Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 97 • Issue 13 • November 30, 2018
THE MAROON FOR A GREATER LOYOLA
CBD lights up for the holiday season
Dusky Gopher Frogs find no love in the Supreme Court By Cristo Dulom csdulom@my.loyno.edu
Bright decorations light up Dauphine St. and Canal St. and the rest central business district to help the city get into the holiday spirit throughout the nights before Christmas. For more of the story and photos, see page 6. MADISON MCLOUGHLIN/The Maroon.
It was a speedy trial on Nov. 27 as the highest court in the United States discussed that a portion of the land that once housed the endangered Dusky Gopher Frog. The Dusky Gopher Frog, also known as the Mississippi Gopher Frog, had 6,477 acres of land dedicated to it as a critically endangered habitat, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The frog species was also listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2001. The organization estimates that there are less than 100 of the frogs left in the wild. The dispute over the land owned by Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the leading private owners of timberlands in the world, started when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was under question as to whether or not it had properly determined the land as a critical habitat for the endangered frogs, according to the Legal Information Institute. The debate over the validity of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision found itself at the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not attend the ruling for the case, resulting in a rare 8-0 ruling on the 1,500 acres in St. Tammany Parish, in favor of Weyerhaeuser Company. The justices overruled a decision by the federal appeals court that said the stretch of land was a habitat for the frog. The wildlife service had won in a federal District Court and at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but
See Frog, page 7*
Loyola students sleep out to raise awareness at Covenant House By JC Canicosa jccanico@my.loyno.edu On a chilly 40 degree night in downtown New Orleans, Loyola students Sophie Trist and Alex Lucas slept on a sidewalk with cardboard box mattresses so homeless children would not have to. On Nov. 15, New Orleans’ Covenant House, a local youth shelter centered toward those affected by homelessness and human trafficking, held its 7th annual “Sleep Out” event, where volunteers sleep on the North Rampart Street sidewalks in cardboard boxes and sleeping bags to raise awareness about homelessness in the city. Over 200 volunteers participated in this year's event, a record turnout, according to Ginny Kelly, co-founder of the Covenant House in New Orleans. "80 to 90 percent of people at the Covenant House have severe trauma, and they serve such a vulnerable demographic of people," said Lucas. "I am speechless at how much this place actually does, and it's beautiful." Trist, English senior, and Lucas, music senior, set multiple records through
their participation as both the youngest volunteers and for fundraising the most donations in the local program's history. Trist and Lucas, respectively 22 and 20 years old, received over 150 donations to their campaign from friends and community members. Donation sizes ranged from $3 to $1000, according to Lucas. The duo has raised $11,910 as of Nov. 25 and said they are hoping to reach $12,000 by the end of their fundraising, according to Lucas. “We are overwhelmed and so grateful for the generosity and the compassion that people have for this organization. I’ve been touched so many times by just the services and life-saving work that this place does,” said Lucas. Trist has worked as an intern at Covenant House since last summer, after having been inspired by the work that the shelter does. "At Loyola, we learn a lot about social justice and being men and women for and with others, and I learned a lot about different ways that issues intersect like poverty, race, abuse, addiction," said Trist. "Part of that help, to me, is the intersection of faith, and (the work that
Sleeping bags lined the sidewalk of N. Rampart St. outside of the Covenant House. Participants slept outside on Nov. 15 to show support for homeless youth. ANDRES FUENTES/The Maroon.
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See Covenant, page 3