w w w. l a l o y o l a n . c o m
Los Angeles LOYOLAN The
Est. 1921
N OO O
E. OM . H ICE UR YO R VO S. W U YO R NE U YO
CA RT
Jan u
1, 2015 y2 r a
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ON NI I P
Loyolan staff weigh in on Charile Hebdo
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V o LU M E
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Community gathers in Gersten LMU to celebrate Lion Pride has the
Yik Yak fever
LMU’s Yik Yak feed is one of the most popular in California, and is updated almost every minute. Carly Barnhill
Asst. News Editor @carlyabarn
Leslie Irwin | Loyolan
LMU celebrated the homecoming of the men’s basketball team on Saturday, Jan. 17 in Gersten Pavilion. LMU students, alumni and staff attended tailgates on Alumni Mall on Friday and Saturday before the game. The Lions played Gonzaga, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation. The score of the game was 72-55, Gonzaga. For more on the game, see the photos on Page 19 and read the article on Page 20.
“The mission of Yik Yak [is] to provide an open forum and give a voice to those who might not have them,” said Cam Mullen, the Lead Community Developer of Yik Yak, in an interview with the Loyolan. Yik Yak, the mobile application that allows users to create and comment on posts anonymously, has dominated the LMU campus for the past six months and will continue to do so in the upcoming semester. Recently, the Yik Yak team revealed to the Loyolan that the LMU feed has posts being added to it almost every minute of the day, and it is one of the most popular and active feeds in the state of California. Students are inclined to use Yik Yak for a variety of reasons, both positive and negative. According to Mullen, the size of LMU contributes to the popularity of the app on campus. Although there are more people “yakking” at bigger college campuses, the “yaks” on the LMU feed are more specific and detailed, so they are relatable for more students. “… LMU is a medium size school and everyone has a lot of the same experiences and a lot in common,” Mullen said. “All 6 thousand of the undergraduates are within this two mile radius and have the See YikYak | Page 2
Construction on U-Hall escalators to reduce repair costs and inconveniences Construction underway in University Hall to remove a section of the escalators. Julia Sacco News Editor
@_JuliaSacco_
Spring semester will bring changes and construction around campus, including a section of University Hall that facilities management has temporarily closed down the area. The area that has been closed for construction is a portion of the escalators that requires repairs frequently. “Maintenance, repair and electrical consumption costs of the escalators have been a significant financial burden to the University,” said Director of Facilities Management Alfred Tipon. “As you may know, the escalators are the original equipment installed when the building was built in 1980, over 30 years ago.” To solve this problem, facilities management decided to take out this portion of escalators.
“We are removing the six escalators in ‘Pod C’. From floor one to floor two, we are replacing the units with stairs. From floor two to three and floor three to four, we are filling the voids to improve the walkway,” said Tipon. While the repair of the escalators has placed a financial burden on the University, the construction of this portion of University Hall can be inconvenient for students and professors as well. “It makes it a lot harder to get from my first floor class to my fourth floor class that are after each other because I have to use the staircases that are out of the way,” said junior psychology major Sara Ledbetter. Sophomore marketing major Marisa Moreno echoed Ledbetter’s concerns about construction hindering students going from class to class. “The construction takes away the aesthetics in U-Hall and makes getting to and from classes during the passing periods on the first floor more difficult,” Moreno said. See U-Hall | Page 3
Caroline Burt | Loyolan
A section of University Hall is under construction to take out the current escalators that cause problems with repair and maintenance. Facilities management expects to replace the escalators with stairs. This construction is scheduled to be completed by March 2015.