The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 90, Issue 26 - January 26, 2012

THUR FRI SAT SUN 4-d. A 75*- 5* 73*- 54* 75*- 50* 72*- 50* ESTABLISHED 1921 January 26,2012 Volume 90, Issue 26 Your Home. Your Voice. Your Newspaper. Loyola Marymount University www.laloyolan.com University to celebrate Mission Day today LMU historian Kevin Starr will speak at “The DNA and Mission of LMU” event at Convo. By Brigette Scobas Asst. News Editor Students, faculty, staff and administrators are invited to celebrate and partake in the University’s annual Mission Day events today, focusing on the history and future of LMU in relation to the centennial. This year, the Mission and Ministry Office and the Bellarmine Forum come together to package today’s presentations. They include a keynote address by California historian and author of “Loyola Marymount University: A Centennial History” Dr. Kevin Starr, followed by a roundtable discussion later in the afternoon. The keynote address, “The DNA and Mission of LMU,” will be held at 12:15 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel, with a luncheon to follow in the Sculpture See Mission Day | Page 5 The Onion set as First Amendment Week keynote * » Justin Vitug | Loyolan "A Time to Break Silence" celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Tuesday's interfaith commemoration included performances by the University's gospel choir, "LMU Voices of Joy, "according to the LMU newsroom website. For freshman business and economics double major Caitlin Dickson (second from left) this was her first performance as part of the choir, and she enjoyed, "seeing people in the audience smiling and really getting into the music." Both the Office of Black Student Services (OBSS) and Campus Ministry hosted the event, which took place in Sacred Heart Chapel during Convo hour. Staffers from The Onion news organization will speak on die rights that protect their satirical writing. By Tierney Finster News Editor “America’s finest news source” is coming to LMU. Humorous media source The Onion has been chosen as the keynote speaker for the Loyolan’s First Amendment Week (FAW) this year. The goal of FAW is to emphasize the value of the First Amendment while also raising awareness on campus about the extent of the freedoms that the First Amendment fosters and protects. The Loyolan will host the Feb. 7 Onion event in Burns Back Court at 6 p.m. According to the Loyolan’s Editor in Chief Kenzie O’Keefe, The Onion’s daring satirical style exemplifies the rights that the First Amendment provides. “Satire is witty and entertaining because it pushes boundaries. Sometimes that offends people, and because of the First Amendment, The Onion can employ satire without worrying about who might take offense and try to shut them down,” O’Keefe said. Certain members of the Loyolan staff began working on this year’s FAW in the spring of last year, according to O’Keefe. The Loyolan’s Public Editor Angelica Cadiente said that The Onion was selected out of a long list of possible contenders. “We picked The Onion because of the obvious connection it has to the First Amendment. It says something about how incredible it is that we can publish uncensored, humorous or satirical things about any topic,” Cadiente said. The Onion was originally founded in 1988 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The newspaper, according to The Onion’s website, began as a once- a-week, student-targeted publication and expanded its audience in 1996 with the launch ofTheOnion.com. The website enabled The Onion to reach a strong national and international audience, and currently averages 40 million page views a month. The Onion also includes a variety of video series, including a mock morning show called “Today Now,” and a popular sports section. In 2011, Time Magazine named The Onion Sports Network one of their “50 Best Websites of 2011,” and referred to the site’s content as “too true for comfort.” See The Onion | Page 2 Wetlands restoration presents unique opportunity LMU community members will contribute to the recently-approved restoration of die Ballona Wetlands. By Zaneta Pereira Asst. News Editor Few students are aware of the fact that less than 10 minutes away from the LMU campus lies the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, a 600-acre area that is all that remains of the Ballona Wetlands complex that once covered over 2,000 acres and stretched from Playa del Rey to Venice. On Jam 20, 2012, the Los Angeles Times reported that the state of California had approved spending $6.5 million towards the restoration of the wetlands. While the restoration is still in early stages of planning, the article reports that “the question of how drastically to alter the existing landscape in order to revive ... the Ballona Wetlands is polarizing conservationists who fought for three decades to protect the site from the sort of development that ate up most of it.” LMU associate professor of environmental science Dr. John Dorsey, a member of the restoration project’s Scientific Advisoiy Committee, explained, ‘There’s a big difference in opinion in terms of what’s going to happen out here.” Specifically, Dorsey outlines the plan favored by the restoration project, and said, “The alternative that a lot of people are looking at, and [which] the science advisoiy board likes, involves putting more water into the wetlands and taking down the levee walls. It would do some serious re¬ landscaping to allow a lot more water in on Area A and in Area B; they would literally re¬ shape Ballona Creek. It wouldn’t be a straight See Wetlands | Page 4 Abbey Nelson | Loyolan The Ballona Wetlands are located just a few miles from the LMU campus. The wetlands were once the the property of Howard Hughes and are slated for a $6.5 million restoration. 1 1 LIKE, TOTALLY OBFUSCATING NTELLIGENCE Index fjlnssifiprls h Oninmn h A&E Editor Kevin O'Keeffe argues that LMU students favor the rule of cool over sounding smart. A&E . 1 1 Sports . 16 Opinion, Page 6 The next issue of the Iaiyolan will lx- printed on January HO, 2011. REMEMBERING A SOUL ICON Contributor Jackson Souza reflects upon the impact of Etta James.