W W W. L A LO Y O L A N . C O M
Los Angeles LOYOLAN The
Exploring Israel and its three religions Campus ministry led students and staff to Catholic, Muslim and Jewish sites. Austin Woods News Intern @LALoyolan
Over winter break, a group of students and faculty members from an array of religious and cultural backgrounds traveled to Israel on an interfaith pilgrimage. Father James Erps, S.J., the director of Campus Ministry, came up with the idea as part of an interfaith initiative. Dr. Amir Hussain, professor of theological studies, was one of the faculty members who Campus Ministry initially reached out to and then participated in recommending students, who were selected based on certain criteria. “It was a small group because this was the first time we did this, so [Campus Ministry] wanted to make it careful and thoughtful,” Hussain said. During the trip, the group visited various holy sites for the three Abrahamic religions. One of Hussain’s favorite moments from the pilgrimage was visiting the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem. “A young African priest from Burkina Faso showed us around and talked about the issues of interfaith dialogue,” Hussain said. “Catholics and Muslims have to engage with each other, and interfaith dialogue in Africa isn’t a theoretical thing. It’s very real, so it was really powerful to hear him talk about his experiences and his thoughts on what we were doing.”
FE
RT &A S A fairytale romance: a couple's Disneyland relationship.
LI
E. OM . H ICE UR YO R VO S. W U YO R NE U YO
V O LU M E 9 7 ISSUE 19
Page 15
EST. 1921
F E B R UA RY 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
Community torn over Shapiro Shapiro announcement sparks debate over who should be allowed to speak on campus. Kayan Tara
Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan
The announcement that the student club Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) will host American conservative political commentator and writer Ben Shapiro to speak on campus on April 3 has caused controversial backlash from the LMU community.
In an initial statement released via LMU's EXP twitter page on Jan. 29, it was stated that Shapiro would be approved as the University has a longstanding tradition of hosting speakers of varied perspectives, reflecting the University’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas, diversity and inclusion. Nina Lozano, professor of communication studies, stated on twitter that she opposes Shapiro speaking on campus due to the fact that he “espouses hate speech, and is linked to numerous hate groups,” in response to the University's statement. Lozano said, since opposing Shapiro, she has received several
racist, sexist and homophobic emails and tweets, as well as two death threats. Adam Duarte, a senior economics major and chairman of LMU’s YAF chapter. said that YAF condemns harassment in any shape or form, stating, however, that expressing differences of opinion should not be seen as harassment. In a second statement from the University sent via email on Jan. 31, it was stated that the decision to approve Shapiro caused “at least one member of the LMU community [to be] harassed,” referring to threats Lozano claims to have received. See Shapiro | Page 4
See Israel | Page 3
Black Student Union celebrates 50th anniversary
via LMU Marketing and Communications
The Black Student Union hosted their 50th anniversary celebration on Feb. 9. Rodas Mulugeta (left), a freshman international relations major, claps as she watches a speaker on stage. Nathan Sessoms (right), director of the Office of Black Student Services, spoke at the event in Roski Dining Hall.