Maroon

              THE MAROON "For a Greater Loyola ESTABLISHED 1923 V0L.77 NO. 5 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1998 STDs raise burning questions By MICHAEL GIUSTI Staff writer When Sam Richards experienced burning urination, he figured it wasn't a big deal. When it became excruciatingly painful, he got checked out at a local clinic. Richards, drama/communications junior, tested positive for chlamydia four years ago. Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in America. "After I was pissing fire and in severe discomfort, I went to a health clinic. They gave me antibiotics, and it went away," he said. Richards said by the ume he got tested, he wasn't surprised he had an STD. "I was actually elated when I tested negative for HIV," he said. "In the grand scheme of things, two weeks of antibiotics really is not that bad." Richards is not a rare case. Twenty-five percent of all teenagers have had an STD. And according to a pamphlet published by Planned Parenthood, 10 to 15 percent of college students contract chlamydia yearly. Despite their relative commonality, STDs still hold a stigma. Merely mentioning them evokes a spectrum of responses ranging from fear to blame, guilt and disapproval. Ignorance permeates the discussion of STDs: ignorance of the diseases, ignorance of treatments available, even ignorance of how they are spread and how to avoid contracting one. What are STDs? STDs are bacterial or viral infections that spread primarily through sexual contact such as vaginal, oral and anal sex. According to Amanda Fox, nurse and health educator for Student Health, there are significant differences between the two types of infections. Bacterial infections can normally be cured through antibiotics. "Mainly the viral infections are the ones that stay with you. The virus will either be in latent or active form in your body," Fox said. While viral infections are nearly impossible to cure completely, the available treatment options can all but eliminate most of the symptoms, as well as keep them from spreading and becoming contagious. In the case of HIV/AIDS, some treatments extend the life of the patient, but are somewhat problematic. Julie Redman, president and chief executive officer for Planned Parenthood of STAIRWAY TO CHEMISTRY STAFF PHOTO BY PATRICK CONDON The circular staircase in the newly renovated chemistry labs in Monroe Hall allows students to travel between labs ana also to carry potenially harmful chemicals without posing a threat to students in the building's hallways. The labs were under construction last semester and opened up to science students this fall. Seven thefts target Uptown collegiates By JACKIE WILNEFF Editorial Editor Two robbers have been preying on college students in the Uptown area. There have been seven armed robberies between August 28 and September 30. According to Angela Honora, Public Safety sergeant, all of the crimes occurred within a 10-block radius of Loyola and Tulane universities. Public Safety confirmed at least one of the incidents involved Loyola students. A group of three women was robbed at the 500 block of Broadway. The other six robberies were perpetrated on college students, but those students did not identify their schools to the New Orleans Police Department. The robbers have been described as two black men between the ages of 19 and 25, between 5'7" and 6'2" and approximately 170 to 195 pounds. One of the men has two upper gold teeth with an Afro, and the other one has a shaved head. "They pull up and rob them so fast that half of the time if someone is coming, they might not even notice it's a robbery, depending on the distance," Honora said. Chairs occupy former home of failed food stations like Cyberwraps By GUY SCHAAFS Staff writer It started out as a small store that sold bread, groceries and ice cream. But now, six years and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, the room adjacent to Smoothie King holds remnants of taco shells and chairs, lots and lots of chairs. Though not originally planned for furniture storage, the room was vacated by Dining Services after multiple failures starting in 1992 with Grab and Go, a small convenience store, Tim Bamett, Danna Center director, said. The following year, Grab and Go's high prices and low variety led to the opening of Taco Bell, whose four-year stay ended because of dropping sales, according to Bamett. "It was very popular when it first opened, but by the end of the last year it was there, it lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000," he said. "It was getting about 30 percent of the business it got when it originally opened." Bamett said Dining Services' next venture in the space, a Cyberwraps, featuring vegetarian and vegan meals, had sales that barely topped six orders a day during fall 1997. Casa Ortega came next and ended just as fast, lasting only spring 1998, Bamett said. One of the problems students have with the Dining Service ventures is the meal plan itself. While the Orleans Room allows for an all-you-can-eat option to students with a meal plan, the other Dining Services ventures do not. The student meal plan allows for the equivalent of $3.40 for breakfast, $3.80 for lunch and $4.45 for dinner, which Michael Deller, communications freshman, says is just not enough. "When I go to The Underground, I don't even have enough money on my meal plan to get chips and a drink with my Po-boy," Deller, said. "I didn't mind paying the difference at first, but I have stopped going there as much because of it." Pine Street Cafe, located on the Broadway campus, has Commuter meal plan used by more people despite 'poor advertising' By CHRISTINA SCHAMBACH Contributing writer Commuter students often face the daunting task of cramming work, studying and recreation into their schedules. Somewhere in this mad dash, they need to find time to eat and socialize with their peers during lunch time. To facilitate this, the Loyola Dining Services' newly instituted commuter dining plan allows students to purchase 25 meals for $137 or 50 meals for $275. The students are allowed to use five meals a week and are restricted to the Orleans Room. Tim Bamett, director of the Danna Center and Student Activities, said, "Sixty to 65 students have signed up for the plan, a number which has increased since the school year began. The expected enrollment was between 10 and 20." However, there have been a few problems, he said. One of these is advertising. "Minimal advertising has been done. There have been commuter meal plan talks, and brochures on the program have been handed out to commuters," Barnett said. But the commuter meal plan is not mentioned on the Dining Services Web site. "There is no good reason that it is not included on the site," Bamett said. Many students did not even realize the plan was available. Ashley Gilmore, communications freshman, was one of these students. Because of the lack of advertising, students seem to be choosing There is no good reason that it is not included on the site. _ // — Tim Barnett See CRIME, Pg. 4 See SERVICES, Pg. 4 See DISEASES, Pg. 6 See COMMUTER, Pg. 5 ■rgpH NEWS SPORTS • K LIFE & TIMES Past Maroon staff f*" *». JW Therrell's team loses Loyola faculty ■ 11 members remember. £, Jrs T» 3 third game in a row. A enhanced by LPO