The Record
OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY April 21,1988 Volume 101 Number 6
Non-profit organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Permit No. 1 Collegeville, MN
Collegeville, MN
Housing crunch caused by Bishop's decision
Cloud Hall reclaimed; Paur reverses decision on seniors
By Marty O'Brien and M.A. Holscher
SJU students will no longer be allowed to live in the diocese-owned Cloud Hall dormitory following an announcment made Monday by Saint Cloud Bishop Jerome Hanus, OSB. The announcement by Hanus removes the availability of 45 single rooms for undergraduate students.
Built in 1950, Cloud Hall originally served exclusively as the diocesan seminary, housing those studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood. As enrollment in the seminary decreased, the St. Cloud diocese began renting Cloud Hall rooms to undergraduate students enrolled in the university. Over the years, CloudHall has been avalued dorm for its relative tranquility and quality facilities.
Hanus' decision to cease allowing university students in the dorm was apparently made following a series of discussions with Hilary Thimmesh, OSB, SJU president, and Abbott JeromeTheisen, OSB, SJU chancellor and head of the St. John's Monastic Community. The impetus for the discussions was reportedly a letter from Cardinal Baum, head of the Vatican congregation overseeing "^minaries worldwide. Baum's letter was written after a visit by Vatican officials to United States seminaries. The letter stated, "In order to
File Photo
St. Cloud Bishop Jerome Hanus, OSB.
preserve the formative dynamic and character of the seminary, residence is reserved to seminarians."
Eric Hollas, OSB, SJU assistant professor of theology and faculty resident in Cloud Hall, said in a
Lack of interest makes alcohol-free dorm unlikely
letter to current Cloud Hall residents that high ranking officials in the St. Cloud seminary urged Hanus to continue allowing college students to live in the dormitory, adding that the bishop had originally approved. "In part this (previous) decision was easy to make because all agreed that we have had an excellent year in the building and that the undergrads had contributed an awful lot to the spirit of the building," Hollas wrote.
In his letter, Hollas makes it clear that the final decision was not, in any way, that of Roman Paur, OSB, SJU vice president for student affairs, or the SJU Campus Life Office. "This was the decision of neither Fr. Roman and the Housing Office nor the Seminary staff," he said.
Paur told The Record yesterday that Hanus' decision will put "a very unexpected strain on student housing for next fall." He explained that he had heard rumors about the phasing put of Cloud Hall for undergraduate students, but said that long-term housing plans had slated the phasing-out for 1995.
Paur said that the worst aspect of the exclusion of Cloud Hall will be the missed opportunity for the university to reduce crowded conditions in other dormitories. SJU had originally planned to reduce occupancy in Benet Hall, Seidenbush, and Flynntown, but Paur said that those plans are now
Housing
continued on page 5
By M.A. Holscher
With less than a week left for SJU students to sign up for the alcohol-free dormitory, JohnMcLaugh-lin, SJU drug education coordinator, stopped just short of saying earlier this week that the program will most likely be scrapped. Since sign-ups began three weeks ago, less than one third of the available beds have been filled.
In an interview with The Record on Tuesday, McLaughlin said 12 of the 38 beds are currently filled, but explained that seven of those were filled at the beginning of the sign-up period. "Most of them came right after spring break, very early after the sign-ups began," McLaughlin said.
'Those who have (signed up) have been sincerely interested in the lifestyle," McLaughlin noted. "They truly want to make a statement in that regard. But the university cannot dedicate Greg House to anything less than 38 residents."
Although McLaughlin did not say that a final decision has been made regarding the dormitory, he did indicate that the prospects for the program to proceed appear bleak. But he has not yet given up on recruitment. Earlier this week, McLaughlin sent letters to varsity coaches urging them to encourage their players to consider the living option. And yesterday he sent a letter to varsity athletes themselves.
ButMcLaughlin said that some of his recruitment attempts have yielded nothing but frustration. Last Monday, he set up an information table in the SJU student refectory as an attempt "to make it easier for guys to sign up." However, McLaughlin characterized the response of students as "incredibly negative."
"In the two hours I was there, I received at least 15 negative comments and jeers," McLaughlin said.
There were three guys who wished us success, but most of the comments were negative." He said that sitting at the table was "a lesson in humility."
McLaughlin attributed the low level of student interest in the Greg House project a "tremendous sense of peer pressure," and said he believes it makes a "profound statement about students and alcohol." He added that he believes students have had an adequate chance to respond to the program.
Roman Paur, OSB, SJU vice president for student affairs, said yesterday that he believes "we gave it our best shot. I'm very pleased with the process we went through and our conclusions about (the dormitory). And our conclusion was that the program should be contingent on student interest."
But Paur disagreed with McLaughlin's contention that the lack of student interest is indicative of an attitude on the part of SJU students about alcohol. "I don't think I will form any judgements of our student community based on (the lack of interest.) It is not indicative of anything except that they didn't demonstrate an interest in this kind of living arrangement," Paur said.
The idea for an alcohol and drug free living environment was one contained in an application which SJU made in May, 1987, for a national grant to administer a drug and alcohol education program. Over 400 colleges and universities applied for a Department of Education grant, 90 of which received money through the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE). SJU was notified August 30 of last year that it would be given $51,000.
A subcommittee of the SJU Task Force for
Alcohol
continued on page 3
Flames engulf student house
By Pete Stoddart
A fire in a St. Joseph home caused over $30,000 damage,and has left the tenants wondering about the cause and the fighting of this fire.
At-11:10 p.m. on March 25, Patrick Donovan, a senior at SJU, saw smoke coming from the back of 20 N. College St. in St. Joseph. He and John Meyer, another SJU student, rent the house during the school year.
"We were on our way Lo a friend's when I looked back at my house and saw smoke coming from the back. We ran inside, looked downstairs and saw a lot of smoke coming from the basement," said Donovan.
The fire started in a basement room and was controlled in one area. St. Joseph fire fighters put the fire out in approximately 1 1/2 hours, but smoke had saturated the entire house by this time leaving the property inside damaged beyond repair, fire officials said.
Meyer lost his entire personal art collection and a S700 music box. Donovan lost a personal stereo and a typewriter. Both tenants reported losing all of their books, and that their clothes were too smoke damaged to salvage.
"There is a lot of controversy surrounding this fire. It took the St. Joseph Fire Dcpartmcntovcr20 minutes to arrive at our house. There was a policeman who came right away, but he only had a fire extinguisher with him, and that was not enough to put out the fire at this point," Donovan said..
Fire
continued on page 5
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Photo by Patrick Drcizchntcr
Propping the plaza
Construction began recently on a new SJU plaza in the area of the Great Hall and SBH Theater. The plowing and digging has required the redirection of pedestrian traffic on-campus to the dismay of many. Construction is expected to take two months.
