1,000 worth of clothing to a refugee
camp in Costa Rica and he concluded his
talk by stating that “anything you might
give would be greatly appreciated.” ■
