The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 65, Issue 14 - January 29, 1988

Los Angeles Loyolan Loyola Marymount University Volume 65 Issue 14 Circulation 3,000 January 29, 1988 St. Roberts Renovations Near Completion Liberalism A newly converted office in St. Roberts stands where Admissions use to be. By LOREN A VINING News Writer If you have been in St. Robert’s Hall anytime recently, then chances are you have noticed the changes that have been in progress. As part of the 1986-87 Capital Improvement Pro¬ gram, the Controller’s Office, St. Robert’s Auditorium, and the offices across from the President’s office have all undergone renovations. Ac¬ cording to David Trump, Vice President for Facilities Management, it has been a struggle the last few weeks to finish the controller’s office in time to vacate St. Robert’s Auditorium so the previously scheduled functions can take place there. At a later time the floors will be refinished and new carpeting will be put in the side aisles. Linda Lang and John Zessau (who have assisted in the project) have been spen¬ ding most weekends and even¬ ings here with the contractors in order to make sure the work was completed, according to Trump. Although they originally would have liked to finish the renovations a month or two ago, they ran into problems with the structure of the building. St. Robert’s was built in 1929 and has gone through remodeling nearly every five years. Because of this, the structure is not what the renovators thought it would be. Thanks to everyone that was involved, the controller’s of¬ fice was able to move back to its original space on January 22 and reopen Monday January 24. The auditorium will be ready to host the up¬ coming President’s dinner. Approximately 1,500 square feet of new office space has By DONNA R. THOMPSON News Editor l 4Ж' t is the kind of prank JL that is potentially lethal,” commented Fr. Mike Engh, S.J. regarding an inci¬ dent that occured on Friday, January 22. Someone had wreaked havoc on the fourth floor of McKay with a fire ex¬ tinguisher. The individuals responsible had apparently tested the extinguisher in the elevator before proceeding down to the end of the north wing (the 420-440’s wing) where the chemical appeared to be the thickest. The in¬ dividuals also turned off the lights at the electrical pannel, limiting visibility, according to Engh, “to less than 20 feet.” Lisa Reliford, McKay fourth floor RA (Resident.Ad- visor) reported hearing “loud noises” at about 3:45 a.m. Ac¬ cording to Reliford, she step- been added to the controller’s office and the interior design has been shifted toward light colors to brighten it up and make it a pleasant place to work. Linda Lang explained that the second floor was ex¬ panded over the auditorium foyer and into space over the office that was not previously separated into two floors. In expanding the office the school also overcame building code violations. Previously, огйу one exit existed from the second floor. In the case of a fire, in which that exit might be blocked, the people in the area would have been trapped. A second exit has now been added. Prior to renovations there was less than one hundred square feet per person, which was expressed to be an undesirable amount. The new ped out into the hall into a “thick cloud of yellow smoke” that she first mistook for smoke and later found was fire extinguisher chemical, Engh and Reliford set off tHe fire alarm and called Public Safety who in turn called the fire department. Engh and Reliford then pro¬ ceeded up and down the halls of the fourth floor, in order to evacuate the students. Engh said that he went down one wing as Reliford went down the other, making sure everyone was out of their rooms, until he couldn’t stand it anymore, and had to go out¬ side and get his breath before returning to “check things out on” his wing. He reported that the chemical in the air was “biting” and that it “burned the .eyes and throat” and created a stinging sensation” and made it quite difficult to see. I was worried some girl might have been overcome,” space will make it a little less crowded, but Trump says it will still be cozy for workers. The bottom floor has also been redesigned and redecorated for better usage. This will hopefully cut down on beginning of the semester lines. There will also now be two cashier windows for students and staff. The admissions office was moved in late August from St. Robert’s to the renovated space for it in Leavy Center. The old admissions office has been converted into offices for many key people to the univer¬ sity president, James Loughran, S.J. These include Provost Sr. Mary Milligan, RSHM, the University Rela¬ tions Vice President, the Vice President of Basic Planning, and the Assistant to the Presi¬ dent. It was felt that moving said Engh. All four of McKay’s floors were evacuated at a little after 4:00 a.m., into the patio in front of McKay until they were given the ok to return to their rooms. The residents of the first, secondhand third floors were able to return to their rooms at about 4:30. The fourth floor residents had to wait in McKay Lounge until nearly 5:30 until the chemical had settled enough for them to return to their rooms. Steve Kremer, Assistant Director of Residence Life and Mckay first floor resident, called the incident a “very dangerous prank, and one I hope will not get repeated. We’re lucky no one got hurt.” According to Kremer, the situation was potentially dangerous because the chemical( that makes the ex¬ tinguisher effective), takes the oxygen out of the air. Long ex¬ posure to the chemical or these individuals closer to the President^ was an important task because they need to in¬ teract with each other as well as the President. Now they will be located directly across the hall from the President’s of¬ fice. The new offices should be ready to use in late February, but some have already moved in as a result of office over¬ crowding. “I know this whole series of remodeling at St. Robert’s has been an inconvenience for everyone; staff, faculty, and students. Everybody that uses that building has had to put up with noise and construction debris and we sincerely ap¬ preciated the way it has been accepted,” says Trump. He is happy with the spirit of cooperation shown by both students and staff in this endeavor. щ breathing a great deal of the chemical into your lungs, can (continued on page 3) Explored in Casassa Conference ■ oyola Marymount University presents “The Legacy of John Locke: 1688-1988” March 24-25 as the second edition of the university’s annual Rev. Charles Casassa S.J., Con¬ ference. In seven free public lectures, Authorities from such prestigious universities as Bristol, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, UCLA, Nor¬ thwestern, Oxford, and Cam¬ bridge will explore Locke’s place in history and the Lockean tradition of liberalism on the tricentennial of the ‘Glorious Revolution.’ “This conference is a tribute to Father Casassa, our former president and current chancellor emeritus,” explain¬ ed Professor David Blake, conference chair. “In the spirit of his outstanding ser¬ vice to education and the Los Angeles community, we’ve created un opportunity to pro¬ mote serious discussion of ma¬ jor issues facing the nation and the academic community.” Highlights of the conference include the 1988 Casassa lec¬ ture, “The International Defense of Racial Equality,” by Professor Michael Banton of the University of Bristol and a member of the United Nation’s Committee for Eliminating Racial Discrimination. The lecture is scheduled for March 24 at 8:00 p.m. All sessions will be held in St. Robert’s Auditorium on the university’s Westchester campus. Due to space limita¬ tions, seating will be on a first- come, first-served basis. For additional program informa¬ tion, contact Carol Keese at (213)642-2907. ■ Inside This Issue Features — New Weekly Student Poetry Selections ...page 6 Arts & Entertainment — Edibles: Hank’s Pizza Return ...page 8 Sports — Men’s Basketball still on top ...page 10 Fourth Floor McKay's Fire Scare; "A Dangerous Prank"