Maroon

              THE MAROON Loyola University New Orleans VOL. 81, NO. 8 HAPPY HALLOWEEN Student hit by car, dies from injuries By Curie Veronica Jones Staff writer A car struck and killed Loyola freshman Geoffrey Coyne while he was walking to Friar Tuck's bar Friday night at approximately 10:30. According to a university source, the New Orleans Police report said Coyne and another student were on Freret Street near Richmond Place when the accident occurred. "They were trying to avoid a puddle and the car hit. Nothing in the report showed any type of alcohol on any sides," the source said. "That's one of the things I hate the most about this. It was just a dumb freak accident," said freshman business major Tyler Douglas. According to the NOPD report, a female Tulane student was driving the car, and no arrests were made. Coyne was taken to a hospital and put on life support, but he was taken off the machine Sunday. His organs were donated to others. "Geoffrey always wanted to be an organ donor," Douglas said. Another student was hit along with Coyne and was pinned under the car until help arrived. She was released from the hospital early Saturday morning. Coyne, a general studies freshman, was member of the Etceiera organization on campus. "We are a very close knit group. He was just a very happy kid," said elementary education freshman Jay Cardwell. The wake is scheduled for Friday evening at People's Chapel Funeral home in Hueytown, Ala. The funeral will be Saturday at an Episcopal church in the same town. University Ministry is providing rides to Alabama for students who are interested in attending the services. A memorial service will be held for Coyne on Monday at 9 p.m. in the Ignatius Chapel in Bobet Hall. A reception will follow in the Manresa Den. "The service is for all students who would like to come and celebrate his life," said George Gallien of University Ministry. READY TO RUMBLE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31. 2002| ABOVE: Nicole Morganti, chemistry pre-med freshman, gets taken down Oct. 24 while Jell-0 wrestling. The wrestling was part of the University Programming Board's Hurricane Party held in the Residential Quad. The party was postponed due Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili. LEFT: Heather MacFarlane, a henna artist, applies a tattoo to Lindsay Southall, communications freshman, during the Hurricane party. STAFF PHOTO BY GILLIAN DICKER STAFF PHOTO BY ANN HERMES Speaker criticizes Israel's actions By Erin Williamson Staff writer In a speech that prompted heated debate, applause and shouting matches, Norman Finkelstein criticized Israel's actions in the long history of the Arab-Israel conflict, comparing those actions to the oppression of Native Americans by European colonists and to apartheidera South Africa. A crowd of about 150 students, faculty and community members gathered in Nunemaker Auditorium on Tuesday night to hear Finkelstein's lecture titled "Whither the Peace Process: Prospects for Resolving the Israel-Palestine Conflict." Finkelstein is a Jewish man whose parents were survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz. He is considered "one of the most radical and hard-hitting critics of the official Zionist version of the Arab-Israeli Loyola looks for diversity's future By Nicole Haase News Editor "The incident," the event in which students made racial slurs at Greek Week events in spring 2000, is the past. Forums and discussions are the present. But what does the future hold for diversity issues on this campus? According to Percy Marchand, Student Government Association vice president and management junior, Loyola needs to bring the issue out into the open. "We have to be able to talk about it. . . . Right now the issue is kind of in the closet. . . . Many people don't truly understand what it means to be a minority or to experience prejudice," he said. Though the issue has been brought to the forefront by incidents and forums, when those things end, diversity seems to be forgotten, said Caryn Winters, political science junior and Bridging the Gap president. The way Leslie Mills, political science senior, sees it, forums and talking are a start, but they don't come close to solving the problem. At the Diversity Forum on Oct. 21, Mills challenged those in attendance to find solutions. She said that talking and holding forums aren't aren't enough. She asked the students to find actual concrete steps that can be taken to start solving the problems of prejudice that exist at Loyola. The biggest complaint among those offering opinions is a lack of support for the events that are taking place. According to the Oct. 25 issue of The Maroon, about 50 people attended the forum Winters wanted to know why there were few representatives from SGA and no administrators in attendance. Marchand calls this "preaching to the choir." He said these are the people who already know and understand the problem and he would like to see new people get involved. According to Winters, this illustrates one of the biggest problems that exists. She wants to see all administration, from the Rev. Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., all the way down. "I challenge administration and SGA and other campus organizations to become more involved and aware about diversity issues on campus through whatever means necessary. It's their responsibility," she said. Marchand echoed Winters' thoughts. "There needs to be more support behind the student organizations like Black Student Union and La Gente," he said. Marchand said that these organizations are trying to accomplish many things. They aren't able to devote their full attention to the issue and therefore need support from other places. For Alex Winters, drama/communications junior, diversity issues extend beyond the student body. She said that problems exist on an institutional level. She said she has only taken four classes taught by minorities in her four years at Loyola. "You come to Loyola and you want to feel like the university cares about you. But the university isn't providing mentors for me. What can I aspire to be? The only black people I see on a regular basis are WFF workers, the OR and bookstore staff and University Police officers." There is no one with my education level or higher," she said. Wesley agrees that speakers and forums are nice, but questions what exactly they accomplish. She would like to see diversity issues integrated into the classroom. "I would like to see Loyola combat ignorance in everyday life," she said. Though "the incident" is brought up as an example of what is wrong on Loyola's campus, few people are willing to talk about it. Wesley said that she has no problem talking about it, because she does not see that much has changed at Loyola in the years since it happened. The one positive thing that she says she feels came out of that experience was that the university now knows that the students will not accept that kind of occurrence, that administration knows what the students are capable of. Alexis Yankowski, Catholic studies senior, said that the year following the 2000-2001 school year was good, but that after one year, "the problem slipped everyone's mind and that's a shame." For Winters, "the incident" shows what is wrong with administration's See ISRAEL, Page 3 See DIVERSITY, Page 3 fIMPPI than Ezra Williom LIFE AND TIMES, pg. 11 , SfcvSL *