Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 75 NO. 12 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1996 Biever gets tough on vandalism By ELIZABETH KEENAN Managing Editor Residential Life has decided to add extra security to the fourth floor south wing of Biever Hall after the bulletin board, the resident assistant's door and another door were vandalized, said Robert Reed, the director of Residential Life. Starting on the night of Dec. 4, a Public Safety officer will be stationed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Four South until the end of exams. This adds to the regular patrols Public Safety makes in the residence halls. Jonathan Shaw, RA on the hall and economics sophomore, said that the cleaning lady for the floor woke him at 8 a.m. on Dec. 4 and told him to come out of his room. "I opened the door slowly. She was like, 'Now watch out, don't touch anything.' I came out and saw that the area had been heavily vandalized," Shaw said. According to Shaw, the door across from his contained the letters "PKT" written in shaving cream six times; the bulletin board was vandalized with shaving cream; and Shaw's door was covered with nacho cheese. "My initial reaction was of disbelief," he said. "It seemed pointless." Even without the cost of the added security, residents will pay a high price for the vandalism. The Public Safety officers will be scheduled on detail, or extra hours of overtime. As a result, the residents of Four South will have to pay for the officer to sit on the wing. Reed said that he did not know how much this extra protection would cost the residents. A sign on the bulletin board on Four South reads: "$5OO fine for vandalism to bulletin board." Nearby, on the floor, Shaw placed another sign that tells residents they already have $31.50 in fines, not including the bulletin board. Reed said this is the latest in a series of problems on the wing. "Most of the problems we've been having have been on that floor," he said. NO MAROON The Maroon will not appear next week because of final exams. This is our last issue before the Christmas I' -ak. Publication will resume in Jai of the spring semester. Collision Course By JOY DEMATTEO Rebecca Goforth's car collided with streetcar 965 on Dec. 2, at the corner of Pine Street and St. Charles Avenue. Goforth, third-year law student, was not ticketed for the accident. Tuition may rise 3.77 percent for next year By ROSE FRENCH News Editor Undergraduate tuition could increase about 3.77 percent from its present cost of $12,450 to nearly $12,900 next fall if the recommended budget issued by the university budget committee is approved by the Rev. Bernard Knoth, S.J., university president, and the Board of Trustees in February. Along with this increase, the budget also calls for a 4.32 rise in financial aid. The committee's proposed budget for the 1997-98 term is based on an FTE, or the full-time equivalent, of 3,900 students — the same number the committee predicted last year when composing the 1996-97 budget. Because the committee overestimated the number of students that would attend Loyola this fall, the budget suffered from an approximate $3.5 million shortfall. Roughly $1.4 million of that money was placed in escrow to prepare for this possible shortfall. The current FTE remains at 3,600, but committee members believe the predicted number to be realistic and attainable with the new strategy known as leveraging. "Using the leveraging approach we try to bridge the gap between what they (students) can afford and what they think we're worth," said Daniel Sheridan, budget committee member and associate vice president for Academic Affairs. "One of the goals of our leveraging approach has been to try and minimize the perception of how much does it cost so that the student is saying 'which is best for me,' not 'which is the cheapest,"' Sheridan continued. The recommended budget must first be approved by the president who then presents the final plan to the university Board of Trustees for its final consent. Sheridan, however, said he feels certain the proposed budget will be approved by both the president and the board. 'The president is not going to divvy too much from this. The board is ... not going to change too much, if any," said Sheridan. Knoth outlines plans for the future of Loyola By PIERCE PRESLEY Staff writer Loyola students can look forward to a new university center and residence hall under the plans of the Rev. Bernard Knoth. S.J., university president. In a letter distributed to the faculty Nov. 27, Knoth revealed a wide-ranging set of initiatives aimed at making Loyola one of the leading Catholic universities in the nation. A town meeting was scheduled for Dec. S in Nunemaker Hall to offer the Loyola community a chance to discuss the new plan. It is split into new projects, major renovations, deferred maintenance and a physical plant fund. The strategy includes new buildings, renovations, upgrades and maintenance. It also details the funding sources that will pay for these projects. The plan governs the spending of almost $68 million in the next seven years. Initiatives and funding were approved by the university Board of Trustees in meetings in September and November. New projects totalling $34 million are the largest expenditures. The projects include a $14.9 million university center to replace the Danna Center, a new $8.7 million residence hall, $3.7 for the computer network infrastructure, a $3 million Jesuit Community Residence and a new $1 million chapel. Another $2.7 million is allocated for other projects. Major renovations make up $21.3 million of the new plan. Renovations totalling $7.7 million for Biever Hall, $5.8 million for Buddig Hall, and $3.3 million for Cabra Hall are planned. In addition, $2.5 million is set aside to convert the old library into a visual and performing arts area after the new library is completed, and $2 million is allocated for other renovations.Deferred maintenance will account for $9.3 million of the total. According to Knoth, many areas on the campus have been neglected over the years. 'There's hundreds of window sills that haven't been painted for years," Knoth said. 'There's about $8 million in ... deferred maintenance, just stuff that Two students tried at disciplinary hearing of reported rape By ALLISON TEMPLET News Editor A Loyola student who reported she was raped in Biever Hall said that those involved in the incident, Leonel Poveda, philosophy senior, and Ana Arevalo, an intensive English freshman and her roommate, were tried in a university disciplinary board hearing Tuesday. In university hearings, students may plea culpable, not culpable or culpable with mitigating circumstances. Poveda pled not culpable to sexual battery and sexual assault. He was found culpable of sexual assault, but not of sexual battery. He was also found culpable of violating the alcohol and visitation policies. University representatives at the hearing said Arevalo violated the alcohol and visitation policies but found her not culpable of the charge of behavior unbecoming to a Loyola student. The division of Student Affairs, responsible for holding such hearings. refused to comment. Arevalo could not be reached for comment. The 18-year-old freshman who filed the report said the panel consisted of five students and faculty members, and Patrick Bailey, director of Public Safety, served as the prosecutor for the university, with the task of finding the defendants culpable. The board gives a recommendation as to a penalty for those found culpable. Poveda says he thinks the penalty will be expulsion. "I would hope that if anyone'sever guilty of this that they would expel them. The problem here is since I'm not guilty, I don't really want them to expel me," he said. He plans to appeal the decision, but must wait until he is sentenced. Poveda said he saw Arevalo and her roommate at Madigan's bar on Carrollton Ave. the night of Nov. 7, and that he was approached by Arevalo and asked if he wanted to visit their room that night. 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