The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 63, Issue 9 - November 4, 1985

In Entertainment ... Musicians at Midday Muse. ... see page 11. INSIDE THIS ISSUE In News ... Dead Week Considered by Senate. ... see page 2 In Sports ... Desmond, Sullivan beat McKay in Dorm Wars ... see page 18. In Opinion ... Provost Choice Debated. ... see page^S. Los Angeles Layolan Loyola Marymount University Volume 63 Issue 9 November 4, 1985 Leavey Progress Released Loyolan photo Ъу Beth Simmons Father George Wasner9 S.J. performed during p LMU’s International Week . Story on page 2. Administrators Report on Switch By DENISE O’BRIEN St tiff Writer JL president’s part,” said Henry F. Durand, acting vice president of finance and planning, of Rev. James N. Loughrans’s, S.J., decision to reshuffle a number of administrative positions last July. To accommodate a four- month sabbatical awarded to John Pfaf- finger, univerisity vice president for finance and planning, several ad- ministators took on new duties. Durand was appointed to the post of acting vice president for finance and planning. “The only reason it appealed to me was that it was such an outrageous idea,” said Durand. Tom Reynolds, assistant dean for housing and resident life, has filled Durand’s post, serving as acting vice president for student affairs. “It has been a real challenge for me. I was pleased the president had con¬ fidence in me and let me have this op¬ portunity. I have enjoyed it,” said Reynolds. In September, Loughran predicted that the changes in positions “should prove to be an interesting time for ail concerned.” Three months later, Reynolds and Durand are learning the true definition of the word “interesting” while Pfaffinger travels thousands of miles away in Europe. ‘‘This has been a real stretching. It’s as far away from my training and By PATRICK O’HANNIGAN, News Editor И nsatis factory architectural proposals have frustrated develop¬ ment plans for the Leavey campus, but University officials believe an acceptable proposal will not be long in coming. The Leavey property, a 28 Vi acre tract bounded by Fordham road and 78th street, was purchased from Summa Cor¬ poration two years ago. It will be home to the Hilton School of Business, a dor¬ mitory and apartment complex, several fields for intramural sports and other recreation, and probably a student union. The property runs along Fordham road for a distance roughly equivalent to the distance between McKay Hall and St. Robert’s Hall , but behind them. It includes the side of the bluff in that quadrant. Sixteen acres of it can be built on. The original development proposal had envisioned a new campus exit, to be created by a road linking the present campus with Lincoln boulevard, accor¬ ding to Fr. Richard Robin, special assis¬ tant to the president and the official most directly concerned with the Leavey campus project. However, the road would have bisected the Leavey property, and taken acreage which the University wants to put to other uses. Since the Leavey pro¬ perty is 15 feet higher than the rest of campus, the school would have had to spend $1.5 million to remove 700,000 cubic yards of dirt before building. For those reasons, the road never became a reality. Another problem with the original proposal was its insufficient provision for student housing. It included rooms for only 500 students. Robin noted that space for about 1,100 students is necessary if Fr. Loughran’s goal of mak¬ ing LMU a 75 percent residential cam¬ pus is to be met. The original proposal was rejected, and three others were rejected shortly after. Each of the three proposals was reviewed by a panel of architects, who “were very cautious in criticizing another architect, but did say that the plans left much to be desired,” Robin said. Qn Wednesday, Oct. 23, a consulting firm put together a three-hour seminar which gathered information from school officials and included a walking tour of the Leavey property. The administration hopes that this effort will result in a satisfactory development proposal. “The consultants who did this meeting will give us a report, which will be given to the architects,” said Robin. “The University knows what it wants,” he continued, and the seminar conveyed that. The student union, for example, would be designed to supplement the ex¬ isting recreation center and bookstore in Malone, and to integrate the Leavey property with present structures clustered around Ignatian Circle. Development plans for Leavey will have the secondary effect of making the library the geographic center of campus. Robin was quick to explain that plans for housing and recreational space are related to each other: “As more students come on campus, parking and traffic will get better, because [with fewer com¬ muters] there will be fewer cars*” The proportion of cars to dormitory residents is lower than the proportion of cars to commuters. the whole,” said Robin, meaning that they have been understanding. Some people in homes along 78th street “want a fence up Fordham road to keep students and staff from parking in front of their homes,” but “neighbors have not been the chief cause of the delay [in development].” The plea for an impassable fence is rooted in the rationale that students would find it inconvenient to circumvent a barrier to reach cars parked on 78th street from campus, and vice-versa. But since such a fence would cut the Univer¬ sity from its own property, it has been rejected. (architects)... were very catious in criticizing another architect but did say that the plans left much to be desired. “But if you have more resiuem students, you should also have more things for them to do on campus,” he said. Parking, he admitted, is a problem. Subsurface parking is being considered. “We don’t want parking on the sur¬ face, if we can help it, since that would cut into recreation area. I think it would be a crime to cover prime property like that with asphalt.” Development, said Robin, is being considered using the concept of “view corridors,” with an eye toward ’’taking advantage of the great views available, but at the same time, not blocking views for the rest of campus, or for our neighbors.” 4 Those neighbors “have been good, on A perimeter fence is inoie likely. “We’re concerned about security on the east/west end of Leavey,” observed Robin. “Right now, anyone can enter the property.” The results of the archaeological dig done on the land “are being summarized now,” said Robin. They will not impede construction, because “It seems Indians were there once, but left no significant artifacts; mainly a few arrowheads.” The Jesuit administrator was willing to offer a conditional forecast on the progress of construction: “We could have the first dorm up by the fall of ’87, if all goes well. When the architectural plans are close to our expectations, then we can go to the city, and start an E.I.R. [Environmental Impact Report].” ■ olan plioio In Helen t-enske LMlTs barren Leavey campus awaits developing .