Los Angeles LOYOLAN The
Soccer player Bastien Oberli reflects on his journey from Switzerland to LMU. Page 15
September 18, 2019
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| ISSUE 4
LMU ranks No. 64 in the nation
Students and faculty speak on the University's prestigious ranking. Molly Jean Box Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan
Photo: Owen Markham | Loyolan
The University was ranked as the 13th "Most Beautiful Campus" in the 2020 Princeton Review. "The most beautiful place on campus for me has got to be the freshman Bluff looking out on the city of L.A.," said Josh Seaman, a sophomore computer science major.
Out of the 399 schools in the National Universities category, LMU was recently ranked No. 64 in the 2020 U.S. News & World Best Universities Report. The University received an overall score of 59/100 from the publication. "LMU ranks among the top universities in the country for service learning," said LMU alumna and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Lane Bove. "[It is] a reflection of our students’ commitment to become global citizens, putting their knowledge into action and working to meet the world’s greatest needs." In a post published by the LMU Newsroom, President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D. attributed the University’s designation as one of the best colleges in the country to its commitment to academia, student creativity and global impact. See Ranking | Page 2
Students given three weeks notice of canceled study abroad program Students were left without housing or classes, and faculty in Argentina were left without jobs. Sofia Hathorn Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan
Casa de la Mateada (CASA), a study abroad program in Córdoba, Argentina, was canceled for the fall semester. The cancellation means the 12 students from LMU, Saint Louis University and College of the Holy Cross, as well as the two alumni leaders signed up for the program, will no longer spend their fall semester abroad in Argentina. The program will also not be open to students in the future. The students were informed in an email by Study Abroad Advisor Pamela Underwood that the University had canceled the program. The email stated that the “proper infrastructure” of the program didn’t meet standards of “providing students with a safe and high-quality study abroad experience.” The program was supposed to begin on Aug. 10. The email came on Thursday July 18, three weeks before the group was supposed to depart. This left students unregistered for classes and without housing
just weeks before the semester began. “It was hard finding the classes that I needed,” said Naila Vasquez, a sophomore psychology major and CASA student. "Some [classes] I got in the day before school started.” The CASA students for the fall semester sent a letter to LMU administration with a list of requests following the cancellation, according to John Lopez, a senior computer science major and CASA student. The requests focused on full financial reimbursement, including scholarship money, fees and no additional housing costs beyond what the students had already budgeted for Argentina. In a statement to the Loyolan, Roberta Espinoza, the vice provost for global-local initiatives, wrote that the Study Abroad Office has been working with the students to provide them with help to meet their individual needs. However, the only reimbursement the students received was for their plane ticket, according to Lopez. Lopez said that he received a scholarship to study in Argentina, but now will not get any of that money, as he cannot study abroad in the future due to his status as a senior. The CASA program has been in effect
for six years. Students took classes at La Universidad Católica de Córdoba and practiced CASA's mission of community, accompaniment, spirituality and academics, according to Mary Schell, a CASA alumna from 2018, who was hired as a community coordinator for the fall 2019 semester. The program, according to its students, was a deeply meaningful and transformative
experience. “CASA was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but it was also one of the most beautiful and rewarding,” said Schell. In 2015, the program was suspended for the fall semester due to the “economic stability in Argentina,” as previously reported by the Loyolan. See Study Abroad | Page 2
via Mary Schell
CASA students of the 2018 spring program smile as a group. One of the program's alumna, Mary Schell, described it as "beautiful and rewarding."