1991-11-21

              Special Edition

Arts & Entertainment

SJU alumnus talks about Romania

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 Qition

SJU Cross Country-heads to nationals

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P.O. Box 1285

Saint John's University

Collegeville, MN 56321

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Saint John's University

Volume CIV, ^u

OfficiaC Student 9{ewspaper Since 1887

Village housing underway

By Aaron Anderson

Staff Writer Sherri Dinndorf

Editorial Staff Writer

Golden shovels gleaming in the sun, SJU President Dietrich Reinhart, Abbot Jerome Theisen and eight others broke ground for 'the new village-style student housing in Flynntown Tuesday.

Although the project commenced last Saturday, Reinhart spoke of the beginning of the project and anticipation for its successful completion in his ground-breaking address. Drawing an analogy between the new building and a tree, Reinhart equated the groundbreaking with the biblical tale of planting a mustard seed.

"We do a little thing here today—we plant an idea. Out of that will emerge a structure in which our own variety of birds can grow and prosper," Reinhart said.

department, or for our department, which rarely sees that much fire."

"There's not only the benefit of the training, but also the benefit of reducing the rubble that you have to haul away, therefore you have less in the landfill and less to clean up."

The house, erected in 1914, is the third to be burned in Flynntown for the purpose of practice burning. Volunteer fire departments from St. Joseph, Albany, Avon, and Waite Park joined St. John's fire department for the drills which started at 2:10 p.m.

"I think all those who went through the training feel pretty satisfied," Kieffer said after the drills were complete. Not all of the St. John's fire department went through the live burn drills, but all members practiced in some manner or another. No injuries were sustainedby firefighters, although

SJU President Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, Abbot Jerome Theisen, OSB, and SJU Vice President for Student Affairs Roman Paur, OSB, (1. to r.) ceremoniously break ground Tuesday for the new Flynntown village housing, (photo by Tom Evcrs)

To make room for the 48-student apartment, Flynntown houses 8a and 8b were destroyed by controlled burning last Saturday morning. The burning also provided practice for area fire departments.

"There aren't too many opportunities when you get a live burn situation for training and we're using it not only for our own training, but for mutual aid training," SJU Fire Chief Walter Keifler, OSB, said. "It's mainly meant for junior members of a fire

a plastic face mask was melted in the estimated 1300 degree heat.

The student housing project is scheduled for completion in August 1992, according to SJU Physical Plant manager Linus Ascheman, OSB. Work is being done by Donlar Construction Company. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Thompson, Bentz and Rietow Inc, Representatives of both attended Tuesday's ceremony.

Joel Diem 1970-1991

"Words will always be inadequate to say how we feel"

By Stuart Harding

Editorial Staff Writer

In the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 9, the CSB/SJU community lost. Joel Thomas Diem, a friend who will be dearly missed.

Diem, 21, suffered cardiac arrest at the Maze, 215 W. Minnesota St., St. Joseph, "and passed away later that morning in the St. Cloud Hospital. Christopher McCabe, SJU senior, his friend and roommate at the Depot, 22 E. Elm St., St. Joseph, was present during the heart attack and rode with Diem in the ambulance to the hospital.

"Joel was happy and having a great time before he died," McCabe said at a memorial Mass held in the Abbey church for Diem on Nov. 13. "He was among friends who cared for him and sent him off with prayers."

Diem's sudden death comes only eight months after the community mourned the loss of Chris Agnew, who had an epileptic seizure and cardiac arrest on March 1. Agnew*s parents accepted an honorary diploma for him at St. John's 1991 graduation ceremony in May.

Diem, an outstandingstudent academically, was a senior communication major and planned to go on to law school. He was ,-selected to the CSB/SJU Speakers Hall of Fame in the spring of 1990 for his speech about The Rolling Stones.

Those close to him say that Diem was physically active and fit; he jogged regularly and played in many intramural sports.

He was commissioned a Eucharistic minis-

ter at St. John's at the beginning of his sophomore year, and he usually scheduled himself to minister at both St. John's and St. Benedict's services, according to Joel Kelly, OSB, University chaplain.

"Joel was eager to express his sense of belonging to the Church community," Kelly said. "He was eager to make others feel like they belong, too."

In addition to the 550 mourners who attended the memorial mass at St. John's, no less than 60 CSB/SJU students travelled to Diem's Nov. 12 funeral in Maple Grove, Minn. David Schulte, SJU senior, Diem's friend and 1989-90 roommate, gave the eulogy-

"Joel was the person who offered to pay for dinner when a wallet was forgotten. He was the peacemaker who hated to watch his friends argue. Joel was the one who reached out to others when they were not included," Schulte said at the funeral.

Cletus Connors, OSB, Dan Ward, OSB, Fr. , Kevin Anderson, CSB Campus Ministry, and Kelly also represented CSB/SJU at the funeral.

Diem is survived by his parents Tom and Jean of Plymouth, Minn., as well as his sisters Joanna, Jill, and Jenna, his brother Jared, and his grandmother Olivia (Diem) Chervenak.

"Words will always be inadequate to say how we feel. The stories of Joel will live with us, not just as memories, but as part of our lives," Schulte concluded. "We love you, we will miss you, God be with you Joel Diem."

SJS rejects plans for Sexton center, proposes revisions

By Patrick Mulrooney

Editorial Staff Writer

The St. John's student senate (SJS) unanimously rejected the proposed spatial allocations of the 45,000-square-foot Sexton Student Center Sunday. Tuesday, representatives from the SJS proposed six alterations to the center's primary architect, Lee Tollefson.

Senators Terry Flynn, Jeff Houdek and Jim Jech proposed a larger pub, smaller bookstore and cafeteria, expanded reading and lounging area, computer terminal space,

barbershop and more aesthetic art for the $5 million dollar building, which opens in September 1993.

"Essentially, the proposals represent a re-allocation of the center's space," SJS President Kevin Jansen said. "There are a million ways to allocate space by simply altering the designs.7*

Based predominantly on the success of the campus center at Gustavus, the proposals "call for a place where students will feel comfortable, a place that students can call their own," Houdek said.

Discussion at Tuesdaysmeetingfocused on the design of the pub. Current designs budget a 2,175 square-foot pub, which is large enough to accomodate 130 students comfortably, Tollefson said. Gustavus' non-alcoholic pub is 3,000 square-feet, but is often crowded, Jech said.

"The more we looked and got concrete information, the more we knew the pub wasn't big enough," Houdek added..

The vision for the pub expressed by sena-torsistomodelGustavus'"The Dive," where students study, eat, watch television and

socialize in the daytime and dance on the weekends, Houdek said.

"We have to give the students an attractive place to go. Right now, underage students really need a place to hang out," Houdek said.

"This is the place that will build the community," Jech added.

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