The Maroon May 3, 2024 Issue

Loyola University New Orleans • Since 1923

30 Hours of Encampment

Students organize protest on Tulane's lawn, 14 arrested

Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

Chants for Palestine rang through uptown New Orleans for over 30 hours from a pro-Palestine encampment at Tulane University.

Loyola and Tulane students banded together for the Popular University for Gaza movement with other college students around the United States in protest of tuition dollars being used to fund Israel. The encampment lasted from 6 p.m. on Monday, April 29 until police and SWAT broke it up and arrested 14 people around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1. The encampment was a joint effort between Tulane and Loyola’s chapters of Students for a Democratic Society.

Police Sweep

At 3:08 a.m., a police car with a

large light attached to the hood pulled in front of the protest. Police then began to surround the encampment.

SWAT then entered from the west side of the lawn.

Protesters continued to chant for Palestine as 11 people remained sitting in front of the barrier they had built on Gibson lawn.

SWAT made their way through the medical and supplies tents before they began arresting protesters still at the lawn. Loyola students Carson Cruse and Juleea Berthelot were among the 11 arrested on Tulane’s property.

Protesters said they were told before they entered the encampment by police to move to the neutral ground to protest if they wanted to avoid arrest. Two of those who moved to the neutral ground were arrested, one of which was pushed to the ground by police after a water

bottle was thrown at officers.

Stella Cziment, the Independent Police Monitor for the City of New Orleans, said that even though the neutral ground is public property, they were able to arrest protesters for trespassing since they saw them leave Tulane’s campus.

One Loyola student, who was not involved with the protest, was arrested by SWAT while walking on the Audobon side of St. Charles.

While in the neutral zone, SWAT and police pushed and aimed guns at protesters, as well as fired non-lethal rounds towards the ground at the crowds feet.

All arrested protesters were released midday Wednesday with no bail and no bond. They have court on Monday, May 6.

Police destroyed around $1,000 worth of medical supplies including needles, drug test kits, and first aid,

according to organizers.

One student left their phone on Tulane’s property, which is being held with Tulane University Police Department.

After the area was cleared, police occupied Gibson Lawn and put fences around the area with signs warning of trespassing.

Aftermath

• The encampment was organized by Loyola and Tulane students with demands for their universities.

• Loyola SDS demanded Loyola University:

• ensure support for affected students

• release a public statement acknowledging the proPalestine movement

• increase funding for the new director of multicultural affairs to advocate for minority

students

• divest from Israeli corporations, corporations that support Israel

• disclose the annual investments of its endowment

Tulane SDS demanded Tulane University:

• divest from Israel corporations

• disclose the annual investments of endowment

• cut ties with Israeli universities, including canceling birthright trips

• urge a cease resolution by the city council of New Orleans

• offer support to Arab and Palestinian students

“The hope, obviously, is that if they meet our demands, we can come back. And we can go back to business as usual. But right now, they’re supporting a genocide,"

ENCAMPMENT, page 4

Above pro-Palestine protesters form a circle around an encampment on Tulane's Gibson lawn on April 29, 2024.

SWAT approaches protesters on April 30, 2024 on St. Charles Avenue while student records.

Pro-Palestine protester waves Palestinian flag at the encampment on April 30, 2024.

Students frustrated with student health billing Decades of dedication

By Maleigh Crespo macrespo@my.loyno.edu

Criminology junior Brooke Ball has been going to the Student Health Center since her freshman year at Loyola. In fall of 2021, Ball went to the center for treatment for an ear infection where she was prescribed medication to pick up at CVS pharmacy.

More recently, in October of 2023, Ball went to the center with another ear infection, expecting the same treatment. While she received the same prescription, she was billed $140 for the center’s services – something that didn’t occur during her visit for the same reason over a year earlier.

“I wasn’t told I was going to be charged, and I was under the impression I wouldn’t, which is why I went there,” she said.

According to Clinical Operations Coordinator Amie Cardinal, Loyola Student Health Services transitioned to Oshner billing in August 2023.

Ball said she was not notified that stu-

dent health had partnered with Oschner and changed their system.

Cardinal said the health center continues to bill health insurance the same as in the past, but the main difference now is the source of the bill.

Payments remaining after insurance, such as copays and coinsurance, are billed by Ochsner, according to Cardinal.

Students now receive bills from Ochsner instead of being charged on their student accounts.

in the year and was charged $250, despite being told much of the cost would be offset by insurance.

Stack said she went in again for a flu and COVID-19 test and was billed $450 to her student account.

“I didn’t realize that it’d be so expensive,” she said. “They didn’t communicate that ever.”

“I wasn’t told I was going to be charged.”

— Brooke Ball Criminology junior

Cardinal added that students with the Aetna student health insurance still pay no fees for services at student health.

Ball, who has an outside insurance provider, said her insurance copay for urgent care is $90, which is less than what she was charged for her visit to student health in October.

Freshman Chloe Stack, who has Aetna insurance provided by the university, said she went in for an ankle wrap earlier

Stack said she wishes the center was more transparent about the costs associated with care. Instead of going to the Student Health Center, Stack now goes straight to the emergency room, where she said she’s “guaranteed a $100 copay.”

“If I were to go to student health, it’ll be at least $200 for the slightest of things, and they don’t ever tell you that,” Stack said. “And then you end up with a bill of $2,000 for the semester, [wondering], ‘How did that happen?’”

Postal clerk puts students first

By Maleigh Crespo macrespo@my.loyno.edu

Loyola has been Regina “Gina” Kendall’s second home since she was 12-years-old when her mother began working in telecommunications for the university. Kendall said she grew up on the campus.

If you’ve ever gone to pick up a package or mail a letter at the university post office in the Danna Center, you’ve probably interacted with Kendall, who has been a postal clerk for over two decades.

Kendall said she worked in the Danna Center post office as an undergraduate student before the full-time position “fell into her lap” after graduation in 2001.

While Loyola always felt like a second home to her, she said New Orleans didn’t become home until August of 2005 – when tragedy struck many New Orleanians as Hurricane Katrina made its devastating impact on the city.

Kendall said she had the opportunity to return home to Tulsa, Oklahoma but realized that New Orleans was her real home, so she stayed.

Little did she know, this decision to

stay led her to serve the Loyola community for many years after.

For senior Dylan Noe, Kendall has been instrumental in her time at Loyola, as Noe began working at the post office during her freshman year.

Noe recalls when previous postal supervisor Joe Porter retired unexpectedly in 2022. Kendall stepped into his role, which led to her running the office by herself for two years, unable to take a vacation and with limited sick leave.

“That was very impressive to me,” Noe said. “She has been a friend and a role model throughout my time here.”

Kendall said it means a lot to her to be able to serve the Loyola community, but her favorite part is serving students.

“I love getting to know the students and watching them learn and grow during their time here,” she said.

However, she said her favorite part of her job is also her least favorite part because students eventually have to leave. Still, her primary goal is helping and uplifting students in any way she can.

“If I can help anyone, or at least be a bright spot in their day, I feel like I've done my job,” she said.

Professor conducts music with spirit and kindness

By Violet Bucaro vabucaro@my.loyno.edu

Youth orchestra director and Loyola music professor Jean Montès wants to awaken the “unlimited potential” of his students.

“Teaching is an honor,” Montès said. “People trust me to guide them along their path. I like to put myself in their shoes and work along that path with them.”

Born and raised in Haiti, Montès serves as the director of the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra. He also conducts and teaches at Loyola.

Montès says one of his values as a music teacher is to create a safe and encouraging environment for his students. He said he nurtures them to feel safe so they can try things they wouldn't do otherwise.

“I ask them to leave everything outside, to feel genuinely safe to try things and change. I try to provide a very nurturing and supportive environment so that students know they have my unconditional support,” he said.

Feeling safe is an important part of creating a productive learning environment, he said.

“Teachers bring in knowledge, but that knowledge is only effective when the students are able to receive the question and the challenges,” he said.

When he first visited New York, his parents sent him to visit The Juilliard School. There, he began to seriously consider music as a career possibility, he said. Though his cello teachers wanted him to pursue cello only, he had other interests and desires, he said.

“I was interested in music as a whole, from theory to composition to the history and the performance aspect, and that’s what led me to where I am,” he said. His teachers from around the world forged an encouraging environment for him, which he said allowed him to grow.

“I was always passionate about sports and science, but musically I’ve always had teachers from many different parts

of the world, and the common denominator growing up in Haiti was they were always very encouraging,” he said.

Montès likes to bring this same encouragement to the classroom in his own teaching.

“[Students] are each unique and have their own path, he said. “ I am very inspired by it. I like the work it takes to get to know my students enough, and push them with kindness.”

Kylie Benesh-Llop, an interactive design junior at Loyola, has been playing and learning cello with Montès for three years.

“He tells us it is a safe space to play and makes us feel comfortable in our abilities, not comparing ourselves to other musicians and makes sure we are

making music for the right reasons,” Benesh-Llop said.

Montès said the best way he connects with his students is by creating an equal playing field environment.

“It is not a student versus teacher relationship— it is us together, embracing the instrument, from what I call a surviving stage to developing it into a performance,” he said.

He said his students have taught him how to be a teacher.

“I have learned everything I know from my students. It is very important to keep the whole concept of teaching as a partnership,” he said.

His student, music industry junior Amanda Duffin works with the youth orchestra and plays the cello in the Loyola

Orchestra Symphony.

“His values align with ours,” she said, which are “connecting with students on an individual basis and remaining friendly and approachable while also professional.”

Montès and his students value connection, understanding, sensitivity, and presence, according to Duffin.

“He has a sensitivity to our playing and what we have going on outside the classroom,” Duffin said.

Empathy is an important part of Montès’s teaching, Duffin said.

“I have learned a lot from my students to become more sensitive about others in terms of what their needs are,” Montès said.

Sarah Montès, Monte’s wife, is the se-

nior associate registrar at Tulane University, who also plays the cello.

“He has an incredibly empathetic way of teaching. He can put himself in the mind of a beginner. His ability to take something down to its simplest form but then produce something very complex with that person is something I admire about his teaching,” Sarah Montès said. He cares about the progress of his students, he said, “If they don’t succeed, I don’t succeed.” His goal is to get his students to know he is always on their side, he said.

“I can tell he cares about us,” Benesg-Llop said, which is different from her experiences with past cello teachers.

His students describe him as a kind, present, and welcoming human, Duffin said.

“He treats everyone with openness and kindness, even if he has never met them before,” Benesh-Llop said.

Duffin has started to incorporate Montès’ music philosophy into her own practice.

“He is one of the most present people I have ever met– I’ve learned how to be present especially when I am playing,” Duffin said.

Montès is not just Duffin’s and Benesh-Llop’s teacher but he is also their friend, they both expressed.

“He cares about us like a friend would,” Benesh-Llop said.

Montès has a philosophic, spiritual, approach to his teaching, she said. He taught her that music is not just about the instrument and the player, Duffin said.

Montès believes there is always something more where the music comes from, Duffin said.

“There is the spirit and the soul, and then you, music, and the outside world, everything can be connected,” Duffin said. Montès taught Duffin that they all blend, she said.

Jean Montès talks with his orchestra students Violet Bucaro/The Maroon

Glass recycling can lead to a greener community

By Marcela Baez mbbaez@my.loyno.edu

Loyola’s environmental program has received a grant to implement recycling throughout campus in association with Keep Louisiana Beautiful.

Keep Louisiana Beautiful is a statewide nonprofit organization that focuses on reducing waste, increasing recycling, and protecting the natural resources of our communities. This grant, which Loyola received last semester, brought glass recycling to Loyola, according to Mark Tobler, the university’s KLB program manager.

Tobler said there has been an ongoing interest in bringing glass recycling to Loyola’s campus. Due to their affiliation with Keep Louisiana Beautiful, they received $4,800 from the organization in order to establish waste diversion and recycling on campus.

“Glass is a very low-barrier recyclable product,” Tobler said. “It is one of the easiest, least expensive, and least energy-intensive items to recycle, and it can continue to be turned into new glass bottles an infinite amount of times.”

The university’s community partner is Glass Half Full, a recycling center in New Orleans. The center focuses on collecting glass in order to convert it into sand and gravel for projects such as disaster relief and prevention, eco-construction, and coastal restoration, according to Fransizka Trautmann, the co-founder and CEO of Glass Half Full.

“They pick up deposited glass once per month from the blue bins that are located at the north entrance to the West Road parking garage behind the Danna Center,” Tobler said.

Glass Half Full recycles glass by turning it into sand. Their ultimate goal is to divert glass from landfills and convert it into a resource for communities on and off the coast, according to Trautmann.

“Once the glass is turned into sand, we can use that sand to benefit our local community,” Trautmann said. “We do

this mostly through coastal restoration projects throughout Louisiana but also by distributing sand for other projects like green infrastructure.”

Alanna Sepulvado, an environmental studies major and a social science minor, feels recognized when the school provides sustainability initiatives that align with her personal and academic

values concerning sustainability and environmental protection.

“It shows that the issues that I care about are being taken seriously by my institution,” Sepulvado said. “The incorporation of practical sustainability initiatives, such as glass recycling, can be an enriching learning experience for those who have never practiced recycling.”

Toni Jones continues to face legal battle

By Eloise Pickering ewpicker@my.loyno.edu

Six weeks following her initial arrest, community member and chief organizer of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, Toni Jones, had her day in court on April 23.

Jones was detained on March 16 at a protest that occurred during the New Orleans Book Festival, which was held on Tulane’s campus. At this protest, Tulane’s Students for a Democratic Society alongside New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police organized a demonstration to protest Tulane faculty member Walter Isaacson and Tulane’s support of Israel.

At this rally, Jones served as chief organizer, tasked to be a guide wearing a yellow vest and ensuring that protesters were obeying the rules and laws. Shortly after the protest began, Jones was arrested by a Tulane police officer.

A month and a half later, Jones appeared in court for discovery.

According to Jones, however, a missing police statement has left her needing an additional court appearance to continue presenting evidence, which will occur on June 11.

Jones faces charges of battery on an officer and obstruction of a lawful investigation.

“The Tulane Police Department seems to be really not confident about getting me on my charges, which are resisting an officer, blocking the sidewalk, and battery of an officer.” Jones said.

According to Rory Macdonald, Tulane student and member of the Tulane chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the case will likely fall apart.

“The case is terrible,” Macdonald said. “But Tulane got involved and TUPD got involved. They basically told the prosecutor that they couldn’t drop the charges.”

Tulane’s Assistant Vice President for News and Media Relations, Micheal Strecker, responded in disagreement.

“The City Attorney’s Office has the sole authority and discretion to accept or refuse charges and usually consults

with the victim, in this case a battered police officer. Tulane has nothing to do with such decisions and did not engage in any of the actions you’ve described,” Strecker said.

Macdonald and Jones have continued and will continue to rally support to drop the charges against Jones as well as for Tulane University to cut all ties with Israel. These demands are in accordance with the Jones x Macdonald Defense Committee, which launched on March 17.

The defense committee has helped in organizing phone zaps, announcements geared toward large numbers of people calling state officials within a set period of time, for local individuals who were arrested while protesting throughout the last two months.

The phone zap for Jones was announced on April 22, and lasted until 10 a.m. the following day prior to her court appearance.

“We did that to raise the profile of our case because we wanted them to know who this person was coming into their court tomorrow, and that it was a political thing.” Macdonald said.

According to Jones, her arrest was not a shot at her, but a shot against the student protest and the student movement.

“We're gonna keep rallying. We're gonna keep talking about our cases at other events, but we're also gonna keep rallying outside the courthouse.” Macdonald said. “We're not taking their bogus deals. We're not accepting the trumped-up charges. We're gonna keep fighting it, because we know that we have the truth on our side.”

Community policing credited as New Orleans crime drops

By Maria DiFelice mldifeli@my.loyno.edu

Of the three cities psychology junior Zoe Marceaux has lived in, New Orleans has always felt unsafe, she said.

Marceaux isn't the only one who feels unsafe. In 2022, 53% of people in the U.S. believed there was more local crime in their community and reported feeling unsafe, according to a 2022 Gallup poll.

According to Jeff Asher, a data analyst consultant based in New Orleans, crime is down all across the nation.

Since being named the “murder capital of the United States” in September of 2022, crime in New Orleans has decreased.

In 2022, homicides were up by 45% compared to 2021 and increased by 141% since 2019, according to the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

Violent crimes like murder and assault have gone down since 2022, according to New Orleans Police preliminary crime statistics. From April 2023 to April 2024, these

crimes went down 4.5%.

Although crime has gone down, the feeling of safety is Loyola University Police Department’s priority now, Lieutenant Patrick Martin said.

Students in Uptown said they expect Loyola and Tulane police departments to ensure their safety.

Martin said that the Uptown university area is one of the safest places in New Orleans because of Loyola and Tulane Police, Audubon Security, and New Orleans Police Department working together to ensure community safety.

According to Martin, that’s why they have programs like the blue lights. Martin said the blue lights aren’t frequently used but bring a necessary sense of safety on campus.

Martin said LUPD listens to students' needs. When Loyola’s Student Government Association asked them to fix the blue lights on campus, LUPD was more than happy to make that happen, he said.

“It's important to our student base, so we

actually went out there and peeled them off the wall and looked at the inside,” Martin said

Rowan Sawyer, SGA’s Vice President elect, was one of the students that voiced their concerns about the blue lights not working. She said she worked hard with LUPD to build a map of each blue light on campus, logging down which ones worked and which ones didn’t.

Martin said that before the blue lights stopped working, they were hardly ever used by students for violent crimes. Instead, students would use them when they were locked out of their dorm building and needed help getting back in.

Sawyer agreed that while the blue lights weren't used often, they made students feel protected.

“Even though [the blue lights] might not be used and people might kind of forget that they're there, I think that it is like a safety feature that can be fallen back on,” she said. “And it's not reliant on, like, if our phones are dead or not.”

Tulane also has blue lights on their campus. Domiguez said there are 84 blue lights spread across both their uptown and downtown campuses. He said while they are not used often, they are resources for the community to use if they don’t have their phones and need to talk to TUPD instantly.

“Blue light phones serve multiple purposes on our campus, but fostering a feeling of safety is their more important value,” he said. “These phones are checked weekly to ensure they are functioning properly and that our community can quickly communicate with our dispatch center when needed.”

Police say blue lights tie into a theory of policing they believe in called “community policing.”

Martin said it is LUPD and TUPD’s main job to build a sense of community to ensure students feel safe.

Martin and Tulane Chief of Police Anthony Dominguez said it is important to both of their teams to build a relationship with students in order to establish their

safety.

“[We] want to humanize ourselves so it's not just a uniform that people see, it's somebody that they can approach,” Martin said.

Asher said criminologists don’t know why murder has gone down, and said it probably had something to do with the COVID-19 pandemic and losing important government programs that helped keep violent crime down.

“We saw the types of programs that we would expect to have an impact on violence totals started to be active again, in ways that they weren't in the midst of the pandemic,” Asher said.

But Jeff Asher said, in the end, nobody really knows why crime went up during the pandemic or why it’s back down.

Even still, for students like Marceaux, vigilance is the best policy, even if the city is safer than it might feel.

“I think the blue light system and counselor on call does make me feel definitely safer than I would feel,” she said.

Glass recycling bin located behind the Danna Center, with signage stating recycling instructions. This bin was put in place through Keep Loyola Beautiful's partnership with Glass Half Full. Sophia Renzi/The Maroon

MUSIC: Montès aims to awaken the “unlimited potential” of his students

Continued from page 2

“I ask them to leave everything outside, to feel genuinely safe to try things and change. I try to provide a very nurturing and supportive environment so that students know that they have my unconditional support,” Montès said.

Montès has taught her that it is okay when everything in life blends together. He encourages us to embrace it, Duffin said.

“My problems and life issues don’t have to be separate from my music, it's okay if they all bleed together,” Duffiin said.

He has an uplifting and encouraging attitude in the classroom, according to Sarah Montès.

tive connection.”

Montès studies and observes his students to forge the best way to teach them.

“I like to observe them enough to give me the information I need to help them,” he said.

He focuses on individuality within the collective, by strengthening the individual sound he enriches the entire ensemble, Duffin said.

“He pushes us to express more and leaves room for our own individuality.”

— Amanda Duffin Music industry junior

“He is very positive and has a very good heart, he is values oriented. He has a lot of integrity.

He is very honest, and extremely proud of where he is from and his origins. I think that is a beautiful thing,” Montès said.

Montès has a particular vision while conducting the orchestra, focusing on the collection's sound, Duffin said.

He puts himself in the minds of his students, he said.

“He focuses on getting students to have a quality collective sound that’s unified and is trying to say the same thing,” Duffin said. She calls this “collec-

“He doesn’t focus on merely his vision of the piece, but of what his students are trying to say

"He pushes us to express more and leaves room for our own individuality,” Duffin said.

Inclusion is a large part of Montès’s teaching, Benesh-Llop said.

“He includes everyone no matter what their level is, he makes it so that we can all play together in a beautiful and harmonious way,” Benesh-Llop said.

Duffin said he has a humane approach to his teaching.

“He is not just a teacher but he is a mentor.”

His presence has allowed his students to feel more present in their own music-making and in life, Duffin said.

“He makes me feel present,” Duffin said. “I always leave the classroom admiring the sky and the leaves.”

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ENCAMPMENT: SWAT uses physical force to remove protestors

Neither university met their demands, according to protest organizers.

Tulane released a letter to the community early Wednesday morning announcing their suspension of seven students who were at the protest.

Tulane’s Office of Student Council is taking "immediate disciplinary action" toward students discovered to be involved in the encampment.

Organizers of the encampment said they worry counter protesters, who also were standing on Gibson Lawn at points, would not receive disciplinary action.

Tulane University has also disbanded Tulane SDS.

In a message to the community on Tuesday, April 30, Tulane said they are looking into employees and faculty involved, up to and including termination.

“Free speech and the freedom to protest are sacred to us,” the letter said. “However, we remain opposed to trespassing, hate speech, antisemitism and bias against religious or ethnic groups.”

Crandell said he has witnessed and been a victim of hate speech and bias on Tulane’s campus prior to the event. He said this harassment influenced him and others to plan this event.

“Many students have been facing discrimination and harassment, especially

by our own peers,” Crandell said.

Tulane said they will have increased security on campus for the remainder of the semester.

Although Loyola University Police Department was not involved in the sweep, the five Loyola students arrested on trespassing charges are likely facing disciplinary issues with the university.

“I want to make it unequivocally clear that Loyola stands behind free speech and the principles of civil discourse,” university president Xavier Cole wrote in an email to the community. “While all citizens – including our students – have the right to peacefully protest, they do not have the right to do so on private property after being directed to leave.”

Neither university responded to calls from The Maroon in time for publication issued Wednesday.

What happened at the encampment?

The organizations, supportive students, and community members met on Freret street at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 29 after a post on the organizations’ social media. After going over rules and regulations, the crowd marched down Calhoun Street and St. Charles Avenue

with police until they reached the Gibson Lawn on Tulane’s property.

Once they reached Tulane’s campus, organizers began to unpack and pitch tents. Before the event, only select individuals knew this would be an encampment. This was when police began to interfere. Police on horses steered into the crowd.

“It was terrifying. I was terrified as the cops were going at it,” Crandell described later that day. “Fearing for other people's lives — like this is new.”

Still, protesters pitched tents and formed a human barrier around the camp. Police moved to the Tulane Horseshoe on the outer part of the lawn.

“Seeing this community here willing to stand and defend us and the encampment, the Popular University [for] Gaza, the People’s University, it speaks volumes,” Berthelot said.

Throughout the encampment, a smaller counter-protest for Israel began to form.

“It was terrifying. I was terrified as the cops were going at it... Fearing for other people's lives — like this is new”

Encampment organizers said some of these counter-protesters entered the crowd around the encampment, then called police claiming they were being surrounded and felt unsafe. Pro-Palestine protesters chanted to one another, “Do not engage.”

— Vonne Crandell Tulane University senior

Six protesters were arrested Monday night. All six were released later that same night without bail and bond.

Students kept protesting after the initial arrests. Community members continued bringing food, water, medical supplies, and items to use for a barricade throughout the encampment.

Police entered to break this up. Protesters said some police went to the neutral ground of St. Charles Avenue, where the counter-protesters stood, and were laughing with those students.

Over the 33 hours of the encampment, the counter-protesters left and returned multiple times.

Police occupied the sixth and seventh floor of the West Road Garage on

Loyola’s campus and flew drones over the encampment on the second day.

Police arranged a barricade around Tulane’s campus on Tuesday. They then rolled in a large screen reading, “Everyone must leave this area, immediately. Entry and continued presence are strictly prohibited.”

During an afternoon prayer, a student’s Palestinian flag touched the barricade near where police were standing. One officer grabbed the flag and refused to give it back, stating that once items touch the barricade, they become police property.

Later in the day, police began to play the instrumental piece “Happy Vibes” on a loop at a volume over 120 decibels. This would continue until almost midnight, passing the 9 p.m. city ordinance that restricts noises over conversation levels of 60 decibels.

The police did not stop the music for the sunset prayer after being asked by organizers.

Protesters continued to chant, sing, play instruments, and dance in solidarity with Palestine.

Police also shined flood lights on the area on Monday night, which protestors said kept them awake.

Professor Montès points to a piece of sheet music on a student's music stand on April 24, 2024 Violet Bucaro/The Maroon

PUZZLES

ACROSS

1. This University inspired many other colleges to rally for support in Gaza

8. Marx disagreed with this author of “The Wealth of Nations”

13. A unit of area equal to 43,560 square feet

14. Please resign NYC Mayor Eric _____

17. “Gem of the Great Lakes”

18. Mount Carmel Academy, abbr.

19. A clicking sound of disapproval

20. Founder of buddhism, Siddhartha

22. “Pull up” on text

23. Association for Higher Education, abbr.

24. “I took such an __ on the test today.”

25. So-so

26. If you are not hydrating this summer you may end up in the __

27. “National Aeronautics and ____ Center”

29. They arrest people

31. The answer to, “Will you miss OR breakfast during summer break?”

33. “___ you ready for finals?”

34. Mesopotamian goddess of vegetation

16. “Habla __ concierto de Conejito Malo, va a ser muy bueno!”

38. American Truckers Association, abbr.

39. Natural Bond Orbital, abbr.

40. Orthopedic Trauma Association, abbr.

42. “Hot gossip” in slang

Answers on the Loyola Maroon App!

44. This bone made Adam

45. “___” t.v. series starring a stalkerish Penn Badgley

46. Bill of Rights have ___ amendments

47. Talking Points Memo, abbr.

48. Miss Piggy always says this French word 49. A director ending a scene screams this 50. “It’s my glow up __”

51. Laser Ranging Interferometer, abbr. 52. Shorthand for Vietnam 54. Trunk of a human body

56. “I have to go #1”

58. Opposite of Yay 60. “___ so fast”

61.” _____ 2015” song by Jaden Smith

63. State on the right of AR 65. Used worn down cloth 68. “The wage __ between women and men is ridiculous”

69. “__-TV” home improvement network 70. Famous cartoon 4th grader known for his crimes against humanity 73. The Visual __-s Major will no longer be an option at Loyno

74. Founder of the People’s Republic of China, ___ Zedong 75. Nobel Prize Winner (1934) Harold ___ for the discovery of deuterium

76. Underwater summer activity 78. Person, place, or thing

79. People in the background of movies

80. You can see this Puerto Rican rapper at the Smoothie King on May 7th

DOWN

1. These are popping up on numerous college campuses such as 1 Across 2. Seizure of land by military force and staying there is 3. Louisiana Recovery Authority, abbr. 4. University of Evansville, abbr. 5. Kissing = first ___ 6. “I don’t know” on text 7. Alcoholics Anonymous, abbr. 9. Method but you spelled method wrong so put an E where the O is 10. Sing “Up the ___!” in an Irish bar 11. “____ flies when you’re having fun.” 12. This part of the Grinch grows at the end of the movie 15. Magnesium on the periodic table 16. “I want you for the U.S. Army, Uncle __ 19. Spongebob write this word well 21. When making a U-turn, you’re pulling a 23. Highest or lowest card 24. Singer ___ Reed

28. Fairy tale, “______ Nights” based off of “One Thousand and One Nights” 29. Bread squares in salads

30. An action expressing disapproval and what 1 Down are

32. A person who moves with a group of others to a new area (not native)

34. “ ____ last night”

35. “In ____” Nirvana’s third studio album

37. City with the biggest sewer rats

38. You’re answering the crossword with this 39. City where 1 Across is at

41. Actress __ de Armas

43. Mon ___

53. A person who suffers persecution from their beliefs

55. Fish eggs

56. Unfortunate British student at South Park Elementary

57. “He sang his solo __ ___.”

59. They are not sweet potatoes

61. “___ in a Hat”

62. Extreme pain

64. Author of Das Kapital

66. Farts

68. Class of 2024 is about to be this

71. Retired, abbr.

72. State above SC

73. Law students have to take a test given by the

74. ___ Ami

77. University of Buffalo, abbr.

78. Greek letter for N Professor ____________ hands out the final exam and you __________ in your seat in anticipation. ____________! You ____________ the wrong unit! Instead of ____________, you reviewed ____________. Hanging your ____________ in shame, you pick up your ____________ anyways. ____________ fills the classroom. Your ____________ hurts! To hide the ____________ on your face, you ____________ to the bathroom and google your symptoms. Google: “You’re going to die.” You ____________, this is your actual FINAL moment.

Google Play Crosswords and Maroon Libs by: Max Schweikarth & Kira Phillips

Musician Jade Robbins shares her musical influences

By Emma Santangelo egsantan@my.loyno.edu

The first track of Jade Robbin’s album, “Heart Tower,” begins with her voice, acapella, saying, “I could do it.” The opening track delves into finding the strength through the people you love to keep going.

Popular and commercial music senior Jade Robbins is an independent musician and artist from Durango, Colorado. According to Robbins, growing up in a small mountain town where she was immersed in nature has influenced her music.

“It’s made me really appreciate space in music and silence,” she said.

Throughout “Heart Tower," listeners are provided with brief intervals of silence, inviting reflection on themes such as dualities found in the natural world, the juxtaposition of masculine and feminine energies, as well as the journey of experiencing pain, growth, and healing.

Robbins began writing songs at a very early age. When she turned seven, her mom gifted her a guitar, marking the official beginning of her career as a singer-songwriter. By age thirteen, she put together a band and played at a breast cancer benefit.

Robbins was attracted to Loyola's renowned popular and commercial music program and had a desire to venture far from home, seeking inspiration on her artistic journey.

“It has been an honor to witness the unfurling of a multi-dimensional voice,

while simultaneously stepping into her full power as a songwriter,” said Mercedes Diamond, professor of voice at Loyola. Diamond has worked with Robbins as a voice coach and in a songwriting ensemble class.

Popular and commercial music major Will Roesner produced and played guitar for “Tower,” as well as engineering, mixing, and mastering all of the tracks on “Heart Tower" except “Decision” and “Safer Now.”

“The songs flow through her, and I think that is evident in their timeless nature. They sound like they’ve always existed somewhere,” Roesner said.

In her free time, Robbins can be found reading on her kindle, doing yoga, painting, writing music, or taking in the vibrant city of New Orleans with her friends.

“I would describe Jade as wise, imaginative, intuitive, and silly!” Ruby Zlotkowski, Robbin’s roommate said.

Robbins describes her personal style as kind of gay, earthy, and kooky.

“My favorite colors are jewel tones and the colors of a misty sea in the morning. I care about comfort over everything else!” she said.

Her style influences are, “the entirety of the movie “Ponyo,” moms who never wear shoes and live on quaint homesteads with their lumberjack stud partners, and my grandma who wears boxy linen smocks and orange glasses,” Robbins said.

Robbins described creating “Heart Tower” as an enjoyable and comfort-

ing experience because so many of the tracks were made with a collection of friends.

“Getting to be with good friends that cared about me and my music was great because it was like we could really take time and try different things and experiment in a safe space,”Robbins said.

Robbin said her art helps her process personal challenges in her life.

“It’s the best thing for it,” she said. “It’s like the only thing that helps.”

Some of her music influences, especially for “Heart Tower” include Bon Iver, Coldplay, Lana Del Ray, Alex G, and Pine Grove.

“I wrote [“Heart Tower”] over a two year period when I felt like I was really starting to understand what being an adult means and how to cope with mental health struggles in a way that’s sustainable,” Robbins said.

Robbins described track eleven, “Tower,” as her favorite track on the album.

“I feel like it expresses all of the themes and points of the album,” she said. “I love the way the music comes together in the background.”

The song ends with the lyrics, “Oh I thought I knew / See them bloom,” which Robbins said she loved.

“It’s like an anti-cynicism song,” she said. “You can feel the intention infused in each sound wave in all your molecules + atoms. Her integrity is deeply inspiring,” Diamond said.

For the release of Heart Tower, Rob-

bins wanted unique merchandise. She crafted a tarot card deck, aligning its imagery and symbolism with the track’s themes. The deck offers viewers insights into the narratives conveyed by the songs. The illustrations are posted on Robbins’ instagram account @jade.lily. love.

“It just kinda happened really organically… a lot of the songs are tarot inspired so naturally they fit together,” Robbins said.

She described how her music and art typically reflect her current emotional landscape. Robbin said her creative output, whether in color palette or emotional state, fit within the realm she is cultivating, ensuring symmetry within the thematic elements of her music and art.

she explains is the light within the wound further demonstrating the themes of growth and learning in her music.

In "The Kick," the corresponding tarot card, "The Shiner," depicts Robbins' main character with a star-shaped black eye, a motif recurring throughout the tarot deck.

“You can feel the intention infused in each sound wave in all your molecules + atoms. Her integrity is deeply inspiring.”

— Mercedes Diamond Professor of voice

On track three of the album, “The Kick,” Robbins was inspired by womanhood, finding your identity, and figuring out what people want you for.

The track begins with the lyrics, “When you were a little kid / How did you take the hit? / Close your eyes through it or stare right into it.”

Robbins explains in this track how you can keep going in a world where people knock you down in a literal and metaphorical sense. She proposes a solution to listeners through a star which

"They represent wounds inflicted by other people," Robbins said. As the protagonist journeys through the tracks, the starshaped wound fades and eventually diminishes, symbolizing the transformative process of growth and healing.

Roesner enjoyed making “The Kick” with Robbins. They began recording it on a whim, he said. They experimented and added different sounds and ideas freely. Roesner said this is his favorite way to record because it results in a sound only achievable through the process of free experimentation.

“To me, Jade’s music is special because it is true to her and to her experience. She has a unique story to tell, and she tells it honestly,” Roesner said.

Robbins newest single titled “Catch Up” was produced by Wolf Moon Records, Loyola’s record label, and you can check it out on all music streaming platforms.

Senior and student musician Jade Robbins stands in the Palm Court on Monday, April 29, 2024. Emma Santangelo/The Maroon

Local screenwriter featured in Crescent City Film Festival LIFE & TIMES

By Violet Bucaro vabucaro@my.loyno.edu

Tracy Camp is a local screenwriter and actor in New Orleans. Her short film “Don’t” was screened at the Loyola Film Festival.

“I felt honored to be selected out of all the international submissions. Being picked felt very validating to me, no one had ever seen it,” Camp said.

The director of “Don’t” had originally come to her with a draft of a script he made. She read it and she rewrote it. She wanted the movie to speak to women everywhere who feel the deep effects of the patriarchy. She said the end results had carried that vision out.

She believed the story was pointed towards the “male gaze” in its infancy, but she believed it was truly for women. She completely flipped it on its head and made it her own, she said.

Her writing strives to “turn the male gaze into the female glare.” She wants to highlight “the quiet rage of a woman.”

Without it being the initial intention, her writing ends up exploring patriarchal and feminist concepts. She explores how women can blossom without men’s influence, she said.

“I tend to explore relational trauma and tie it to a place, a house, an apartment building, and make

it a trauma, haunted house story,” she said. “Because our homes are so deeply tied to our sense of safety and comfort, and trauma is the opposite, so making safety into a dangerous place is the personification of trauma.”

Along with exploring trauma through her work, she expressed that she uses humor as a tool to further deepen the narrative.

“I add all the human experiences into a script,” she said.

Even though her writing illuminates the darkest moments of life, humor is the skeleton.

“I want to subvert expectations–always. I want the audience to think they know where the story is going, and then make them gasp.”

She said she has a room in her house dedicated to writing, with a board on the wall where she posts her ideas on notecards and rearranges them into a story.

“I figure out the whole story before I write anything,” Camp said

She was recently accepted to Chateau dé Orquevaux artist residency in the Champagne region of France.

The residency brings a hand selected group of artists internationally to create at the chateau.

“I get to go to a beautiful chateau with chef-prepared meals every day just because people think my talent is worthy,” she said.

Her current project is a feature script entitled, “Kill Your Darlings.” It is a genre bending tale of two estranged sisters who reconnect after their mother's death, she said. Things go awry after they go on vacation for a weekend, she said.

Writing scripts is a vehicle to spread her story, she said.

“I have to be grandiose and use my most traumatic experiences in my writing.... I am heavily inspired by my

life and the lives of those I love the most. I keep a notebook with me, and write down my observations. I love to steal,” Camp said.

Ever since she was 10, she’s always written dark comedies, which she said came from laughing at her own personal pain and using that as a coping mechanism. Writing makes her feel more connected to her childhood and her late father.

“I feel extremely selfish in my art. I

will use anything I want to create my masterpiece. Nothing is off limits. I want it to be ‘too much,’” she said. She hopes by processing her own trauma through her writing, others will be able to do the same– with laughter. Camp said, “I want to heal together.” She wants to shine a light on her own pain to make it disappear. “I write to live life twice,” she said.

Screenwriter and actor Tracy Camp looks at her reflection in a mirror. Camp's short film "Don't" was featured in Loyola's Crescent City Film Festival on April 19-21, 2024. Violet Bucaro/The Maroon

Scenes from the protest

Eloise Pickering/ e Maroon Sophia Maxim/ e Maroon

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Maria DiFelice/ e Maroon

Kloe Witt/ e Maroon

Kloe Witt/ e Maroon

Kloe Witt/ e Maroon

Kloe Witt/ e Maroon

Kloe Witt/ e Maroon

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Kloe Witt/ e Maroon

The same personalized support.

The same hands-on learning experience. All new possibilities for your career. Endless possibilities —just down the street.

Explore versatile programs at Loyola College of Law.

· Juris Doctor – full time, part time, and evening programs

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Studies

'Ripley': The glacial conniving thriller 'Saltburn' was trying to be

By Chris Maldonado cwmaldon@my.loyno.edu

Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 psychological thriller novel, “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, has once again been adapted for modern audiences. This time, however, the titular Mr. Ripley has found a home in the new Netflix limited series, “Ripley”,” directed by Steven Zaillian, which succeeds in capturing the discomforting, suspenseful, and ominous tone of the novel while perhaps alienating viewers with the show’s dissonant tone and directorial choices.

Set in 1960, the story follows Tom Ripley, a fraudster from New York City, who is tasked by shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf to convince his son, Dickie Greenleaf, to return from Italy in order to take over the family business. Tom, an apparent college friend of Dickie’s, accepts the task and soon finds himself seduced by the luxuriousness and joy of Dickie’s picaresque life in Italy while also harboring dark feelings towards his supposed friend. When Tom’s stay in Italy is threatened, a series of malignant machinations and manipulations is initiated that sees Tom addled with paranoia as he tries to avoid detection while preserving his new life in Italy by any means necessary.

Consisting of 8 suspenseful episodes, “Ripley” achieves new heights that previous adaptations of Highsmith’s novel were unable to reach. This adaptation achievement is due to the exceptional casting, considerate directing, thematic-oriented cinematography, and intricate sound design.

In the titular role of Tom Ripley is everyone’s favorite hot priest from "Fleabag", Andrew Scott, who delivers an exceptional performance of the chameleon that is Tom Ripley. Some may critique Scott’s performance as rather charmless when compared to previous iterations of the character portrayed by Matt Damon and Alain Delon. However, I think it is specifically the “blank slate” aspect of Ripley’s character that makes him just so intriguing.

This is a character who, thanks to Scott’s performance, is able to emit an aura of awkwardness, soft-spoken charm, and naive adoration while still being able to create an underlying sense of menace that makes even his nicest actions feel all the more bitter and ominous. Just like in the novel, Ripley is not a character who can be tied down but rather one who must be watched like a hawk because all of his actions and words are coordinated to achieve an ulterior motive that can sneak up on the

unexpecting.

One person cannot carry a limited series, however, so credit is due for the commendable supporting cast such Johnny Flynn who plays the charming shipping heir Dickie Greenleaf, Dakota Fanning who plays Dickie’s skeptical wealthy girlfriend Marge Sherwood, and Eliot Sumner who plays Dickie’s delightfully hateable and condescending friend, Freddie Miles. This is an exceptional ensemble cast that brings Highsmith’s characters to life in intriguing and delightful ways.

There has been a critique floating around that the majority of the cast are too old for their respective roles such as Andrew Scott, nearly 50 years old, playing Tom Ripley who is supposed to be in his early to mid 20s. I find this critique to be almost completely negated thanks to the wonderful directorial choice to shoot the entire series in black and white.

Shooting the series in black and white makes the age difference unnoticeable and allows for an effectively noir styled cinematography that uses chiaroscuro lighting to highlight the characters in a way that serves to amplify the suspense of each and every scene even during the daytime portions of the series. Frequent symmetrical framing reinforces the idea that this is Tom Ripley’s story and

helps to illustrate the narcissistic way that Ripley not only positions himself in the world but, when symmetry broken, Ripley can escape into the crevices and nooks of the screen. Visual motifs such as the frequent presence of mirrors resulting in a dual image of Ripley works splendidly to highlight both the theme of identity present throughout the series while also commenting on the dual lives that Ripley seeks to maintain as his plot continues to develop and adapt.

The sound design of “Ripley” is also worthy of praise for the way in which it reveals the inner psyche of the complex titular character. Every single noise is drawn into the soundscape of the series so as to put the viewer on edge and create the overwhelming sense of paranoia that Tom Ripley is dealing with as his machinations risk his own exposure. Footsteps, the opening of doors, the whirring of elevators, hushed conversations, scribbling, and much more are all accounted for in the sound design. This emphasis on even the tiniest noise raises the stakes and makes the viewer question the significance of every single action similar to how Ripley goes out of his way to account for every possibility and leaves nothing to chance as the stakes are just that extreme.

All of the aforementioned elements

of “Ripley” are exceptional and feel like a respectful and considerate approach to Patricia Highsmith’s intricately layered source material. In translating these layers to the screen, a round of applause for director Steven Zaillian is well earned. Zaillian crafts a web of lies and manipulation that pulls the viewer further in while still maintaining sympathy for the cold blooded fraudster that is Tom Ripley without straying far from Tom’s nuanced characterization in the novel. It must be mentioned, however, that this series will displease a handful of people due to the directorial choice of highlighting the dissonance between Ripley and his surroundings, the narrative’s intentional and glacial pacing, as well comparisons drawn between this adaptation and previous adaptations. All I can say is that, as far as adaptations of the Talented Mr. Ripley go, Zaillian’s “Ripley” stands as a unique and complex series that makes bold directorial choices while remaining true to Highsmith’s novel on top of elevating the source material to astonishing, seductive, and insidious new heights.

'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology' review: Swift revels in "excess"

By Maleigh Crespo macrespo@my.loyno.edu

After months of teasing twos, Taylor Swift released a secret double at 2 a.m. on April 19, 2024, following the debut of her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

“The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” consists of 15 additional tracks – along with the original 16 tracks of the first album.

Swift’s strategic “double” album has sparked conversation amongst fans and critics alike with fans wondering if we should consider these albums her 11th and 12th albums and critics suggesting that Swift has sunk into overabundance, inciting “Taylor Swift fatigue,” as reported by the New York Times.

While the casual listener or one-listen reporter may suggest that Swift’s latest body of work needed pruning, they are likely unaware of the decade-long request from fans for Swift to release the 10-minute version of “All too well,” from her fourth studio album, “Red,” after the artist casually mentioned the lengthier version.

The 10-minute song went on to break the Billboard record for longest No. 1 song on the Hot 100 chart, which Swift credits to her fans.

It’s no secret that Swift has a special bond with her fans – from following them on Tumblr to inviting them into her home for “secret sessions” to listen to her new albums – the artist has always gone to lengths to express her gratitude for her deeply-devoted fanbase.

So it is without a doubt in my mind that Swift was only thinking of her fans when releasing this 31-track album. Still, this left Swifties asking if these were separate albums, as many of them took to Tiktok – or Swiftok – to start a discourse on the matter.

Some say track five of “The Anthology” is the saddest of the tracks – a feature Swift has maintained on all of her albums from the beginning of her career – which shows that the 15-track

addendum is its own album with its own original cover, much like the pandemic “folklore” and “evermore” albums.

While others believe that since the 15 tracks only exist in tandem with the original 16 that it’s merely a version of “The Tortured Poets Department,” as they believe Swift would no longer release two competing albums, especially when “evermore” is often labeled the “forgotten album” within the fandom for being completely overshadowed by its sister album, “folklore.”

No matter what you believe, there’s one thing that remains certain: Swift delivered a narrative within 31 tracks that would become the soundtrack to our lives, and we may spend the rest of our lives decoding her cryptic lyrics and pondering how she could so perfectly describe our most personal moments.

The Black Dog – 8/10

Swift’s master storytelling shines in the track, as she describes watching the location of a former lover as they enter a bar and her imagined scenarios of what could be happening. With Swift’s sultry vocals and amped up production from longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, the artists build to the song’s chorus with Swift shouting, “Old habits die screaming,” which reimagines the ageold adage.

imgonnagetyouback – 9/10

In this song, Swift ponders whether she’s going to marry the person of her affection or smash up their bike, but either way, she’s gonna get them back. Fans have noticed the similarity between this song and Olivia Rodrigo’s “get him back!” which also plays on the double entendre of getting someone back – whether it’s getting back into a relationship or getting revenge. While the songs differ dramatically sonically, the two artists seem to agree there’s a fine line between the two.

Read the full review at loyolamaroon.com

Courtesy of Republic

Kyleah Bell Gives Back to Loyola

By Hector N. Garcia hngarcia@my.loyno.edu

Kyleah Bell serves Loyola as the Assistant Director of Student Life, where she works with Campus Recreation and Club Sports.

Originally from San Diego, California, Bell is a Loyola alumna where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in forensic sciences. She also holds a Master’s degree in student a airs administration.

As assistant director, one of the main areas she oversees is intramural, or club, sports. Across campus, she handles all club sports nances, advising, and all the behind-the-scenes work to ensure that all club sports get taken care of.

e campus recreation side of her work includes overseeing intramural sports, planning campus-wide events such as “Rec-ing in the quad”, and wellness events. Campus Recreation is also an opportunity for students to get a job on campus as intramural referees.

When asked about her connection to sports she mentioned her history with basketball and her competitive spirit that she applies to everything she does.

“I love sports, I love to be around it and the atmosphere is always fun. I love competition” Bell said.

Kyleah considers herself to be pretty competitive and her motivation to keep getting better at everything helps fuel her goals and ambitions.

Kyleah’s dedication to ensuring the success of Loyola’s Club Sports shines through her hard work behind the scenes, making her a valuable asset to the Loyola community.

Final Scores

Women's Tennis @ SSAC Championships in Montgomery, Ala.

April 24-25 L, Semi nals

Upcoming Games

Baseball @ SSAC Championships in Jackson, Tenn

May 1-3

Track & Field @ William Carey Last Chance in Hattiesburg, Miss.

May 9

Women's Tennis @ NAIA National Championships in Mobile, Ala

May 14

Community Buoy

Loyola swimmer designs disaster-rescue app

By Isabella Castillo ivcastil@my.loyno.edu

Swimmer and global award-winning graphic designer, Ella Balho is ready to graduate and continue to centralize people in her work.

Lafayette native, Balho said that vibrant colors and the Cajun community she grew up surrounded by inspired her time at Loyola, as an athlete, friend, and now app designer.

“I saw people coming together during disasters. Now, I want to help people in those momets.”

semester, she nished her app, Buoy’s, design, an app that re ects her swim community. According to Balho , her high school swim club aided in multiple ood clean-ups, as other members of the community also did their part to help.

— Ella Balho Senior Swimmer

Her swim and Acadian community in Lafayette have impacted the way she navigates life. Balho said she has always kept community collaboration in mind. is

“Buoy is a water disaster search and rescue app that facilitates connecting people for civilian help,” said Balho , “So like people with boats and trucks–cause I saw people unifying when it came to the point that even police couldn’t help them.”

Senior Spotlights

Inspired by her volunteering experiences, Balho used FIGMA (application for interface design) to design her prototype.

“I saw people coming together during disasters,” said Balho , “Now, I want to help people in those moments.”

Starting her journey at Loyola as a computer science major, Balho said her love for website design and experience in CSS and HTML programming convinced her that it was the way to go.

But once she understood her motivations, she switched to graphic design.

“I like to highlight people, to give everyone their spotlight,” Balho said. “It’s about letting people be heard.”

Transitioning to the design department took her by surprise, said Balho . “ e program itself is a community,” said Balho . “We take three-hour-long

classes and go grade to grade together. It’s almost like middle school.”

Part of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, Balho said her structured schedule allows her to handle the surprising rigor of the design program. “As athletes, we’re used to doing things back to back,” Balho said. Aside from scheduling, she intertwines swimming in her designs in multiple ways. She won Graphis’ New Talent Award, with her submission of a title sequence for James Bond’s " underball". Conducting underwater shots and only using technology from 1965, Balho won gold.

Hoping to get her app developed after graduation, Balho intends to continue spotlighting the community, centralizing people in graphic design.

Taylor Thomas shoots the ball. Sophia Renzi/The Maroon

Ella Balho works at her computer. Balho designed the app for her graphic design capstone. Isabella Castillo/The Maroon

Balho 's app prototype, Buoy, is displayed on her screen. Buoy was designed using FIGMA. Isabella Castillo/The Maroon

Lucy Carpenter in action. Gabrielle Korein/The Maroon

Emma Smithers hits a shot. Courtesy of Wolf Pack Athletics.

Stephen Still high ves his teammates. Courtesy of Wolf Pack Athletics.

Bryana Bazile throws discus. Courtesy of Wolf Pack Athletics.

Athena Marks/The Maroon

EDITORIAL

Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females experience rape or sexual assault

Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of females experience rape or sexual assault

Among graduate and professional students, 2.5% of males experience rape or sexual assault

Among graduate and professional students, 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault

We need transparency and support for sexual assault at Loyola

Sexual assault is an invisible issue worldwide, including in our community at Loyola.

Almost one in four undergraduate women have experienced sexual assault or misconduct at 33 of the nation's major universities, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Only about 25% of sexual assault cases were reported to police in 2018, according to the center.

We can’t keep letting sexual assault be an invisible issue.

Transparency is crucial in addressing the legal aspects of sexual assault cases. Currently, there is a lack of visibility into how Loyola handles reports of assault and the outcomes of such cases. Loyola should utilize a transparent investigation to ensure accountability and build trust with the student body. Survivors and the wider community deserve to know that justice is being pursued and that

perpetrators are being held accountable.

Loyola – we recognize that you feel sexual assault is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as a protection of educational records.

We disagree. So do many reputable lawyers and student rights advocates.

FERPA clearly states that “The institution must not disclose the final results of the disciplinary proceeding unless it determines that the student is an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense.”

Sexual assault is clearly a crime of violence. Period.

Crime is never and should never be part of someone's educational record.

We believe that the outcomes of each investigation in which a student is found to have sexually assaulted someone should be publicly disclosed.

If you insist on keeping sexual assault

protected behind the veil of FERPA, then this is what we demand:

We want to know the numbers.

We want to know how many sexual assault cases are reported, how many are investigated, and how many are found to be valid accusations. You can keep the rapist’s identity a secret, but we want the assurance that you follow through with investigations.

We fully recognize that - in compliance with the Federal Clery Act - you report the number of rapes on campus.

This is inadequate.

First, we don't find it credible that only four people were raped on Loyola's campus in 2022 - the year of the most recent available statistics. According to RAINN, more than 1 in 10 students are raped on campus. That highlights

HOWLS & GROWLS

HOWL to the last issue of the semester

GROWL to rubber bullets

HOWL to the First Amendment

GROWL to ethics

HOWL to Lucky Charms

GROWL to JoJo Siwa

HOWL to lesbians

GROWL to finals

EDITORIAL BOARD

Sophia

Kloe

Dajah

how many rapes go unreported and how many sexual assaults are poorly investigated and downgraded once they are reported.

Second, the number of criminal cases on campus is just a tiny portion of the conversation. We want to see the big picture. You call sexual assault accusations an educational record rather than a crime that needs to be reported on the Clery Report - fine. But, we need to know how many women are victims of that "educational exercise."

How many sexual assaults were reported? How many were investigated?

How many sexual assault accusations were found to be credible, and how many women walked away knowing their story was not taken seriously?

We need answers.

EDITORIAL POLICY

The

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Letters

Statistics from RAINN on campus sexual violence. Tanesha Taylor / The Maroon

New Orleans is not affordable for senior citizens

Riley Keelty Economics and business analytics junior

Carson Cruse Economics junior kawittke@my.loyno. edu

Behind the vibrant facade of New Orleans lies a depressing reality, a city where lifelong residents, particularly the elderly, are struggling to make ends meet.

The cost of living for senior citizens on all levels is a struggle, including healthcare, housing, transportation, food, and other expenses.

The estimated population of New Orleans is 369,749 and senior citizens make up 17% (62,857) of the population.

Alarmingly, the Census Reporter found that 20%, one in every five senior citizens, are experiencing poverty.

As our research took on a more concentrated approach, we discovered that housing was a key point of financial insecurity for senior citizens.

The Census Report found that the average income of New Orleans seniors is $34,391, which is lower than the average income of seniors in Louisiana, which stands at $35,363. This disparity is concerning, given that the Council for Community and Economic Research reported

that the housing in New Orleans is 71% more expensive than the state average and 43% more costly than the U.S. average.

Statistics and figures are necessary for this type of economic research, but we felt that an integral aspect of this story would be lost if we did not record the personal experiences from senior citizens in New Orleans.

Jacqueline Harrison, a community member from the Gentilly neighborhood and a longtime employee of Sodexo at Loyola, helped shed some light on the housing crisis facing senior residents of the city. Our first time meeting Harrison was when we assisted the organizing committee of the Sodexo union, of which she was a key leader. Her home in Gentilly has been in her family for three generations, but with property taxes rising, she is struggling to hold onto it.

“Before Katrina I was paying $40 in property taxes. By 2010, they were over $3,000,” said Harrison. Affording these taxes has always been a struggle for her.

Harrison went to City Hall to inquire about why property taxes are now so exorbitant. There, she discovered that the city will appraise houses based upon outward appearance and location, regardless of what the average resident is able to afford.

After Hurricane Katrina, Harrison left New Orleans for New York City and experienced a great increase in her standard of living.

“I left New Orleans in 2007 and I lived in NYC for one year and it was wonderful. I had a job, and I was making good money. I was making $14 an hour in 2007. It's the

same I am making now,” Harrison said.

Harrison returned to New Orleans to care for her brother who was disabled and could not work. The small return she received on her federal income tax from being his caregiver was able to barely cover the income tax each year. Unfortunately, he passed away this year and that small supplemental income is gone.

“Without that extra income to help out, I don’t know what I’m going to do” Harrison said.

The Orleans Parish Assessor’s office re-evaluates property assessments every four years, a process that is referred to as quadrennial assessment. The most recent assessment took place in 2023 for the 2024 tax year, and New Orleans homeowners were left wondering how they were going to pay their upcoming property taxes with this significant increase in their property assessment. Some homeowners living on fixed incomes were left having to accept that they could no longer afford to live in their house in New Orleans anymore. Many others were left perplexed by the increases, claiming that their neighbors' assessments were significantly different from their own and that the appraisers must have made a mistake.

“Even tax experts I’ve spoken to say some of this just isn’t making sense, some of these are just way too much, from what I understand there are more than 60 thousand properties with more than a 50 percent increase,” said City Council vice president Helena Moreno in a FOX 8 article. It is unreasonable to assume that lifelong residents of the city like Harrison are able to afford these increases, leading to generations of families being kicked

out of their homes.

Our research revealed to us some crucial exacerbation of an already desperate housing situation.

The city of New Orleans allocates almost nothing to affordable housing or section 8 programs according to the city budget. Hurricanes are increasing in both number and severity, driving insurers to either drop their clients or raise rates to unpayable levels. Companies like AirBnB and VRBO worsened an already critical housing crisis; neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of these shortterm rentals are 20% more expensive on

average.

Unfortunately, our research shows that Jacqueline Harrison’s story is all too common in the Crescent City. New Orleans has some serious reckoning to do and it is our responsibility as citizens to pressure our local government to do something about it.

Measures like bans on short-term rentals enacted by the City Council are an important step in the right direction, but more needs to be done if lifelong New Orleanians are going to continue to call our city home.

The death penalty should be abolished

Jacob L'Hommedieu Political science senior jllhomme@my.loyno. edu

The death penalty should be abolished.

Now, this isn’t exactly the hottest take anyone could make, especially on our campus. However, I have noticed over the years that many people who I think hold this same mindset to me like to follow up the first statement with “but…” or “except for….”

People will add qualifiers to it along the lines of, “but should be kept in case of extreme circumstances” or “except for those who commit extremely heinous crimes.” I know this is somewhat of a strawman, but I have heard or seen enough people make arguments along these lines that I think it’s okay to generalize. And I am sure you have too.

The death penalty should be abolished. Full stop. No “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts” about it.

As a Catholic, I do not think anyone has the right to kill. I know the religious argument isn’t the most tantalizing one for many people, but it is one that I have to make to show the origin of my thought.

Of course, there is the easy place to start with, that being the Ten Commandments and the whole “You shall not kill” rule. But there is also the Golden Rule, which is heavily associated with Christian philosophy: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That means I treat others with kindness, acceptance, and empathy, because that’s how I would like to be treated. And I don’t think that

frame of mind involves wanting anyone to kill another.

Now, before I lose you completely, I am not just a religious fundamentalist. I am also practical. Not everyone is going to have the same foundation as me. Nor should they be forced to. The freedom of expression and establishment clauses exist for a reason.

Thankfully, the moral taboo of killing somebody is already codified into law to be a very bad thing. One of the worst felony offenses that could, ironically, get someone sentenced to death row. That raises another important question, though: does the government have the right to kill?

As you can probably guess by my very resolute headline, my answer is a simple “no.” The government, no matter how much red tape or how many inner mechanisms it has, is simply a large organization made up of people. And, as already discussed, I don’t think people have the right to kill.

Thankfully, as the decades have passed, capital punishment in its totality has been used less and less frequently. Some might use that fact to ask why even go through with federally abolishing the death penalty. However, only three months into this year, there have been three executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Last year, there were a total of 24.

Those numbers might not be that large, but it still represents the ability of the various state governments to commit legally-sanctioned killings. And that’s not even beginning to talk about the conditions the prisoners on death row deal with. For a majority of them, their time spent imprisoned is essentially solitary confinement –plus the additional caveat of having a po-

tential execution looming over your head.

And when I say potential, I do mean potential. Many of those sentenced to capital punishment do have their sentences changed. They are either reduced to life sentence instead or have their convictions overturned entirely, thus ending their months to decades-long stint on death row.

There is a cost to their sentences being commuted or overturned too: the literal cost. According to the Cato Institute, spending for those on death row compared to those committed to life sentences can be as large as up to four times the cost. These overblown figures are the result of multiple stages within the appeals process for those sentenced to capital punishment.

The hypothetical results of these absurdly expensive imprisonments aren’t even apparent, either. The claim that the death penalty helps to deter crime is almost irrevocably false. In an article on deterrence, the Department of Justice states that not only does the death penalty not deter crime but neither does increasing the severity of punishment in general.

So, in essence, the various state governments which have not abolished capital punishment are spending upwards of millions of taxpayer dollars on a system that A) doesn’t even work for its intended purposes, and B) ends up with many of the convicted either being exonerated or moved to a lighter sentence. And that’s not even beginning to get into the amount of people found post-execution to have been possibly innocent.

The death penalty should be abolished. End of story. It is an archaic facet of the criminal “justice” system that should be removed from United States law.

A sign sits outside of Magazine Street on April 20,2024. Lizzy Hadley/The Maroon

Grace Knight/The Maroon