The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 90, Issue 28 - February 2, 2012

THUR FRI SAT SUN 65"- 47' 70'-49‘ 70‘-50° 69'- 52' ESTABLISHED 1921 February 2,2012 Volume 90, Issue 28 Your Home. Your Voice. Your Newspaper. Loyola Marymount University Devin Sixt | Loyolan Last night's Poetry Lounge begins Black History Month celebration The Office of Black Student Services (OBSS) and Campus Ministry hosted last night's student poetry reading, which was emceed by spoken word artist Marc Marcel (above). Event organizer and senior communication studies major Tiffany Hunter said that the Poetry Lounge was a "great way for students to come and express themselves and their personalties." The Black History Month festivities continue at today's Convo kickoff on Alumni Mall. For a calendar of selected Black History Month events, see Page 3. UMU responds to website complaints University reacts to student reports of broken links, server errors and expired pages. By Zaneta Pereira Asst. News Editor Out of 35 students surveyed by the Loyolan in the Lair yesterday morning, 29 reported having problems with www. lmu.edu or MyLMU in the past month. Specifically, 27 students singled out broken links, 21 students highlighted problems with the search tool and 18 students reported issues with broken links and server errors. One of these students, freshman economics major Charles Riley, said, “Often when I do a search on lmu.edu, the results are either broken links or old pages that have yet to be updated.” Freshman civil engineering major Aisha McKee also had issues with the site and said, “I’ve had problems with the housing portal, though [it was] during then’ off season, so it’s not like the portal needed to be up . . . and problems where search results are either irrelevant or nonexistent.” When contacted in regard to these issues, Kathleen Flanagan, vice president for Communications and Government Relations, responded with the statement that, “We have reviewed all of these mechanisms and have not found any tickets or problems reported by anyone for See Web | Page 5 Students to explore faith The Office of Black Student Services (OBSS) and Campus Ministry will host Saturday’s retreat. By Jay Lee Asst. Web Editor Imani means “faith” in the Swahili language, and faith is the central topic of the student-led Imani “Faith” Retreat that will take place on Saturday, Feb. 4 in Sullivan Lounge. LMU’s Office of Black Student Services (OBSS) and Campus Ministry will team up to create the Imani “Faith” Retreat from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theme of this year’s Imani “Faith” Retreat is “getting free from the demands, expectations, and intimidations of life,” according to the Black History Month 2012 program. In celebration of Black History Month, the Imani “Faith” Retreat aims to help students renew their faith in a personal day of prayer, fellowship, faith and food. “I think the [Imani “Faith” Retreat] is the foundation of Black History Month, to be honest with you, and that is why I plan it at the very beginning of the month. I believe that it’s necessary to connect as an LMU family, and I think the connection comes from the foundation of God, just like our mission and focus in the Catholic tradition,” said Dr. Gail Buck, director of OBSS. “When they leave, they feel a stronger bond. That stronger bond is typically through their faith.” Faith is a significant component of African-American culture and history, explained junior political science major Akala Francis, an OBSS fellow and a student organizer of the event. “When you think about black history, you think about Martin Luther King [and] he was a minister. ... In black history, there has been a faith component, there has been church involvement so this kind of embodies that aspect.” Approximately 25-35 students will meet in Sullivan Lounge in an effort to bond through faith and fellowship, according to Aundrey Page, a junior business and psychology double major, outgoing president of the Brothers of Consciousness, vice president of the Black Student Union and a student organizer of the event. The event will start with breakfast, prayer and icebreakers. Once the students are acquainted, they are encouraged to share their See Retreat | Page 3 FAW kicks The Onion The Onion's Editor In Chief Joe Randazzo (top) and Staff Writer Daniel Mirk (bottom) will de- livertheir keynote presentation next Tuesday. www.laloyolan.com University’s retention rate remains above mean National report determines that LMU’s retention rate Ls higher than die national average. By Margo Jasukaitis Asst. News Editor The percentage of LMU students who return for a second year on the bluff is higher than the national average of students who return to them respective universities for sophomore year. According to American College Testing’s (ACT) 2011 report, “National Collegiate Retention and Persistence to Degree Rates,” the national average of students who return to the same private, four-year universities where they started them freshman year is 69 percent. According to a report published by the University last October, LMU’s average retention rate for all students from the first to second year since 1999 is 88.4 percent. LMU’s report, titled “Official Statistics: Undergraduate Freshmen Retention Rates,” is prepared annually by the Office of Institutional Research. Biyce Mason, director of Institutional Research and one of the co¬ authors of the study, explained retention data is collected by examining which students are registered in classes for each semester. “Every term that goes by at the University, that after a certain amount of time has elapsed into the term, we take a picture of the computer database. That gives us the key pieces of information in that database about who’s registered in classes,” he said. “We know which students are new freshmen, and then we can check in future terms to see if they’re See Retention | Page 4 off today The Loyolan presents its 10th annual First Amendment Week (FAW) in an attempt to raise campus awareness. By Laura Riparbelli Managing Editor Thirty percent of Americans are unable to name any of their First Amendment rights, according to the First Amendment Center. In order to ensure that LMU students are not a part of that 30 percent, the Loyolan is hosting its 10th annual First Amendment Week (FAW), kicking off today at Convo. “The concept behind First Amendment Week is to put on a few creative, fun and possibly even intellectually-stimulating events so that students not only know what is protected, but also have a little context about how they are important to democracy,” said Tom Nelson, the director of Student Media. In order to demonstrate this connection, a variety of activities have been planned beginning today through Feb. 9. One of these events, “Food for Freedom,” will allow participating students on Feb. 7 to give up their freedom of expression See FAW | Page 2 DEAR RYAN, A&E Editor Kevin O'Keeffe writes a love letter to America's heartthrob, Ryan Gosling. A&E, Page 1 1 Index C llassifinds 5 Opinion . . 6 A&E . . 11 Sports . . 20 The next issue of tin- loyolan will be primed on R?b. 6, 2012. GO LIONS! GO! GO! GO LIONS! LMU Cheer aspires to dispel the misconceptions surrounding the sport. Sports, Page 20 —