Maroon

              The MAROON Vol. 64, No. 23 Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118 April 25, 1986 Knipfing: Drugs here, but abuse not rampant By Michelle Slncum Assistant Managing Editor Student drug abuse is not rampant on campus, but remains a significant problem Loyola is working vigorously to eliminate, Vincent P. Knipfing, vice president for Student Affairs, said Wednesday. "Since cocaine is now more the drug of choice, it's a little bit more difficult to detect," Knipfing said. "But it's here. We know of cases of distribution. 1 won't say it's an epidemic, but we know it's being used a lot." Knipflng's comments came one week after New Orleans police and federal agents arrested about 43 people in the culmination of a 10-month drug investigation aimed at college students and other young adults. Two Loyola students and one suspended student were arrested April 16 in the bust. They were released on their own recognizance the day of their arrests. Arrested were: Keiffer Young, finance junior, on three counts of distribution of cocaine; Richard L. Jones, general business junior, on one count of distribution of cocaine; Chris Young, suspended since Jan. 31, on one count of distribution of cocaine. Distribution means transacting drugs for money. Chris Young was suspended from the university Jan. 31 for wearing a Pi Kappa Theta shirt on campus in violation of university policy. He, along with three other students who wore PKT shirts on campus, recently filed suit against the university. The investigation, called Operation Whiteout, began as a result of the ever-increasing availability of cocaine and related drugs in New Orleans, a police spokesperson said. Lt. Joe Branham, commander of NOPD narcotics, said the investigation was conducted by a single undercover agent, Richard Cochrane, who bought drugs from the suspects. Keiffer Young and Chris Young declined to comment and Jones could not be reached for comment. The investigation was conducted city-wide but not on college campuses, Branham said. Investigators could not go on campus without the approval of the administration, he said. He would not say if any colleges were contacted for information for the investigation. Knipfing said he knew about the investigation months ago. He said the police department asked the university for addresses of students but no names were submitted by Loyola. Drug use appears to be increasing on campus, Knipfing said. This increase, though, could be in part due to the increased amount of information on drug activity the university has received and may not mean more students are using illegal drugs, he said. Knipfing said Campus Security has been more aggressive in the last two to three years in all of its investigative techniques. Three students have been expelled due to illegal drug use on campus this year, he said. Kidding around Children flocked to the residential quad Saturday for the annual Children's Day, sponsored by LUC AP. Members of LUCAP supervised games and handed out free lunches.—Photos by Mary Degnan Loyola looks at computer network By Mary Caff rey Assistant News Editor Loyola is considering a plan with Apple Computer Inc. and Tulane University that would allow it to purchase the company's Macintosh computers at a large discount, Michael Klein, director of Academic Systems, said. The plan would lower the price of a 512K Macintosh from about $2,000 to $1,200 and also would allow students, faculty and staff to purchase computers at that price, Dr. William Eidson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said. Growth in academic computing was one of the university's long-range goals stated in the Institutional Self-Study Report, published in 1985. The report included a five-year plan for purchasing and implementing additional hardware and developing work stations for students and faculty. The Macintosh is a microcomputer that could eventually be connected with the university's two large minicomputers in the Monroe Science Complex, Klein said. "This is important because one problem with all micros is the fact that they are limited," he said. With corresponding software a student could transfer to the minicomputer for a more involved task and then move back to the microcomputer. The university now has a terminal room in Monroe and terminals in Stallings Hall and the Danna Center. Each minicomputer system is centralized and allows approximately 25 people to work at the same time, Klein said. Eidson said he worked with a similar program when he was at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Although Drexel is a larger school with a greater emphasis on science and engineering, much of what worked well there could work at Loyola, he said. Two things were essential to the Drexel program's success: an initial separation between the centralized minicomputer system and the distributive micro system, and development which enabled the faculty to work with the computers. Getting faculty and students to use a computer would be easier with the Macintosh than with other models because it does not require previous computer experience, Eidson said. People are less likely to use a computer if they have to read a thick instruction manual, he said. Klein said no purchases will be made until Loyola has finalized details of the discount with Apple and arranged to work with Tulane to buy the computers. Klein said he is not yet able to specify how Loyola would work with Tulane. Both Eidson and Klein said computers would be useful in many areau of the university, specifically the College of Business Administration and the communications department. Eidson said more computers would help implement Writing Across the Curriculum, a university-wide program recommended by the Standing Council for Academic Planning. The Macintosh has syntax and spelling checks that would help students with their writing, he said. Klein said the computers could also be used for an on-line catalog for the library. Eidson emphasized that the computer program is still tentative and that the university will not buy any computers until a detailed plan is approved by the Rev. James C. Carter, S.J., university president. Klein added that the university has to be certain it is spending its money wisely. "We're not going to spend money just because we can get a lunt," ' . said It implemented, Eideon said liuprogram would eventually allow the "We're not going to spend money just because we can get a discount." —Klein See Drugs/page 7 See ( ompun-rs/page 5