The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 76, Issue 9 - October 29, 1997

Features An in-depth look at Alcohol use at LMU Page 7 A & E “Cookoo’s Nest” flies Page 12 Sports Women’s Soccer splits weekend play Page 16 L ° s A n g e l e s LOYOLAN October 29,1997 Loyola M a r y m о u n t U n i v e r s i Volume 76, No. 9 7 Did de los Muertos' Celebrates Life A Halloween Hoedown CHRIS MORRING / LOYOLAN Maylani Sabatte and Kristina Jelenic add a countjy twist to the sounds of swing playing at the Masquerade Ball , spon¬ sored by the Del Rey Players , on Oct. 25. By Debbie Formoso Staff Writer For many, the death of a loved one is seen as a time of mourning and grief. We express our sadness through our tears, by wearing black attire, and words of sorrow. The Mexican culture takes an extremely dif¬ ferent approach to death. Although death is distressing, rather than mourning Mexican families view death as a time to celebrate the loved one’s pas¬ sage into a new life. The annual celebration, known as Dia de Los Meurtos, or the Day of the Dead will be celebrated at LMU this week and will be sponsored by Chicano — Latino Student Services. From Oct 28-Oct. 31, a tra¬ ditional alter building will take place each day in Malone 301 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 31, the alter will be blessed, followed by a procession from the front of the library to the Statue of Juinpero Serra. The final part of the celebration will be a Noche de Rias Sustos, or night of entertainment in the Sunken Gardens. Everyone from the LMU community is invited to enjoy the free food and free entertainment. In Mexico, and in many Latino areas within the United States, families traditionally visit the graves of their loved ones, often having picnics on the graves following matenence of the final resting place of loved ones. Many families leave the deceased’s favorite food as offer¬ ings, along with candles, per¬ sonal items, and marigolds, which are believed to help guide the dead to the spirit world. Children’s graves are adorned with toys, colorful streamers, and bright balloons. The cele¬ bration continues within the families’ homes as well, where elaborate alters are built and decorated in great detail with “papel picado” (decorations cut from paper), sugar skulls, pup¬ pets, toys, “pan de meurtos” (bread of the dead), and flower bouquets. “The Mexican tradition is a family oriented event that acknowledges [their loved ones] in the present,” said Susana M. Larios, a student coordinator of Dia De Los Meurtos. The tradi¬ tional celebration combines the Spanish Catholic tradition of “All Souls Day”, (celebrated on Nov. 1), with the customs of the “Mexica,” (the original term used to refer to the Aztecs). The Mexica culture originally cele¬ brated in the Mexica month of Micccailhuitontl, which is from the end of July to the beginning of August. According to the old custom, the goddess Micecachautl (“Lady of the Dead”) presided over the cele¬ bration that honored the lives of children who had entered a new life. After the Spanish Conquest, Catholic Priests introduced Christianity to the ritual by shifting the date to cor¬ respond with Dia de Todos Los Santos (All Saints Day). As a result, what the Spanish saw as a “savage” ritual was converted to a religious holiday. Day of the Dead: page 2 Friendship Day Promotes Diversity at LMU DENISE ESPINOZA /LOYOLAN A Ballet Folklorico dancer brings the grace of traditional Latin dance to LMU at International Friendship Day, on Oct. 28. by Roy Rufo Staff Writer Forty-six flags were blowing in the wind. Each cloth rep¬ resented a different culture, a different country. These sym¬ bols of a people came together to form one community. The flags on display represented the diverse ethnic make-up that LMU’s student body has to offer. The sixth annual International Friendship Day was held on Oct. 28, during convocation hour. The event was sponsored by the Office of International Students and co-sponsored by the Office of Black Student Services and Asian Pacific Student Services. A stage was set up on Regent’s Terrace to accommo¬ date the performances planned for the day. Booths selling diverse ethnic souvenirs, such as jewelry and carvings, filled Alumni Mall. Scents of Chinese and Indonesian food permeated through the air. “The turn out,” says Sandrall Doerr of Student Life, “was better than expect¬ ed.” “LMU’s main platform for recruitment is diversity. They uphold that promise through events like International Friendship Day,” said Brian Buenviaje, president of Isang Bansa, LMU’s Filipino club. There were four performances scheduled to entertain the audience. The Brazilian martial arts demonstra¬ tion started off the program. Folk dances from the Mexican, African, and Filipino cul¬ tures then fol¬ lowed. One hour was not enough to expose the different cultures of Loyola Marymount. A Japanese exhibition was also held at 5 pm. Charles Muiruri, a vendor of hand crafted wood and stone Friendship Day: page 2 “LMU’s main plat¬ form... is diversity. They uphold that promise through events like International Friendship Day, ” — Brian Buenviaje President, Isang Bansa The Future Is Now For Business Ethics At LMU ■ Fortnight: Program teaches students to combine financial sense with social consciousness by Charlene Fleming Staff Writer Students leaving a meeting in Hilton 100 last Thursday, Oct. 23 may have felt disorient¬ ed after a digital presentation that took them on an adventure to the year 2997. While visiting the next millennium, an ancient backpack was discov¬ ered from a 1997 LMU student who participated in “Business Ethics Fortnight”. Artifacts dis¬ covered depicted Los Angeles as a ‘great spiritual center’ because of this student’s dedica¬ tion to the environment, ethical business issues, and physical exertion for the sake of the bay. While the presentation was fictitious, the importance of val¬ ues and ethics certainly were not. Thomas White, Director of the Center for Business and Ethics presented this view of the future to announce the third annual “Business Ethics Fortnight” that will be held from April 14 to 23. This year’s theme will be “Business, Ethics, and the Environment”. As a preliminary interest to the Fortnight events there is a new contest in cooperation with Heal the Bay in which students come up with ideas for an advertising/ public relations campaign. Mark Gold, Executive Director from Heal the Bay discussed the problems with polluted run off into the Los Angeles Bay area, as well as waste on the beaches. One of the primary contributors to the waste problem are cigarette butts. The advertising/ public relations campaign will focus on Ethics: page 2 INDEX News 1 Perspective 4 Features . 6 Arts & Entertainment 1 1 Sports 16 Classified 21 О it t_h_e W_e_b : www.lmu.edu/ stuaff/loyolan