The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 65, Issue 17 - February 17, 1988

Los Angeles Lovolan Loyola Marymount University Volume 65 Issue 17 Circulation 3,000 February 17, 1988 Photo by Ed Sullivan Michael Trevor with Shelter entertain LMU students at the Lair Patio last week during convocation hour. Racism Addressed On Campus By TINA PEW News Writer On Monday night, February 8, approximate¬ ly 200 concerned students and instructors from LMU got together to expose, discuss, and combat an issue that may be easily overlooked or avoid¬ ed by many people on this campus. The issue was racism. The idea for the gathering was developed through the concerns of students Nancy Plankey, Erin Anderson, Julianne Barry, Clancy Fisch, Steve Thompson, Linda Taylor, and Dianne Limon who, in discussing the issues among themselves, decided there was a need to deal with racism at LMU on a larger scale. They accomplished their goal through Campus Ministry by asking relevant organiza¬ tions such as RHA and MEChA to sponsor a forum on racism. The forum was organized in a casual manner, with a panel of eleven instructors and students, "moderator Fernando Moreno of Campus Ministry, and a very active audience. The type of racism to be discussed was evident by the many races of the panel and the audience. It was not just racism against Blacks or Latin Americans, but Asians, Jews, and Caucasians also. The panel consisted of Elisa Vasquez, Roberto Andrade, Dr. Dianne Callahan, Tammy Rosas, Nancy Au, George Morton, Terri O’Connell, Julianne Barry, Romita Stutts, Jorge Moreno, Greg Crawfurd, and Dr. James Mathieu. The students on the panel began the discussion by describing memorable in¬ cidents of “subtle” racism which they had encountered. These incidents ranged from viewing the voluntary segrega¬ tion among groups on cam¬ pus, to name calling, to actual violence, and served to make the audience aware of the many types of racism which do exist here at LMU. The professors on the panel voiced their concerns next. These concerns proved to be more general, rather than from personal experience. Such things as institutional racism, loss of personal identi¬ ty and culture, as well as an overall fear and a lack of understanding about racism were discussed. It was even stated by some at the forum that race relations had gone downhill since the sixties, and that now racism was more sub¬ tle. With the major issues rais¬ ed, it was the audience’s turn to react and try to find some solutions. The ideas toward change offered were for everyone; the blame was equally distributed. The most re curing* theme tb the solu-K tions seemed to be that of breaking down the walls in which race has placed us, and looking beyond them to the person inside. This means try¬ ing to deal with everyone as another human first, while allowing them to retain their independent cultures and styles* By doing this, it is felt that we can gain from each other, instead of hurting each other. Another idea which stood out from the audience affects the person who feels he/she is being discriminated against. Instead of immediate¬ ly assuming that someone is being mean to you because of your race, try and change your outlook. Or, on both sides, in¬ stead of just rebelling against people and cultures that are different from your own in a mad effort to uphold your ideas, try to reach out and understand. Although most of the solu¬ tions offered seemed idealistic to the people involved, there (continued on page 2) AFROTC To Remain At University Strong and effective Administration support has resulted in the Air Force decision to continue to provide Air Force RQTG classes and training on the LMU campus. An earlier announcement in¬ dicated that LMU cadets would have to commute to UCLA periodically; but that will not be necessary for the foreseeable future. The current Air Force cadre on campus consists of three officers and two staff sergeants. Starting in the fall of 1988, this group will be reduced to two officers and one staff sergeant. All three will be formally assigned to the unit at UCLA, but their daily place of work will be LMU. For the LMU AFROTC cadet, very little will change. All academics and training will still be offered on either Thursday or Saturday, and in¬ structors will be available con¬ stantly for career counseling, testing, field trips, and preparation for commissioned service. Scholarship oppor¬ tunities will remain the same, if not better, and along with a growing demand for Air Force pilots, will be the major source of interest in AFROTC. All officials involved in this decision were impressed by the quality of the LMU corps of cadets, the size of the corps, and the superb hospitality of the university itself. With a (continued on page 2) Debate Team Ranked in National Top Twenty By LISA MAHABIR News Writer She Loyola Marymount University Debate Team tied for fifth place this month in the second largest tourna¬ ment of the year held at Nor¬ thwestern University. Debate team member Madison Laird placed eighth out of the top ten speakers. This is the most recent vic¬ tory for the team. The debaters attended three tournaments in January. At the Glenn Capp Debate sponsored by Baylor Universi¬ ty, debaters Todd Fleming and Laird were the only undefeated team out of thirty- nine teams entered. The eight wins, zero losses record in¬ cluded wins over the Universi¬ ty of Texas, the University of Kansas, the University of Redlands and Harvard. The team tied for fifth after losing a split decision. The debaters traveled to Utah to compete at Weber State. Laird was Top Speaker, while his partner Fleming plac¬ ed as Fourth Speaker. As a team, they placed second place. At a prestigious invitational held at Dartmouth College, Laird and Fleming tied for fourth place. Laird was named Ninth Speaker. Assistant Moderator Bar¬ bara Busse said this week that the Debate Team will be rank¬ ed among the top twenty teams in the nation by District Chairmen. ■ Awareness Music Festival Informs By CLANCY FISCH Contributor She Awareness Music Festival (AMF) Commit¬ tee is proud to announce the lineup for the second annual Festival here at LMU. It will be held Saturday, March 12 from 2:00 to. 10:00 p.m. The Untouchables , The Tubes , The Beat Farmers, Zulu Spear, and Michael Trevor with Shelter, are scheduled to play this year’s benefit. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, February 17 at an LMU student discount for $10.00. The discount only lasts a week and after February 24, tickets are $12.50 at all Ticketron locations. The show promises to be very alive and tickets are ex¬ pected to go quickly. Tickets will be sold at СТА. Anyone with questions, or anyone wishing to volunteer may call Clancy at 337-0334. The Awareness Music Festival is only one part of March’s “Month of Enlightenment.” March will bring various other events that are intended to eradicate negative attitudes and create more informed students. The March activities are designed to increase awareness of our surroundings on a social as well as spiritual level Special games is an eleven year tradition at LMU, an event in¬ spired by the Special Olym¬ pics. It involves physically and multiply disabled athletes in friendly competition, such that everyone wins because each has strived to do his or herbest. ‘Higher Love,’ this year’s Special Games theme, can be seen on the faces of the coaches and athletes during the slide presentation available to all. Contact Michelle Rock, Director, at 642-3335 for more information. Students for Social Awareness is a cluster of con¬ cerned LMU students raising awareness for the disabled in our community. Performances by disabled entertainers and experiential activities such as ‘trust walks’ are planned. March is officially LMU’s Disability Awareness Month. To get involved contact Mariah Ribeiro at 642-4547. Delta Sigma Pi’s ‘Runner’s Up’ is a charitable 5K/10K race to raise funds to purchase equipment for a visually im¬ paired person to get employ¬ ment. The disabled person will be chosen by Telemarketing Visions Institute, a non-profit (continued on page 19) Inside This Issue Features — An exclusive report on Apartheid from South Africa ...page 12 Arts & Entertainment — Voodoo Politics examined in The Serpent and the Rainbow ...page 15 Sports — Lions’ Basketball Reaches AP, UPI top 2 0 Polls ...page 10