Maroon

              LOYOLA MAROON VOL. XLVI Loyola University, New Orleans, La., 701 18, Friday, February 27, 1970 No. 18 Blouin case erupts By BRUCE NOLAN (Maroon Desk Editor) A smoldering dispute over the status of a member of the English faculty broke into the open Monday when the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) released a letter threatening to fire Dr. John W. Corrington, Chairman of the Department of English. In an eight page letter to Dr. Corrington, the Rev. Joseph Tetlow, S.J., said he would formally request the university president to initiate termination proceedings against Dr. Corrington if he did not withdraw before Sunday a petition before the University Rank and Tenure Committee. Dr. Corrington had petitioned the committee to rule on the tenure of Michel Blouin, an instructor in his department. For reasons which have not yet been clarified, Blouin was notified last May that his contract would not be renewed for the 1970 71 academic year. The action came over protests by the English faculty that Blouin is tenured and that the May notice is illegal. "...you are fully aware," said Father Tetlow in the letter, "that prosecution of this case any further can achieve nothing but further disturbance in the university." In an interview Tuesday, Father Tetlow said that Dr. Corrington had turned the Blouin case into a Chairman may be fired "personal crusade". "His concern is not for this university," said Father Tetlow, "nor is his concern for students. I'm out to save this university, but he is causing a ruckus which is unconscionable." Father Tetlow also said that Dr. Corrington was "going around telling people" that he was untrustworthy. "1 cannot let that go", he said. At the time of this writing, Dr. Corrington, who termed the letter "injudicious and ill advised" had not withdrawn his Feb. 17 request to the University Rank and Tenure Committee. However, Miss Janet Riley, chairman of the committee, said Tuesday that Blouin had recently petitioned the committee on his own behalf. In February of last year the Very Rev. President Homer R. Jolley, S.J., had announced to the University Senate that he was willing to submit to the then newly formed committee a case involving the tenure of an unnamed Loyola faculty member. It is commonly thought that the case was Blouin's. Father Jolley told the Senate that he would accept the ruling of the committee on the condition that he approved of the procedures, which at that time had yet to be formulated. According to Miss Riley, the committee has completed drafting specific procedures for hearing the case, as well as permanent procedures to be utilized in future cases. She said, however, that aftei rejecting the first draft of the specificprocedures Father lolley assigned the Rev. Thomas Clancy, S.J.,- vice president for academic affairs, to the task of approving subsequent drafts. Miss Riley said that when she learned that Father Clancy was to approve the procedures, she contacted him sometime in May, asking him to meet with the committee to negotiate possible differences in the second draft. "I've had no answer since then," she said. However, Miss Riley informed the Maroon late Wednesday night that she had written a letter to Father Jolley asking him to approve the procedures and stand by his commitment to honor the committee's ruling. Miss Riley said she asked Father Jolley to reply within two weeks and informed him that she would interpret silence on his part as tacit approval of REV. JOSEPH TETLOW MICHEL T. BLOUIN Father Jolley agrees to present case of Tom Blouin to Directors By LOUIS LASSUS (Maroon Managing Editor) The Very Rev. President Homer R. Jolley, S.J., told a group of students Tuesday that he would bring the Blouin case before the Board of Directors at its March 19 meeting. A sixteen-month controversy concerning whether Thomas Blouin, instructor in the Department of English, has or will get tenure, gained university wide attention this week. Blouin has not received his contract for next year and members of the faculty, students and the administration are squabbling over the issue. A group of students had talked to Father Jolley Tuesday and asked him to bring the Blouin case before the Board of Directors at its next meeting. The Board of Directors had ordered Blouin to be fired in March of 1968 but due to a number of considerations he was allowed to continue teaching here through this year. Phil Zbylot, A&S senior, a member of the student group, said that Father Jolley was pleased to see a group of students coming forward to see him about the Blouin case. "He (Father Jolley) said it was strange that the English department had never spoken so highly of Blouin until the issue came up," said Zbylot. "Father Jolley said he would take this appeal of our to the Board of Directors. He asked us if we could give him some material in support of Blouin that he could present to the Board of Directors," Zbylot explained. Zbylot said the group agreed to supply Father Jolley with material in the form of petitions and the teacher course evaluation. He also said the group told Father Jolley they were not concerned with the legal issues involved in the matter, but simply with getting the issue clarified. Wally Schneidau, A&S junior, another member of the group who talked with Father Jolley, said that Father Jolley told the group that the only charges against Blouin were that he had not made substantial progress towards his doctorate. Father Jolley also told the students that Blouin had received his notice of termination a year ago and that as far as he (Father Jolley) is concerned the case is closed, said Schneidau. According to Schneidau, Father Jolley explained to the group that the only reason he was going to the Board of Directors was because there is some student support for Blouin. A group of about forty students concerned with the Blouin case met in Schneidau's apartment Monday night to discuss the Blouin issue. At the meeting the students elected a five man committee to represent the group and act as their spokesman. The five students drafted a letter to Father Jolley stating their objectives-"to clarify the status of and obtain the reinstatement of the contract of Mr. Thomas Blouin." Religious studies finds new home The conflict between religious studies and theology was resolved Tuesday when the Department of Theology voted to accept religious studies courses into he department's offerings. The Rev. Joseph Tetlow, S.J..acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said Tuesday that there would be one department and that the Rev. J. Emile Pfister, S.J., would serve as chairman of that department. REV. EMILE PFISTER Father Pfister is currently chairman of the theology department. Father Tetlow added that a decision has not yet been reached concerning what the name of the department will be. The Rev. Patrick Phillips, S.J., originator of the idea of a religious studies program, will serve as director of religious studies within the theology department, according to Father Tetlow. It will be Father Phillips' duty to collect courses throughout the college that could be considered religious studies courses and to present these courses to the theology faculty for approval. Father Tetlow said theology and religious studies courses will be differentiated in some manner, perhaps by course numbers, but that a decision had not been reached on this yet. Beginning with students who come to Loyola for the first time next year, theology will be required of all students, regardless of religion Previously, only Catholic students were required to take theology courses. However, the incorporation of religious studies into theology means that students may fulfill theology requirements by taking either theology or religious studies courses. Father Tetlow explained that the core curriculum, which is binding on students of every undergraduate college within the university, is determined by the dean of A&S. He added that the individual department must decide how requirements set by the dean are to be fulfilled. Father Tetlow said he will go to the academic vice president, the Rev. Thomas Clancy, S.J., to get his approval of the decision of the theology department and the decision of the Curriculum Committee which voted Sept. 9 to equalize core curriculum requirements. He said he also planned to contact the deans of the other undergraduate schools (business administration and music) to get their opinions, since his decision is binding on the entire undergraduate university. Father Tetlow said two of the problems to be considered were the possible legal question of making students take religion courses and that of whether the theology department can bear the burden of having all students taking courses in its department. Council seeks rapport on issues By ANNALYN SWAN (Maroon News Editor) Student Council representatives and department chairmen. The Student Council Cooperation Program, as the motion was termed, also stipulates that any reports given at any of the meetings and any agreements reached during the The Student Council, expressing the need for increased communication on university issues, this week unanimously passed a program providing for better student administration and faculty cooperation. The motion, introduced by Alan Vera, A&S senior representative, provides for regular meetings between the Student Council president, the university president, the vice president for academic affairs, and the vice president for student affairs. The motion stipulates that the meetings must be held at least twice monthly, with all four persons meeting together. The program states that the "president of the Student Council shall render to these members of the administration a report on student affairs, student activities, student complaints and present or future council business. These members of the administration will give to the Council president a report on each of their individual areas of responsibility." A second motion introduced by Vera outlined student sanctions to be used if serious student grievances are not corrected. The motion was tabled until next week's meeting. The motion (See text, page six) would set up economic and registration measures to be used by students if the Council deemed a situation totally irreconcilable with the pursuit of an education. The final phase of the program calls for the Council president to report to the student body at least twice monthly on the state of the university community. These reports, which may contain verbatim reports from the conferences, will be distributed in written form in the university student center. Other areas cited as necessitating administrative reports include any transactions between faculty and administration which are not of a strictly private nature. The program also establishes a similar schedule of meetings between college presidents and deans, and conversation be written and signed by all meeting participants. Administrative reports, as outlined in the program passed by the Council are to include any changes in the status of current faculty members, any contemplated changes in tuition and fees, in the curriculum or in the academic standards expected of both current and incoming students. Vera said there were two major factors which indicated the need for more cooperation among the different levels of the university. Referring to the recent faculty-administration turmoil. Vera stated, "The students are suffering because of the lack of an academic atmosphere, the idea being that the Loyola community cannot function where there is a lack of trust and no one is certain what's coming next." Vera also pointed to a breakdown of communication between the Student Council and the student body. "There is now a good portion of the student body which is very disaffected with the Council," he said. "We have tried to conduct ourselves in a mature way and keep from bloodying our hands in what seems to be a Initiates communication program faculty-administration struggle; the fact is that the student body has not heard from us anything about the current situation." He added that nothing had reached the student body about Council actions taken to prevent infringements upon education. "They (the student body) have only heard the interpretations given to the action by the faculty and by the Maroon," he said. The second motion introduced by Vera, designed to make Council action possible against existing academic conditions without administrative approval, was tabled until the next Student Council meeting. The second program outlined use of economic and registration sanctions against Loyola in the event that the Council felt a situation required correction by united student effort. Opposition to Vera's second motion centered around section IV of the registration sanctions, which states that "The student body shall boycott all classes to allow the faculty and administration time to remedy the situation." Several representatives expressed the fear that such measures would lead to violence, while representative Pat O'Keefe, A&S sophomore representative, pointed out that a boycott of classes would be defeating the purpose of getting the most out of the tuition dollar. In proposing the motion, Vera stated, "There exists now a certain disappointment in the Student Council on the part of the student body, because it seems that we have no power with which to deal with gross infringements upon students' rights. We have to collect the student body behind us and offer them some hope that we can act as a student body to protect ourselves." Vera also pointed out that the sanctions are not a threat to the administration from the Council, but rather a guideline for action if a situation meriting student redress of grievances ever arose. Council president Billy Guste and others expressed fear that the passage of such a motion would be interpreted as a radical move on the part of the Student Council. Guste stated that he was "really scared" of the motion in the light of student disruptions across the country. Dr. Frank Wager, vice-president for student affairs, when asked to comment on the motion passed by the Council, said, "It seems that we've been doing that (creating more cooperation) all year." Wagar indicated that the motion seemed unnecessary. When asked about the proposed sanctions motion, Wagar replied that he would "rather wait to comment on it." Father Clancy, vice-president for academic affairs, gave a similar opinion of Vera's first motion. "We've already been doing that (promoting cooperation) with leadership breakfasts since October," he stated "This just makes it more formal." When asked about the second motion, Father Clancy said that it would be acceptable is the Council could guarantee that the only protests would be carried out through the stated channels. "But how can they guarantee this?" he questioned. "If students were intent on burning down Marquette Hall, and Charlie Magarahan [Council vice president! asked them to wait until the Council had gotten a two-thirds vote, I don't think this would stop them," he said. The Very Rev. President Homer R Jolley, S.J., indicated that he approved the motion for increased cooperation which passed Tuesday night. He withheld comment on the proposed sanctions motion. "The first motion, I think, is a good idea; I agree with it in principle," said Father Jolley. "What I'd like to do is agree with it and then have a meeting to set guidelines." He explained that the meeting is necessary to discuss the great detail of procedure required by the motion. "I think it is perhaps a little unrealistic," he stated, but he stressed Ins favorable opinion of the motion as a whole. In other Council business. Business Administration sophomore ALAN VERA PAYING A VISIT—Four Loyola Students enter Father Jolley's office Tuesday to discuss the case of faculty member Tom Blouin. Father Jolley, University president, agreed to bring Blouin's case before the Board of Directors. The Directors are scheduled to meet March 19. (continued on page seven) I continued on pane 3) (continued on page h)