Maroon

              loyola MAROON LOYOLA UNIVBWITY WW ORLEANS FEBRUARY 18|1577 VOL. LIU NO.H Baroni casts yes vote to clear Kenner land sale By Peter Finney, Ji- lt was 12:03 Tuesday morning when Kenner City Council President Larry Hooper spoke the word Loyola officials had been waiting for, lim ply, during t"he past 10 months. Hooper said yes to an override of Mayor Joseph S. Yenni's veto of the proposed new subdivision on 87 acres of Loyola land in Kenner. His yes vote gave the city council the fifth vote it needed to override the mayor's veto and cleared the way for the sale of land valued at $1.3 million. But it was Dist. 4 Councilman Nick Baroni's yes vote, which had been originally cast against the proposal, that actually turned the tide. "This is undoubtedly the hardest thing I've had to do in my career as an elected official, as a human being, as a voter," Baroni told the standing-room-only city council chambers. "And that's the God's honest truth." Baroni said he originally objected to the rezoning ordinance because he felt Kenner "could not control uses of the commercial property." But Baroni said his objections were removed by a letter, signed by the Very Rev. James C. Carter, S.J., president of Loyola, which put restrictions on the type of commercial development that would be allowed in the 35 acres of C-2 properly the university was asking for. Restricts land-use The letter, called "restrictive covenants," legally guarantees the land could never be used for any "nuisance" outlets such as adult book stores, amusements centers, bars and peep shows unless the city council gives its approval. "These restrictive covenants carry over with the title (of the land) from now to the end of the world," said John L. Eckholdt, Loyola's vice president for business and finance. Loyola also promised to drop its "land use plan" which gave broad outlines for the development of the remaining undeveloped land. Under the land use plan, approximate percentages of different types of zoning were indicated for the undeveloped land. Some opponents to the plan felt if did not give the council enough control over any future development of the tract. The undeveloped land will be zoned R-l (single family residential), and all future developments have to come back before the Kenner zoning and planning commission and the city council for final approval. The outcome of the override vote hud been in doubt since Yenni vetoed the ordinance Jan. 31. A group called the Loyola Alumni, Students and Friends in Kenner made a last-minute push for public support by mailing letters to citizens in Kenner, advertising in local newspapers, passing out peiitions and manning a telephone "information hotline." Sam Romano, the developer who will buy the land from Loyola, also bought television advertising which attacked Y.-nni for his veto. Wants to heal all wounds Frederick Gisevius , chairman of Loyola's real estate committee, credited the last-minute lobbying effort with "informing the people of the truth in the proposals." "I really believe the council is to be commended for deciding the matter objectively," Gisevius said. "Now we (Loyola) wish to heal all wounds." One wound it may have to heal is Yenni, who appeared upset after the council vote. Yenni said he vetoed the ordinance because there was already enough commercially zoned property in the area and because he said it would cause increased traffic. Yenni was upset by what he termed Loyola's failure to donate a playground to the city since he first became mayor in 1970. He also took exception to the media campaign put on by Romano. "The mass media circulations that were sent out had people believing I was a heathen—against a church, a school and three playgrounds," Yenni said. Yenni warned that sewage produced by the new development couldn't be dumped into the present University City system because then it "would be coming out of smokestacks and out of dresser drawers." Trie weight of the world The new subdivision will be composed solely of single family residences, plus a 7.66 acre playground, a 2.5 acre church site and a 5.17 acre school site on which the Jefferson Parish School Board has a three-year option to buy. According to Eckholdt, the sale will be finalized before the end of March. "This was 10 months of my life." Eckholdt said. "I feel like the weight of the world is off my back." Put on your costume, grab some friends and head on down to St. Charles to catch all the carnival fun! Mardi Gras holidays are finally here .February 21-23. Carter favors student seat on Rank and Tenure Committee By Dwan Singleton The Very Rev. James C. Carter, SJ., Loyola University President, and Dr. Robert Preston, vice president for Academic Affairs, have expressed desires to see a student with full voting privileges seated on the University Rank and Tenure Committee (URTC) in memorandums to the URTC. The Student Government Association last week passed a resolution proposing student representation on the committee. Fr. Carter's memorandum was addressed to Anne Bienfang, SGA president. A copy of this was sent to the URTC. In this he acknowledges, "I am .. .well inclined toward the idea, and I urge the URTC to give your suggestion its most serious consideration. Student input in the decision-making process has turned out to be extremely beneficial at Loyola in the past." Preston said the URTC would have to vote on the matter. Since the URTC is a President's Committee, Fr. Carter will make the final decision, taking into consideration the vote of the URTC. The committee's meeting, held yesterday, primarily involved reorganizing the committee after the departure of the Rev. Charles O'Neill, S.I, professor of the Department of History and former chairman of the URTC. Preston is involved with decisions related to rank and tenure. For instance, as vice president for academic affairs, he receives the recommendations of the College Rank and Tenure Committee (CRTC), one for each college, and of the appropriate dean concerning the promotion of a faculty member. If the opinions of the CRTC, the dean and Preston are in concurrence, the promotion is approved. According to the Faculty Handbook (Nov. 15, 1973), "In case one of the three parties disagrees, the faculty member may refer his case to the University Rank and Tenure Committee. This latter committee forwards its recommendations to the Provost (vice president for academic affairs). If there is still disagreement, the President adjudicates the matter..." While Preston favors student participation on the URTC, he would oppose it on the CRTC. "I would be opposed to students on the College Rank and Tenure Committees," Preston said. "It's very inappropriate." At the college level, Preston said, the faculty has "rendered its peer judgement. I don't think students should be involved in peer judgements." However, Preston explained that by the time a matter reaches the URTC, 'The student now knows what the peer judgement is." According to Preston, the cases handled by the University Rank and Tenure Committee are related to policy, procedures, and other matters which are referred to it. The student on the URTC, as well as the other members, would be sworn to secrecy, since some of the materials utilized in the proceedings are confidential. Six of the nine current members of the committee either had not heard of the SGA resolution or had not formulated an opinion on it. Dr. Carl Brans, professor of the Department of Physics, said, "I think input from a student on the committee might be helpful." Also voicing his approval unless there were some factors "that make it (inadvisable" was Dr. John Crowther, Jr., associate professor of the City College. He replied, "It sounds fine. I would be genuinely in favor of it." Dr. Stan Makielski, Jr., chairman and professor of the Department of Political Science, expressed his opposition, although he was not familiar with the SGA resolution. "I don't think I'd particularly favor it," Makielski said. "A great deal of material deals with personalities." SGA Notes The SGA last night allocated $375 to the Loyola Young Democrats. Joe Altonji. SGA vice president and head of the SGA finance committee, explained the $540 requested by the Young Democrats was trimmed because the money for some of the projects would have been "funding a particular political position." The projects include a speech by Rep. Lindy Boggs and a mayoral candidates' forum. By a unanimous voice vote, the SGA agreed to submit a letter of recommendation to the Very Rev.James C, Carter, S.J ~ University president, and the deans ot the various colleges in order to express its approval of holding additional graduation ceremonies in December and August. The letter was proposed by Lee Vonderhaar, a delegate from City College. She said a favorable attitude by the SGA might be influential. Prospective candidates for the upcoming SGA elections are reminded that filing dates are from Monday, Feb. 28 to Friday, Mar. 11. The elections will be held Mar. 21 and 22.