September 26, 2013 Volume 93 Number 6 THE DUQUESNE DUKE www.duqsm.com PROUDLY SERVING OUR CAMPUS SINCE 1925 Details emerge on adjunct’s final months ROTC JULIAN ROUTH news editor program The late adjunct whose death prompted outrage was in the early endorsed stages of filing a discrimination lawsuit against Duquesne, her at- ADAM KELLY torney said. Documents given to The Duke the duquesne duke this week detail the events leading up to Margaret Mary Vojtko’s death Duquesne has been named to on Sept. 1. a 2014 list of the most military- On July 18, Vojtko, with help friendly schools in the country by from United Steelworkers attor- Victory Media. ney Daniel Kovalik, filed a claim The Pittsburgh-based Victory of discrimination with the U.S. Media Inc. compiles the top 20 per- Equal Employment Opportunity cent of schools in the nation that Commission. In the document, provide the best experience to mili- Vojtko said she was fired “without tary students. cause and clearly because of my The outlet administered a sur- age and disability.” vey to over 10,000 Veteran’s Vojtko wrote in the document that Association-approved schools to the school told her she was no longer determine who was included on effective, “though I continued to get the list, according to Ben Lang- positive reviews from my students.” don, Victory Media marketing coordinator. The surveys are then Duquesne declined to release Vo- AARON WARNICK/PHOTO EDITOR jtko’s student evaluation surveys. audited by an organization called Vojtko, who was 83 and lived Late adjunct professor Margaret Mary Vojtko’s home sits vacant on Sylvan Avenue in Homestead. Vojtko lived in the Ernst and Young. home since she was born in 1930. The three-story yellow brick home was built in 1929 by Vojtko’s father. According in Homestead, also claimed in the to family and friends, Vojtko could not afford to fix her furnace, which prompted her to spend nights elsewhere. see MILITARY — page 2 report that Department of Modern Languages and Literatures chair Edith Krause and McAnulty Col- lege and Graduate School of Lib- eral Arts Dean James Swindal were Law school awards former U.S. ambassador responsible for employment dis- crimination violations. Krause and AARON WARNICK president and creator of the en- Swindal declined to comment. photo editor dowment, presided over a Q&A In the months before the EEOC session following a lecture from complaint, Kovalik sent two letters Glendon entitled Comparative to University officials fighting for The Duquesne University Law Law in the Age of Globalization. Vojtko’s job. The first letter, sent School presented the Dr. John “It is apparent that you are do- to Swindal on April 8, warned the and Liz Murray Excellence in ing some tremendously impor- University of an impending dis- Scholarship award on Tuesday tant work,” Murray said. crimination lawsuit if they went to Learned Hand Professor of Glendon began her talk by re- along with Vojtko’s firing. Law at Harvard and former U.S. counting her early days practic- The second letter was sent to Ambassador to the Vatican Mary ing law in Chicago and having University attorney Linda Drago Ann Glendon. to correct establish lawyers who on June 28, after Kovalik received Law School Dean Ken Gorm- would embrace the notion that word of Vojtko’s termination, noti- ley said Glendon was targeted as America had the only legal sys- fying her that he and Vojtko would an early recipient shortly after tem worth studying. be bringing the discrimination its announcement at commence- “’Why would you want to study claims to court. ment in 2011. what other countries do? We have Both letters spoke of Vojtko’s Currently, Glendon is a mem- the best here,’” Glendon said, re- AARON WARNICK/PHOTO EDITOR dire economic situation. ber of the United States Commis- counting a conversation that she Former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Mary Ann Glendon ponders a question Vojtko received a letter from sion on International Religious had with a colleague. during a Q&A session Tuesday. She received an award from the law school. Eastern Area Adult Services on Freedom and also serves on a During the Q&A session, Glen- Aug. 14, two days before she suf- five-member Pontifical Commis- don said that she believed that comparative law,” third year law ity of American courts and legis- fered a heart attack, informing her sion established by Pope Francis the field will continue to grow, student Daniel Conlon said. lators to maximize the benefits of that someone had reported her for that oversees the Vatican’s finan- even in face of the current na- Citing uses of comparative law [comparative law] will depend on needing assistance. An investiga- cial institution, the Institute for tional rhetoric on American ex- in U.S. Supreme Court decisions how schools of law will approach tor was scheduled to visit her at her Religious Works. ceptionalism, a term that has and rapid globalization, Glendon the subject [in the future].” home on the morning of Aug. 19. Glendon specializes in compara- recently circulated in relation to said the field of comparative law is Glendon’s lecture will serve as According to Kovalik, the case tive law, a field that studies the President Barack Obama’s stance rapidly growing, but that there is an the basis for the 52nd volume of the worker who sent the letter told similarities, differences and trends on U.S. foreign policy decisions. important variable on that growth. Duquesne Law Review. Glendon, him Adult Services was notified of legislation in different countries. “It’s comforting to hear her say John E. Murray, Chancellor and that American exceptionalism will “Comparative law offerings are see VOJTKO — page 3 law professor, former University not get in the way of embracing so thin,” Glendon said. “The abil- see GLENDON — page 2 opinions features sports a & e Follow us on... No grades cause Zine all Bend it Fab no problems about it like Ellis Five A columnist discusses This third annual Duke editors learn the The fifth installment of innovative colleges with- convention focused on art of soccer’s most Grand Theft Auto lives up out grading systems ... the DIY publication ... direct play ... to lofty expectations ... @theduquesneduke PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 8 PAGE 10 2 THEDUQUESNEDUKE bluff briefs Campaign planned to raise school spirit Williams named KAYE BURNET Duquesne pride event on the first new Rizakus chair for the duquesne duke Friday of each month. The “First Friday” events began Associate professor of speech- on Sept. 6, when members of the language pathology Diane Wil- The Student Government As- athletics department gave out Smi- liams has been named the sociation is teaming up with the ley Cookies to promote attendance third Anna Rangos Rizakus athletics department and the Red at upcoming home games that Endowed Chair in Health Sci- & Blue Crew in a comprehensive weekend. The next Friday event is ences and Ethics. campaign to promote school pride. scheduled for Oct. 4. Williams, who worked as The SPIRIT campaign will fea- Student government representa- consortium principal investiga- ture a t-shirt exchange, sponsored tives and athletic department offi- tor on three National Institute by the athletics department, in cials are not the only ones to notice of Child Health and Human which students can trade in their a problem with school spirit. Development grants, focuses clothing from other universities Freshman Trevor Root said he her research on autism and lan- for official Duquesne attire in the notices Duquesne students sport- guage disorders. bookstore, according to SGA pres- ing not only Pitt t-shirts, but back- ident Attila Mihalik. packs and other gear as well. CLAIRE MURRAY/THE DUQUESNE DUKE MBA ranked first in nation “The goal is really to get students As for Duquesne’s athletic pride, to be wearing more Duquesne ap- Root said there is “really not a lot.” Freshmen Jorden Thornton (left) and Ashley Gault (right) sport Duquesne The Donahue Graduate parel than [that of] other schools’, “Even the first football game shirts on Academic Walk. The SGA and athletic department are starting a School of Business’ MBA Sus- so they show more pride in their wasn’t as crazy as my high school’s campaign to increase school pride, which will include a t-shirt exchange. tainability program was ranked school,” Mihalik said. games,” Root said. first in the country by Corpo- Nicole Bucholtz, assistant direc- Sophomore Kaiti Beauchamp, said. “People can participate in that the men’s and women’s basketball rate Knights, a publication fo- tor of marketing and promotions who attended sporting events reg- or the Red and Blue Crew to get teams and intramurals. cused on social, economic and for the athletics department, has ularly throughout her freshman more involved.” Students are also encouraged to ecological benefits and costs. been working to increase school year, said the student body’s school Another upcoming SPIRIT Cam- participate in Family Weekend in The rankings were based on pride since she stepped into her pride is “definitely present, but it paign event is “Dinner with the October and the Greek Life Carni- coursework, institutional sup- position in 2011. could really be improved a lot.” Dukes” in the Nitespot on Oct. 3, val on Nov. 2. port and student initiatives. “It’s exciting to actually be ac- However, Beauchamp said she Oct. 30 and Nov. 14. Students can According to Bucholtz, the SPIR- The program was ranked No. tivating an entire campaign with sees a hopeful future for the Uni- also mark their calendars for the IT campaign is about much more 2 internationally among small the SGA and RBC in support of our versity’s school pride.