The Loyolan's fifth annual First Amendment Week kicks off today and will consist of four events and a philanthropy drive throughout the week.
Loyolan lovers and haters alike will have the chance to voice their opinions at tonight's Loyolan Open Forum in The Living Room at 5 p.m. This event will kick off the Loyolan's fifth annual First Amendment Week, featuring many events that highlight the importance of the First Amendment to the campus community.
The Loyolan executive editorial board, consisting of Editor in Chief Natalie Nordseth, Managing Editor Katie Slack, News Editor Natalie Minev, Opinion Editor Rachel Jones and Copy Editor Nader Alsheikh, will be present to field questions and comments that participants have about the newspaper.
John Kaminski, a sophomore business major said, "I want to go to the Loyolan Open Forum because I'm really interested in what they have to say about the Teresa Moore incident, and whether they think it was right for them to put the incident in such great detail before it was resolved by LAPD and before they figured out whose fault it was."
One of Tuesday's events, named Food for Freedom, allows participants to receive free food if they give up their First Amendment rights. John Noerenberg, a first-year communication studies major said, "Actually my communications teacher told me about [the Food for Freedom] one and it sounded kind of interesting to give up your First Amendment [rights] for food." The event will be held during convo hour at Regent's Terrace.
Tuesday will also feature another First Amendment event that will discuss video game violence in St. Robert's Auditorium at 4 p.m. Participants will have a chance to play the controversial game "Super Columbine Massacre RPG" from 4 to 7 p.m. and listen to the creator of the game, Danny Ledonne from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Ledonne's game, available on the Internet, reenacts the day of the Columbine shooting through the eyes of the shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Recently, the game was pulled from the Slamdance video game festival due to its controversial content.
Lauren McGhee, a first-year psychology major said, "I'd go to the video game one because I don't think that's right that they're making a video game about Columbine, because that encourages smaller children to play this game and think that it's fun and it's the thing to do, when it's really not, because look how many people died."
First Amendment Week will cap off with the main event on Thursday evening at 7 p.m., featuring opposing political minds Michelle Malkin and Arianna Huffington. The event will be held in Gersten Pavilion. Participants are invited to ask the individual speakers questions during the event. A OneCard is required to attend and no bags are allowed in Gersten.
Staff members from the Loyolan and members of the Society of Collegiate Journalists will have a table at convo on Tuesday and Thursday, where they will sell baked goods and give away First Amendment t-shirts to those who donate $5 to the Press Institute for Women in the Developing World. The organization is dedicated to utilizing journalism as a tool that can bring voice, strength and light to issues of the oppressed, according to the organization's mission statement on its Web site.
For more information on First Amendment Week events, contact the Loyolan office at x82879 or visit www.theloyolan.com.
