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              The MAROON VOL. 83, NO. 11 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS NOVEMBER 19, 2004 Senate waits for Wildes' response By Kelly Brown Staff writer The University Senate spent the majority of their latest meeting discussing the sudden closure of the Senior Commons Room, but in the end decided to hold off on any group action until the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, responds to the complaints. Maurice Brungardt, professor of history and president of the Senior Commons Room Association, presented a report on the status of the recently-closed room at the University Senate meeting Tuesday. Mary Blue, associate professor of communications, conducted the meeting. Until the beginning of this semester, the Senior Commons Room was a place for lunch where faculty brought their guest speakers and people interviewing for a job. According to Brungardt. the room was closed due to cost and lack of space on campus, but since then the university has done nothing to utilize the space. "I think everyone, including Father Wildes, would admit that... the room served the university community far better in its former capacity,"DODGE THIS! Freshman Judith McGee is the last woman on the floor as the opposing team throws an all-out attack at the University Programming Board STAFF PHOTO BY ANN HERMES Dodgeball tournament. UPB provided peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Gatorade for the participating teams in the RecPlex on Sunday afternoon. Fake shoplifters support local businesses By Pat McDermott Staff writer Conrad Deßaillon had never shoplifted before. But as the international business/finance sophomore stuffed merchandise in his pant pockets and behind his waistband, he said he felt like an old pro. He surveyed the store's security and made his move for the door. He knew that what he was doing was not for mere theft, but for the good of the establishment, however strange it might seem. In fact, as a member of good standing in Loyola's Students in Free Enterprise, Deßaillon was only doing what any person in his situation might do: shoplift. SIFE has embraced a unique and original plan to help local businesses expose security faults. It's called the Mystery Shoplifter Program. Members of the organization walk into selected and agreeable retailers to take as much as they can. If not caught in the act, SIFE issues a report on measures to increase securityAnti-abortion feminist speaks on women's rights By Kelly Brown Staff writer Serrin Foster is against abortion. However, she said in a speech Tuesday night that her goal was not to condemn those who had an abortion in the past, or those who are in favor of abortion rights. Students, faculty and community members filled Nunemaker Auditorium to hear Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, outline "The Feminist Case Against Abortion." "It was the stories of all the women who have had abortions, or men who have been affected by them, that inspired me to take up this cause," Foster said. The talk was co-sponsored by Loyola Life, University Ministry. Residential Life, the Office of the President, the Jesuit Center, the Christian Legal Society, City College, the Student Government Association and the Women's Resource Center. Foster began her speech with a call to action. "There are so many things we can do to promote the rights of women and children ... I want to see some heavy lifting when you leave here tonight," she said. Foster said abortion was antithetical to the feminist cause, because it discriminates against a huge segment of society in a fundamental way and uses violence and force in dealing with problems rather than peaceful solutions. She added that domestic violence, rape, euthanasia and equality issues are all inextricably linked to the abortion debate. "Feminism is about reducing the use of force to overpower and coerce each other," she said. Her analysis of feminism contradicting abortion included an extensive analysis of the first wave of feminism, which was anti-abortion. She brought up Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucrecia Molt, all of whom in the past have made strong arguments against abortion. According to Foster, Stanton described abortion as infanticide, and quoted her as saying, "It is degrading to STAFF PHOTO BY GILLIAN DICKER Serrin Foster argues not all feminists are in favor of abortion rights at her lecture, 'The Feminist Case Against Abortion," on Tuesday. SOA protest marks martyrs' anniversary By Adam Hennessey Staff writer More than 40 students and faculty members will join 10,000 to 20,000 others in Columbus. Ga. this weekend to protest the School of the Americas. This year's demonstration marks the 15th anniversary of the slaying of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador. The men responsible for the murders were graduates of the SOA. The school has come under great criticism as being a training facility for terrorists, murderers and dictators, although it was created to train Latin American militaries. Its military training facility is located at Fort Benning Army Base in Columbus. Although it is still known as the SOA, Congress renamed the organization the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC. According to the Rev. Eddie Gros, S.J., the most egregious offenders of human rights in Latin America over the past few decades have been graduates of the SOA. Gros has worked as a missionary in Latin America for several years, and said that some of his own parishioners had been tortured by SOA-trained soldiers. "It's a wartime paradigm," Gros said. "They are teaching soldiers to go back to their country and target their own countrymen." According to SOA Watch, an independent organization seeking the closure of the school, graduates of SOA include many Latin American dictators, such as See SENATE, page 3 See THIEF, page 3 See SOA, page 3 See FOSTER, page 3 SPORTS jd \ Men off to fast start; * j women defeat fr / J Southeastern page 4 /, LIFE & TIMES A Basil Leaf Thai serves a smooth blend of spices at Carrollton Avenue restaurant page 9 ' INSIDE: NEWS BRIEFS, page 2 • SPORTS, PAGE 4 • OP/ED, PAGE 6 • LIFE & TIMES, PAGE 9 VISIT US ON THE WEBI MAROON.LOYNO.EDU ONLINE POLL Do you plan on staying in town during Thanksgiving break? vote online: maroon.loyno.edu