Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 74 NO. 6 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6,1995 Verdict in OJ. trial ignites discussion By STEPHEN STUART News Editor As he watched the announcement of a "Not guilty" verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial from a television in the Pine St. Cafe, first-year law student Derrick Lebeouf reacted with a smile. "I was pleased with the verdict," he said. "The defense did a great job raising a reasonable doubt. "A lot of things in the case didn't mesh. I could see the holes in the prosecutors's case. With those holes there is reasonable doubt. They weren't able to tie things together." Other law students watching from the cafe also said that the defense's ability to cast reasonable doubt on the case played a key role in the verdict. "From the evidence presented there was too much reasonable doubt, especially in the scientific evidence," said Jaekie Harris, second-year law student. But other student reactions to the verdict reflected their disappointment with the judicial process. "He was found innocent on the genius defense of his lawyers ... People have gone to the electric chair with less evidence against them," said Jason Sanchez, management sophomore. The issue of race may have played a role in the jury's decision, said John Pina, finance sophomore. Out of the people he talked to about the case, Pina found that the majority of black students found him innocent, and the majority of white students found him guilty. — with reporting by Ramona Angtlo By RAMONAANGELO Law students in the Pine St. Cafe react to the "Not guilty" verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial on Tuesday. Knoth delays forum to discuss tainted money By CHRIS BONURA Editor in Chief Some members of the Jesuit Identity Task Force who hoped to hold a symposium about the ethical concerns of accepting money from Freeport- McMoßan are dismayed by the intervention of University President the Rev. Bernard Knoth, S.J., who wrote in a memo that he didn't think it appropriate for the task force to sponsor a symposium at this time. In other areas of the university, a petition is being circulated that calls for these same issues to be addressed, and the Loyola University Community Action Program has expressed its intention to sponsor a forum. Some on campus have raised concerns about Freeport-McMoßan's environmental record and its operations in Indonesia, where the company mines for precious metals and cooperates with Indonesia's dictator Suharto. "Public debate on this issue is a great 'opportunity for students to learn, to i lemand a critical education, to find out ' ivhat is happening around the world," said JITF student member and history senior Juan Carlos Rivera. The ethical question of accepting money from Freeport-McMoßan first arose in the JITF when student members Emily Drew, communications/sociology junior, and Rivera brought it up at a meeting after seeing Arrows Against the Wind, a documentary about social injustice in West Papau that implicates Freeport-McMoßan. Greg Probst, a spokesman for Freeport-McMoßan, was not available for comment. Assistant law professor William P. Quigley sponsored a resolution in April that the $600,000 that the corporation donated to the university for a chair of environmental communications be returned. The resolution cited "crimes against humanity in places like Indonesia as well as its lack of commitment to preserving the environment throughout the world." Quigley did not return a phone call. According to Drew, the Rev. James C. Carter, S.J., former university Chair candidate visits campus By STEPHEN STUART News Editor As the date for the search committee's recommendation of a candidate for the environmental communications chair approaches, the communications department invited a candidate to campus Sept. 28 and 29 to speak on environmental communications. The committee is scheduled to make its recommendation this Wednesday to Academic Vice President/Provost David Danahar. According to William Hammel, chair of the committee and the communications department, the committee will choose between candidates Robert Farentinos and Bill Kovarik. Another option would be to recommend neither person, he said. Kovarik, assistant professor of communications at Radford University, gave a presentation in the Danna Center on Sept. 28 entitled "Rethinking By DAN OBARSKI Candidate Bill Kovarik, left, talks with Craig Hood and David Myers. Peace Quad no longer a parking plan By ALLISON TEMPLET Contributing Writer The university is no longer considering the paving of the Peace Quad as an option in the search for new parking areas on campus, said Vincent Knipfing, vice president of student affairs. Turning the quad into a temporary parking lot had been one of the suggestions made by a parking committee in an attempt to make up for the loss of 88 parking spaces that will occur when construction of the new library begins. The main reason for eliminating the possibility of paving the Peace Quad was because it was only a temporary solution, Knipfing said. When the blacktop would be removed after two years, there would still be a lack of parking space, he said. When asked whether the opposition of students, faculty, and staff to converting the Peace Quad into a parking lot played a role in deciding to rule out the quad for parking space, Knipfing responded that their reaction "was a consideration." Knipfing said that the emphasis is now being placed on other long-term solutions, such as the building of a parking garage where the old Physical Plant building was. Constructing a new garage would cost the university an estimated $2.6 million, according to a Sept. 22 The Maroon article. Some students feel that the Peace Quad provides more than just a walkway through campus, said Rebecca Sanders, communication freshman. "The Peace Quad is always full of people talking, studying, sleeping or just hanging out," she said. "It's the center of life on campus and it provides a place to rest during the day." Emily Drew, LUCAP President and communications/sociology junior, said she feels that the area is vital as a place for organizing communities and for gathering, but that it is important for its natural surroundings as well. "Paving that not only destroys the opportunity for gathering, but it also destroys the ecological beauty," Drew said. Knipfing said that paving the Peace Quad was never a favorable solution. "No one was looking forward to blacktopping grass." No Maroon We will not publish next Friday because of mid-term exams. Publication will resume on Oct. 20. See JITF Pg. 5 See CHAIR Pg. 3 VV Teaching politics Ht Mil Soccer streak E3B3PEBI For art's sake ■ Candidate Melinda Two more wins add to SBB Mega-gallery openings