The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 69, Issue 25 - April 22, 1992

VOL to* NO. 2S LOYOLA WYMOUNT UNtVEJ&TY fij»U22,m2 Pro-Choice Fundraising in Loyola Law Classroom Earth Day 1992 Celebrated at LMU Senior Julie Klausner models her new "environmentally conscious" T-shirt during Tuesday's Earth Day . Repairs of Blast Damaged Hannon Loft Progressing Financial Estimate Appears Lower Than First Projected By Ray Watts News Editor Repairs on the Hannon Loft, which was damaged in an electrical explosion on March 21, 1992, have been progressing, according to David T rump, Vice President of Facilities Management. uWe had a tough time getting the permits to rebuild, so that held us up for a week, but now things are moving along well,” said Trump. When the plans were made for rebuilding, a four-week plan was drawn-up, with the cost estimated at $50,000 to $60,000, Trump commented that as of now, the cost will be about $35,000 to repair the damage to the Loft. NMost of the damage we have seen is electrical. We have determined that the underground conduit was damaged by moisture,” said Trump. Trump reported that the repairs being made include changing the main electrical lines to aboveground positions, rather than the under¬ ground ones. This includes some undamaged lines. The blast has been blamed on a short in the moisture re-damaged underground conduit, which led to a power surge, causing the explo¬ sion. At the time of the blast, Trump commented that the first priority was to determine if there was structural damage to the Loft. He said damage has been found and is in the prbcess of being corrected. MWe put up some temporary beams to support the roof while we fixed the support beams. With the tem¬ poraries in place, we were able to take down the old walls and put up the new ones.” The laundry room, which is adja¬ cent to the Loft, lost power in the blast, but a quick rewiring job was done by electrical crews to allow continued on раде two Hannon Loft was damaged in a March 21 electrical explosion? Scottia,Br Questions Arise Over Role of Catholic Church in Daily Operations At Law School By Ray Watts News Editor Students with a pro-abortion message recently solicited contributions for a banner to be carried in the April 5 March on Washington at Loyola Law School, in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Tidings , a Catholic newspaper in Los Angeles. The raising of pro-choice funds in a Catholic institution has brought into question the issues of freedom of speech and the Catholicity of the prestigious law school. The students, who were members of the Women’s Law Society, a group on the campus, issued a letter in March to faculty, asking for the solicitation^ to be allowed. Money was collected from students during the week of March 26, with some faculty members voicing support for ther cause, according to the Tidings . Fr. Thomas O’Malley, President of Loyola Marymount University as well as the Law School, commented in the Tidings, Ml have spoken with Dean Gerald McGlaughlin asking him to consult with the faculty and look into establishing a policy banning fund raising in the class room.” In an interview w'ithsthe/_oyo/an, O’Malley commented that the difference of opinion among law school students was not surprising. “Thatthere is adifference in opinion over this controversial issue is not unusual at aprestigbus law school.” O’Malley said, “The culture of the law school is different f rom the culture of the undergraduate Uni¬ versity. This is true of most major universities and their law schools, however.” “The church has a natural affinity for intellectual life. It has a dual role to enculturate itself into society, but it also has to be countercultural as well,” said O’Malley. He added, “There are issues of academic freedom and it is appropriate to establish policies about these things rather then just reacting to a certain event.” Kurt Stenzel, President of the Loyola Catholic Law Society, said in the Tidings, “I think it is inappropriate to use classroom time to raise money for pro-abortion activities. This school is church- affiliated and the church’s position on abortion is clear.” He added, “There is room for intellectual dialogue and debate on this legal issue, with both sides being presented. But there is a big distinction between that academic debate and raising funds for a position antithetical to the church.” A spokesperson for the Women’s Law Society, at a March 30 address by O’Malley at the Law School, said “Many of us came to Loyola because we respect the Jesuit tradition of academic freedom.” They added, “We went into classes soliciting funds because abortion is legal under the law and this is an issue of great importance to us.” Stenzel commented on the abortion issue, and the awkward¬ ness of dealing with it at a Catholic institution/Abortbn is an issue that many professors seem uncomfort¬ able talking about, presenting the case of Roe v. Wade, acknowl¬ edging weaknesses in its legal approach, but then adding that it is nonetheless a good thing for soci- ety.” Racism Policy Topic of LMU Open Forum By Ray Watts News Editor In a celebration of the two-hun¬ dredth anniversary of the Bill of Rights, the LMU community is sponsoring a debate over a pro¬ posed racism policy on the campus on Wednesday, April 22, at 7:00 pm in St. Robert's Auditorium. Guest speakers for the event in¬ clude Dr. John Davis, Sociology, Fernando Moreno, Campus Minis¬ try, Barbara Busse, Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, Phil Klinkner, Political Sci¬ ence, David Blake, Philosophy, and Frances Young, new ASLMU President. The policy on racism was devel¬ oped by the Multi-Cultural Affairs Committee, at the request of former LMU President, James N. Loughran* According to Fernando Moreno, who worked on the document with the committee, this open forum is an attempt to get some more input from the LMU community : “We have finished our work as a committee. We have sent a draft of the policy to Fr. O’Malley’s office." Moreno said that he hopes to have copies of the policy available at the open forum. According to Moreno, the docu¬ ment does not infringe upon First Amendment rights, as some oppo¬ nents of the policy have stated. "Freedom of speech is not an abso¬ lute. You cant yell lire' in a public building because of the safety con¬ cerns. We have tried to create a document which is respectful to all those in our community".