The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 75, Issue 22 - March 19, 1997

w ^йви * A, ‘ m ш* V \Рн*Я Campus Life 20th anniversary Special Games preview: Щ X jflH ж * JIkI Music Blur rocks again with self-titled album: Sports Baseball splits Hilo series: Page 4 Page 14 Page 16 Los Angeles ЩЩШГ LOYOLAN March 19,1997 Marymount Univers Volume 75, No. 22 Simpson Trials Spark Debate ■ ‘Trial of the Century5 still hotly contested as panel of Simpson experts and juror explore issues by Mia Shanley News Editor They all came with their own story, their own interpreta¬ tion of what happened at the trial of the century. The panel of speakers, as well as the agitated audience, shouted about the injustices of both trials. The African American Studies Department hosted five guests Thursday — Tom Elias, Donald Freed, and Dennis Schatzman, all authors of books analyzing the Simpson case, Loyola Law School Professor Stan Goldman and civil trial juror Lisa Theriot. Only a few minutes passed before tempers began to flare, as passionate voices pronounced Simpson guilty, while others refuted them angrily. “It doesn’t take that much evidence to convict a black man,” Schatzman said. “If you bring a black man into court in an orange suit — he’s guilty.” “So many people are trying to put it [the issues] to bed without an examination,” said Dr. John Reilly, Associate Professor of African American studies and English, who also moderated the debate. . “The session was just to let people know how deeply engrained our society is with prejudice.” The audience of approxi¬ mately 60 concerned community members and some students packed into the McIntosh Center. They listened intently, bewil¬ dered that two educated people, who sat side-by-side during the entire criminal and civil trial everyday and analyzed the same exact evidence, could in the end — disagree. The divided panel reflected the public’s own divided opinions of the trial. Theriot argued that race had nothing to do with the civil trial. “My decision had nothing to do with my skin,” she said. “I want¬ ed him to be innocent. When I was growing up, he was the man. To me he was a hero. I thought there was no way he did this.” Theriot said that their jury wrote out a timeline of events and determined that Simpson had time to commit the murders. “He had the time,” she said. “Mr. Simpson’s credibility was a big part. His continuity was bad. There were major differences. Those can be pointed out in the notebooks and his cell phone Simpson: page з Bums Foundation Donates $15 Million for Growth by Michael Johnsen Staff Writer LMU’s campus seems to be growing bigger by the day, showing no signs of slowing, thanks in large part to a gen¬ erous donation by the Fritz B. Burns foundation and the Fritz B. Burns Fund totaling $15 million. “Fritz Bernard Burns was very fond of this University,” said LMU President Fr. Thomas P. O’Malley, S.J. “He has been the single largest donor in the history of the University.” Burns, a Los Angeles phil¬ anthropist, died in 1979. It was he who inspired Harry Culver to donate 100 acres of land for the school’s campus. Over the years, his foundation has given LMU more than $50 million. The school’s latest fund¬ raising campaign began in 1994 and has already provided the Leavey campus with the Conrad N. Hilton Center for Business, the two new resi¬ dence halls and a 900-car parking garage. This donation brings the drive to within $9 million of its $128 million goal. The remaining money will go to construct a brand new recreation complex adjoining Gersten Pavilion, where Alumni Gym now stands. The center will include space for health services, public safety, AFROTC and exercise equip¬ ment as well as courts for bas¬ ketball, volleyball, indoor soc¬ cer and possibly tennis. Alumni Gym, ‘called Memorial Gym upon its com¬ pletion in 1948, was originally little more than a locker-room area for the football team that was expanded to become, at the time, one of the largest and most modern collegiate athletic facilities on the West Coast. SCOTT GROLLER / LOYOLAN Dennis Schatzman (left) co-author of 0. J. Simpson In Black and White, argued for Simpson’s innocence , claiming that the case was based purely on speculation . Civil trial juror Lisa Theriot (right) said Simpson had time to commit the murders. SDS Confronts Administration U ■ Forum: Students discuss department’s problems with VP of Student Affairs by Michael Johnsen Staff Writer Students upset with the state of Student Development Services (SDS) met again Monday to vent their concerns and to seek answers for what they view as an ineffective and chaotic dep artment . For two hours Dr. Lane Bove, Vice ~~ — President for Student Affairs, answered a steady stream of questions from an aggressive but respectful group of 40 stu¬ dents. The dialogue started two weeks ago when SDS members called a meeting to address concerns with Dr. Greg Tanaka, the Acting Associate Dean for Special Projects in SDS. One of the issues at the center of the debate was the implementation of intercut - turalism in the SDS program. “The institution as a whole is embracing interculturalism,” said Bove. The program would call for a director who would be responsible for pro¬ moting dialogue and interac- The institution as a whole is embracing interculturalism. — Dr. Lane Bove Vice President of Student Affairs tion on campus among vari¬ ous ethnic groups. But the students voiced concern over why the effort needed to emanate from SDS, rather than from the LMU community at large. “Students shouldn’t have to be fighting for programming,” comment¬ ed one student. SDS, which is comprised of the Office of Black Student Services, Chicano Latino Student Services, Asian Pacific Student Services and the Academic Persistence Program, was founded in the ’60s by minority students to give them a voice on a pre¬ dominantly white campus. For the past several years the department _ _ has fallen into disar¬ ray in a series of “restructur- i n g s . ” Since 1993, Student Affairs has conducted two major studies of SDS and has issued two reports. Since June of 1996, when the last report was issued, SDS has tried to incorporate its find¬ ings and gain the support of its members. SDS: page 3 V Wallace Neff, the building’s designer, who was one of the leading architects of his day, also built homes in and around Los Angeles for stars such as Mary Pickford and Douglass Fairbanks. He was also the designer of both Huesman and Sullivan Halls. Unfortunately, the thin floor and wood frame of Alumni Gym must now be superseded by more modern technology, fit for a growing campus. The rest of the donation will be put towards scholar¬ ships and improvements at the law school campus, which will include a new mock court room and more library space. The gift and the school’s plan will be announced at the upcoming Pride of Lions din¬ ner. The 1998-99 school year will begin with an official ground-breaking for the com¬ plex. — Jeff Kearns contributed to this story. INDEX News 1 Campus Life 4 Art & Theater 8 Perspective 10 Film 12 Music 14 Sports 16 Classified 18 On the We b : www.lmu.edu/stuaff/loyolan.htm