Maroon

              THE MAROON ♦ ♦ ♦ SPECIAL MARDI GRAS ISSUE ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 74 NO. 16 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1996 Resolution to remove SGA director of finance fails By NEAL FALGOUST News Editor On Tuesday, Feb. 13, the Student Government Association Congress voted against a resolution by SGA President Katy Montgomery to force Michael Lovelace, SGA director of finance, to resign from his position because of poor job performance. The resolution failed by one vote. According to Montgomery, political science senior, Lovelace's failure to attend a budget allocation meeting on Sunday was "the icing on the cake." Other reasons included a slow turnover rate for check requests by student organizations and failure to pay a bill to the poster shop. Originally, SGA Chief of Staff G.J. Minardi, communications senior, had asked for Lovelace's resignation by letter and Lovelace agreed to resign. However, after reconsideration, he withdrew his resignation and decided to have congress vote on the issue. In a statement to congress, Lovelace, finance junior, contended that the reason he missed the meeting was that he had overslept because of a personal commitment the night before. He said in an interview with The Maroon that had someone from SGA contacted him, he would have gone to the meeting. When he realized he was late, he called the SGA office and told Justin Joseph, SGA vice president, that he would be willing to attend the meeting even though he was late. According to Lovelace, Joseph, accounting senior, told him not to attend the meeting, then abruptly ended the conversation. Minardi said at the Feb. 13 SGA meeting that efforts were made to contact Lovelace, but the phone number listed on the SGA database was incorrect. "We tried to ca11... the number on the database is wrong, OK," he said. However, Lovelace confirmed that his number was correct on a copy of the database acquired by The Maroon. When Minardi was asked about the discrepency he said that it was only a minor error. "1 was not aware of it (the database) having a glitch." Montgomery said she hopes that everyone in SGA will continue with the same enthusiasm they had before the resolution. "I requested [of the SGA] to not let this change the attitude or morale." Unchartered club leader steals dues By EMILY NETZHAMMER Staff writer Last semester, students responded to an approved flier placed around campus advertising a "new modern dance group" called A.R.T. But the nine students who joined the group are now angry that their former president, Earl Benjamin, music sophomore, has left Loyola and taken their dues money with him. Benjamin could not be located for comment. The fliers invited anyone "who thought they could dance" to come to an informational meeting and audition. Most students knew little about the organization when they got involved. "I only knew what was said on the fliers," said Bronwen Beecher, music freshman and former group member. Soon after practices began, each member was asked to pay $50, which was to be used to purchase costumes. Students became suspicious of Benjamin's reliability early in the fall semester. "The group was very disorganized from the start," said Kristine Fuchs, premed/psychology freshman. "Earl kept telling us there was going to be some kind of performance, but the date kept getting pushed back." "I was also kind of worried at the end of last semester when we had not yet received our costumes," she said. Members became distressed at the start of the spring semester when they Prejean speaks about poor, Dead Man Walking By SARAH WALKER Contributing writer Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., author of Dead Man Walking, spoke at the Dominican Conference Center on Jan. 7 of her experiences working with the poor and prisoners on death row and the making of the major motion picture directed by Tim Robbins. Prejean, a Louisiana native, received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her book, and the American Library Association named Dead Man Walking a "notable book." She appeared for interviews on programs such as "60 Minutes," "The Today Show" and "Donahue." Prejean was also named one of the 20 most confident women by McCall's Magazine. Prejean spoke first of her book and the process of making the movie. "God sends you allies," she said, explaining how it came together. Her editor, Jason Epstein, she said, was enormously supportive in the writing of the book. Everyone she encountered in the process of making the movie was terrific, she said. "When you do a film, you want to hit something universal." Prejean said she could not have been more pleased and impressed with director Tim Robbins. Prejean described him as insistent that the story not be altered by a Hollywood producer. Prejean said she had a deep rooted reason for writing her story and putting it into film. She said she sees herself as a servant and feels the need to tell people of her experiences. Prejean emphasized the importance of trying to help the poor and understand their situation rather than condemning them. She spoke about her visits to the poor in which she attempted to understand their specific situations. Prejean grew up while the South was still segregated. Her contact with black people was limited to her servants. Because of this, she was unsure about what to expect when encountering black people. "When you do a film, you want to hit something universal." — Helen Prejean, C.S.J. By AMBER SHIELDS Helen Prejean, C.S.J., speaks at the Dominican Conference Center. Public Safety apprehends flasher after chase across campus By JENNIFER LEVASSEUR News Editor Public Safety officers apprehended Franklin Rhea, a 28-year-old Kenner man, for exposing himself to a student on Jan. 29. Rhea has a record of similar violations. He was scheduled for a court date on Wednesday for a previous arrest for obscenity in Jefferson Parish. Rhea had been on campus at least one other time, on Jan. 30. He exposed himself to two female students in the Danna Center courtyard. The students did not report the incident at that time, said Roger Pinac, Public Safety investigator. "Most people who commit this type of crime are repeaters. They'll do it until they get caught," he said. Public Safety has documentation of his presence on campus because he was issued a parking violation that day. Public Safety officers arrested Rhea on Feb. 8. A student who had seen warnings about the man posted on campus spotted him in the Peace Quad and notified Public Safety. When officers questioned him, he began to run. The chase ended on the corner of Palmer Street and South Robertson Street. Rhea admitted to the flashings. The student involved in the Jan. 29 incident has filed charges against Rhea, but the two students Rhea exposed himself to on Jan. 30 have not yet decided if they will file charges. Pinac said he hopes the students will file charges. He also said that if Rhea exposed himself to any other students, they should come forward. Some students may not have reported incidents because they were embarrassed or shocked, he said. "I was really happy that it wasn't one of our students because it just sounds so out of context with something one of our students would be involved in," he said. "The campus is too small to do that kind of stuff and expect no one to recognize you." See PREJEAN, Pg. 5 See DUES, Pg. 5 Campaign '96 SSiEsOS Now or Never Native Ton9ues IThe Ad Club agency Wolfpack basketball Mardi Gras Indians put I I Puts toBether a project faces a must-win a unique spin on for its first client. situation. JET Cy 'w" Carnival celebrations. Because of the Mandi Gras holidays, The Maroon will not appear next week. We will resume publication on March I.