Maroon

              THE MAROON Loyola University New Orleans VOL. 82, NO. 16 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2004 MAROON.LOYNO.EDU WIO FAILS TO MOVE BYRON By Naomi King Staff writer Interim president firmly opposed to student production of'The Vagina Monologues' Interim President the Rev. William Byron, S.J.. definitively said "No," to the Women's Issues Organization regarding a production of "The Vagina Monologues" as possible public entertainment at Loyola . At an open forum Wednesday night, Byron was asked directly if the play would be allowed on campus. "We have actors, producers, and directors ready. We want to know, yes or no?" asked Stephanie Margherio, English senior and WIO member. "Ynn really pnnh me and I'm saying, 'No,'" Byron responded. The decision was based on the fact that the play was set to be produced by a student organization, the Women's Issues Organization, according to Byron. He stressed the distinction that "adult ■students arc not adult professionals, with the education, training, experience, and judgment of what's appropriate." Mary McCay, English department chair, asked, hypothetically, if the English department could sponsor a production of "The Vagina Monologues" as a public event. "I would hope you wouldn't do that," replied Byron, "because it would be perceived by the community as a confrontation [between the English department and the administration]." Initially, Byron denied the Administrators move ahead with scholarship plan By Gene Guillot Sports Editor and Joe Rosemeyer News Editor Arrangements for six athletic scholarships are moving forward despite widespread outcry from faculty members and the failure of a resolution in the Student Government to support such scholarships. "I have been directed by the president through the provost. Dr. Walter Harris, to move forward with the plan," Dean of Admissions Deborah Steiffel said. "The recruitment process is in place. The ad hoc committee on athletic scholarships is meeting weekly to iron out the exact process for eligibility, selection and renewal." Through two separate meetings on the issue, the University Senate had failed to appoint a faculty member to the ad hoc committee as of press time Wednesday. "I don't want to put a person on this committee because this issue shouldn't have come up in the first place," communications professor Mary Blue said at the Jan. 15 meeting. In response to an informal email poll by University Senate President Nancy Dupont, six members of the faculty voted for athletic scholarships and 15 opposed, out of forty total senate members. "I'm surprised by the reaction of the faculty," the Rev. William Byron, SJ., university president, said at a special senate meeting Jan. 22. "If I had realized it would be so significant in your minds, I wouldn't have gone ahead with the decision. I apologize for that." The senate called a special Town Hall meeting on Feb. 5 in Roussel Hall, so that all members of the university could discuss the scholarship proposal. At different points in the meeting, the discussion drifted to debates on whether the faculty should have been consulted about the scholarships and the validity of an SGA poll that showed student opinion favoring athletic scholarships. I^—  STAFF PHOTOS BY ANN HERMES ABOVE: Athletic Director Jerry Hernandez discusses the importance of athletic scholarships to the viability of Loyola's program at a special Town Hall meeting called by the University Senate. RIGHT: University Senate President Nancy Dupont presides over the Town Hall meeting, where students and faculty gathered to discuss athletic scholarships. Seven researchers share grant money By Lan Bui Staff writer Seven Richard Frank Grant applicants are moving ahead with their projects after finding out Saturday that they had received portions of the $7,500 annual allotment. The grant, which commemorates the late assistant professor and chairman of the department of modern foreign languages Richard Frank, is offered to Loyola students who are interested in performing scholarly research in the areas of natural sciences, social sciences or communications. The recipients are psychology senior Nicholas Holtzman, graduate music senior Jason Bongard and chemistry pre-med junior Katherine Vaden, criminal justice/sociology junior Kerry Deichmann and communications junior Regina Rivard, classical studies junior Katherine Jones and communications senior Melissa Guidry. The grant's criteria are that the recipients receive approval and project supervision by a faculty member, and that the recipients use the funds as designated by the Student Government Association's academic affairs committee. Students also are to perform their scholarly research for academic credit hours. Thirteen applicants applied for the Richard Frank Grant since mid-January. They submitted a two-part information packet that consisted of a qualitative response with a recommendation letter from a faculty member and a financial request for the collection of original data costs, travel costs, and rental or purchase of equipment costs. The academic affairs committee categorized the applications into piles A, B and C based on the strength of the application in the relation to other applications. Accordingly, pile A represented that the applicant deserved priority funding while piles B and C LATIN HEAT GOES UNDERGROUND LEFT: Salsa instructors Juan "Chino" Fukuda and Tuyet-Anh Huynh practice their moves before lessons. TOP: Huynh watches as beginning dancers catch on. ABOVE: Miriam Ducruet, biology senior, Julie Burke, communications junior, and Gigi Alford, communications junior, practice the steps they learned. See WIO, Page 3 See SCHOLARSHIP, Page 3 See FRANK GRANT, Page 2 Sports Loyola women set school record for wins, page 4 Opinion Bush and the building blocks, page 6 | Luis Araya hits a high note as one of Loyola's concerto winners, page 9 see magazine what's Inside calendar 2 loyola briefs 2 sports 4 letters 6 columns 7 life & time's 9 TODAY'S FORECAST showers high 54 low 38 For more weather, see page 2