Maroon October 28, 2022

FSLN flag displayed in professor’s office upsets Nicaraguan students

By Macie Batson mmbats@my,loyno.edu

Late last month, graduate student Alejandra Arguello Fletes sent a letter to Loyola in response to a video post from the university’s official Instagram page on Friday Sept. 23. The post showed Nathan Henne, in his office with a flag that Nica raguan students described as represent ing “trauma, disgust, and fear.”

The Instagram post was intended to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by exploring New Orleans’ Hispanic identi ty, and the marketing team asked a few faculty members from the Latin Ameri can Studies department to shoot a short video reflecting on the city’s Hispanic his tory, Henne said.

Despite the fact that it had nothing to do with the video, Henne said that the angle of the film revealed a flag with the letters FSLN on it over his head, as well as other historical resistances against U.S. imperialism and dictatorships.

The FSLN, or Frente Sandinista de Lib eración Nacional, is a Nicaraguan politi cal party run by the Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, and was established in the 1980s. Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistance against U.S. occupation in the 1930s, inspired the party’s name.

“This wall in my office chronicles resis tance over the last century in Central and Latin America,” Henne said.

Upon seeing the video, Fletes said she and other Nicaraguan students felt insulted that Henne had this flag up in

his office. Fletes argued it was a symbol of the abuse Daniel Ortega is currently imposing on Nicaraguans as the coun try’s president. Henne defended the flag’s presence in his office, saying that to him, it represents Central American freedom.

Acknowledging the history

Henne, who was born and raised in Guatemala, said the FSLN led and won the Nicaraguan revolution against the Somoza government in 1979.

“I remember the day … when they won that revolution, and a lot of Latin America remembers and celebrates it,” Henne said.

Fletes said that the FSLN should not be used as a model for revolutionary history since Ortega has been in pow er since the November 2006 elections through use of fraudulent voting and oth er violations of constitutional rights and democracy.

“They manipulated the common desire to be a free country to abolish a dictatorship just to implement another,” Fletes said. “That’s why it cannot be an example.”

Furthermore, Fletes stated that the FSLN cannot serve as an example for the hemisphere because the same people who represented the FSLN political par ty in the 1980s are still present now. Ac cording to Fletes, the repression, corrup tion, and dictatorship did not begin “a few years ago,” but that Nicaraguans began to resist a few years ago.

A quick takedown

Fletes stated that many comments on the post from Loyola students expressed disappointment that Loyola would allow a faculty member to display this flag in their office despite the hardship that the people of Nicaragua are experiencing as a result of the FSLN.

“For me, Loyola is my safe place, and when I realized that there is a professor who has a flag that gives me nightmares, it was threatening,” Fletes said.

Loyola’s marketing department re moved the video 54 minutes after it was posted, according to Fletes.

Fletes then composed a letter on be half of Nicaraguan students at Loyola and sent it on Monday, Sept. 26 to the interim university president, the director of stu dent affairs, the director of marketing, the director of ministry, and the vice presi dent for equity and inclusion.

Henne said that Vice President of Marketing and Communications Rachel Hoormann let him know the video was being taken down.

Fletes said she hoped that the letter would encourage the university to be come more aware and conscientious of the flag and its meaning.

“Maybe the FSLN tried to do some thing good in the 80s, but 40 years later we can see that the whole purpose of what they did was not with a good end,”

Fletes said.

Henne said that he was unaware that Fletes sent the letter and that he learned about it from a fellow faculty member.

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Honors students upset over changed scholarships

By Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

Oliver Parker said they were shocked when they received their tuition bill for the Fall 2022 semester.

Parker, a digital filmmaking honors sophomore, along with many other hon ors students, joined the program under the assumption that they would receive extra scholarship funds, as stated on the school’s website.

“The scholarship money was a mas sive part of my decision (to join the hon ors program).

I do appreciate the rigor and specific ity of the honors curriculum, but mon ey was my primary reason for joining,” Parker said.

Parker was awarded a scholarship of $5,000, which was applied to their tui tion in the 2021-2022 school year. How ever, when they received their financial aid package for this year, the scholarship hadn’t been applied.

Jonathan Peterson, director of the uni versity honors program, said that, to his knowledge, this is because scholarships for honors students have changed, with the decision to end the use of the Igna tian Scholarship, which was a four-year full-tuition and housing award available only for honors students to apply for in the past, according to the archives of the Loyola scholarships website.

Peterson said that the decision to cut

this scholarship, along with others stu dents could apply for like the one Parker received, was to open a new one.

This new scholarship, listed as the Honors Scholarship, is for any incoming students of the Fall 2022 semester ad mitted into the honors program. Accord ing to the scholarships’ webpage, this scholarship is automatically awarded and renewable all four years.

Loyola University’s Director of Public Affairs, Patricia Murret, said that there were no changes to previous students' tuition bills with this decision. However, she did say that this money was grant ed with the suspension of the Ignatian Scholarship and will be unavailable for students admitted before the fall of 2022.

Andrea Norwood, a sophomore his tory major, joined the honors program when she first applied to Loyola. The scholarship money was important, and she understood the need it held not only for herself but also for other honors students. She said she’s upset that the school offered this scholarship to new students on the website, but that return ing students were never offered it.

“To not get the scholarship when it is clearly promised on the honors program website is just not fair,” Norwood said.

Peterson said that he was not made aware of these student concerns, and added that the honors program itself isn’t in control of its scholarships. Finan cial aid is determined by the Office of

Financial Aid and is typically a combi nation of merit-based scholarships and need-based aid, Peterson said.

Lili Link, a sophomore history major, said that she too joined the honors pro gram specifically for the extra scholar ships available to those in the program. She said she’s irritated with the school's decision to add a new scholarship for in coming honors students and not extend the offer to other students.

“It's not really fair for the honors stu dents who have been going here for some time to not have access to a schol arship that incoming freshmen are get ting,” Link said.

She said she feels most upset that this is happening right after her freshman year.

Amanda Duffin, a music industry studies sophomore, said that she was also unsatisfied with the decision to add this scholarship only for incoming stu dents.

“It’s completely unfair that the new students are going to do the same amount of work yet receive an extra scholarship,” Duffin said.

Peterson said that he understands why upperclassmen would be confused over the new scholarship, even with the backlash. However, he said that he is hopeful for the potential offered by the new scholarship.

“It is really important for the universi ty to be able to try new strategies in order

to promote our recruiting success in an increasingly competitive environment, and I hope this scholar ship will do that,” Pe terson said.

Iris Mack's "brilliance" and "ability" still impacts community

By Natalie Thomas nethomas@my.loyno.edu

The Loyola community has mourned for more than a month over the death of College of Business professor Iris Mack, who was the second Black woman to re ceive a doctorate in applied mathemat ics from Harvard University in 1986, as well as a beloved professor of Introduc tion to Business at Loyola.

“She brought her brilliance and her ability to motivate students to learn and question things,” said Kathy Barnett, the associate dean of the College of Busi ness.

During her time at Loyola, Mack re named the introductory business course “AI and the Future of Business” due to her extensive knowledge of artificial in telligence and its relation to basic busi ness concepts.

Mack became the first Black wom an to teach applied mathematics at the MIT Sloan School of Management the same year she graduated from Harvard in 1986. She also wrote an algorithm for trading oil and gas that is still used by many firms today, Barnett said.

Barnett described Mack as an amaz

ing individual, who had the ability to help students see the endless possibili ties that lay ahead for them. Barnett said that Mack stood as a role model for fe male students and students of color.

Daphne Main, an associate professor and coordinator of accounting at Loyola, shared similar sentiments.

“I think her long-run impact was showing students of all races and back grounds that she, as a woman and a person of color, could be successful in business,” Main said.

Yennifer Mejo Sotero, a business management and marketing senior, said Mack had a great ability to put her at ease.

“I had told her that I was scared to be in a room full of white students because I was so used to being around other His panics and African-Americans. She then told me, ‘don’t worry I dealt with that, and if it happens, remember you’re just going to stand out for a good reason,’” Sotero said.

Ramiro Martinez, a business man agement sophomore, remembered how Mack was able to energize her students.

“She brought to class such a positive attitude which made me actually enjoy

it,” Martinez said. “I had her class in the morning, and being all sleepy, I did not want to miss her class since every time I went there, I learned something differ ent.”

Mack was uniquely connected to all her students, whether they were busi ness majors or not, according to Barnett. Economics and management senior Austin Young said Mack brought knowl edge and experience to her students.

“She always had a story to help ex plain the concepts from class,” Young said.

Joe Middleton, a business manage ment senior said: “At one point I started calling her 'Mama Mack' and she was one of those people you don’t forget once you are blessed to meet her.”

Marketing junior Mariana Cabrales said Mack will leave a lasting legacy at Loyola.

“She impacted the lives of many Loyola students, teachers, and staff. Her contribution as a teacher in the business school was admirable, as she taught stu dents not only business related skills, but also important life lessons,” Cabrales said.

Loyola honors Francis family through week of celebratory events

By Devon Burd dpburd@my.loyno.edu

Loyola recently hosted four public events which lasted from Oct. 13 through Oct. 20 to commemorate the renaming of Carrollton Hall to the Blanche and Norman C. Francis Family Hall. The re naming was announced in June of 2022.

The university renamed the hall to honor Loyola’s first Black graduate, Nor man C. Francis. These events includ ed Breaking Barriers: Dr. Norman C. Francis's Impact on Loyola and Higher

Education on Oct. 14, the Alpha Phi Al pha Fraternity, Inc. family cook out on Oct. 15, a film screening of the documen tary, “The Life of Dr. Norman C. Francis” on Oct. 19, and a blessing and dedication of the new residence hall on Oct. 20.

According to

Kedrick Perry, Loyola’s vice president of equity and inclusion, the purpose of these events was to celebrate Fran cis and his ac complishments.

Jay Davis, as sociate director of residential life, mirrored this sentiment and said that the

events and name change are intended to highlight the life and legacy of the entire Francis family, including both Norman C. Francis and his wife, Blanche.

After the film screening, Nia Wood side, a junior psychology major, said she was excited by the change.

“He left his mark as the first Afri can-American to graduate from our school, and that is so motivating to peo ple of color on this campus," Woodside said.

Blakeley Cathey, a mass communica tion and business junior, also attended

the film screening.

Cathey attended "due to … wanting to support the continuation of Norman C Francis' legacy at Loyola University New Orleans."

“The name change is a small but im portant step for Loyola,” said Shelbi Bias, a senior double majoring in finance and accounting. “I appreciate the desire to recognize someone who has done so many amazing things for New Orleans.”

Iris Mack's professional headshot is featured on Loyola's website. Mack died on Sept. 28, 2022 and will be missed on campus. Courtesy of Kathy Barnett, associate dean of Loyola's College of Business.

Abigail Schmidt/ The Maroon

“(Norman C. Francis) left his mark as the first African- American graduate from our school”

— Nia Woodside Junior Psychology major at Loyola

By Nadir Benslimane nmbensli@my.loyno.edu

Public transportation in New Orleans has been running behind when it comes to suiting com muter students' needs.

Loyola commuter students and some members of the Commuter Student Asso ciation gave their thoughts on the current state of public transportation and how it has affected them. Several commuters found that the options for public transportation were too few and the bare minimum needed to work with.

Sebastian Walser, first-year pre-health major, said, “a lot of people struggle with traffic and (are) catching rides with parents or roommates to make it.”

The Daily Commute

Commuter students struggle with public transportation

Biology junior Gillian Decosseas and Emily Dieu, a psychology junior, agreed with Walser. They said they felt that public transpor tation has the potential to be unsafe, considering the possibility of un wanted encounters with strangers. These concerns are not completely unfounded either as there was a carjacking attempt of an RTA bus in July 2022, along with a recent attempted kidnapping of a New Orleans teen from a rideshare driver in September 2022.

Jacob Roy, a third year computer science major and member of the Commuter Student Association noted that because of New Orleans’ high crime rate, many students feel unsafe using public transporta tion.

Garado Colon, a computer science senior, commented that inconsis tent public transportation incentivized them to use cars or Uber in order to get to class on time.

This is cause for concern as inconsistent public transportation makes coming and going

to campus more difficult, especially for those without a car. A few commuters brought up their own ideas on ways to address this difficulty.

“Streetcars, bikes, and buses are options, but only for people who are in close proximity to the school,” Roy said,” adding “students who live farther away don’t really have that option. There should be some type of shuttle that goes to those places that are farther from the school, and I’d think that would be better.”

Walser added that it would also be nice if Loyola helped out more with transpor tation by creating a carpool system among students.

Colon added that the apps and websites contain ing public transportation schedules and stops are both unreliable and hard to navigate with

inaccurate arrival times to campus. Commut ers felt that their comments should be taken seriously by the school and added that the safety and success of all students should be one of the highest priorities for Loyola as a university.

Spending on course materials drops

By Arianna D'Antonio asdanton@my.loyno.edu

Student spending on course materi als has dropped nearly 50% over the last decade, according to the Association of American Publishers. Loyola senior Roxana Coriano said it may be due to students’ inability to afford materials.

“Knowing that college is already ex pensive, students are mindful about their money and how much they spend,” Coriano said.

Student Watch, funded by the Nation al Association of College Stores Foun dation, reported a decrease in spending by 48% over the last decade. According to Lacey Wallace, a research analyst at

the association, this is the “lowest (the organization) has recorded over the past 15 years.”

Coriano, who is a biology pre-health major and chemistry minor, said that while she believes students are less like ly to buy course materials because they don’t have the money on hand for such “frivolous” expenses, students need their course materials “to keep up quality ac ademic work and remain interested in learning new information through the course.”

Laura Knox, the director of education policy and programs at W.W. Norton, worked closely with representatives across the industry and said content pro viders have begun to focus on providing

more affordable options for students.

“Affordability is just one piece of the puzzle. Publishers provide engaging, relevant, up-to-date content that helps students understand and retain materi al, setting them up for success in the classroom and be yond. When these high-quality materi als are priced fairly and are delivered in a convenient way for students, there’s ex ceptional value in that,” Knox said.

Kelly Denson, the vice president of

education policy and programs for AAP, said higher education publishers have been inclined to focus on both quali ty and affordability moving forward.

“Publishers have dramatically expand ed their offerings, providing high-qual ity content and courseware within delivery models like Inclusive Access, and rental options in addition to digital, loose leaf print, and individual learning apps. The result gives both faculty and students the freedom

and flexibility to choose the materials that work best for their financial and ac ademic needs,” Denson said.

Knox said that the industry is, and has been, on the right path.

“If the past few years are any indica tion, students will continue to see new and innovative ways to access affordable content,” Knox said.

The St. Charles streetcar line boards passengers near Loyola's campus. The streetcar is an example of public transportation, which students wish was more accessible on campus. Kloe Witt/The Maroon

“Streetcars, bikes, and buses are options, but only for people who are in close proximity to the school.”

— Jacob Roy Loyola student

“Knowing that college is already expensive, stu dents are mindful about their money and how much they spend.”

— Roxana Coriano Loyola student

Loyola celebrates its diverse community with international festival

By Sophia Maxim svmaxim@my.loyno.edu

Students gathered in the Peace Quad on Friday, Oct. 21 to celebrate a mosaic of cultural heritage at Loyola’s Interna tional Festival, hosted by the Interna tional Student Association.

International students represented their origin countries at decorated ta bles, and prepared traditional food and activities for the Loyola community to enjoy. Some students felt that the inter national festival was a chance to rep resent their country despite being far away from home. At the Brazilian booth, Beatriz Domasceno served brigadeiro, a classic dessert popular at children’s par ties. Damasceno, originally from Brazil, attends university in the Netherlands but came to Loyola through an exchange program.

“It's really important that I get to ex press my identity as a Brazilian person and honor my home country, even though I'm abroad,” Damasceno said. “To see everyone come together – it's really validating.”

The festival connected and intro duced people from shared cultures. For instance, freshman Nicolle Anderson met another Honduran student while eating tomatillos and pupusas at the Honduran booth.

“That was a very happy moment for me because my roommate and I thought we were the only freshmen from Honduras, but I just met someone, so now I have a friend from Honduras,” An derson said.

South Korean ex change students senior Yoonkyung Lee and junior Yujin Kim felt a calling to rep resent South Korea as a minority group at Loyola.

“Here, there's very little Asians, and that's why I think it's really important to introduce our countries,” Kim said.

Lee and Kim noticed a lack of Kore an food options on campus and wanted to introduce a dish for others to try. At their booth, they served Jumeok-bapa,

nicknamed “punch rice,” which is a light home-cooked meal common in Korea.

“It's called punch rice because it looks like a punch, or like a fist,” Kim said.

Lee and Kim also offered to translate attendees’ names and write them down using the Korean alphabet, Hangul.

Many booths at the festival also pro vided information about the variety of study-abroad pro grams offered by Loyola, which allow students the oppor tunity to experience world cultures first hand.

Yaniss Mardaoui, a third year ex change student from France, believes the international festival has an import ant role in promoting cultural apprecia tion.

“I think these kinds of events are real ly good to show Americans all the other countries and their cultures,” Mardaoui said. “It can help to promote diversity in side the university.”

Students learn about German culture at Oktoberfest

By Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

Deutsches Haus of New Orleans once again rolled out the kegs this October during their annual Oktoberfest celebra tion.

The event, meant to celebrate German culture around the city took place the second, third and fourth Fridays and Saturdays of October and included booths with traditional German dishes, live mu sic from several artists embracing Ger man culture, and plenty of beer. Since it was a drinking festival, there were also 28 different brands of beer for event-go

ers to enjoy. If beer wasn’t of interest for some, the festival also sold wine and schnapps.

Competitions were also held at the festival, such as one in which contes tants competed to be the longest to hold a mug of beer straight in front of them with out stopping.

Many of the fes tival-goers dressed in costumes to get in the spirit and poten tially compete in the costume contests.

Instrumental performance freshman, Melissa Monjaras, attended the last weekend of the festival. She said it was a wonderful experience that was worth the price of a $10 entry.

“It was interesting seeing the unique way that this culture celebrates,” Monja ras said.

Monjaras added that she enjoyed seeing how welcoming everyone was, including festival employees and the fes tival-goers themselves.

“People would walk up and do the chicken dance with me. It definitely wasn’t what I expected, but it was really fun,” she said.

Monjaras said she felt skeptical of the festival when she was first asked to at tend, though she said she almost instant ly felt the “good vibes” while there. Now, she said she hopes to attend the festival in the years to come.

“I look forward to coming back next year,” Monjaras said.

Maroon

Students show their pride with Brazillian flags at the international festival on Oct. 21, 2022. Beatriz Damasceno (right) served brigadeiro, a classic dessert popular at children’s parties. Sophia Maxim/The Maroon

South Korean exchange students senior Yoonkyung Lee and junior Yujin Kim serve a Korean rice dish nicknamed "punch rice." The festival showcased a variety of international cuisines. Sophia Maxim/The Maroon

“It's called punch rice because it looks like a punch, or like a fist."

— Yujin Kim Loyola Junior

“PIt definitely wasn’t what I expected, but it was really fun.”

— Melissa Monjaras Freshman instrumental per formance major

Women's basketball starts season

By Matthew Richards mlricha2@my.loyno.edu

Picked unanimously to finish in first place in their conference for the third consecutive season in the preseason polls, the women’s basketball team has high expectations for the upcoming 2022-2023 season, said head coach Kel lie Kennedy.

“We’re in a really exciting place this year,” Kennedy said. “We have a strong nucleus of players who have a lot of experience in tough situations and are comfortable in the big moments, so there’s a lot of great things surrounding the program this year.”

The back-to-back defending Southern States Athletic Conference champions are looking to improve on their second round defeat in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tour nament last season.

“Our expectations are always set at winning the conference championship firstly,” Kennedy said. “We have pretty much our entire team returning from last season, and this group has aspirations to go a lot further than we did. We want to make a serious run in the national tour nament and possibly replicate the suc cess of the men’s team and win the whole thing. We were not able to accomplish all the goals we set out to achieve last year, and we want to change that.”

This year’s team is laden with expe rience with three fifth-year seniors and five fourth-year players. The experienced roster will look to guide the Wolf Pack as they seek another berth in the NAIA national tournament this upcoming sea son. Taylor Thomas, a senior guard and the reigning SSAC defensive player of the year, said that experience this season will be an asset for the team.

“I think that having a lot of returning players from last season gives us a big advantage over our competition because we have a lot of chemistry, cohesion, and an established winning culture,” Thomas said. “We have great leaders on this team, know how and what it takes to win, and I’m very excited to start the season.”

Also, among the returning players this season is the reigning SSAC confer ence player of the year and the NAIA’s third team all-American guard Kennedy Hansberry.

“I’ve always been kind of an under dog, so it felt amazing to get recognized,” Hansberry said of her award. “I knew I had put in a lot of effort and work over the course of the season, but when my name was called, it was crazy. And it re ally motivates me to be the best leader and teammate I can and make my team better. ”

The Wolf Pack will begin their sea son on Nov. 1 with an exhibition game against Tulane University. Their home opener in The Den takes place on Nov. 10 against the Southern University of New Orleans.

By Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

Scholars and Ballers

How do these student athletes juggle it all?

even if it’s not just on the court. I try to spend time watching films, working out, training,” Brown said.

Last year, the Loyola Men’s Basketball team won the National Association of In tercollegiate Athletics championship for the second time in the school’s history.

On top of being full-time students and on a championship team, the players have had a lot to balance.

Dominic Brown, a sophomore mar keting major, plays point guard for the team. This is his first year on the team after an accident caused him to take his freshman year off of the court. Having played the sport since he was two years old, Brown said he has been able to stay focused on the game, even when it takes up much of his time.

“It takes up at least half of my day,

Brown said that time management is important but that sometimes, it feels impossible.

“A lot of the time, it feels like I’m not doing as much or that I’m not being as productive as I want to be, just because it feels like time is moving really fast,” he said.

On top of being a member of the team and being a full-time student at Loyola, Brown is also the owner of his own cloth ing brand.

“Some days I feel like I’m doing every thing perfectly and the day is working out perfectly, but some days, I feel like I’m barely making it through,” Brown said.

Brown isn’t the only player who has felt this way. Senior Mass Communica tion major, Andrew Stagni, is a shooting guard for the team. This is Stagni’s fourth year on the team, which has helped him in developing skills to balance school and playing. He said that realizing he is a student first was the key.

“Ever since junior year of high school, I realized that I’m obviously not going to go pro in basketball so I need to learn as much as I can in classes,” Stagni said.

By realizing this, Stagni said it has helped him to manage his time between basketball, school, and personal rela tionships.

“It’s really just about taking everything serious,” he said. “You just have to realize that the end result is going to be good if you put the work in and suffer now.”

WHAT YOU MISSED

Golfer Mijic wins career title

Sophomore Austin Mijic won his first individual medalist honor at the WCU Gulf Shores Invitational

Golf places No. 2 at Gulf Shores

The women's golf team placed second by one stroke at the WCU Gulf Shores Invitational on Oct. 25.

Cross country holds last regular season meet

The team had a 50-team meet at John Hunt Park in Hun stville, Alabama, with a No. 3 placement from Madisyn Acosta on the women's team.

WHAT'S UP NEXT

OCT. 28 AT 5 P.M. Swimming at Birmingham Southern College

NOV. 1 AT 6 P.M. Women's basketball at Tulane University

NOV. 1 AT 6 P.M. E-sports vs. James Madison University

NOV. 3 AT 7 P.M. Men's basketball vs. Dillard University

NOV. 4 - ALL DAY Cross country SSAC Championships

Volleyball hits 8-game winning streak

By Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

The Loyola volleyball team is current ly on a winning streak of eight games.

The team's coach, Jesse Zabal, said that in the team's success, she aims to keep her players focused on the games ahead of them in order to ensure a strong end to their season.

“I think we're just taking it one day at a time, focusing on taking advantage of our training time in practice, then pre paring ourselves as best we can when game day rolls around,” she said.

Zabal said that the players are han dling a lot between being students and athletes but that they are doing a great job at handling it all regardless. She said that their success is thanks to their men tality as a team.

“I believe they have put more of a focus on having well-thought-out and intentional goals, both individually and

for the team, for each practice and each match. It's helped them stay focused on the task at hand,” Zabal said.

Zabal also said that their teamwork has played a large part in the team's suc cess.

“I think everyone continues to come together and play their roles really well, which instills confidence in everyone else on the court,” she said.

As the team continues their already successful season, Zabal said that they still hold their team's values with their goals in mind.

“The goal is obviously to keep win ning, but it's not about the streak. It's about taking on each match – one at a time – giving each match and opponent the respect it's due,” she said.

Volleyball player Preslie Boswell gets ready for a spike. Volleyball has won eight games in a row. Courtesy of Wolf Pack Athetics

Senior Andrew Stagni practices

with being a student athlete. Anna Hummel/The Maroon

Juvenile transfer to Angola sparks controversy

By Heather Rabassa hnrabass@my.loyno.edu

Nicknamed the “Alcatraz of the South,” the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is known for be ing a prison for the state’s worst offend ers and death row inmates, and in June, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, passed an act that allowed for the trans fer of a group of juvenile inmates in order for them to be housed there.

Louisiana citizens have since voiced their concerns about the juveniles that are now headed there to serve out their sentences.

The call for the transfer comes af

ter multiple riots and escapes from the Bridge City Center for Youth. Since July, at least 20 juveniles have escaped from the facility, and the public outcry over safety concerns pushed officials into ac tion. The transfer to Angola is meant to be a short-term solution while the Jetson Center for Youth in Baker, Louisiana is under renovation, according to Edwards.

The Office of Juvenile Justice, the de partment in charge of the Bridge City location, will also be responsible for staffing the juvenile wing at Angola. However, trust in the office has deterio rated after the mishandling of multiple facilities, including a facility in St. Mar tinsville where juveniles were held in

around-the-clock solitary confinement and offered no education, going against all federal and state laws.

Gina Womack, co-founder and exec utive director of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children said she doesn’t believe the state deserves the confidence and trust it has been giv en and called the transfer an “ill-advised plan.”

“If this plan moves forward, we be lieve that these kids will be retrauma tized, and retriggered. The OJJ has been ill equipped to offer these services even in their own facilities,” she said. Wom ack added that she believes OJJ’s staffing shortage will make it harder for juveniles

to not only receive proper care, but to also remain completely separate from adult inmates at Angola, as is the federal law.

In a press conference about the trans fer, Edwards promised that facilities will be receiving extra personnel, coordina tion, and training to maintain a proper level of care for the juveniles in holding. He also assured the public that there will be no contact with adults at Angola while the juveniles are there.

In an effort to keep treatment at the forefront of their care, juveniles involved in the JUMP program for youth sex of fenders will not be moved to Angola after showing promising signs of re

habilitation, according to OJJ’s Deputy Secretary Bill Sommers. “Only the most troubled youth will be moved to the state penitentiary,” Sommers said during the press conference.

In response to the potential for An gola to be used for juveniles more often now, former Deputy Secretary of the OJJ, Mary Livers, said that she’s worried about a potential pattern of punitive jus tice being the first resort for these juve niles.

“It appears that the current adminis tration may have given up that they can do anything for these kids,” she said.

FLAG: Flag in professor's office sparks student conversations

know what to do in the future.”

“To this day, nobody in the admin istration has told me about this letter,” Henne said.

A response deemed necessary

Henne claimed that after five days with no response from the university concerning the video’s takedown, he be lieved he was being ignored in order to let this issue quietly subside.

“After the post was taken down, I emailed marketing a couple of times saying ‘I’ve thought about this, and I don’t want to let it die,’ but they didn’t want any controversy,” Henne said.

Although Henne said he is very grate ful and proud to be at Loyola where Je suit tradition is so important, he said he believes that the way the university is going about this issue doesn’t align with what Loyola claims their ideals to be, which he said some of which are critical thinking and Jesuit tradition.

“We throw these things around, so we have to be willing to stand up when we see those things not being addressed,” Henne said. “We need to confront ten sion in a reasonable way and try to figure out what has happened in the past so we

On Saturday, Oct. 1, Henne decided to send a letter in response to Fletes’ email to the university in hopes of facilitating healthy conversation and attempting to help students understand that he did not condone the FSLN’s recent violent acts.

“In the interest of the open dialogue that should be the foundation of what we do here at Loyola, I am writing this let ter in order to defend my character and scholarship from the allegations and in sinuations that I un derstand to be in this letter,” Henne wrote.

Henne’s letter de tailed the roots of the FSLN and what they had done for Central America previous to the tragedies that Nicaraguans have endured in recent years. Henne said that he keeps the FSLN flag in his office because, prior to the recent troubles, the FSLN was a revolutionary political group that changed the trajectory of Central American government.

“It’s crucial. You can’t understand Central America without it,” Henne said. “I don’t support violent repression, and I don’t support the stuff Daniel Ortega has done, but I do very much support the the Sandinista and FSLN ideals leading up to the victory that toppled the brutal 40year dictatorship of the Samozas – prob ably the most im portant event in my young life.”

Henne said that Ernesto Cardenal, a Nicaraguan Jesu it priest, liberation theologian and poli tician, explained his perspective best. He provided Cardenal’s following quote: “Or tega and the FSLN cannot continue to find legitimacy in the leftist movements that they have betrayed with their un scrupulous act. The heroes and martyrs of the Sandinista revolution do not de serve to have their memory stained by the genocidal acts of a dictator who be trayed them. The victims of Ortega and Murillo deserve justice.”

“I take this flag down, and we betray those martyrs,” Henne said.

An arguably nuanced conversation

Henne argued that society cannot address systemic injustices by remain ing silent about them; rather, he argued that citizens of modern day society must continue to ask questions and examine history in an effort to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Henne said he is teaching a class next semester on Central American revolu tions of the 20th century through litera ture and film. One of those revolutions is the FSLN.

“I would welcome any and all dis senting voices to join that class to talk through some of these issues in a sus tained dialogue that embraces the nu ance of these situations in this messy thing we call history,” Henne said.

Fletes argued that as someone who has lived through the conflicts of FSLN, she believes that the conversation isn’t messy. She said that many Nicaraguan citizens who used to support the FSLN are now being imprisoned or killed after protesting against Ortega.

On Monday, Oct. 3, Fletes responded to Henne’s letter by thanking him for his perspective but stating that she could

not agree with it because she had wit nessed herself the injustices and human rights violations that Ortega had com mitted.

Both Henne and Fletes have stated that they do not intend to fight each oth er and are simply attempting to get their points across. Fletes explained, in her response letter, that she never wanted to silence Henne or request that his flag be removed but rather wanted to present her side of the story because her family has suffered through the FSLN’s oppres sive and violent acts.

Loyola’s Associate Director of Public Affairs Patricia Murret said that the uni versity has listened to and understands students’ concerns about the FSLN flag that was visible in Henne’s office.

“After meeting with students, the dean took steps to ensure that the pro fessor who owns the flag understood their concerns and how that flag could be perceived,” Murret said. “Loyola takes its commitment to creating an environ ment that is conducive to learning while also balancing mutual respect and ac ademic freedom among our campus community very seriously.”

Director of the Languages and Cultures department Nathan Henne sits at his desk in his office in Bobet Hall. The FSLN flag in Henne's office has recently sparked controversy among students who feel it is problematic. Macie Batson /The Maroon

“I would welcome any and all dissenting voices to join that class to talk through some of these issues in a sustained dialogue that embrac es the nuance of these situations in this messy thing we call history.

— Nathan Henne Chair of the Department of Languages and Cultures

Illustration by Patrick Hamilton

Warring on our democracy

Will you vote to keep your country?

our hardest to win the election, and if we lose, we try to bounce back later. We are not a nation of sore losers. Even if we complain, every president since the Civil War has peacefully transferred power to his successor - until now.

"…Would it not in that case Be simpler for the government To dissolve the people And elect another?"

-Die Lösung: Bertolt Brecht, 1953

You – students, faculty, friends – can speak for your country and your values, or you can watch your democracy die.

On November 8th, vote for the Dem ocrats.

Go to your polling station and bring a friend who can vote, and vote like your future depends on it. Never in living memory has the United States faced such a dangerous moment. This is the first time in modern history that a for mer president rejected the results of a legitimate election. Indeed, this is the first time in American history that a president has attempted to overthrow our government.

If the Republican party wins the ma jority in the Congress, you will experi ence the nightmare of a government tak en over by the lunatic fringe of criminals who have lied without consequence and intend, in their own words, to take your country away from you.

Both parties were built on our na tion's democratic principles: we fight

The Republican party is now the party of Trump, and they are the party of his at tempted coup d'état. Unfortunately, we cannot expect elected Republicans to be convinced to do what is best for this country. The few Republicans that have put country first and accepted the re sults of the 2020 election, like Represen tative Liz Cheney, have been castigated by their colleagues as 'traitors.' There is an inescapable conclusion: we can ei ther support American democracy, or we can support the GOP.

Our democracy is challenged from multiple fronts. In theory, the American people choose their representatives, but in practice, for many states, that is exact ly reversed as representatives choose their voters.

Consider our state: when one third of Louisiana’s population is Black, and the state has six seats in Congress, how many of those seats should be represen tative of the Black community?

For elected Republicans in Louisiana, that question wasn’t hard to answer. The state drew a map last summer limiting Black representation to only one of the six Congressional seats. This was chal lenged in court, and federal judge Shelly Dick ruled that it clearly violated the Voting Rights Act. This is the very same Voting Rights Act that was proposed and passed by Democrats in 1965 as a neces

sary mechanism to stop Southern states from using discriminatory practices to silence Black votes.

However, instead of accepting Judge Dick’s decision and giving equal repre sentation to Black voters, Louisiana Re publicans appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and won with the sup port of Republican activist justices that own the court’s majority today.

With an extensive pipeline of ideo logical judges from organizations like the Federalist Society flowing into state and federal courts, and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court, Republicans have been unapologetic about advancing their agenda through bad-faith manipu lation of the judiciary. Most dramatical ly, the Supreme Court is now the party's greatest victory, with five of the justices having been appointed by Republican presidents who lost the popular vote.

They have accomplished many of their goals anti-democratically, circum venting elections all over the country by 'legislating from the bench' with courts filled with unqualified activist judges; from dismantling gun control laws and the separation between church and state, to stopping the federal govern ment from effectively combating climate change and forgiving student debt.

Democrats in Congress have the abil ity to push back against this abuse, but we have to give them that power through our votes.

The Republican party is gone. It has been devoured from the inside by the criminals and fanatics of the MAGA cult. Why else would party members vote al

most unanimously to acquit then-Pres ident Trump not once, but twice, for crimes clearly and obviously committed in broad daylight? Why else would par ty leaders continue to either advocate or quietly approve the easily provable lie that President Biden stole the 2020 election? Why else would party leaders lie and deny the many, grave accusations of corruption, criminal misconduct, and espionage against the former president, his family members, and closest associ ates? The Republican party leadership has betrayed its honest members and its country. The Democratic party is far from perfect, and never above criticism, but its leaders have not endangered this country and betrayed their public trust. On Election Day, we cannot hesitate, we cannot turn away, and we cannot survive as a democracy if we allow the tainted and corrupt leadership of what was once the Republican party to take power again. We must vote, vote in great numbers, and vote Democratic at least this time.

The threat is even greater if we lose this election. Understanding the impor tance of voting on November 8th may encourage you to get off your ass and bring a friend with you to the ballot box. Republican leaders have promised to get rid of Medicare and Social Security if they reclaim power. They have prom ised to infringe on your right to privacy, control your reproductive rights, and move our country backwards. They have promised to force government shut downs and default on our debt. And most significantly, the Republican party

has waged a war against our democracy. In the last year, Republican legislatures have adopted hundreds of laws to re strict voting access, fought to dismantle the Voting Rights Act, and to suppress minority voices. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said “if Republicans don’t challenge and change the U.S. elec tion system, there will never be another Republican president elected again.” Re publican leaders know we don’t support their ideas, they know they can’t win le gitimately, and now they’ve waged a war against us. Now, it's time for us to fight back.

The exhausted majority of Americans have to work even harder to get out and vote this midterm election and defeat Republican extremism. Republican leaders do not care about you, they do not care about this country, and they do not care about democracy. We cannot change the structure of the system with out winning at the polls.

Young voters have the power to swing this election. If you care about your life and want to have a say in where we go as a nation, get out and defend democracy. Register to vote now: vote by mail, vote in person, but don’t forget to vote while your vote still counts.

Patrick Hamilton Design Chief at The Maroon

Culture isn't your costume

It’s that time of year again where the tem perature starts dropping, jack-o'-lanterns are put out, and spooky vibes are in the air. Hal loween is a classic holiday that dates back to the Middle Ages. It’s also a time where people often forget how to respect and honor other cultures.

Indigenous dress, Japanese kimonos, and traditional Middle Eastern garb are just some of the examples of this trend one can usually see on any given Halloween weekend. Want ing to participate in another culture’s customs is not a bad thing and should even be celebrat ed – as long as it is done so respectfully. But on Halloween, cultural traditions are nothing more than costumes to the people who appro priate them.

Originally known as All Hallow’s Eve, Hal loween was a day to prepare for the celebra tion of All Saint’s Day the following day. Over time, as Christianity spread through Europe, the holiday began adopting different Pagan traditions and incorporating the various dif

ferent cultures of Europe until it became what we know it as today. Or, at least, a less heavily commercialized version.

It seems that since the inception of Hal loween, the holiday has always been about the appropriation of other cultures, as popular cultural practices took from indigenous and Pagan traditions to create the Halloween we celebrate. Nowadays, instead of taking over religious concepts, we’re taking over other cul ture’s traditions and identities.

It is not wrong per se to want to participate in another cultures' traditions. In fact, cultures from all around the world deserve celebration and respect for the history and people behind them. However, Halloween isn’t set up to host a proper cultural exchange. People aren’t go ing to parties to discuss culture. They go to get wasted.

But what can be done to change this? First and foremost, do NOT wear a culture’s tradi tional attire as a Halloween costume. That’s just disrespectful. Second, just wear some

thing else. It’s Halloween! The night where you can be whatever you want!

Be a ghost, a rockstar, some character from pop culture, or, hell, even a disco ball! Be cre ative with it, because, if anything, dressing up as someone else’s culture is just lazy.

In the end, all we can do is try and convince you that wearing a Native American headdress and goofing off at midnight is kind of a dick move. All we ask is that you consider what you decide to wear and how it may impact others and the way others see you.

Plus, New Orleans just so happens to be one of the most haunted cities in the Unit ed States. With entire areas being banned by cab services for the all too frequent pick-up of ghosts who refuse to pay. Even the campus isn't immune. There have been hosts of haunt ings and even an exorcism that took place in 1968. Ghosts are all around us, and the dead don’t take too kindly to disrespect. ;)

HOWLS & GROWLS

HOWL to getting interviewed GROWL to frat boys

HOWL to being assigned reading GROWL to Proud Boys

HOWL to that good Schmidt GROWL to exploding powerlines

HOWL to Pluto (it's still a planet) GROWL to registration week

EDITORIAL BOARD

Gabriella Killett Editor-in-Chief

Jackie Galli Managing Editor for Print

Domonique Tolliver Managing Editor for Digital

Devin Cruice Maroon Minute Executive Producer

Dajah Saul Social Media Coordinator

Patrick Hamilton Design Chief

Gabrielle Korein Photo Editor

Ava Acharya News Editor

Sofia Luciano Life & Times Editor

Arianna D'Antonio Worldview Editor

Abigail Schmidt Sports Editor

Jacob L'Hommedieu Opinion and Editorial Editor

Mia Oliva Reviews Editor

Maleigh Crespo Equity & Inclusion Officer

Macie Batson Senior Staff Writer

Anna Hummel Senior Staff Photographer

Heather Rabassa Copy Editor

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.

Dia de los Muertos masks are pictured in a Party City. They are readily available to buy for Halloween, despite the disrespectful nature of wearing the masks as someone who doesn't have Mexican heritage. Anna Hummel/The Maroon