VOL. 70 • NO. 20
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY
March 3, 1993
Westchester Neighbors Held at Gunpoint
By Lynn Segas
News Editor
■wo male Westchester neigh¬
bors were robbed on Fordham
Road at 78th Street on February
22.
The robbery occurred at approxi¬
mately 1 0:30 p.m. The suspect was
armed with a gun. As a result, the
University has decided to install a
chain-link fence enclosing the
Leavey construction site.
They will begin to fence Leavey
campus immediately as an effort to
help ensure the safety of the com¬
munity.
University officials decided to in¬
stall the fence one month earlier
than planned after consultation with
the Loyola Marymount University/
Westchester Community Advisory
Committee, University attorneys
and city officials.
The fence, which is a require¬
ment on all construction sites in the
City of Los Angeles, and whichwas
originally scheduled to be erected
in late April is expected to be com¬
pleted by the middle of March. The
chain-link fence will surround the
perimeter of the bluff-top property
on 78th.
Immediately following the inci¬
dent, Public Safety made a sweep
of the neighborhood, and then con¬
tacted the Los Angeles Police De¬
partment, who did the same. Both
efforts, however, produced nega¬
tive results. In accordance with the
Student Right to Know Act, the De¬
partment of Public Safety passed
out flyers the next day, alerting the
community to the severity and the
details of the incident.
They passed out the flyers at the
Security booth at the entrance to
campus, posted them in the Resi¬
dence Halls, and delivered them to
residents of the neighboring com¬
munities. They also handed the fly¬
ers out to people who use the bluff
Casassa Conference
to Discuss Hatred
Seventh Annual Memorial Colloquium Aims
to Expel Fear & Foster Understanding
By Ray Watts
Editor-in-Chief
Why do we hate each other?
This will be the primary-ques¬
tion of the seventh annual Casassa
Conference which will take place
on March 1 9 and 20, in the Mcln?
tosh Conference Center.
The Casassa Conference is
named for former President of
Loyola University, the late Rev.
Charles S. Casassa, S.J. Its
purpose is to bring together scholars
to considertopics of social progress
and change.
This year’s conference, entitled
“The Persistence of Hatred,” will
feature 12 scholars from all over
the world.
Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher,
theology, is the Casassaa Confer¬
ence Chair. He said, “Interestingly
enough, the topic for this year’s
conference was chosen almosttwo
years ago.”
He continued, “In those two
years, we have seen the amount of
unfortunate circumstances in¬
crease.”
He added, "It has become more
relevant as time has passed. It has
become increasingly appropriate
that our topic is hatred, given the
growing concern with hate crimes,
in the world and on the Loyola
Marymount campus.”
Smith-Christopher commented
on the need for this conference:
“We have felt that events on this
campus along with events in East¬
ern Europe have prompted a need
for a conference like this.”
He went on to describe further
reasons for the choice of this topic.
"The most important factor in re¬
leasing hatred is to release fear.
And the most important factor in
releasing fear is to gain understand¬
ing. We always are afraid of what
we don’t understand. It is difficult to
force people to open their eyes to
something that they don’t want to
see. The issue of hatred is so
prevalent that many people just
don't want to face it.”
Smith-Christopher commented
on legislation that has helped with
racial issues in areas like the south¬
ern part of the United States, but he
went on to say that sometimes laws
don’t help.
“You can’t legislate people’s
hearts,” he said.
The specific topics for the confer¬
ence will be varied. Some of the
papers presented will be “Channel¬
ing Hatred: What We Ought to Hate,
How We Ought to Hate It and Why,”
“Arabs and ‘Arabs Within,’: The
External and Internal Enemy In The
Ideology of Meir Kahane,” and “The
Concept of Hatred in Islam.”
Other topics to be discussed dur¬
ing the conference include “Hatred
and Heterosexism Prejudice and
Violence Against Lesbians and Gay
Men in the United States,” “Perils of
the Body and Mind: The Persis¬
tence of Anti-Asian Hatred,”
“Changing Images But A Persis¬
tence of Hatred in the White Su¬
premacist Movement,” and “The
Emergence of Anti-Immigrant Par¬
ties in Western Europe.”
The conference Will run from 9:30
a.m.to8:30 p.m. on March 19, and
from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March
20.
It is open to students, faculty and
staff.
Reservations are requested be¬
cause of limited seating.
For a reservation or more infor¬
mation, call 338-2907.
area to walk their dogs, play with
their children, and take walks them¬
selves.
Captain Ray Hilyar, Director of
Public Safety, said, "The Leavey
Campus bluff is off limits to eveiy-
one after dark. We have had prob¬
lems there in the past and they
should not be overlooked. That
property has always been danger¬
ous, but this incident just reinforces
how dangerous it really is.”
He continued, “It is all a matter of
using common sense. There are
several things that every one in the
community should be aware of.
When you need to walk at night,
never walk alone and try to remain
in well-lit areas. If you must walk
alone, walk confidently and be
aware of your surroundings.”
“Avoid isolated areas, parks and
parking lots. Make sure that your
clothing allows you to run if you
need to. If someone is following
you, turn and look at the person.
This gives you time to plan your
strategy and lets the person know
that you will not be taken by sur¬
prise,” Hilyar explained.
“If someone is following you on
foot, cross the street and vary your
pace. If the person is in a car, turn
and walk in the opposite direction,”
he said.
Hilyar emphasized that although
there were no students involved in
this episode, there is always the
possibility that someone from our
community could be involved and
even harmed in such an event.
Captain Hilyar explained the
need to stay alert and aware when
night falls. He said, “The fence
should help with some of the secu¬
rity, but it is not comprehensive.
People need to take individual mea¬
sures to ensure that they are safe.”
Captain Hilyar also said that he is
always willing to put on neighbor¬
hood and campus safety programs
for any group of people. The orga¬
nization can be any size and they
can meet anywhere. For more in¬
formation, contact Captain Hilyar
at 338-2893.
‘The [Leavey campus] property
has always been dangerous, but
this incident just reinforces how
dangerous it really is.’
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Panel Discussion Kicks off Gay
and Lesbian Awareness Week
By Lynn Segas
News Editor
■he Association of Gay and Les¬
bian Students will sponsor the
first Gay and Lesbian Awareness
Week at Loyola Marymount Univer¬
sity in over three years. The week
begins on Wednesday March 3 and
runs through Tuesday March 9.
Kicking off the week is an open
forum/panel discussion entitled
"Diversity, Tolerance & Apprecia¬
tion” at 6:30 p.m. in Hannon Loft.
The panel will be made upof several
members from the faculty and staff
as well as students who represent
the various different cultures and
orientations which make LMU such
a diverse campus.
The week continues on Friday
March 5, with "Jeans Day.” The
association is asking all those who
support the gay and lesbian com¬
munity on campus to wear jeans on
this day as a symbol of their sup¬
port. The highlight of the week,
however, is a visit from Father
Peter J. Liuzzi, O.Carm., Director
of Pastoral Ministry to the Gay and
Lesbian community for the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles on
Tuesday March 8 during Convoca¬
tion hour.
Father Liuzzi will speak on the
Catholic Church and its responsi¬
bility to the gay and lesbian com¬
munity. In the past few years, Fr.
Liuizzi has been controversial in
preaching about the Church and its
role in the life of Catholic gays and
lesbians who are coming to terms
with their sexuality in light of the
traditional views of the Church.
Ref Rodriguez, President of the
A.G.L.S., commented, “It is the hope
of our group to make the LMU com¬
munity aware that homosexuality is
nothing to be afraid of. Many times
the media and strict conservatives
depict homosexuals as deviant
spawns from the devil. We are us¬
ing the week as an educational tool
through which we can bring some
legitimacy to the association as well
as the gay and lesbian community
as a whole.”
“We are very excited about the
various events,” Rodriguez contin¬
ued, “because they promote dig¬
nity, pride and awareness for a
group on campus which usually re- ;
ceives little or no recognition from
the administration.”
Rodriguez concluded, “We hope
that students as well as the faculty
and staff will come out and learn
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