The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 76, Issue 7 - October 10, 1997

Features: Pistahan celebrates Filipino culture page 11 A&E: L.A. based comedy group provides laughs page 21 Sports: Women’s Volleyball opens WCC play page 14 Los Angeles mW~ LOYOLAN October 10, 1997 L O Y О I. A M ARY M О U N X U N I V E R S I T Y Volume 76, No. 7 Rains Residence Hall Dedicated CHERLL PAIAC10/L0Y0LAN Rev. Thomas P O'Malley, S.J., university president, was joined by trustees in dedicating the new Lilore Green Rains Residence Hall on Monday, Oct. 8. by Susan Myers Copy Editor he sky was dreary and somber above the long- awaited addition to Leavey cam¬ pus. But the mood became buoy¬ ant as an ample crowd gathered Monday at the dedication of the Liliore Green Rains Residence Hall. The dedication was the second in a series of buildings on the Leavey campus. “A residence hall is... a home, a place to make friends, an extension of the classroom.” — Rich Rocheleou Director of Student Housing The new four-story, 302-bed structure sits high atop the bluff beside its counterpart, McCarthy Hall. The ceremony began 30 minutes late, and in anticipation, many of the trustees began to search the crowd for the master of cere¬ monies. Finally, J. Terrence Lanni, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Rev. Thomas R O'Malley, S.J. arrived claiming that their finance committee delayed their arrival at the dedication cere¬ mony. “[Rains] is the latent testa¬ ment to the great success of the campaign for Loyola Marymount,” said Lanni. The university first began the Capital Campaign five years ago to use foundation funds to improve the LMU community by building a new additional campus, the Leavey campus. In the next few years, one more building will be constructed as part of the Leavey campus, fol¬ lowed eventually by more. Lanni commented that this dedication is a historical moment for LMU, showing that the goals of the campaign have been met with tremendous suc¬ cess. Kristi Gonsalves, an LMU alumni as well as one of two Resident Chaplains of Rains, gave the invocation in thanks of the generous donation. In her prayer she noted, “that this building may be a symbol of what we at Loyola Marymount University believe in and strive for, the education of the whole person, the service of faith and the promotion of justice.” Some of the significant con¬ tributors responsible for the completion of Rains were seated on stage. Lanni introduced Ron Northrop, President of Swinerton and Walberg, the construction company which built Rains; Rich Rocheleau, Director of Student Housing; Rev. Donald P. Merrifield, S.J.; O'Malley; and finally David J. Flood, the architect of Rains. He noted that the goal for the cam¬ paign committee was to create more on-campus housing, Lanni stated that it was O'Malley's vision that commenced the building campaign, and that the other men seated beside him worked to make that vision a reality. Rocheleau noted that creat- Rains: Page 4 U.S. Bishops' Utter Addresses Parents of Gays ■ Catholicism: Pastoral letter says homosexual orientation is not freely chosen by Jason Foo Asst. News Editor In an unprecedented move, Catholic bishops in the United States issued a pastoral letter Wednesday suggesting that parents of gays and les¬ bians love their child first, and emphasized that one’s sexual orientation is not freely chosen. The pastoral letter, entitled “Always Our Children,” is a statement of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and was approved by the Administrative Board of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in early September. Although this document is a step for the Catholic Church in broadening their approach to the issue of homosexuality, it serves primarily as a tool for educating Catholics. “Pastoral letters are not meant to be authoritative,” said Rev. Shane Martin, S.J., Assistant Professor of Education. “They are a way that U.S. bishops can work in their roles as teachers,” said Martin. “All in all, it is essential to recall one basic truth, God loves every person as a unique indi¬ vidual,” the pastoral letter states. “Sexual identity helps to define the unique person we are. God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual.” The letter emphasizes to Catholic parents the impor¬ tance of maintaining a loving relationship with their gay or lesbian child, but does not abandon Catholic doctrine, which states that homosexual activity is sinful and reaffirms the Church's view that the homosexual orientation itself is neutral. The bishops say, “...The Church's teaching on homosex¬ uality is clear.” However, because the terms of that teach¬ ing have now become very per¬ sonal in regard to one's child, a parent may feel confused or conflicted, they continue. The bishops advise, “First, don't break off contact; don't reject your child.” Instead, they recommend parents to encour¬ age their child to discuss his or her sexual orientation and even challenge certain aspects of a lifestyle parents find question¬ able. The letter also clearly says that homosexual orientation is not freely chosen and that there seems to be no single cause of it, rather there are multiple fac¬ tors — genetic, hormonal, psy¬ chological — that influence it. This is a far cry from the landmark “Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics” in 1975. In the document, the Church cited the psychological influence on the homosexual “tendency,” which comes from “a false education, from a lack of normal sexual development, from habit, from bad example, or from other sim¬ ilar causes...,” and its ability to be remedied. Making the distinction that homosexuality is not freely cho¬ sen is important, said Martin. If the issue is completely about choice, then Catholics become responsible for their choices. “This letter moves the whole thing away from blame and guilt and says we're going to start with the premise that homosexuality is not freely cho¬ sen,” said Martin. “This is a new way that the U.S. bishops have formally dealt with this issue.” According to Rev. Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., Professor and Bishops: Page 2 “God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual. ” — from the Notional Conference of Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter, "Always Our Children" AGLA Plans "Out" Week by Jasmine Marshall News Editor One week after the U.S. Council of Bishops issued it’s historical letter urging Catholic families to be more accepting of Gay and Lesbian children, LMU’s Association for Gay and Lesbian Awareness will hold several activities for their annual coming out week culminating in National Coming Out Day on Saturday, Oct. 12. Andrew Cartwright, co-pres¬ ident of AGLA said the group has been officially recognized by the LMU administration for five years. “We provide a sup¬ port system for [gay, lesbian, and bisexual] students,” Cartwright said. “We also strive for education and awareness. Last year, we went into three American Cultures classes to provide dialogue about sexuali¬ ty and sexual orientation.” Cartwright said that LMU’s Coming Out Week and National Coming Out Day are important because of the need for individ¬ uals to be honest about their sexual orientation, “People in the closet are forced into lying a lot. They should be able to feel comfortable with themselves and who they are,” Cartwright said. For “Coming Out Week”, AGLA plans to have a speaker from Frontiers Magazine and discussion at 8:00 p.m. at McCarthy Residence Hall on Wednesday. Thursday will high¬ light the infamous “Coming Out” episode of the ABC comedy “Ellen”, at 9:00 pm in the McCarthy lobby. The week will wrap up with a film festival in St. Roberts, room 249 featuring “Jeffery”, “The Incredible Story of Two Girls in Love,” and “The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.” Cartwright and other mem¬ bers of AGLA agreed that although LMU is a relatively progressive environment, more change. Senior Aron Bishop, also a member of AGLA, con¬ curred that although he believes more progress needs to AGLA: Page 2 INDEX News 1 Perspective 6 Feature 10 Sports 14 Arts & Entertainment 20 Classified 25 .On the We b : www.lmu.edu/stuaff/loyolan