| Summary: | THE CONCORDIAN 3 October 29, 1993 Scolt Peters, News Udilor Fast Fact Natonally, 26 percent of private-college students graduate in four years. At Conrordla, 61 >i percent of them do. —MinnesotaPrivateCollegesurvey Quick Quote "To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step in knowledge." —Benjamin Disraeili, British Statesman Briefly*.* PHEs Sponsor "Relationship Realities" Week Concordia's Peer Health Educators (PHEs) are sponsoring several events on the subject of relationships. On Monday, November 1, NDSU sociology professor Patricia Convin discusses "Healthy Relationships" at 7 p.m. in the Centrum. PHEs are JJSO assisting with communion service at 10 p.m., Wednesday, and leading the student chapel service on Thursday morning, Novembers At 7 p.m, that evening, Carol Grimm and a representative from the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead will present a session on dating issues and violence. The session will meet in FridaNilsen Lounge. All activities are free and open to all interested individuals. NDSU Lecture Compares Religion and Violence Lutheran Campus Ministries at NDSU are sponsoring "The Religion of Violence," the first of two lectures in the "Science, Theology & The World" forum, at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 4. John Helgeland; chair of the NDSU Department of Religion, will discuss the premise that religion may destroy peace. The basis of his discussion will be Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayert a book by Kenneth PeMer. ^ The lecture will be in the Meadowlark Room of NDSUs Memorial Union. The seminar is free and open to the public. Gay, Lesbian and Bi-sexual workshop Offered "Coming Out as a Key to Self-empowerment'' is the third session in a six-part series that examines issues from a uniquely gay* lesbian and bi-sexual point of view. The session is designed to h%indivuiualk understand the ohging process of "coming out" and how it can affect one's life. The session will take place on Saturday, November 6. (Last week's issue incorrectly listed the date as November L) For more information or to register, call (701) 239-1885, or write to 1336 25th Avenue South, Fargo, 58103. If your campus or community organization has an upcoming event you would like included in "Briefly.," please send a press release to Scott Peters, News Editor, The Concordian, FJP.0.104, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota 56562 Llvedalen desk hours extended By Alan Bjerga CONCORDIAN EDITOR The doors stayed open, but so did the desk. In response to student concerns regarding consistency in residence hall security policy, funds were recently allocated to extend Livedalen desk hours until 7 a.m. every night of the week, bringing the hall's hours into line with other underclass residence halls. The change went into effect last Sunday. Jim Meier, Director of Residential Life, explained the change, saying, "The President [Dr. Paul Dovre] inquired after the article [a September 17 article in The Concordian examining residence hall security] and wanted to see if something could be done this year. I said I would work on it. We found a way to get an extension of desk hours, and he said go ahead and do it." Dovre stated that funds for the extension became available due to a larger number of students living in residence halls this year. "The funds came from increased revenues available for dormitories," Dovre said. "There was a bigger pool to draw from. We could photo/Alan Bjerga Livedalen desk worker Jay Weisner starts his 4:30-7 a.m. Livedalen desk shift last Sunday. manage it [the extension], so we did. The mid-semester change meant some rapid schedule adjustment for Livedalen desk staff. BJ. Polley, Livedalen Hall manager, said he announced the change to his staff the same day he found out about it, one week before mid-semester. "Scheduling is challenging," Polley said. "But it's a good thing, overall." Although Livedalen's desk hours are now the same as those of other residence halls, Livedalen's doors will remain unlocked at night "The type of doors we have would be a fire hazard if we locked them," Polley said. "The doors will remain unlocked until we buy new ones." The rapid action of campus administrators to the Livedalen security issue is a reaffirmation of the openness of campus officials to student concerns, Meier said. "There is an openness to re-evaluate decisions that have been made in light of new situations or information," "If there's a concern, we're here to talk," Dovre said. "Clearly we are accessible." "Policy matters at the college are more than simply taking a poll," Dovre said. "We take into account the whole range of issues involved in a policy. We don't simply make decisions on the spur of the moment, based on popular opinion. Institutions of higher education are very measured and systematic about change." Cohabitation D continued from page 1 call to confirm that there is no mistake. In the event no mistake has been made, an appointment is made for the students involved to discuss their situation with Meier, and see what can be done to correct the problem. At this point, Concordia has the right to withdraw registration or refuse permission to register for classes. In the most recent situation where the cohabitation policy was challenged by two Concordia students, the administration met several times and finally elected to allow the students to live together under the condition that they continue marriage counseling in order to strengthen their relationship. Morrie Lanning, Dean of Students, has been at Concordia for 24 years, and in that time opposite-sex cohabitation has been, "raised as an issue from time to time over the years, but not like visitation or refrigerators," he said. When specific cases come to the attention of the administration they are immediately confronted, whether the issue is with different-sex cohabitation, or a sophomore tries to circumvent on-campus housing policies. Another situation is where members of the opposite sex will spend one or more nights a week with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Although these cases are rare, they are consistently investigated. "It's fair to say this policy has been in effect ever since there was a Concordia," Lanning said. One of the primary reasons for the policy is because the school, "has it's roots in the traditions of the church and the values of the church," according to Lanning. Concordia's affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America gives the school some right in creating this policy. An official ELCA policy statement reads, "Because the Lutheran Church in America holds that sexual intercourse outside the context of the marriage union is morally wrong, nothing (in its 'Statement on Sex, Marriage, and Family') is to be interpreted as meaning this church either condones or approves premarital or extra-marital sexual intercourse." There is a question of the legality of Concordia's policy. Lanning explained, "As a private, church-related institution we have every right to have such a policy. Much like we have every right to have [first year students] and sophomores live on campus. Private institutions have some latitude and rights that public institutions do not have." Don Wirries, attorney and Moorhead State University professor, agrees with Lanning's interpretation, "You can set your own rules for standards within a private college, but a public school would not be able to do this." In Wirries1 opinion, Concordia's cohabitation policy would probably prevail if ever tried in a court of law. Though the policy may be consistent with ELCA and private school guidelines, there is a statute against discrimination due to marital status, according to Susan Ellison, a local family law attorney. Ellison commented on the complexity and loopholes in the law, saying, "It's a thorny issue." With the discrimination statute in mind, the students who last received notice on their cohabitation case are planning to file a complaint against Concordia College with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights concerning the existence of the policy. Tom Barnett, of the Department of Human Rights in Minneapolis, explained that when charges are filed, the department makes an investigation from that information and then decides whether or not to pursue the case. Barnett also commented that when Concordia enforces policy outside its property that could possibly be education discrimination. There is no question in Concordia's administration over whether the cohabitation policy will be amended or not, according to Lanning. "We believe our policy is a sound policy and we have no intentions of changing [it]," Lanning said. Also, when problems have arisen with the cohabitation policy in the past, it has always been complied with, and registration withdrawal has never had to become an issue. Dovre • continued from page 1 evaluate the amount of violence in TV programs. This evaluation of TV was first introduced as Senate Bill S.973 by North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan. The object of the bill is to report to viewers the amount of violence within media, thus providing a guide for deciding what to watch. This involves not only making the public aware of TV violence, but also of utilizing the public as the actual raters. The project began when some concerned North Dakota citizens met to discuss Senator Dorgan's legislation. They decided to confine the study to "well-defined acts of physical violence on television," thus restricting sexual content, verbal abuse, and profanity from the study. They also agreed upon the evaluation of one week of prime-time network programming and Saturday morning cartoons for • Dovre continued on page 14 THE CONCORDIAN, October 29,1993
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