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              Loyola University New Orleans THE MAROON Established 1923 • "For a Greater Loyola" VOL 78 NO. 20 http://maroon.loyno.edu FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2000 keeping a WORLD view Students find faith on campus By Fatima Harris Staff writer Religious diversity is not one of Loyola's strong points. The office of Institutional Research reported that of the 5,412 students enrolled in 1999, 3,143 students were registered as Roman Catholic. But many students said they are comfortable with the variety of faiths on campus. Crossing boundaries The Rev. John Weling, S.J., dean of Campus Ministry, said thai sometimes non- Catholic Christians are overlooked on campus yet said he hopes that they try to take advantage of church services that are offered. "We don't do enough to service non-Catholics," he said. "Tulane has a few chaplains to serve non-Christian and non-Catholic denominations, so why not work closely with Tulane?" Campus Ministry did sponsor an intert'aith service Tuesday with Tulane chaplains to discuss ways of adding to Campus Ministry. Weling said he hopes that Campus Ministry will STAFF PHOTOS BY KRISTY MAY The four-part news series on religion will examine Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. Freeport under fire once again By Marcy McCall Staff writer Freeport-McMoßan Copper & Gold, Inc., the New Orleans-based mining company accused of numerous human and environmental abuses, faces more problems resulting from the company's Indonesian mining activities. Reports from the Indonesian Observer said the local government has rejected Freeport's independent audit which claims the company practices sound mining. The company's activities have been closely monitored at Loyola since the 1994 creation of a chair in environmental communications within the Department of Communications, which was funded by a $600,000 donation from Freeport. According to reports by the Environmental Impact Assessment Agency of Bapedal in the Indonesian Observer, more than 133,000 hectares of land in Freeport's Irian Jaya mining concession have been seriously damaged and nearby fivers have been polluted. Freeport rebutted the allegation and stated that the affected area equals only 13,300 hectares. At the end of the mine's life, the area will cover 23.000 hectares, said Yuli Ismartono, vice president for Freeport community relations, said in a statement to ASBAB, an Indonesian news wire service. The Freeport audit, conducted by a firm in Montgomery, Ala., was rejected because it failed to reveal the extent of damage done to Irian Jaya's ecosystem and because it failed to adequately explain what Freeport has done to overcome the problems, Ali Kastella of the Bapedal agency said in an article in the Indonesian Observer on Feb. 25. Department shuffling outlined for the fall By Trista Bateman Staff writer Come this fall, Loyola's campus will see many new faces. Though the majority of them are new students, many new professors will be among them. Students have different views on what this means for the university, and also on the methods of hiring and keeping professors. "I'm very happy that new professors are coming next fall," said Miyong Yu, math and computer information systems junior. "We definitely need a better selection of professors, especially for the common curriculum classes." But Mimi Esmail, computer science junior, disagreed. "I don't think that the intro classes need new professors, they have a nice variety already," she said. Esmail said she believes that it would be better to hire more professors on the upper-level courses because that's where there is the least selection. Science shuffle In the College of Arts and Sciences, the biology department is hiring an assistant professor of microbiology for the fall. The chemistry department already has hired a new full-time professor. David Knight will join Loyola as an associate organic chemistry professor. Knight specializes in organometallic chemistry, which is the chemistry of metal and its carbon bonds. As an assistant professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Knight received his doctorate from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. "I thought he | KnightJ had the strongest background," said Kurt Birdwhistell, chemistry chairman. Beef: It wasn't for dinner Monday By Betsy Schmitt Contributing writer Cows sighed in relief Monday. People across the country abstained from meat as part of The Great American Meatout 2000. At Loyola, 131 students signed up lo participate in the program, according to Mary Hill, psychology freshman, who is involved in the Meatout. "People have been coming up on their own because they're interested." Hill said. Loyola's Meatout was sponsored by the Environmental Action/Green Club, a project of Loyola University Community Action Program. Meatout literature suggests eating fresh fruit, oatmeal, whole-grain bread, salads, soups, and sandwiches See FREEI'ORT, Pg. 5 Sec DIVERSITY, I'g. 5 See SHUFFLE, Pg. 3 See MEAOUT, Pg. 6 ( ■ :*• if 7 — "--—___  Sound Bytes  User Unfriendly Computers can hurt you One Held Is Enough Kevin Held on doing and sperm auctions IP Visit us at http://maroon.loyno.edu !