Maroon

              THE MAROON Loyola University New Orleans VOL. 81, NO. 17 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2003 "For a greater Loyola" The debate rages 30 years later By lan Morrison Staff writer New generation faces past choices about abortion Scheherezade Daftary recalled a time before the legalization of abortion. "Before Roe v. Wade, it was poor and young women who had to refer to back-alley abortions," she said. Cathleen A. Cleaver had a different outlook. "Unlimited abortion in this country has been a 30-year social experiment on women," she said. January 22 marked the 30th anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that  legalized abortion. On Feb. 6, Daftary and Cleaver participated in a public forum entitled "Thirty Years Since Roe v. Wade: What will our Generation Choose?" in Nunemaker Auditorium. They had two hours to argue, retort and defend their positions. "We realize this is an emotionally charged topic," said Ryan Richardson, economics senior who introduced the speakers. The organizations sponsoring the event were the Association of Women Law Students, the University Programming Board, Residential Life, the Women's Resource Center, Compass, the Student Government Association, the Jesuit Center, the Women's Issues Organization, Loyola Life, and University Ministry. Each speaker had 20 minutes. This was followed by a 10-minute rebuttal and a student panel response. "I was scared. The crowd looked frightening, but then they laughed, and that's how I knew no one was going to get torn to shreds," said Aaron Walker, communications freshman, who moderated the forum. Still, police were present all evening. Scheherezade Daftary, resident of the Louisiana National Organization for Women and the Vice President of Public Relations for the Greater New Orleans Chapter of NOW, addressed the audience first. "Roe v. Wade — many of us take it for granted. It's all we've known," Daftary said. She related accounts by women who took part in pre-Roe v. Wade abortions and discussed the privacy I was scared. The crowd looked frightening but thenthey laughed and that's how I knew no one was going to get torn to shreds," - AARON WALKER, COMMUNICATIONS FRESHMAN, on the crowd at the debate STAFF PHOTO BY GILLIAN DICKER Scheherazade Daftary (front), president of the Louisiana National Organization for Women, looks out on the audience as Cathleen A. Cleaver, the director of planning for Pro-Life activities for conference of Catholic bishops, speaks. ITALIAN FUN STAFF PHOTO BY GILLIAN DICKER David Schumacher, physics junior, plays bocce ball in the Peace Quad on Tuesday during the window. Nutella, sponsored by the Bateman team and PRSSA, held the event to provide students with a taste of Italian culture. Minus system set to begin in Fall 2004 By Jill Scahill Staff writer Adjustment time delays implementation of new grading system A minus grading system, which has been a source of debate among students and administrators, is set to be implemented in Fall 2004, according to Thomas Smith, associate dean of Arts and Sciences. The system, which was recommended for implementation by the university provost council a year ago, has been through a series of discussions and votes since the idea was first introduced. In November the College of Arts and Sciences Assembly voted in favor of the system. The decision went to the Provost Council, which is composed of all the deans. The council also recommended implementation and set the date. The delay in implementation has caused some to believe that the matter is still up for debate. However, Smith says the decision has been made and the delay is just preparation time for professors, students and administrators. "All the colleges can do is recommend implementation because it is a university wide decision," Smith said. The new scale will assign plusses a positive of .30 and minuses a negative .30 decimal points. "The minus system would really hurt my GPA since I don't think I have ever earned a solid A." - KATHERINE GOETZ, PUBLIC RELATIONS JUNIOR, on the effect that the change in the grading system will have on her GPA Thomas stresses Jesuit identity By Earl Descant Assistant News Editor Fred Thomas, candidate for provost and vice-president of academic affairs, focused on the rich Jesuit education tradition during his campus visit. "I think we (Jesuits) have the strongest academic tradition in the Catholic universities," he said. Travis participated in informal question-and-answer sessions with students and faculty on Feb. 6 and 7. He has served as the provost and academic vice-president at John Carroll Universiy. He was also a professor. While in this position, Travis, a selfdescribed "people person" held an active role in the hiring process of every full-time professor, he said. Brandon Thibodeaux, economics and business administration junior, asked Travis about how Jesuit ideas can be pushed further. Travis stressed the importance of hiring faculty and staff who not only possess high credentials but are people who want to be committed to the goals and values of a Jesuit university. However, he said that being Catholic was not a requirement of the position. "There may be some Catholics you don't want," he said. Travis encouraged practices such as a yearlong orientation program for new faculty, as well as the benefits of hiring young faculty who can then be developed over the years. Laurie Joyner, associate professor of sociology, asked Travis about his strengths and weaknesses. Travis said that it is his experience gained over the last 23 years at Jesuit universities that he will bring to Loyola. "You find out what people do well and you let them do that," he said. "I let people do their job, and I don't micromanage." When talking about weaknesses, Travis said that he can sometimes "push pretty hard to get things done ... and that can be a little intimidating." Craig Hood, professor of biology, asked Travis about his thoughts on increasing the number of graduate programs. "Number one, you can't hurt the undergraduate programs," he said. "John Carroll University's goal is to provide a high quality undergraduate education, while some of the graduate programs such as the MBA or education program, have grown out of community needs." Sec ABORTION, Page 4 See GRADES, Page 4 wgfrewgwg wegrewgrwg Th» Maroon will not appear next week due to University mid-terms. Publication witt resume Feb. 28.  wgrswgrswg