Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 75 NO. 8 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1996 Loyola University New Orleans Rowland hunts for bio chair By SARAH SPARKS Staff writer Loyola's biology department is one of the fastest growing on campus, yet it is the only department in the College of Arts and Sciences that does not have someone to nil its chair. Last semester, Craig Hood resigned as chairman and went on sabbatical to the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island. While Robert Rowland, arts and sciences dean, took over Hood's duties after his resignation, so far no one else has stepped forward to take charge of the department. According to Rowland, Hood was in the middle of his second term as chair when the pressures of the job became too intense. "He (Hood) was very conscientious, always taking on everything, sending out voluminous memos," he said. Rowland said problems started to develop in 1991 with a sudden boom in biology and biology/pre-med majors. "All of a sudden, everybody wanted to be a doctor," he said. "It seemed like overnight we had jumped from 100 majors to 300 majors. The rapid growth put a strain on everybody." Hood resigned, Rowland said, out of frustration that his own research was going nowhere and the strain that the job put on him. "The support infrastructure simply wasn't up to the task the chair was forced to do," Rowland said. "There's so much involved — a lot of meetings, planning, budget assessment — and he was doing it all by himself. It was very draining." Hood could not be reached for comment. When Hood resigned, no one in the faculty was willing to take his place. Rowland, whose only experience with biology was a freshman course in his own college days, was forced to take up the slack. "Somebody had to do it," Rowland said. "We couldn't run the department without a chair." Biology professors Patricia Dorn, Donald Hauber and James Wee would not comment on the situation. But David White, associate professor of biology and former chairman of the department, said that the situation has made the department a much more difficult place to work. The lack of resources has contributed both to Hood's departure and the Date rape and Rohypinol on the rise By SARAH WALKER Staff writer Lee, a Tulane University graduate, was raped by her best friend at age 15. "All survivors, to a greater or lesser extent, blame themselves," she said. Although it was her best friend, Lee does not agree with calling it a "date rape." "It implies an unwritten social consent," she said. Lee emphasized that no date occurred, but that he overstepped his bounds as her best friend and as a man. As one of the featured speakers for Wednesday's Women Take Back the Night march, sponsored by Loyola and Tulane universities, Lee told her story. According to the Counseling, Career Development & Placement Center, there has been an increase in the number of reported date rape cases at Loyola. Bo Farrell, chairwoman of the Sexual Aggression Prevention Committee and counselor at the center, could not give a concrete reason for the increase, but she believes "there are still many more unreported cases." In addition, locally and across the country, there has been an increasing number of women who have fallen victim to the new "date rape drug," Rohypinol. What was usually prescribed for severe insomnia is now an instrument in rape. Commonly known as "roofies," Rohypinol pills are used to drug women for the purposes of raping them. "Without lab tests to support it, Rohypinol has been connected in the increased number of date rape cases at Loyola," Farrell said. While Rohypinol is illegal in the United States, it is still used in other countries for those suffering from sleeplessness, anxiety disorders, convulsions and muscle tension. Not only is this odorless and tasteless tranquilizer especially dangerous, it is practically undetectable when mixed with alcohol. Rohypinol is easily attainable in Mexico and all the recent bad publicity has romanticized its appeal, Farrell said. By BETH McGOVERN As she wipes away her tears, Elizabeth Meier, communications junior, is comforted by Marguerite Ross, elementary education sophomore, at Wednesday's Women Take Back the Night march. Capital campaign continues By CHANTELLE SARGENT Contributing writer The phrase "Thresholds: Campaign for Loyola," plastered on maroon flags and displayed from St. Charles Avenue almost to Freret St., trumpets the second phase of Loyola's capital campaign. The effort to raise $50 million for the new library, competitive salaries for faculty and staff, and student scholarships has three phases: the silent phase, the campus, or the internal phase, and the general phase. During the silent phase, which began in January 1993, at least 50 percent of the $50 million had to have been collected in private donations before moving to the next phases and becoming public, said Sheri Smith, director of the capital campaign. "The silent phase consisted of advance gifts from key alumni, friends of Loyola and the board of trustees," Smith said. As of July, $26.3 million had been raised. Currently, the campaign is in the campus phase where faculty and staff coordinators of the fund-raiser are encouraging co-workers to pledge money to the fund. Money can either be donated in a lump sum or by a one-percent payroll deduction over a period of two years. Those who donate at least one-percent of their salary will get a bricks with their name on it in front of the new library. Deborah Stieffel, associate director of admissions, said that giving back to the university is important. "We shouldn't have to go off of campus to ask for millions of dollars," she said. "If you believe in something, you Loyola students describe experiences of 'tripping' on LSD By ALLISON TEMPLET News Editor Of all illicit drugs, probably none is surrounded by as much mystery as LSD. A drug popularly called "acid" no doubt arouses curiosity as to its effects on the body. Imagine seeing mold growing on someone, watching your mother's face turning into that of a pig or thinking that a lollipop stick has become a worm crawling on the ground at your feet. These are not bizarre images from a science fiction movie, but some of the experiences two LSD users, Jennifer, English writing sophomore, and Anne, history sophomore, have had. According to the 1996 core survey of 491 Loyola students, 12 percent said they had used a hallucinogen at least one time in the last year, a one percent increase from 1994. This percentage is much less than the 90 percent who reported using alcohol and the 34 percent using marijuana. The first time Jennifer (not her real name) tried LSD, she was 18 years old. She went to a rave club with her brother and his friends who were also going to be "tripping." She figured it would be an experience worth trying "just for the hell of it." Anne (not her real name) began using LSD at the age of 13. The summer before her eighth-grade year, she did it almost | NO MAROON | The Maroon will not appear next week because of the All Saints ' Day holiday. We will resume publication Nov 8. See WOMEN, Pg. 3 See CAMPAIGN, Pg. 3 See ACID, Pg. 4 See CHAIR, Pg. 3 :H lver screen receives $125,000 for A Un-Saintly exit Mora 'eaves team pa.ijK '' vf* in shambles; Loyola reactions mixed. SESPIBfI Witches harness natural spirits to find balance in