Maroon

              THE MAROON VOL 83, NO. 15 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS JANUARY 28, 2005 Inauguration draws diverse crowds throughout the nation Large number of protesters turn out across the country By Daniel Monteverde Staff writer Protesters in Washington D.C. made their disapproval of the reelection of President George W. Bush known during the presidential inauguration parade last week, while supporters of the president celebrated the 55th presidential inauguration and its official theme: "a vision of America." A designated section for protesters along the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue grew nearly six rows deep. Some demonstrators carried boxes representing coffins and chanted during the president's address. Others, among them subscribers to Conservative Web sites Right March.com and Freeßepublic.com held pro-Bush rallies along the parade route to combat the anti-Bush protests. In downtown New Orleans and at Loyola, there was opposition to the president in several forms. The Loyola College Democrats organized a prayer service and values rally. According to psychology junior Ryan Lee, a member of the college Democrats and an organizer of the event, the purpose was not to fight against the president but to challenge the president in his second term to broaden debate, including religion. "We've been beaten over the head so much with religion that we felt like the prayer service was the best thing," Lee said. "It was showing that you don't have to be a religious fanatic ... It was very much 'here's our side and give us time.'" Loyola's College Republicans were" unavailable for comment as of press time. College Democrats at the University of New Orleans held a protest of their own. About 60 students took part in the protest across town. Joe Cook, president of the Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union, was a featured speaker. While many New Orleanians showed up to protest the inauguration, not everyone was against the RecPlex courts undergo major resurfacing Carpet surface replaced with wooden finish By Kelly Brown Staff writer Construction work on the Recreational Sports Complex is more than a month behind schedule after workers from Wood Floor Finishers discovered an uneven, flawed concrete surface beneath the old tennis courts. The process of converting the eastern half of the gym from tennis and badminton courts to a full-size basketball court began in December. Originally, a low-bid contract was signed with the floor company from Mandeville for $133,000 for work to be finished by Jan. 10. Now, the job will cost $180,000 and be completed in early March. Nan Davis, director of recreational sports, said that replacing the carpet was necessitated by health concerns. According to Davis, the project had been in the planning stages for several years. "The carpet was starting to unravel, and we had repaired it with tape. Now, that makes no sense for a gymnasium to have to tape its floors together." Davis said that the carpet surface, called Pro-Gym, had been popular for many years but had recently been found to cause serious injuries. "The coefficient of friction was so high that feet would stick, but knees would keep going, which led to a lot of knee surgeries and lawsuits," Davis said. She added that, although the stated lifespan of the product was 10 years, the current floor was 17 years old. When workers tore out the carpeted tennis courts, they found that the concrete slab underneath was cracked and uneven. Eddie Sharp, the foreman of the current construction team, said that a flat, even concrete slab is vital to a quality, long-lasting court and that degraded surfaces are common. "Sanding [leveling the floor] is a normal procedure for us," Sharp said. "The most time-consuming step in the process is letting the concrete cure." With Louisiana's extreme humidity, special precautions must be taken to ensure a long-lasting floor, but the process usually takes up to a month, Sharp said. Sharp added that, in order to prevent the wood from buckling, workers had to give the floor time to acclimate to the humidity of the gym. In addition, workers will leave spaces around the edge of the floor, to give it room to expand with humidity. The new floor is "higher end," according to Sharp. The first layer of plywood rests on rubber cushions, which adds spring and is gentler on athletes' bodies. Sharp said construction is downhill from here, without any STAFF PHOTO BY ANN HERMES Sid Foret arid Scott Bruitt stack plywood Wednesday afternoon as a part of the five man work force in charge of reconstructing the Wolf Den court floor. Speakers debate Brown v. Board's relevance By Anita Oubre Staff writer One of the most important Supreme Court decisions in history. Brown v. Board of Education celebrated its s()th anniversary last May. Wednesday, the Arts and Sciences forum presented a lecture, "Mythmaker Mythmaker, Make me a Myth: Brown and the Creation of American Ideology" to reflect upon repercussions this ruling has had. Though the panel members had different opinions throughout the forum, they all agreed in conclusion that all people make changes every day, and that they can collectively make a difference. Gerald Rosenberg of the University of Chicago discussed ideas from his book "The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change?" Rosenberg said that there are direct as well as indirect effects that stem from the Brown decision, and he questioned what Brown accomplished. Data shown by Rosenberg revealed that 10 years after Brown, there was one African American student to every 100 white students in previously white schools. The Brown decision is said by some to have sparked the civil rights movement. Rosenberg does not agree with this theory, and he pointed out that there was about 10 years STAFF PHOTO BY ANN HERMES John Borkowski, an attorney at Hogan and Harston, argues the impact of the Brown v. Board court decision with Gerald Rosenberg at the panel discussion,"Mythmaker Mythmaker, Make me a Myth: Brown and the Creation of American Ideology," in Nunemaker Hall on Wednesday night. D- See RECPLEX, page 3 D See INAUGURATION, page 3 D See BROWN, page 3 SPORTS UFE& TIMES OPINION page 6 and explosives page 9 security page 5 IBfIBHHAHB Established 1923 • "For a Greater Loyola" WEKEEtKI VISIT US ON THE WEB: MAROaN.LOYNa.EDU