LMU student digs for
ancient history in Syria
Features, Page 9
‘Olive’ provides tasty
tunes
A&E, Page 1 1
Women’s Volleyball
roars past Portland,
Gonzaga
Sports, Page 16
November 1 9, 1 997
Volume 76, No. 12
Campus
Organizations
Discuss Unz
initiative
■ California Politics:
Proposed legislation
asks voters to end bilin¬
gual education in state
schools.
by Christina Thomas
Staff Writer
On Carmen Alaya’s first day
of elementary school, the
principal told her not to speak
“Mexican.” Then, he informed
her that her first name, Maria,
was “too ethnic”, making her go
by her middle name, Carmen,
instead. Now a Senior at Loyola
Marymount, Alaya has taken
action against this kind of dis¬
crimination. She is the presi¬
dent of Student Advocates for
Bilingual Education, one of the
organizations that spoke out
against the proposed Unz
Initiative at a forum held last
Tuesday, Nov. 11, in Hilton,
The forum was co-sponsored
by four on-campus organiza¬
tions: Asian Pacific Student
Services, Chicano Latino
Student Services, Student
Advocates for Bilingual
Education, and MEChA.
Panelists included Dr. Magaly
Lavadenz, Dr. Lucy Tse, and
Rev. Shane Martin, S.J., of the
Loyola Marymount School of
Education. LMU alumnus and
bilingual education teacher
Irma Vasquez also spoke.
The Unz Initiative is the
first legislation dealing with
bilingual education that has
been proposed since 1968.
Named for Ron Unz, a republi¬
can who favors an English
immersion program in which
students of the same level of
English proficiency but with
different native tongues and
Politics: page 3
Student Found Dead in Rains Hall
PHOTO COURTESY OF TOWER YEARBOOK
Sophomore Melissa Rauber was a psychology
major and member of the Delta Zeta sorority.
■ Investigation:
Los Angeles County Comer
examines death of student at
LMU dormitory
by Don Zacharias
Editor-in-chief
A sophomore student, Melissa Rauber,
was found dead Friday evening in Rains
residence hall after being reported missing
earlier in the day.
The student’s roommate, Jennifer Sailer,
noticed that Rauber had failed to answer
phone messages on Thursday and Friday,
and began to suspect that she was missing.
“I thought she had been kidnapped,” said
Sailer. “That was my first response.” At
8:15 p m. Friday, a concerned student called
public safety to report Rauber missing. Sgt.
Javier Leal from public safety responded to
the call, and began a routine check.
At 10:01 p.m., public safety received a
second call reporting that Rauber had been
found in her bed in Rains hall, and that she
didn’t appear to be breathing. Sgt. Leal
returned to the room and found Rauber,
who was lying in a fetal position on her loft
bed immediately notified the Los Angeles
Police Department. Moments later, campus
EMTs responded, but found no vital signs
and did not attempt to resuscitate Rauber.
At 10:10 p.m., paramedics arrived, fol¬
lowed by the LAPD minutes later. At 10:33
p.m., the LAPD officers investigating the
scene contacted the L.A. County Coroner.
Although there was no visible evidence to
suggest trauma or foul play, the time and
cause of death is still undetermined. Both
details are pending results of toxicology
reports to determine whether any drugs or
medication were involved in Rauber’s
Investigation: page 2
Poet Brings Irish
Culture to LMU
■ Literature: Micheal
O’Siadhail reads poetry
in McIntosh Center.
by Maisha Cannon
Staff Writer
William Butler Yeats wrote
“The Irish are singularly
possessed with the music of
poetry.”
Yeats words found proof on
Nov. 17, when a packed room of
LMU students, faculty and staff
witnessed the music of Irish
to bring Irish culture to LMU
through the new five-week sum¬
mer program at Trinity College
in Ireland, O’Siadhail’s alma
mater. Of the newly implement¬
ed program, Dr. Linda
Bannister, chair of the English
department, said, “It is a mar¬
velous opportunity for students
to study abroad.”
“It is quite wonderful what is
happening here with the devel¬
opment of Irish studies,” the fea¬
tured poet said. “It would be
wonderful if LMU was to become
“O’ Siadhail is one of the major poets
of our generation.”
— Dr. John M. Menaghan
Assistant Professor, English
Poet Micheal O’Siadhail at his
reading in Sullivan Hall’s
McIntosh center.
“O’Siadhail is one of the
major poets of our generation,”
said Dr. John M. Menaghan,
assistant professor of English.
“His visit to LMU is important
at a time when we’re working to
bring different aspects of Irish
culture in all sorts of different
ways.”
O’Siadhail’s visit to LMU is
part of Menaghan’s efforts to
establish an Irish Studies minor
at LMU. Menaghan is working
the center of Irish studies on the
West Coast.”
Those in attendance at
Monday night’s event sat atten¬
tively through O’Siadhail’s spir¬
ited and insightful reading. The
talented Irish poet read selec¬
tions from his two most recent
poetry collections, “A Fragile
City” and “Hail! Madam Jazz.”
The readings, which were inter¬
spersed with vivid personal
accounts of O’Siadhail’s experi¬
ences in Ireland and abroad,
made for an enlightening and
thought provoking evening.
CHRIS MORRING
/
LOYOUN
Micheal O’Siadhail read from his works of Irish poetry on Nov. 17, in the
McIntosh Center .
“I thoroughly enjoyed hear¬
ing his poetry,” said Maggie Issa,
who was in attendance at the
reading. A book signing and
reception followed the reading.
O’Siadhail is presently a pro¬
fessor at the Dublin Institute for
Advanced Studies. He has given
poetry readings throughout
Ireland, Britain, and North
America. He was awarded the
Irish American Cultural
Institute Prize for Poetry in
1982. He also serves as the
founding chairman of the
Ireland Literature Exchange.
O’Siadhail’s reading was the
first event co-sponsored by the
new Irish Culture Club on cam¬
pus. His appearance was also
sponsored by LMU’s Visiting
Artists and Lecturers Series, the
department of English, and the
office of international programs.