Loyola Greyhound

This week, The Greyhound covered a pair of stories that illustrate both the positive and negative sides of Loyola College's relationship with the surrounding community. Fr. Linnane's announcement concerning the "Year of the City" campaign calls to mind a number of troubling truths that many Loyola students rarely confront: we are members of a larger community that, along with its charming attributes, is plagued by many ills.

We commend The Greyhound staff for providing a forum for discussing the difficult and always controversial issue of alcohol use on Loyola's campus. We hope that we can further discussion of this topic by offering some of our views. The matter of alcohol use is a complex one which cannot be boiled down to whether one does or does not drink.

Last Tuesday night, Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate Minority Leader, forced the U.S. Senate into a rare closed session. Outraged Democrats finally reacted strongly and vociferously to the incredible slowness of the process of investigation into Bush Administration's use -- or misuse -- of intelligence in justifying the war in Iraq.

In an attempt to curb excessive drinking, Loyola administrators bans the playing of beer pong, (or Beirut, if you prefer) while on campus. Regardless of whether or not you are of age, you can be fined up to $250 if caught playing. The rationale behind this rule is that participation in the game results in drinking too much alcohol too quickly, which leads to dangerous behavior.

I am sure that as all of you walk about campus you cannot help but hear the buzz. If you have been listening to the talk of "Oh my God, Hootie is coming, I have been waiting to see him my entire life," then chances are you are either on acid, or you're the type of person that would have put Hootie" at number one on the "Top Ten Bands of the 90s" list.

A few days ago, I sent one of my best friends from home a birthday card. We've known each other since fifth grade, which is definitely an accomplishment, considering we didn't even go to the same high school. I made her card really special, writing a list of the most memorable things we've done together, how much she means to me and how I can't wait to see her at Thanksgiving.

While I have no intention of faulting The Greyhound staff for some arguably specious article placement, I do feel that including Matthew Gwin's vapid "arguments" in the Opinions section, amidst often-serious considerations of local, national and world importance is a bit questionable.

In last week's Greyhound, Claire Hoffman chastised Loyola for its apparent indifference to pressing issues of the day. Toward the end of her piece, she practically begged for a "Bush-loving neat-freak wearing a Johnny Damon jersey and Ugg boots" to come up and debate her.

May 15, 2004 was a day of many things. For me in particular, it was the day I watched my roommates and friends gather their caps and gowns and rush off to the 1st Mariner Arena to receive a fake diploma and shake some important hands. I, a fellow member of the class of 2004, did not join them.