The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 97, Issue 21 - February 27, 2019

VOLUME 97 ISSUE 21 A i «5 I w %/^OA ^иЩс!сЛ) LOYOLAN WWW.LALOVOLAN.COM FEBRUARY 27, 2019 Buster brightens cam Gloria Del Mar | Loyolan Eight-month-old Buster weighs in at 61 pounds, a significant leap from his 16 pound weigh-in when he first arrived on campus this fall. He spends his days greeting students at SPS while training to be a certified therapy dog. Molly Box Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan Buster, now eight months old, is continuing his training to become a certified therapy dog. His caretaker, Father Edward Siebert, believes that Buster has brought joy to the campus since his arrival last semester. Fr. Siebert said he is amazed by how many students tell him that their day was made better after they saw Buster on one of his walks. “[I think] it helps relieve stress and brings a certain spirit of liveliness to campus,” Fr. Siebert said. LMU is not the only university where dogs have been welcomed to campus as more than just mascots. According to HuffPost , University of South Carolina, University of Southern California and Georgetown University have welcomed therapy dogs on campus to help students alleviate the stress of college life. According to Fr. Siebert, the inspiration behind bringing a therapy dog to LMU came from a conversation with Director of Student Psychological Services (SPS) Dr. Kristen Linden. “They've been wanting to do this for years,” said Siebert. “It wasn’t until I moved here and we talked about how another Jesuit at Loyola Chicago was doing this, and they asked if I would be interested.” See Buster | Page 3 Rats leave students Two students filed a compliant about rats in Rosecrans, leading to traps and a floor inspection. Sofia Hathorn Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan A rat problem has been affecting the freshman residence hall Rosecrans. Multiple reports have come from third-floor residents about hearing chewing and seeing shavings and droppings since the beginning of the semester. Roommates Haley Harbuck and Virginia Connolly had to move out of their dorm because of the rats. “On Thursday Feb. 14, 1 heard this really weird distinct chewing noise coming from under Haley’s bed. I woke up and turned my lights on and played loud music to try to scare it off but it wouldn’t go away, and it paranoid’ really started to freak me out,” said Connolly, an undeclared freshman. This was not the first instance of rats in the dorms of Rosecrans. Earlier in the semester, their hall mates had clothing in their room bothered by rats. " I knew [Rosecrans] had rats because there was a girl down the hall [whose] underwear and bathing suits were taken into the vent and chewed on. I didn’t think it would hit our room," said Harbuck. After hearing the rats and seeing gnaw marks, Connolly went to her Resident Advisor who took the issue to Student Housing Office (SHO). Rat traps were then put in Connolly and Harbuck’s room. Connolly and Harbuck chose to move to Sullivan Hall for 72-hour temporary housing, rather than staying in Rosecrans. The whole floor was then inspected and more traps were set up. The hall was vacuumed floor by floor. Any holes which rats could use as entry points were also sealed, according to Connolly. “SHO has been working with [Facilities Management] to put a preventative pest control plan in place," said Steven Nygaard, director of student housing. "SHO is also working with Housing staff to educate our students on the importance of maintaining a clean space that will help deter pests from entering the building." Though reports were made initially in January, these preventative actions weren’t taken until after Connolly and Harbuck made complaints in February. The only complaints about this issue have come from Rosecrans. See Rats | Page 3 Giilen Qelick | Loyolan Rosecrans Hall, pictured above, was the site of a recent rat infestation in two students' dorms. Flooding on campus due to heavy rainfall calls for green solutions. Page 7 EST. 1921 Westboro Baptist church pickets LMU The church was greeted by a large student counter-protest outside the back entrance. Austin Woods Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) staged a picket outside the back entrance of LMU on the morning of Monday, Feb. 25. The WBC is a church based in Topeka, KS and is infamous for its public criticism of the LGBTQ+ community, CathoUcs, Muslims, Jews, U.S. soldiers and other groups they deem sinful. The church traveled to California with the main goal of protesting the Oscars. Big events like that are considered “anchor events,” as the WBC also protests at local colleges and high schools while in a given area. “This university really isn’t any different than any other university in this nation,” Timothy Phelps, a member of the WBC, said. “The youth of this generation has been taught since they were infants that the laws of God almighty are at best negotiable and more likely nonexistent, and that God himself doesn’t exist. So each successive generation becomes more and more perverse.” Prior to their protest at LMU, the WBC posted a digital flyer online to advertise the event. The flyer was laced with anti- Catholic rhetoric and imagery mocking homosexuality. Following this, the University sent out a community advisory in the student edition of LMU This Week. The advisory warned of the WBC’s tactics, describing them as having the intent to “generate attention by inciting reactions and counter-protesters to advance their cause.” This caution toward holding a counter - protest was echoed by Dr. Lane Bove, the vice president of Student Affairs. Bove said that she firmly believes in the first amendment and supports the right to civilly protest against a group such as the WBC. However, she described holding a counter -protest as unwise given the nature of the WBC. See Westboro | Page 2 Gloria Del Mar | Loyolan A student "stands for peace" against picketers.