Loyola holds concert for tenured professor

The Loyola community will gather in celebration of Professor Dreux Montegut’s two decades of teaching and mentoring young singers at the university.

On Nov. 4 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Roussel Performance Hall, former students and alumni will pay tribute to Professor Montegut in a free performance.

Black Student Union to celebrate 49th year

Loyola’s Black Student Union will be celebrating its 49th year as an organization on Nov. 6.

Students participating in the event, which will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Audubon Room in the Danna Center, will focus on reflecting about the union’s past and finding out about its vision for the future.

School of Mass Communication to hold spelling bee

Loyola’s School of Mass Communication will hold a spelling bee on Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. to raise funds for its chapter of the Radio, Television, Digital News Association.  Former television news anchors Norman Robinson and Dennis Woltering will judge the contest.

It costs $15 for one person to enter, $20 for two people and $3 for general attendance.  Competitors can win prizes from local stores and restaurants.

University prepares for annual ring ceremony

Loyola’s Annual Ring Ceremony will take place Friday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 in the Audubon Room. 

Students who purchased Loyola rings will receive them at this event, which celebrates the students’ accomplishments.

City launches domestic violence initiative

Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced a new plan to address the city’s response to domestic violence.

The city’s plan, the Blueprint for Safety, consists of revising the process of how domestic violence incidents are handled. It includes agency guidelines for each step of the criminal justice response, starting at the initial 911 phone call.

The project received funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.

St. Louis superintendents ask for delay in indictment decision

ST. LOUIS (AP) — School officials concerned about students being disrupted by protests are asking the St. Louis County prosecutor to wait until classes are not in session to announce whether Office Darren Wilson will face charges for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

Last week, Riverview Gardens School District Superintendent Scott Spurgeon sent a letter signed by six other superintendents asking St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch to announce the grand jury decision after 5 p.m. or on a weekend, preferably a Sunday, when there are typically no school activities or functions.

A grand jury is expected to decide by mid-November whether to indict Wilson for the Aug. 9 death of Brown. Law enforcement officials are already bracing for potential fallout from the decision.

Nigerian extremists kidnapping continues

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Dozens of girls and young women are being abducted by Islamic extremists in northeast Nigeria, raising doubts about an announced cease-fire and the hoped-for release of 219 schoolgirls held captive since April.

Ten days after the announcement, Boko Haram has not indicated that it has agreed to those terms.

Six more states approve same sex marriage

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (AP) — An unmanned commercial rocket exploded in a blow to NASA’s strategy of using private companies to fly supplies and, eventually, astronauts to the International Space Station.

The 140-foot Antares rocket, operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., blew up 15 seconds after lifting off for the space station Tuesday. No one was injured, but the $200 million-plus mission was a total loss.

The cause of the blast is unknown, but several outside experts cast suspicion on the 1960s-era Russian-built engines used in the rocket’s first stage.