Maroon

              THE MAROON Loyola University New Orleans VOL. 82, NO. 15 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2004 MAROON.LOYNO.EDU Administrators anticipate diversity center within year By Chuck Alexander Staff writer Center would address many facets of diversity in Loyola life Vice President of Student Affairs James Eiseman and Provost Walter Harris said Tuesday that university officials anticipate that a longdiscussed multicultural center will open within the next year. Outlined by the Rev. William Byron, S.J., interim university president, in his Spring Convocation address to the faculty and staff, a "center for interracial and intercultural understanding" would entail widespread participation from both students and faculty. According to Byron's address, the center will attempt to touch upon eleven points of interest: freshman orientation, new and existing course offerings, training seminars for students, faculty and staff, panel discussions, small mixed-group conversations on selected topics, residence hall seminars, local and longer-distance travel to neighborhoods, communities, and events that offer learning opportunities, on-campus culinary events, photography and art exhibits, exposure to the music of different cultures, and interfaith prayer and liturgical experiences. Marketing senior and Student Government Association president Bea Forlano said that the campaign is a sign of great progress. "This really is one of the main things we wanted," she said. "There is always more that you can do, but we were definitely happy with the decision to form a multicultural center." When Forlano appeared before the Board of Trustees on Nov. 21, the campus was in the midst of a spree of racially-motivated instances of vandalism. Several campus groups under the leadership of the SGA, including La Gente, the Black Student Union and Etcetera had organized for a silent sit-in protest at the board's meeting in Greenville Hall on the Broadway Campus. The 150 or so students remained outside for most of the afternoon in a stand aginst several racially-motivated incidents, including a flyer that was posted in Mercy Hall by a group claiming to be "Students for a White Loyola." That flyer attacked blacks, homosexuals and Latinos, but Forlano's address to the board that day included a dossier on racial incidents dating back to 1997. In her address, Forlano questioned what actions were being taken by the PHOTO BY LIZZIE FORD-MADRID At front, Director of Residential Life Robert Reed, sociology senior and SGA vice president Mary Grace Stewart, marketing senior and SGA president Bea Forlano, and international business freshman and SGA representative Sam Cabrera listen to administrators outline a proposed "center for interracial and intercultural understanding." FIGHT FOR THE WHITE HOUSE 2004 Seven Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday all but eliminated most of the party's presidential hopefuls, leaving John Kerry, John Edwards, Wesley Clark and Howard Dean (at right) to continue their fight to take on President George W. Bush in the fall elections. Who's leading the Democratic pack? Are Republican leaders ready for the competition? Admissions aims to draw more male undergrads By Thomas Slack Contributing writer Minority enrollment increases, while gender ratio is balancing out Loyola University interim president the Rev. William Byron, S.J., recently brought an unbalanced male-to-female ratio in student admissions to the attention of the university community during his address at the spring convocation. "It struck me when I returned to Loyola last fall that there is a notable increase of females in the student body," Byron said. According to data from the Loyola Office of Institutional Research, in 2001, female enrollment was 63 percent; male enrollment was 37 percent. As indicated by Dean of Admissions Debra Stieffel, in 2002, female students comprised almost 62 percent of the student population, while males represented just 38 percent; for 2003, the ratio was 60 percent to 40 percent. According to Stieffel, the number of male applicants has risen 10 percent, while female applicants are up by 2 percent. "You see a higher percent of women who go on to college," Stieffel said, "and we would like to see more men in our freshmen class." Byron said that he's happy "to see more women moving into higher education, and thus preparing themselves to do well in life in whatever they choose." The concern, seems to be whether Loyola is prepared to accommodate larger BELTIN' IT OUT STAFF PHOTO BY ANN HERMES Music business freshman Stephen Hudson wails all the way from the Underground to the rafters of the Danna Center at Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.'s Open Mic Night on Monday. See DIVERSITY, Page 3 See PRIMARIES, Page 2 See ADMISSIONS, Page 2 Sports A/ L Baseball looks to improve on past season, page 4 Opinion I The Butt of Byron's joke, page 6 Cifa titties jL Tulane's production of "The Vagina Monologues" worth the visit, page 9