The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 78, Issue 1 - August 25, 1999

C 0 N S T RUC T I O N gr 3|gp|! I A&E 1 S P OR T S W A focus on the current campus construction and renovation projects. PAGE 8 Summer film wrap up: what was hot and what was not. Page 10 Baseball has sweet repeat as WCC Champs. Page 16 AUGUST 25# 1999 Loyola Mary mount Universi t y PHOTO COURTESY OF FACILITIES AND MANAGEMENT Bulldozers crumble what was once Alumni Gym, paving the way for whabwill soon be the Burns Recreation Center in early summer. Crews worked feverishly to clear out the rumble in order to lay the foundation of the rec center. Construction Boom Continues on Campus В Campus Changes: Three major construction pro¬ jects and renovation plans to continue on through the year after beginning in the summer. by Kasey Seymour Editor in Chief As soon as the 1998-99 acad¬ emic year drew to a close, con¬ struction projects began for the summer when crews came in to tear down Alumni Gym on Monday, May 10. The plan to remove Alumni Gym and replace it with the state-of-the- art, 80,000 square foot Burns Recreation Center is only one of the three major construction projects shaking the ground of the university. The new Bums Recreation Center will be a two -story building and will include two covered walkways, two gyms, one multipurpose gym, an intra¬ mural weight room, a locker area, a fitness center, a juice bar/concession stand, and a ticket booth. The construction cost is $17.5 million^ John Oester, vice president for business and finance, said, “Right now, they've raised $16.7 million in gifts towards thb $17.5 million. The Burns Foundation gave $10 million.” Construction for the new rec center will continue throughout the 1999-2000 academic year and is scheduled to be complet- ed by August of 200 0. University officials have issued warnings to students and all drivers on campus to be careful of the many bulldozers and con¬ struction vehicles around cam¬ pus. Meanwhile, the new Jesuit residence hall, which was com¬ pleted in June, now houses nearly all of the Jesuits on cam¬ pus. There are four separate buildings, some of whose rooms have bluff-top views. The new Jesuit residence hall is located Construction: pages Lawton Takes Helm of LMU Presidency by Jasmine Marshall Managing Editor The beginning of the fall semester at LMU also marks the beginning of a new era of leadership, as Rev. Robert B. Lawton, S.J., takes over the presidency of the university. Lawton succeeds Rev. Thomas P. O’Malley, S.J., as the 14th president of the University. O’Malley resigned his post at LMU to return to teaching at his alma mater, Boston College. Lawton, 51, who formerly served as the dean of Georgetown College at Georgetown University from 1989 to 1999, arrived at LMU in time for the feast of St. Ignatius, celebrating the founder of the Jesuit order, on July 31. “We celebrated with a Mass and a reception,” Lawton said, “and then I took an infor¬ mal tour of the campus.” Lawton formally assumed his duties as president on Aug. 16. Prior to his arrival, acade¬ mic vice president Joseph Jabbra assumed presidential duties in the interim after O’Malley’s departure. While the rest of the Jesuit community has moved from Xavier Hall to the new Jesuit residence completed this sum¬ mer, Lawton will live in Xavier Hall, the old Jesuit residence, in order to provide himself with more privacy. The new president left his post at Georgetown University in June, and spent three weeks in Italy. Between 1982- 84, Lawton taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Vatican City. As to his new position, Lawton remarked that “every¬ one has been so nice. Not only have people here in the office been nice, but also very effi¬ cient in helping me make the transition and get things ready for this year.” Lawton noted that he expects this year to be one filled with planning and learn¬ ing. “The most immediate goal,” Lawton noted, “is to finalize the purchase of the Raytheon building and pre¬ pare to move several depart¬ ments into the facility ^ext Lawton: page3 Raytheon Deal Nears Approval by Kasey Seymour Editor in Chief The university’s long road to purchasing the Raytheon build¬ ing adjacent to the Leavey cam¬ pus may be nearing the end as Raytheon has agreed upon a deal with the LMU officials. “We believe we have reached a deal with Raytheon,” said John Oester, Vice President for Business and Finance John. Oester. “The attorneys are work¬ ing feverishly doing the docu¬ ments, and they hope to have all the documents done by the end of September” Last April, the deal was pend¬ ing negotiations between the Raytheon Corporation and the various title holders of the land arid building leases which Raytheon does not own. Over the summer, Raytheon reached ah agreement with their lease hold¬ ers, and LMU officials drafted a plan to purchase the land. However, the rights to the building lease were not sold to the Raytheon Corporation. Instead, the university must sub-lease the budding until they are able to fully lease the building them¬ selves. “The university will be a sub¬ leasee from Raytheon for 11 years. At the end of the 11 years, the base lease will be paid off. CHRIS MORRiNG / LOYOLAN The purchase of the Raytheon building , as seen from Lincoln Blvd., is now pending approval from the Board of Trustees. There are then two ten-year options to renew that lease. In the year 2010, the university will buy in those two renewal options for $5 million,” Oester said. Oester continued, “In the year 2010, then, the university will own everything — it will own the building and it will own the land.” However, the plans for the Raytheon purchase are still pend¬ ing approval from the university’s Board of Trustees. The Board meets next on Oct. 4, and the Raytheon plan is on the table for Raytheon: page 2