Driftwood The community newspaper of the University of New Orleans
Volume: 58 Issue: 22
April 8, 2015
driftwood.uno.edu
What’s Inside:
Electrical engineering student is changing the face of farming Senior Michael Flot’s award -winning project prepares for world population increase page 2
Risky Business project encourages “failing gloriously” Step outside your comfort zone and take a risk at the next showcase page 5
UNO Jeff campus for sale Festival season is here!
Check out photos from last week’s Freret Street Festival page 7
UNO’s Dance Team is getting back to it’s roots Learn more about the Starlettes’ journey and how to become a part of the team page 9
UNO senior makes major accomplishments before graduation
Find out more about Brandon Rizzuto, UNO’s former Assistant Athletic Director and current General Manager of New Orleans VooDoo page 10
Photo by Garrett Piglia
Last satellite campus up for auction Garrett Piglia Driftwood Contributor UNO President Peter J. Fos has verified that classes will no longer be scheduled at the UNO Jefferson Campus, after receiving approval from the Louisiana State Senate in late January to sell the building. “This decision will save the university from having to spend $200,000 to $400,000 annually on utilities, maintenance and mortgage fees associated with the building,” Fos said. Fos projects that the Jefferson Campus ( UNO’s last remaining satellite campus) located on 3330 N Causeway Blvd. will be sold for no less than $4.5 million at the public auction on April 7 in the University Center at 2 p.m. “Any additional profits from the sale will go to capital improvements on the main campus,” said Fos. {Editor’s note: Driftwood did not not have information about the sale of the building at press time.} For more than a decade, biological sciences professor Dr. Lura Williamson taught evening classes at the Jefferson Campus, which opened as a metro college in 1996. Williamson described the campus as a great alternative to the main campus for students.
“I remember teaching prior to Katrina when we had many campuses around the area,” said Williamson, one of those campuses being the UNO Technology Enterprise Center, which was located at 1600 Canal Street prior to being sold in 2013. “With the decline in student population, along with the cuts from Bobby Jindal’s administration, we have been forced to
Students who lacked the transportation to get to the Jefferson Campus on time for classes. “One student worker in Business Affairs didn’t have a car and couldn’t get to class over there.” These factors led Fos to commission a study on the Jefferson Campus during the summer. Vice President of Business Affairs Gregg Lassen appointed five UNO staff
ventory.” Linn stated that the committee is hopeful that the for-credit and non-credit classes offered at the Jefferson Campus, along with the two UNO employees positioned there, will be shifted to the main campus. “They’re mostly evening classes,” said Linn, “so we have the resources and certainly the space to offer them all on the main campus.” According to Fos, all of the non-profit groups leasing space in the Jefferson Campus, including the WLAE Public Television Studio located on the first floor, were notified of the sale and that their leasing contracts may or may not continue depending on the buyer’s decision. Despite the building’s long history with UNO, Fos stated that the sale is a positive move -Auxiliary Service Director Patrick Linn for UNO at the present time. “Any place on campus that close and sell off our satellite cam- members, including Auxiliary Ser- is not benefiting the community and puses,” said Williamson. vices Director Patrick Linn, to a losing money other than the class“The Jefferson Campus was committee that was tasked with room is not worth it and needs to needed when we had 17,000 stu- evaluating the best course of action stop,” said Fos. dents [prior to Hurricane Katrina], for the building. While Williamson understands but now we only have 7,000 stu“We looked at the possibilities of the decision to sell the campus, dents,” said Fos, noting the de- either revitalizing the building’s op- she said, “The Jefferson Center is cline in student enrollment as one erations or offloading the property,” a UNO icon in the Metairie area in of the key factors to closing down said Linn. “After a lot of research, a wonderful location and I think it the building. Fos also noted the in- [we found that] the building is to- will be missed by students and the convenience that it put on students tally underutilized and that it was faculty who taught there.” taking classes on the main campus. best to take the building off our in-
“We looked at the possibilities of either revital-
izing the building’s operations or offloading the property. After a lot of research, [we found that] the building is totally underutilized and that it was best to take the building off our inventory.”