Issue 5 by Loyola Maroon

Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 94 • Issue 19 • February 26, 2016

THE MAROON FOR A GREATER LOYOLA

Newman named new interim chief diversity officer

KRISTEN STEWART / The Maroon

Liv Newman, new interim chief diversity officer, works on her plans for the upcoming semester. After promising to find a chief diversity officer by May 30, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, has given Newman the interim position, but will continue the national search.

The administration has recently appointed the new interim chief diversity officer to work on the strategic plan to increase diversity on campus By Kristen Stewart knstewar@loyno.edu @kstewart818

After a three-month long search, Loyola has hired a chief diversity officer for students to use as an additional resource in matters regarding diversity. In November of last semester, the Black Collegiates of Loyno sent a petition to the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, with a list of demands. One of the demands was to hire a chief diversity officer that was available for students of color to confide in and use as an additional resource. The Affirmative Action and Diversity Committee began a search in December and hired Liv Newman, sociology instructor, as the interim

chief diversity officer, a decision announced in a campus-wide email from Wildes. Since she was young, Newman has been exposed to different forms of diversity. With a white American mother, a black American father, a Puerto Rican step-father, and many other friends and family from across the spectrum, Newman plans to use her experiences with diversity to help shape her new position. “The story of my life from the very beginning has been about experiencing diverse environments. I believe that being with those not like ourselves provides us with the ability to connect to people in a deep and sincere way and life enriching experiences,” Newman said. Newman holds a doctorate degree in sociology and has worked at Loyola for 14 years, teaching various

sociology courses that involve race, gender and other elements of diversity. “My professional work as an educator and sociologist has allowed me to understand better the mechanisms by which oppression manifests and reproduces itself in our society at the individual, institutional, and societal levels,” Newman said. A’Niya Robinson, political science senior and SGA Representative for the Affirmative Action and Diversity Committee, supports Newman as interim CDO due to her experiences with the university and diversity. “Her entire academic research is centered around diversity, so she understands the issues the students of color are facing. She also has a large network of resources that are pursuing the same goals as we are, with regards to inclusion and com-

munity,” Robinson said, “Plus, she has been at the university for quite some time, so there's a familiarity there.” Some of the many tasks that Newman will have the opportunity to complete include observing the Loyola community, gathering data, and working with the other New Orleans universities. “I want to gain a comprehensive understanding of the experiences that diverse populations have at Loyola, what they need to feel fully included in the life of the university, and strategize ways to meet those needs,” Newman said. Sawyer Joseph, psychology premed junior and co-president of the Black Student Union, believes that Newman taking the interim CDO position is a positive addition to Loyola’s community.

“I think that having a CDO is a great advancement for organizations on Loyola's campus, especially for organizations that deal with diversity because we now have someone who we can turn to who is knowledgeable in matters that are important to us,” Joseph said. Newman’s official start date is yet to be determined, however she is most excited to work closely with the students and faculty from all around campus. “Loyola students are brilliant, energetic, and committed to social justice: all qualities that invigorate me personally and my professional life. I welcome the opportunity to work with the people who make Loyola a special place. What could be a better job than supporting those who are the life of this university,” Newman said.

SGA proposes new amendments for its constitution By Emily Branan embranan@loyno.edu @embranan

The Student Government Association is considering altering the structure of their branches by proposing an amendment to disband the judicial branch. This amendment was proposed at the senate meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 17, along with three other amendments to the constitution. According to Courtney Williams, SGA adviser, the tension within the organization would be resolved if the court of review was disbanded.

"In order to keep our mission true ,they thought separating the branches would help. It confused the branches in SGA to have the justices inside SGA,” Williams said. Natalie Paul, SGA executive vice president, said the Student Justice Board, which falls under the Office of Student Conduct, was created this year and will start to handle lower-level conduct cases. "It was felt in previous years that SGA was becoming a punishing body," Paul said. The three other amendments to the constitution included making first-year council into an executive

standing committee, eliminating the college president position on the senate, and to get rid of the title of commissioner of elections. Paul said making the first-year council into an executive standing committee would mean it would essentially become a branch of SGA. Paul said she created it last semester because she wanted to give freshmen a chance to explore the different branches of the organization before they had to decide which branch to join. She said the first semester is for "feeling it out" and starting in the spring, freshmen are able to sit in on

meetings, but can't vote in them. She said she hopes this process will allow freshmen to have a better understanding of how SGA works and to be better prepared to be a voting member during their sophomore years. Another amendment being proposed was to eliminate the position of college presidents in the senate. Paul said the in the last three years, the college president has not been an effective position. "We've had a very small senate and the position of the college president wasn't really being utilized," Paul said.

The amendments making the first-year council an executive standing committee, the elimination of both college president and the title of election commissioner all passed during the meeting on Feb. 17, but the proposal to disband the court of review did not. These amendments will be on the ballot for the spring election for the students to vote on. The election will take place on March 16-17.

Anna Knapp contributed to this report

February 26, 2016

THE MAROON

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CRIME MAP AV E ST LE VIL SH NA

WAY ST BROAD

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S. CARROLLTON AVE

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ST. CHARLES AVE

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Feb. 18

12:16 p.m.

DUI St. Charles Avenue/Burdette Street

Feb. 19

2:04 a.m.

Hit and Run Between Broadway and Main Campus

Feb. 19

8:39 p.m.

Vehicle Theft/ Break In Pine Street/Benjamin Street

Feb. 22

12:33 p.m.

Sexual Assault 1100 Block of Calhoun Street

Feb. 22

12:44 p.m.

Vandalism 200 Block of Hillary Street

Feb. 22

7:59 p.m.

BON AUDURK PA

Theft L.U.P.D.

E ST

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news Students get relief on textbook prices

February 26, 2016 The Maroon

By Lawson Box lhbox@loyno.edu @BoxLhBox

First-year students are often warned about the high cost of textbooks, but now they can get some relief with the bookstore’s pricematch option. The Loyola bookstore began the price-match initiative to assist students with the high cost of textbooks last semester. Rachel Polk, bookstore manager, said the new option has already resulted in significant savings. “Last fall we offered price-matching for the first time and it was quite successful; students saved over $8,000,” Polk said. A typical freshman with five courses could be facing over $300 on numerous textbooks. For example, one philosophy T-122 section requires a text at the Loyola bookstore that cost $210.50 new. A seller on Amazon.com offers the same book new for $109.94, plus shipping and handling. However, as with any online store, the time it takes to arrive in the mail can create an issue. Emma Schillage, theatre arts freshman, said she didn’t have the time to wait for her textbooks to come in the mail and was unaware the bookstore would match prices on books she had to buy. “The only reason I got them from the bookstore was because I needed them today,” Schillage said. At the start of the fall semester, Schillage only needed four textbooks and rented them all; however, this semester, her classes required 17. She was only able to rent half of them. Both trips to the bookstore cost Schillage around $200. “I was kind of expecting it because people had warned me that the textbooks are expensive. Honestly, I thought they’d be more expensive because I’ve heard horror stories about having to pay $300 for one textbook,” Schillage said. Schillage still feels her books

were over-priced, especially when she realized how little she used one book from her first semester. “I used it maybe twice, but I could’ve borrowed it from someone in class, or looked it up online. I felt like I wasted $50,” Schillage said. Lydia Voigt, director of the common curriculum, has been a professor for over 30 years and has taught a large number of first-year courses. Voigt said she and other professors select the textbooks very carefully. “I look for books that effectively communicate an up-to-date and state-of-the-art treatment of the subject matter and that are interesting and serve to engage students in the critical issues related to the course topic. The cost of books is also a factor I consider,” Voigt said. “I am sensitive to the reality that for some students, the cost of books is prohibitive. Every semester, I place several sets of the required books in my courses on reserve in the Library.” Larry Miller, manager of the Tulane bookstore, said it is the publisher who sets the price, not the university. “Am I qualified to determine the price, no, but the publishers are. They work with all the writers and the people that do that kind of stuff and they come up with it,” Miller said. “If you look at a textbook, you’re not paying for the paper. You’re paying for the information that’s in it. Look at all the people involved in a textbook. What kind of research goes into it? What kind of graphics? How many people are involved in the illustrations and the research that goes into it?” Students like Schillage may not like the high cost of textbooks but understand the value. “If it’s going to get me good grades, if I can use it to study and gain knowledge on a subject, or if I don’t understand something in class, then yes, it is worth it,” Schillage said.

For more information on textbooks, see page 4

mrcover@loyno.edu

The Student Government Association elections are coming up this spring and will be held this year through OrgSync, as they were last year, which lead to an increase in vote turnout from previous year’s voting through Blackboard or in ballot boxes. Amanda Minchella, English senior, has voted in past SGA elections, and plans to vote this year as well. She doesn’t take issue with the OrgSync voting platform, but knows that some of her friends do. “As a krewe leader with student involvement, I know how to use OrgSync, and I know that Student Involvement and the university on the whole is trying to move everything on OrgSync, but I know a lot of who people don’t know how to use OrgSync or don’t like using OrgSync,” Minchella said. Courtney Williams, SGA adviser and associate director of student in-

volvement, said many factors contributed to the decision to switch to OrgSync. “All students are on that. It prevents duplication, it’s more secure and you can use it from anywhere. You can pick up your phone and vote, you can go online and vote, and you don’t have to be on campus,” Williams said. Bud Sheppard, Chief Justice of SGA, said voter turnout has gone up since they started holding elections through OrgSync. “We implemented the system for voting two years ago. In the first year, the numbers were comparable. Two years ago, we had 17 percent participation and Butch Oxendine from the American Student Government Organization said that was standard for our sized college, nationally. Last year we had one third of campus participate in voting,” Sheppard said. For students looking for ways to get informed about the candidates before the elections take place, Williams said there will be lots of ways

Library will continue to reserve course materials for classes By Ceyera Byrd ccbyrd@loyno.edu

Photo Illustration by LINDA HEXTER / The Maroon

Naasha Dotiwala, political science junior, buys books from the Loyola bookstore with the help of Joseph Marquis Mccoi, A’13. Since the beginning of the fall semester, students have been able to reduce their textbook costs by utilizing the price-match program.

SGA hopes Orgsync will increase turnout in this year’s election By Alena Cover

to do that. “We’ll have flyers out, we’ll have promotional videos, it’ll be all over social media, and then we’ll have information sessions for people to learn more about the positions available, and ask any questions. You’ll be able to talk to our court justice, Bud Sheppard, or anyone on the SGA staff. Students are certainly welcome to come and talk to us in Student Involvement, so anything people want to know, we are more than happy to share that and get that out to everyone,” Williams said. Williams is glad that last year’s elections ran smoothly and had such a high turnout, and he is looking forward to how the elections will go this year. He encourages students to remember that their voting power in the student elections influences many aspects of life on campus, and will have a direct impact on their own lives. “My hope as the adviser is to see even more students getting engaged with the process, and students voting and understanding

that this is your voice, so when you elect these officers, they do go to the board of trustees meetings, they do meet with the president and the senior cabinet of the administration, so you really do have the power to influence what’s happening on campus and make changes,” Williams said.

SGA election timeline Feb. 26 Applications due for those planning to run for election

Feb. 29 Candidates are notified

With recent budget concerns, many students have been worried that the library’s course reservation program will be cut, but Deborah Poole, dean of libraries, is not being discontinued because they want to help students. “Our initiative is recognizing that this process reduces the cost of college for so many students,” Poole said. This program, which has existed for a few years, has helped students feel relief from the high prices on textbooks. Course reservations is a service provided to the professors that allows them to put class materials on reservation for their students to use. If a professor plans to only use a few chapters out of a book, he or she can put the book on reserve in the library or through an online Blackboard link instead of having students buy a $200 textbook. Laurie Phillips, associate dean for technical services, said Loyola’s library staff works closely with the professors to ensure that all the right materials are being reserved. “We send out emails to the professors to remind them to put their textbooks on reserve and also to remind them that the library can buy their textbooks so just in case they want to put a copy on reserve but they don’t have it, we’ll buy it,” Phillips said. Phillips said that ever since making the big push for course reservations, the program has been steadily expanding over the past few school years. This program has become more popular, not just among professors ,but students as well. In the fall semester of 2014, 106 professors used the course reservation program, 477 items were placed on reserve and 3,328 checkouts were made. In the spring semester of 2015, 106 professors reserved a total of 516 items, which led to a checkout total of 3,031. Bethany Wright, studio art freshman, said the program has helped her through classes for when her book orders hadn’t come in on time “Honestly, I survived the first few weeks of my math class because of the reservation program. So while I waited for my books I didn’t have to worry about falling behind or rely on my classmates,” Wright said. This program is not only for books. It can also be utilized for articles, paper musical scores, literary excerpts and other course-unique things that the professors see fit. “A lot of time goes into cataloging these items and double checking with professors. Even if we had to make budget cuts within the library, this program will remain in the end,” Phillips said.

March 6 Candidates can begin campaigning

March 15 Candidates for vice president and president will debate during the window, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

March 16 and 17 Voting opens on OrgSync

March 17 Results will be announced at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on textbooks, see page 4

WORLDVIEW

February 26, 2016 The Maroon

Textbook prices cause creative shopping By Sidney Holmes smholmes@loyno.edu @sidneymajee

With textbook prices rising significantly over the past 10 years, college students are finding new ways to get their required textbooks. According to a report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the cost of textbooks has risen 73 percent since 2006, which is over four times the rate of inflation. In the report, Ethan Senack, higher education advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Group, stated that this financial burden will persist if the market does not change. “For many students, high textbook prices mean a lose-lose choice and as long as the market is controlled by a handful of publishing giants that profit off the backs of students, it’ll stay that way,” Senack said. Senack said that textbook prices are rising because the market is missing two things: competition and consumer choice. According to Senack, five major publishers control over 80 percent of the textbook market, and each of them avoid competition by focusing on a particular subject. “In a free market, companies are forced to compete with each other on price, quality and features in order to accumulate consumers. This competition helps drive innovation and ultimately benefits the consumer,” Senack said. When it comes to consumer choice, Senack said that students don’t have the option to shop around because the professor is the one who chooses the books. “While professors are slowly becoming more price sensitive, the student – the actual consumer – has no say in the book they’re assigned, meaning the publisher is free to raise prices without fear of market repercussion,” Senack said. Many students struggle with their professor’s choice of textbooks, like Krista Maillet, marketing junior, who has to buy both the physical and digital copy of the textbook for one of her classes because her professor wants them to get a new textbook in order to have the online access code. Students could just buy the code; however, they must always have their books in class. Maillet chose to purchase the online code and print the chapters needed for class in the library. “The price of the book does not affect my education, but my education depends on whether or not I choose to learn,” Maillet said.

WORLDVIEW briefs NOPD to begin bilingual training initiative The New Orleans Police Department is now starting an initiative to build a team of bilingual officers to help strengthen relationships with communities that do not speak English. The Civil Service Department is holding its first exam in Spanish and will hold other exams in various other languages such as Vietnamese.

Maillet said that her true attitude towards her education comes from her professors who consider the financial situation their students may be in. “Some of them realize we don’t have mom and dad to pay for all our stuff,” Maillet said. One professor who actively shows interest in the financial situations of her students is Trimiko Melancon, assistant professor of English, who is experimenting with “paperless, penny-less courses.” “I have altogether eliminated assigning required books and, in turn, have provided foundational and seminal articles, readings and other literature for my students in electronic form via Blackboard,” Melancon said. In one of her classes, Melancon said that she bought the three required textbooks for each student in her class. She said seeing students without books in her previous classes inspired to make the purchase. “It was unsettling and disheartening for me to see them not able to fully engage in the learning process in not owning the books themselves,” Melancon said. Melancon said that books are a very important part of education, and students should not have to be deprived of a good education if they cannot afford the required books. “Books costs money and can often serve as a marker of socioeconomic class in that you need capital to purchase them; not having books or money to buy them can inevitably impede one’s progress,” Melancon said. For other students, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group report said that about 30 percent of the surveyed students used financial aid for books. Students used an average of $300 a semester. Loyola allows students to use excess financial aid to pay for textbooks. Undergraduates can use up to $600, and graduate and law students can use up to $1000 for their textbooks. Without this financial aid, students are forced to find alternatives to buying expensive textbooks, like Cecelia Tran, finance sophomore, who uses many methods to avoid the high prices, such as price matching and using discount textbook websites. Tran said that she considers the prices of the textbooks while selecting her classes. “I look for classes that don’t require a textbook or have a textbook that is available online,” Tran said. When there are no other options, Tran said that she tries to find a

According to Michael Harrison, NOPD superintendent, when an officer is certified, they will be eligible to earn a five percent pay increase. “Overcoming language barriers in the field is a major win for our officers and members of our limited English speaking communities,” Harrison said.

Obama creates plan to close Guantanamo Bay detention center Preceding his visit to Cuba in

Photo Illustration by Linda Hexter/ The Maroon

Dari Zeltser, mass communication freshman, considers purchasing textbooks from the university bookstore. According to the U.S. Public Interest Group, textbook prices have risen 73 percent in the last 10 years.

classmate to share the textbook with so that they can split the cost. Tran said that she understands the importance of textbooks but does not think it is the most important thing in a class. “I think it depends on how well the professor lectures. I mostly use textbooks to get through a class when the professor’s lectures aren’t clear to me,” Tran said. Tran said that the overall price of the text does not really matter when it comes to quality. “Older versions of the book are much cheaper but contain about

90 percent of the same content,” Tran said. There are many movements that are pushing for open textbooks, which would allow students to access textbooks with open copyright licenses for free. Loyola is a supporting member of the Scholarship Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, which is working to make open textbooks available to all students. In a statement, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said that open textbooks could solve he problem with textbook prices

“We should promote a system that helps students manage costs by making high quality open textbooks easily accessible to students, professors and the public for free,” Durbin said. Senack said that the U.S. Public Interest Research Group report makes one thing clear. “We can’t afford to accept the status quo in college textbook publishing any longer,” Senack said.

March, President Barack Obama announced his plan to shut down the prison in Guantanamo Bay on Feb. 23. Currently, a financial argument is being made to close the detention center. According to U.S. officials, a new facility on U.S. soil would cost between $265 million and $305 million a year; whereas, the operating cost of Guantanamo is $445 million a year. Even though the U.S. administration is prohibited by law to move detainees to the U.S., the White House has not ruled out the possibility of

Obama using executive action to close the prison down. Of the 91 detainees currently in Guantanamo, 35 are expected to be transferred out this summer.

The effort is based on a review that analyzed department staffing and resources to determine the most efficient structuring of the NOPD. After the review, the NOPD needed to add a minimum of 94 officers. As of now, 56 recruits are training in the academy who are expected to graduate in April.

NOPD adds more officers to neighborhood patrol The New Orleans Police Department has added 54 officers to the neighborhood patrol as part of the first phase of massive reconstruction within the department to reduce violent crime.

For more information on textbooks, see page 3

The Associated Press and staff contributed to these reports.

February 26, 2016 THE MAROON

C R O S S W O R D

THE MAROON

ACROSS

1. Publishing tasks 6. Jack letters 9. “Hotel Imperial” (1927) star 14. Best New Artist Grammy winner after Alicia 15. Tesoro de la Sierra Madre 16. Horse play 17. Kitchen drawer? 18. It can be cured 19. “Beats me” 20. Québec quiche, e.g.? 23. Start of a weekly cry 24. “Either thou, __ ... must go with him”: Romeo 25. Ran into 26. Saying “It wasn’t me” when, in fact, it was? 33. Digitize, in a way 35. Squawk 36. Greenwich Village sch. 37. Set apart, as funds 39. Layer 40. Eastwood’s “Rawhide” role 42. Ref. book 43. Retail giant with stores in 23 U.S. states 45. Bit of power 46. “Wish we had built a bigger pyramid,” e.g.? 51. Feel poorly 52. Source of bills 53. Stretcher, to Huck Finn 56. Greeting from a faithful friend? 61. Sitar accompaniment 62. Citrus cooler 63. Sarge’s superior 64. “Hamlet” courtier 65. Fix 66. Supports illegally 67. Mary’s upstairs neighbor 68. Cooper creation 69. Performed, in the Bible

DOWN

1. Pass 2. Modern kerchief cousin 3. How many O. Henry stories end

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Writer Janowitz Sunny day phenomenon Angora fabric Republic since 1979 Search high and low Legendary Australian outlaw 10. Fairness 11. “Treasure Island” castaway Ben 12. Step up? 13. Prefix with bar 21. George’s lyrical brother 22. __ alcohol: fusel oil component 27. Bed-in for Peace participant 28. “Blowin’ in the Wind” songwriter 29. Early spaceflight proponent Willy __ 30. Like petroglyphs 31. Nikita’s no 32. Sudden blow

33. Word processing command 34. Blockage 38. Bolivian border lake 39. Shade of green 41. Botanical beard 44. Smuggler’s unit 47. Wan 48. Caesar salad dressing ingredient 49. Acting guru Hagen 50. “Good for you” 54. OK components 55. Throw out 56. Load in a basket 57. River of Spain 58. Con man’s target 59. Falco of “Nurse Jackie” 60. Silk Road desert 61. 2015 A.L. East champ

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Life &Times

February 26, 2016 THE MAROON

Film • Arts • Food • Music • Leisure • Nightlife

STOP THE MUSIC Street performers are being told to get off the sidewalks of Frenchmen St. due to public safety

ZAYN ABIDIN and REBECA TREJO/ The Maroon

Street artists perform around popular spots throughout the French Quarter. The performers, who pursue music for a living, are beginning to experience police enforcement throughout the weekends due to a new security detail created by the Frenchmen Marigny Triangle Business Association.

By Zayn Abidin s.a.z.u@hotmail.com @zayn_abidin

Street performers on Frenchmen Street are beginning to sing somber tunes thanks to a new security innitiative that seeks to address crimes and problems in the music district by escorting performers off the sidewalks due to public safety.

Paid by the Frenchmen Marigny Business Association, the security detail seeks to stop street artists and vendors from performing or selling products in the middle of the sidewalk in order to decrease the rate of crime and better protect the premier tourist destination.

Otis Fennel, owner of Faubourg Marigny Art and Books, said that the people who organized the patrol believe that if there is a police control enforcement around the highly visited area, there will be a substantial drop in crime and overall security. He added that the local owners who joined together to pay for the security patrol want to also prevent vendors from illegally setting up stalls and selling things in front of businesses. “The more eyes we have on the streets, the better opportunity we have to remain ‘crime free’,” Fennel said. The business association, which was created to deal with issues that the Frenchmen Street business owners encounter on a daily basis, is paying a monthly fee for two security officers and an NOPD off-duty officer to patrol Friday and Saturday nights covering a 2.5 block stretch on Frenchmen Street. The weekend monitoring has led some business owners to take action against musicians and vendors who set up their work place on the streets without

holding the appropriate permits. Kia Cavallaro, a Washington state native, has been a street performer in the city since 2009. She said she is bearing the brunt of this new security detail, which can most likely take away her livelihood. “I heard about it and there’s a lot of petitions being signed against it, and I’ve talked to a lot of other street performers about this. It’s really a bummer for us because this is my job and I really love doing it and it’s a beautiful way of connecting with people and getting your music out there without any guidelines,” Cavallaro said. Cavallaro added that although she hasn’t been approached by the security patrol directly, she has, however, encountered different business owners who have asked her to not perform in front of their business. She said this is going to affect her tremendously and will probably force her out of the city, since she moved here because of a flourishing music scene. “Well, I’ll be out of a job and will

have to figure out another way of income,” Cavallaro said. “This is my passion and I feel pretty lucky to be able to do it and I really want to keep doing it. It feels good.” Although many business owners are banding together to keep street performers and vendors away from the streets, not all of them share the same sentiment. Bambi DeVille, owner of the Bambi DeVille’s Vintage Clothing, said that she doesn’t understand why business owners are telling these musicians to stay away from the streets. “I mean some of our greatest in New Orleans, historically, have been street performers. Louis Amrstrong was a street performer, so it doesn’t make sense to me,” DeVille said. She added that the musicians don’t mean any harm and the city should leave them alone. “I don’t think they threat public safety. I know them, they’re just musicians. And why are we doing this to our city? Why? They getting rid of things that make us special,” DeVille said.

Swing Dance Club brings students together at their annual Masquerade Ball By Taylor Galmiche atgalmic@loyno.edu @galmichekapeesh

Feet shifted around the carpet of Satchmo’s Lounge as a live jazz combo played at the Swing Dance Club’s Masquerade Ball. The ball, which started back in 2011 by Thomas Lin and Tom Gillis, was hosted by Loyola’s Swing Dancing Club on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. The club’s current president, Alexis Hazard, is the mastermind

behind the club’s annual Masquerade Ball. She chose the masquerade theme to compliment Mardi Gras. “I think it brings a little mystery and fun to the table,” Hazard said. Even though skills ranged from beginner to master, about 15 students gathered at the event to mingle and dance. Students like Curry Windborn, music performance senior, learned the basic steps needed to swing dance. “I loved the Masquerade Ball,”

Windborn said. “It made me realize how much I want to learn how to swing dance proficiently.” Joseph Sampy, swing dance club member, and some of the more experienced students maneuvered across the carpet and even made up their own moves. “Courtney Rosala, my swing dance partner, and I both came up with a nifty swing dance move that we intend to teach everyone at the next club meeting,” Sampy said. More than feet were shifting

at the masquerade. As students kick-ball-changed, Alexis Hazard thought about the future of Swing Dance Club. As the club grows, Hazard plans to make the ball philanthropic. She is also planning a flash mob this semester. She hopes that more students will learn about the club’s existence. “The club has always been open to everyone and has always been free. My motto is that I can teach anyone to dance,” Hazard said.

TAYLOR GALMICHE / The Maroon

Students took swing dance lessons at the club’s annual Masquerade Ball. The dance was held at Satchmo’s Lounge.

THE W RKS

February 26, 2016 THE MAROON

The Maroon's section of student art. Contribute at letter@loyno.edu

FICTION

PHOTOGRAPHY

Original stories written by Loyola students

Original pictures made by Loyola students

Respectable Solutions by Anna and Emma

“Bugs’ Lives”

PART II By Patrick Gallagher pjgallag@loyno.edu

Dearest Brutus, My fellow Roman, my comrade in arms, my friend; I love you dearly and would not intend to bring misery into your life. But I think we should start seeing other people. Have courage dear Brutus! I shall not forsake our Friday nights spent on the banks of the Tiber: you regaling me with the usual squabble of the senate and me pointing out the fault in your stars. But let’s be real here. I’m the powerful and worthy Caesar, dictator 4 lyfe and Rome’s most handsome patriarch. And you’re, well … you’re just Brutus. But I prithee thee, be patient and believe me: Forever shall I remember you so loved, But fate and human love is ever spent And for your sorrow ever I shall be To blame. Nothing would love myself but grief, To stride the narrow world to be alone. No fault is mine but loving fairest love So Rome should live and I should die alone. Do you see now? I mean you’re a really nice guy, like seriously. But Rome simply isn’t ready for a love as great as ours. Ugh! This is super hard for me! But I know that this will be good for you and you will, like, totally be a stronger person once you get through this. Anyway, it has been really swell getting to know you these past few decades and I hope you find true happiness in whatever it is you decide to do next. Your friend The Great and Worthy Caesar. P.S: Have you seen that knife set we bought during our weekend in Florence? I’m having Antony over for dinner tomorrow and I can’t seem to find them anywhere. You’re the best!

“Respectable Solutions by Anna and Emma” Patrick Gallagher, english writing junior

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“Bugs’ Lives” Skyllar Trusty, english writing and biological sciences senior

RELIGION

February 26, 2016 THE MAROON

RELIGION BRIEFS St. Anthony of Padua to host a two-day Divine Mercy conference event

JAMAL MELANCON/ The Maroon

Sydney Smith, Leslie Rowland, June Smith, Yari Diaz, Scott Hanthorn, the Rev. Shingaku Kato and Tim O’Hara (left to right) gather for a Nichiren Shoshu general meeting on Sunday, Feb. 21. Kato presided over his first general meeting in New Orleans and plans to make a minimum of two visits per year to the area.

Nichiren Shoshu priest explores propagating faith By Jamal Melancon jmmelanc@loyno.edu @Jam_M_Mel

During the Rev. Shingaku Kato’s first visit to New Orleans, he performed an initiation ceremony for a new member and spoke of the importance of propagating faith to family. Kato traveled from Chicago, where he is the chief priest of the Nichiren Shoshu Myogyoji Temple, to stay in New Orleans from Feb. 17 to Feb. 21, in order to practice with members and conduct personal visits with them in their homes. Practice consists of chanting the sacred words nam-myoho-rengekyo towards the gohonzon, a scroll modeled after founder Nichiren Daishonin’s inscription of his enlightened life, as well as reciting the Gongyo, specific chapters from the Lotus Sutra that Shakyamuni Buddha claimed as his highest teaching. On Feb. 21, members gathered in a home with Kato for practice, a general meeting and the performance of a gojukai ceremony. The Gojukai ceremony initiates one as an official member of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism once they show sincere belief in Daishonin’s belief

and a commitment to practice and preserve the gohonzon. After the ceremony, Kato started their general meeting and lectured New Orleans members about the importance of performing shakubuku, which means to teach and communicate Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism to others, in hopes that they take faith in the religion. Nurse June Smith successfully performed shakubuku on her daughter Sydney Smith, 14, who was initiated as an official member of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism in the New Orleans area, after the Kato performed the gojukai ceremony on her. Smith has been practicing for about 20 years, and she said that her shakubuku process on her daughter consisted of Sydney coming into the room, when Smith would chant to her gohonzon during the evenings. “She didn’t ask any questions really,” Smith said. “She’d just kind of listen.” One day Smith proposed Sydney to attend meetings with her. She was shy about it, but she agreed. “My favorite aspect of the Daishonin’s faith is how I feel after attending meetings and chanting,” Sydney said. “I feel very uplifted and happy.”

Sydney said that she expects to have a deeper connection with the gohonzon now that she has taken part in the gojukai ceremony. Kato explained in the general meeting that through practice one will obtain the power of the gohonzon and then receive benefit in their lives, but they should also try and share their happiness and fortune with others by encouraging them to practice. “You should not practice alone,” Kato said. International shipping businessman Tim O’Hara said that although he’d had trouble doing shakubuku on his family members, he could understand why Kato stressed addressing family first and foremost. Kato sees woven threads of ancestry as highly important. “The threads of your family and your heritage and just the parts of this mystical law that surrounds us are the reason that you want to do shakabuku with your family,” O’Hara said. “Because you’re riding this crest through time and through space.” In making a conscious decision not to lecture his children about his religion as they were growing up, O’Hara knows how it can seem

more difficult to shakubuku your friends and neighbors, rather than your family. He still relays to his children the benefits of chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo. “I add it to the conversation these days, regularly,” O’Hara said. Leslie Rowland, retired petroleum land manager, offered insight into performing shakubuku. “It has nothing to do with people being able to say words,” Rowland said. According to Rowland, chanting is one of the best practices one can do to change their own inner nature, before propagating Buddhism. “It’s being able to have such a life condition that shows that your inner being is content and is self-worthy; people on an instinctual level will pick that up,” Rowland said. In sharing their happiness and creation of good fortune with others, Kato said that members will be upholding their karmic responsibility. The Kato instructed the New Orleans area coordinator of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, Scott Hanthorn, to find ways to better communicate with the Chicago temple, so that New Orleans members can hear Kato’s guidance.

Campus lenten series discusses the spirituality of Pope Francis By Caleb Beck cmbeck@loyno.edu @CalebBeckIRL

With two years of progress already behind him, Pope Francis shows no signs of pumping the brakes on the radicalism and mercy that have defined his character in the Papacy. Francis’s beliefs were the focus of the first installment of Loyola University’s Lenten discussions last Wednesday, in a talk titled “The Joy of the Gospel” after the Pope’s 2013 book of the same name. The exhortation outlines the church’s primary mission of preaching the gospel in the modern world. After a brief introduction of the upcoming Lent events, Fr. Fred Kammer, S.J. Director of the Jesuit

Social Institute, took the podium to explain the Pope’s mission statement for the Church. “The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come,” Kammer read from the text. Kammer went on to explain that gospel is good news in essence, and posed a powerful question to the audience. “When joy is constantly born

anew, why should we all not also enter into this great stream of joy?,” Kammer said. The question mirrors the Pope’s ambitions of combatting inequality and greed by resolving the structural causes of poverty. “There is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. The globalization of indifference is at odds with the revolution of tenderness,” Francis said in The Joy of the Gospel. Beyond inequality, The Pope seeks to advocate piety, culture and reaching out to the margins of society. Through embracing joyful evangelization, he hopes to change the Church for the better. “Joyful evangelization will transform our church, our parish, our marriages and our families,”

Francis writes. Sue Weishar, Loyola’s Migration Specialist, is in strong favor of Pope Francis’s core messages and compares their quality to those of Jesus Christ. “I find that Pope Francis’s writings, including Evangelii Gaudium, resonate closely with the core teachings of Jesus Christ,” Weishar said. “Because these core teachings were and remain revolutionary for a world that continues to equate mercy with weakness, seeks to exclude the poor and vulnerable from the goods of the earth intended for all and lusts after wealth and power.” Weishar belives that Francis’ teachings are revolutionary for how closely they reflect the core Jesus Christ’s teachings.

A divine mercy conference featuring opportunities to do prayer, confession and hear testimonials about the role of God’s mercy in New Orleans will take place at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church this Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27. The conference comes as a response to Pope Francis announcing the Holy Year, the Jubilee Year of Mercy on March 15, 2015, and this Holy Year began on Dec. 15, 2015 and will end on Nov. 20, 2016. The conference will feature testimonials by local businessman Mike Hammer, musicians Jerry Christopher Jr. and Jonathan Hoerner, and Karen Stoehr, who will talk about her child that doctors said to abort. The calendar of the two-day conference is as follows: Friday Feb. 26 4:00 p.m. Confessions 7:00 p.m. Mike Hammer testimonial 7:30 p.m. Jerry Christopher, Jr. and Jonathan Hoerner testimonial 8:00 p.m. Holy Mass – Fr. Steve Bruno 9-10 p.m. Holy Hour, confessions Saturday, Feb. 27 8:00 a.m. Coffee & donuts 9:00 a.m. Karen Stoehr testimonial 10:00 a.m. Holy hour, confessions 11:00 a.m. Holy Mass by Fr. Mariano Veliz O.P.

Son of Supreme Justice Antonin Scalia leads Catholic Mass for funeral Last Saturday, Feb. 20, a funeral service was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died at a ranch in Texas on Feb. 13, following a day of hunting. Paul Scalia, a Catholic Priest and one of justice Scalia’s nine children, led the funeral service. President Barack Obama was not at the funeral service, but he along with more than 6,000 people were at the Supreme Court last Friday Feb. 19, to pay tribute to Scalia. President Obama has insisted that he will nominate a successor to conservative Scalia’s justice position.

IS gets millions from the ransom for Christians they abudcted last year BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has collected millions of dollars in ransom for a group of Assyrian Christians it kidnapped in Syria a year ago. That’s according to Christian officials and an opposition group. The last of the 230 hostages are just being freed. Younan Talia, of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, told The Associated Press that about 40 remaining captives were released early Monday and arrived in the northeastern town of Tal Tamr. He said the release came after mediation led by a top Assyrian priest in northern Syria.

SPORTS

February 26, 2016 The Maroon

Sports briefs Women’s basketball victory puts team at 19-6 on the season The No. 25 ranked women’s basketball team started their season-ending road trip on Saturday by traveling to take on the University of Mobile. The Wolf Pack’s defense held the Rams to just 31 percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers in the 66-51 victory. Additionally, not one Rams player managed to score in double figures. The Wolf Pack had a slow start but managed to fight their way back in the second quarter where they took their first lead of the game. Loyola never trailed in the second half, building the lead to as much as 17 points in the fourth quarter with the help of guard Meghan Worry as she led the team with 17 points and five rebounds. Loyola will finish the regular season by traveling to take on William Carey University on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.

Courtesy of Athletic Department

Frederico Mercado, economics junior, attempts to return the tennis ball to the other side of the court. The tennis team’s next tournament will be on Feb. 27 against Tougaloo University in Jackson, Mississippi at 11 a.m.

Tennis team serves up new season By Mark Robinson mtrobins@loyno.edu @_mtrobin

For the past two seasons, the Wolf Pack tennis team has come face to face with its biggest challenge: competing as an undermanned squad. However, the Pack is set to make significant strides toward a promising future. This season, the team has added several new recruits and brought on a familiar face to help further the team’s success. Former tennis player Meghan DeBaroncelli, A’15, is now sitting on the sideline as the assistant coach to help further the team’s success this season.

For head coach Kyle Russell, having DeBaroncelli has helped to communicate the team’s philosophy with prospective players. “Meghan’s worth her weight in gold. She grew up in New Orleans. She knows the South, she’s played tennis in the South. She was such a great player for us that she demands instant respect from the players, which is great when you’re such a young coach,” Russell said. The team has already played in four matches this season and Russell said he is already seeing signs of improvement from his team. “In the fourth match against William Carey, I felt like this was the beginning of where we want to start moving from as a program. It

seemed like everything came together as far as team spirit. We still have a long way to go but it was nice to see,” Russell said. For DeBaroncelli, the transition from player to assistant coach has had its challenges. “For me, playing was easy. As an assistant coach, watching is so tough, and sometimes trying to put into words what they should do or how they should do something is a lot harder than it would seem,” DeBaroncelli said. Frederico Mercado, economics junior, said that having DeBaroncelli on the sidelines as a coach is a welcoming sight for him and the team. “She has a great perspective on

how the game is played. She is familiar with the same level of competition that we’re up against. She gives us great motivation,” Mercado said. Even with the growing pains and the growth of the players, Russell is hoping that his team continues to stay the course. “We have to constantly remind our kids to embrace the process. We’re getting better all the time. The biggest challenge will be to remain confident and stay true to the process,” Russell said. The team will return to the court on Feb. 27 to play Tougaloo University in Jackson, Mississippi at 11 a.m.

MMA Club looks to tap out the competition this season By Nicholas Ducote naducote@loyno.edu @naducote89

Self-improvement is a mentality the Loyola Mixed Martial Arts Club is sticking to this season. The club is now entering into a bigger and more in-depth association, the American Grappling Federation. The club has gradually grown over the past semesters and now is in the hands of Vinh Nguyen, business management sophomore. Nguyen and the club have also been patient in past practices, but this year they’ve become more intense with their training regimen. “You should be more scared of a person who practices one punch a thousand times than a person who practices a thousand punches one time. So right now everyone in the club picks one submission or move and they perfect it,” Nguyen said. The club is now practicing three days a week with practices going from two to three hours long with

small breaks here and there. They are focused on staying in shape and developing technique. Winning a fight for them is no longer coming down to an opponent’s strength or their stamina; it is about being mentally tough and prepared for whatever or whoever is across the mat. Last semester, the club participated in an amateur tournament and placed in the top weight classes, including winning silver and bronze medals. Fighters such as Adrian Jordan, digital film junior, got a taste of MMA in their last tournament and was left wanting more. Jordan and the club fought against opponents in their weight classes and their fights didn’t come down to who was more in shape, but who wanted to win more. “Technique is something we’re focusing on but we don’t want to rely on out-strengthening our opponent. You’re not always going to be fighting someone bigger or smaller

than you,” Jordan said. “We definitely want to keep the intensity. We want to be prepared for anything.” Right now the members of the MMA are sparring against each other in practice. Fighting the same opponents every week has become monotonous to some, but they know it’s all for the sake of getting better. The club has recently set personal goals and workouts for each other. They don’t worry about what the other or how the other fighters are training just so long as they remember the end goal. Rafael Polanco, English sophomore, said he and the team have definitely “caught the fighting bug,” and are thinking about who is next. “Winning in last semester’s tournament was great. We were intimidated and we had some butterflies in our stomach, but after your first match you really just want another one,” Polanco said. “We want more and that’s fueling us for our next tournament.”

Men’s basketball defeats Mobile on the road for the first time since 2010 The men’s basketball team traveled to Mobile for a Southern States Athletic Conference game against the Mobile University Rams. Both teams struggled to score early on as Nick Parker hit the Wolf Pack’s first field goal with 11:03 remaining in the first half. The Wolf Pack dominated the second half as they put together a 19-4 run that gave them a 51-28 lead heading into the final five minutes of the game. Loyola only scored three points over the last three minutes, but cruised to a 54-44 victory. The Wolf Pack will travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to face-off with William Carey University in the last game of the season on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m.

Anthony Davis has record -setting performance Anthony Davis set the New Orleans Pelicans franchise record for most points scored with 59 points in a win against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 21. Davis shot 68 percent from the field and finished with 59 points, 20 rebounds and four assists as he led the Pelicans to a second straight victory. While the rest of the Pelicans struggled, Davis and Jrue Holliday scored 79 combined points in a 111106 road victory. Davis’s 59 point performance is the most points scored in the NBA this season. The Pelicans will play against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.

Saints set to release Marques Colston

ZACH BRIEN / The Maroon

Vinh Nguyen, management sophomore, (left) goes over technique and hand placement with Robert Mipro, (right) biology science freshman, during mixed martial arts club. The club is training for the American Grappling Federation tournament in New Orleans on March 12.

The New Orleans Saints are in position to release their all-time leading receiver Marques Colston in the coming days. According to multiple NFL sources, the Saints do not want to release Colston, but due to their financial cap issues and the decline in the former Pro Bowler’s on-field production, they have no choice.

EDITORIAL

February 19, 2016 THE MAROON

HOWLS & GROWLS HOWL to Obama for trying to close Guantanamo Bay GROWL to the FBI still trying to make Apple create a backdoor to its software HOWL to an unpredictable presidential election

Consistently underperforming

GROWL to the bittersweet countdown to graduation HOWL to classes being canceled

We, the students of Loyola University New Orleans, in order to promote the student welfare, to establish an effective and representative student leadership body, to encourage a clear and continuous exchange of ideas between students and administration, and to assume the fullest powers and responsibilites of selfgovernment, do hereby establish this Constitution.

GROWL to textbook prices HOWL to Girl Scout cookies

- Preamble, SGA Constitution EDITORIAL BOARD Mary Graci Lauren Saizan

The primary function of a student government is to act as a bullhorn for the student body and amplify their voice so people who have the power to change things, do. This doesn’t happen with Loyola’s Student Government Association. As our professors were expressing their dissatisfaction over Wildes’ performance as university president, there was no engagement with the student body from the SGA on the issue. There were no town halls organized where students could get together and discuss what they wanted to see from Wildes, there were no emails sent out to students explaining what was happening and there wasn’t even a representative from the SGA present at the meeting where the vote of “no confidence” was passed. When there was a massive amount of energy working with the black student movement after the protests at the University of Missouri, and Loyola’s Black Student Union issued a petition expressing their concerns about racism at Loyola, they went straight to the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president to have their concerns addressed. They entirely bypassed their student

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Wolf Editor Worldview Editor

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EDITORIAL POLICY The editorial on this page represents the majority opinions of The Maroon’s editorial board and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Loyola University. Letters and columns reflect the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of The Maroon’s editorial board. The Maroon does not represent the opinion of administration, staff and/or faculty members of Loyola. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and style. Please limit submissions to 400 words. Submissions are due no later than 4 p.m. the Sunday before publication. Please send all submissions — The Maroon, 6363 St. Charles Ave., Box 64, New Orleans, LA 70118. Email us your letters — letter@ loyno.edu. Submissions may also be made online at www.loyolamaroon.com.

government, and that was probably intentional. If they had handed the issue over to the SGA, it would have died in the Audubon Room. During the height of the financial equilibrium process — where entire majors were slated for termination — the SGA did not effectively communicate with the student body about what was going on. The SGA was involved in the entire process, yet they did not engage the student body during the process to see what they wanted to be done. It wasn’t until the very end of the process that a town hall was organized to allow students to express their concerns about the budget cuts and restructuring. That engagement could have been seen sooner. Last spring, when there was a string of sexual assaults on Loyola students, the SGA didn’t take action to combat the problem. There was a sexual assault panel that was organized, but by the Students Against Sexual Assault, the Intrafraternity Council and the New Orleans Family Justice Center; not the SGA. Taking action to demand change on this was within their prerogative. The SGA sits in on Board of Trustees meetings. This is a privilege that

should be taken complete advantage of. The students have a direct line to the people who govern the university, and they don’t know they have this power or whether it’s being used by the SGA effectively. In the eyes of the student body, most of what their student government does is program fun events and provide food on occasion. There is nothing wrong with free Raising Canes during the closing weeks of the semester. Still, all this doesn’t get to the heart of the purpose of student government, yet that takes up most of its time and energy. In the coming weeks, campaigning for SGA President, Vice President and other important positions will begin. Whoever runs for these positions will undoubtedly have good intentions, but good intentions and an ability to talk to people are not enough to make the SGA relevant to the university. The student body needs to hold the SGA accountable and to push them to be their voice. This election should not just be an election — it should be a referendum on the underperformance of our student government.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Inform yourself on Catholic Social Teaching Editor: For those who might be tempted to identify free market libertarianism with Catholic Social Teaching from reading the February 19th edition of The Maroon, I would recommend reading The Catholic Case against Libertarianism by

theologian Michael Sean Winters in The National Catholic Reporter, May 28, 2014 at http://ncronline. org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/catholic-case-against-libertarianism and the keynote address of Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga at the June 3, 2014 forum on Erroneous Autonomy: The Catholic

Case Against Libertarianism, which was hosted by the Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at http://www.catholicsinalliance. org/libertarianism. Cardinal Rodríguez is the former president of Caritas Internationalis, the international Catholic Charities network, and

chair of the committee of eight cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to recommend reforms in the Vatican. Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ Director Jesuit Social Research Institute

OPINION

February 26, 2016 The Maroon

In My Opinion Students sharing their opinions on topics

Courtesy of ALLEN SCHABEN/ Los Angeles Times

Ryan Lewis & Macklemore won four awards, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album backstage at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Macklemore has since expressed doubts as to whether he deserved them all.

Macklemore humbly speaks out for minorities Sammy Odell music industry sophomore sodell@loyno.edu

With the return of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ highly anticipated sophomore album on Feb. 26, 2016, past issues and questions concerning the duo’s influence, popularity and intentions have resurfaced. Two years ago, Macklemore was apologizing for his success. In 2014, he took home Grammys for best new artist, best rap song, best rap

performance and best rap album beating well-established artists like Jay Z, Kanye West, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Macklemore posted a screenshot on Instagram. It was a text he sent to Lamar saying, “You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have.” Macklemore felt it necessary to publicly apologize for his win because of several accusations his name and music were and still are attributed to. With their first album, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis tackled the issue of marriage equality and homophobia with the single, “Same Love.” The song faced much criticism for its simple and uninformed lyrics like “when I was in the third grade I

thought that I was gay, cause I could draw, my uncle was and I kept my room straight” and “A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it.” This raised questions for how Macklemore became the face for hip hop’s gay rights activist when there is already an entire genre in place called homo hop. Homo hop, or also known as LGBT hip hop or queer hip hop, is defined as a subgenre to hip hop typically performed by LGBT artists. LGBT hip hop is a movement to make gay artists and performers’ presence known in the hip hop culture to promote awareness in popular music today. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released “Same Love” when the fight for marriage equality was at its

peak, during the perfect storm of events. Also, the duo established a strong foundational following with their prior release, “Thrift Shop.” Combined, the track, “Same Love” became a notable force for the fight towards the legalization of gay marriage. Critics and other artists frequently tear down Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ music by using race as a reason for their popularity and success. Macklemore has openly responded to the accusations of race carrying his career saying that “the privilege that exists in the music industry is just a greater symptom of the privilege that exists in America.” The duo by no means ignores accusations that their race is an ad-

vantageous position in the hip hop genre. It is impossible to not ask what Macklemore’s success would look like if he were African-American. The reality is Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have entered into a genre and are fighting battles that are culturally not theirs. However, both hip hop and the battle for gay rights are not limited to its traditional members and both call for innovators and activists in support of their mission. Regardless of race or sexuality, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis create art that speaks to the volumes and persuades progress within our communities through the best way they know how: music.

An Outside Perspective

Louisiana budget situation keeps getting worse as numbers adjust Written by Melinda Deslatte, this first appeared in the Associated Press on Feb. 14. How deep is this year’s budget gap? Depends on what you want to include. As lawmakers returned Sunday to the Louisiana Capitol to decide how to rebalance this year’s budget, Gov. John Bel Edwards is pegging the shortfall in the $25 billion spending plan at nearly $950 million. But that assumes lawmakers agree to everything on the Democratic governor’s list — and that list has grown over time, as agencies that once had no public complaints about their financing say they now have shortfalls. Settling on the figure means digging through a muddle of numbers. Agreeing on what to include could help decide how much lawmakers, particularly Republicans, are willing to consider Edwards’ push to raise taxes to protect state services from

cuts. Public health care services and public colleges are most vulnerable to slashing. Time is short. Lawmakers gathered in a special legislative session, called by Edwards to deal with the state’s financial woes, must wrap up their work by March 9. And the state’s budget must be rebalanced before the fiscal year ends June 30. The deficit recognized by the state’s income forecasting panel, the Revenue Estimating Conference, is $570 million. That accounts for the conference’s decision to downgrade estimates of what Louisiana is expected to collect this year from taxes. Economists say collections across nearly all tax types are far lower than expected. The Legislature’s chief economist Greg Albrecht said Louisiana is “entering what amounts to a state recession.” The downturn is driven by tumbling oil prices and the economic

spill-out effect. Employment numbers are bad, wages are stagnant, and Louisiana’s giving out more in tax refunds to businesses so far this year than it’s collecting in corporate taxes, Albrecht said. On top of slumping tax collections, former Gov. Bobby Jindal and lawmakers didn’t fully pay for all the programs they included in the budget and patched together some spending plans with dollars that haven’t materialized. Rather than raise taxes or cut state spending to match its annual income, Jindal — backed by lawmakers — raided savings accounts, sold property and used other shortterm fixes to pay for state expenses. At least two gaps caused by those Jindal-era budgeting maneuvers have been known for months: a shortfall in the TOPS free college tuition program to cover all eligible students, a gap that has grown to $28 million; and a $250 million shortfall in the Medicaid program to

account for increased usage of services and an increased number of recipients. More recently, the Edwards administration said the K-12 public school financing formula is short $20 million because more students showed up than were used in budget projections. A similar situation emerged in the payments to sheriffs for housing state prisoners, which is estimated to be $3 million short. Those two areas often require midyear adjustments. Over time, though, new shortfalls have shown up in other agencies that the Edwards administration is including in its figures. The Edwards administration says that on top of the $570 million deficit recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference, it has identified millions in budget shortfalls left by Jindal and lawmakers across agencies. Included in the administration’s figures are nearly $19 million in cuts

that were ordered in the budget, but that weren’t ever levied across agencies by Jindal. Also on Edwards’ shortfall list are gaps the administration says it’s found in the corrections, revenue, children and family services, juvenile justice and public health agencies. No matter the specific figure used, the budget hole is wide and will be challenging to close. Taxes will be difficult for lawmakers, residents and businesses to stomach. Cuts before the budget year ends June 30 will be worsened by the four-month timeline to make them. And the figure for next year’s budget shortfall is even higher, estimated to top $2 billion in the state financial year that begins July 1. Edwards wants lawmakers to make headway on closing that gap, too, by voting for tax increases in the special session.

February 26, 2016 The Maroon

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