Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 97 • Issue 23 •April 26, 2019
THE MAROON For a greater Loyola
G-Eazy comes home The Loyola graduate and rapper returned to campus to talk about late nights recording in Biever Hall, and sneaking into the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience, as well as to impart some wisdom for how to become the next “G-Eazy” success story.
By Riley Katz rdkatz@my.loyno.edu @katz_riley
Gerald Gillum (G-Eazy), A’11, and his manager, Matt Bauerschmidt, A’10 (right) spoke with moderator, Daniel Helfers, A’09 (left) at a university-wide panel on Monday, April 22 to a packed crowd in Rousell Hall. They preached the merits of hard work and perseverance and reminisced about their time at Loyola in the Music Industry program. The Maroon/ HENRY BEAN.
Louisiana one of top 10 most gambling-addicted states By India Yarborough iayarbor@my.loyno.edu @iayarbor
Meredith was in the fourth grade when the trips to Harrah’s ended. She had thought it was normal for her family to spend random nights of the week, sometimes even weekends, at one of the casino’s hotels. “We always had a really fun time,” she said. “I thought we were just really wealthy.” But at age 10, Meredith discovered the truth. “My mom sat me down on my parents’ bed and told me that my dad had a problem. I didn’t really understand it,” she said. “I don’t really remember the conversation, how it went, but I knew there was something up.” Her father had a gambling addiction. Meredith, a Loyola student who requested her real name not be used for fear it might affect future employment opportunities, still remembers the gut feeling she had when she heard the news. “(My mom) basically told me that my dad had done something wrong,” Meredith said. “He had his own business and had access to his clients’ money and their bank accounts, and I guess when he ran out of our money, he turned to that
and started abusing their finances, which is the reason my dad ultimately ended up going to prison for a year.” Though gambling addiction exists in a fairly small percentage of the general United States population, Louisiana is one of 2019’s top 10 most gambling-addicted states in the U.S., according to a report released April 23 by WalletHub, a personal finance website. Gambling addiction has also made headlines in Louisiana in recent weeks after state Senator Karen Peterson admitted last month to struggling with gambling addiction. Peterson had relapsed – something experts say is not uncommon. According to clinical psychologist Jeremiah Weinstock, about 50% of people who start treatment for gambling addiction and obtain abstinence will relapse within a year. Weinstock, who is also an associate professor at Saint Louis University, has studied and conducted research on gambling addiction since the early 2000s. He said unlike with other types of addiction, monetary issues are more pervasive in the lives of those who struggle with gambling addiction. “Frequently people with gambling problems experience significant money problems because they’ve been losing lots of money
A customer uses one of the slot machines at Bruno’s Tavern in Uptown New Orleans. Bars and casinos across the city have slot machines allowing visitors to gamble. The Maroon/INDIA YARBOROUGH.
gambling,” he said. “But with one lucky bet, they could turn it all around and win enough money to solve all their financial problems, so that creates a fair bit of these thoughts in your head that ‘If I could just be lucky, everything would be better.’” Weinstock said it’s part of his job as a therapist to tell gamblers who come to him seeking help that further gambling is not going to solve their monetary issues. But he notes research indicates only about 10% of those who experience gambling addiction seek professional help in the first place.
Religion on the decline for many millenials
“Folks who suffer from this particular process addiction – they tend to create really a lot of financial disruption, and they can come into treatment very desperate,” said John Antonucci, a licensed addiction counselor and owner of John Antonucci Counseling & Recovery in New Orleans. “They come to the treatment centers a lot of times feeling very, very desperate and not feeling that they have a way out.” Antonucci’s practice focuses on all types of addiction. He said he treats two to three people a year for
See GAMBLING, page 8
Various reports claim religion is losing the influence it once had among millenials and adults. In the annually published American Family Survey conducted by Brigham Young University in 2018, 44% of millennials aged 18 to 29 years old and 43% of adults aged 30 to 44 years old identified as atheist, agnostic or nothing when asked about their religious affiliation and were categorized as “Nones.” A separate Gallup report stated 76% of Americans think religion is losing influence on life in the United States as younger generations lean toward a more spiritual form of religion. The Rev. Ted Dziak, S.J., said he has seen society evolve over the 30 years he has been in higher education. “We are living in a different world,” Dziak said. “With communications and social media we have become much more secularized. In days of old, the family unit was a little closer, communication was a bit more challenging. We live in a global society. As the world changes, we change with it.” He said the rise in “Nones” reported is a result of faith evolving alongside society, and he said religion is changing the way every major institution has been. Dziak also said this new trend is a result of younger generations redefining what it means to be religious, but the core of what faith is still resembles what it has looked like in the past. He said St. Ignatius of Loyola can be thought of as essential when trying to understand faith. Dziak quoted Ignatius and said “We do not have the answers, but we need to ask the questions.” Dziak said he does not believe adults and millennials have stopped contemplating faith. “I think these younger generations are still asking these questions, ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What is important?’ and ‘What kind of person do I want to be?’” Dziak said. “These are the questions of faith, the deeper questions. The difference is, younger generations have different answers.” Dziak said he is not concerned with how many people identify with religions, but with how many people are still asking the questions. And some millennials are. Ben Gothard is a fifth-generation member of Congregation Beth Israel, a modern-orthodox synagogue and the oldest congregation of Judaism in New Orleans. His family helped found the original congregation in the early 1900s, and they have been members ever since— even after Katrina demolished the original temple the congregation practiced in. In fact, Gothard’s family, his grandmother Jackie Gothard especially, is widely responsible for the congregation’s rebirth after the hurricane. The religion is in Gothard’s blood, and he said it has shaped his
See RELIGION, page 3