Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 74 NO. 24 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1996 Freshman pleads guilty to break-in By NEAL FALGOUST News Editor When Jaime Antonio Vega, general studies freshman, stepped before Judge Morris Reed on April 22, he faced charges of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. To those charges he pled guilty. The hearing came nearly eight months after Vega was charged with the burglary of a home in the private subdivision of Audubon Place, located just one block from the Loyola campus. Those charges were later reduced to unauthorized entry, because there was no evidence that showed Vega had actually stolen anything. After he was arrested, Vega said he did not remember any of the specific events that led up to his breaking into the house at 28 Audubon Place. "I was drunk, I got lost, I ended up in somebody's house. I don't remember anything," he said in an October interview with The Maroon. Vega had originally agreed to an interview with The Maroon this week, but later declined, saying that he wanted to "get on with life." After Vega's arrest, he was released on a $1,000 bond posted by his father, Roberto Vega. For eight months, Vega periodically reported to the court with his lawyers, Ramona Almonte, Mark MacNamara and Darryl Derbigny of the Loyola Law Clinic, for regular status reports. On April 9, Judge Reed ordered Vega to submit to a drug test He tested positive for marijuana, and Reed ordered Vega's bond to be raised from $ 1,000 to $50,000. After an unsuccessful motion for bond reduction, Vega was put in jail until April 22, when he pled guilty to the unauthorized entry charges. He was handed a one-year suspended sentence, a $500 fine, 24 months of probation and 100 hours of community service at Loyola. Vincent Knipfing, vice president of Student Affairs, refused an interview because, according to his secretary, he is unaware of the case. Derbigny said he could not discuss specific matters concerning the case because of attorney-client privileges. He did say, however, that the sentence Vega received is typical for a person who has had no prior record of wrongdoing. "The law itself provides for a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for six years," Derbigny said. "But people who have no prior record are routinely given the benefit of the doubt." NINE MONTHS By STEPHEN STUARI Managing Editor □ A look back on a year of controversy and transition There are many houses built a few years after the turn of the century in New Orleans that still endure the wind and the humidity of the city. Some sit and deteriorate — their paint chips away, their siding crumbles, their foundations sink. Other houses have been preserved and even improved by various owners who value them and call them "home." Loyola University is one such home, a steadfast domicile at the corner of Calhoun Street and St. Charles Avenue since 1912. Its caretakers, the Jesuit presidents, have kept up the university through wars, economic depression and social unrest in the 19605. The Jesuits have made many additions to the house, like Monroe Hall and the Danna Center, enhancing its appearance and expanding Loyola's offerings to its residents — the thousands of students, faculty and staff who have gone in and out of its doors. But the house's foundation, which the university has stood upon, is the Jesuit system of education, a liberal arts plan which fosters the development of the whole person, a quest for truth and wisdom and a belief in ethics and social responsibility. This academic year opened with the arrival of the Rev. Bernard Knoth, S.J., as university president, and his inaugural challenge to "rediscover" Loyola with him in the spirit of the university's Jesuit founders. This year has also seen the university attempt to sharpen its external appearance, as with its new logo, as well as keep its image from becoming sullied, especially in the controversy surrounding university donor Freeport-McMoßan. Since the university accepted a $600,000 donation from Freeport-McMoßan for an environmental communications chair a few years ago, some people on campus have questioned this decision. They felt FILE PHOTO Protesters gather outside Moffett's home to protest Freeport's environmental record. FILE PHOTO Knoth delivers an address at his inauguration in October. Citadel more than student anticipated By JENNIFER LEVASSEUR News Editor Alex Brown stood in the beating August sun struggling to hold a 50-pound laundry bag above the ground. Stoic Citadel upperclassmen and television news crews watched, waited. The upperclassmen waited for a "nobby," a freshman cadet, to allow his bag to touch the ground, which would give them a reason "to »ack" (scream at) the cadets. The news crews focused on Shannon Faulkner, the first female to be admitted to the school. When Faulkner left the school after a few days, the crews followed her, pressing microphones in her face and flashing cameras at what some called her defeat. When Brown, now a psychology freshman at Loyola, left the school after five days, no such publicity followed. What did follow was a totally different college experience than what he had been exposed to in those days in South Carolina. Brown, a native of Gulf Breeze, Fla., is the second of four sons of a Citadel alumnus. Throughout his life he had been exposed to the school. His uncle also attended, and his father often took him to visit. "At first it was a non-volitional thing. My dad told me that I had to go there. Then after I went and looked at it with him, he decided that it would be best if I made the decision myself," Brown said. One of the main reasons he decided to attend the Citadel was the interest and concern displayed by the teachers. "The teachers are really interested in the students' well-being, and some of them don't even agree with all the military stuff that comes along with the school," he said. But Brown's first impression of the Citadel changed quickly upon his arrival for the start of class. The cadets put on a good show for the parents, he said. They made the school appear friendly, and the nobbies began to bond. Brown's father had prepared him, in a general sense, for what he could expect from the school. "He said, 'It's not going to be any worse than football practice. After your first year, you'll be fine."' While he had been told that the first year would be similar to boot camp, he See BROWN, Pg. 6 See YEAR, Pg. 3 Knoth Speaks Loyola's president looks back on his inaugural year. Pg.s Replay Loyola athletics meets 1995-96 with mixed results. Pg.7 I Turning the Page Magazine Street comes : pSwSW* t0 ''*'c as an eC(,noin'c tl(" MQBff spot I 2 Yg. 11 This is the last issue of the 1995-96 academic year We will resume publication next fall.