Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 77 NO. 11 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1998 Rental Risks Some off-campus residents must endure substandard housing By ALLISON EPISCOPO Contributing writer Many students living in off-campus apartments say they are getting a raw deal. For the most part, college students live on small budgets that are barely sufficient. When divided between necessities and recreation, the money seems to disappear quickly. Dealing with unexpected household problems is something every college student living off campus must handle. Some landlords promptly fix minor disasters, but not all landlords are attentive to their tenants. Megan Annis, visual arts sophomore, has had problems with her landlord. "Our landlord doesn't return our phone calls. I've never even met him," she said. Despite paying $900 for her three bedrooms, she and her two roommates say they are not getting their money's worth. "The entrance looks like a garbage dump," Annis said. Apartment rental tips • Read the terms of the lease. • Check water pressure and thickness of walls. • Check for security features. • Talk with prospective neighbors to check reputation of landlord. • Know what is expected of you in terms of pre-payments (security deposit, pet deposit, etc.) • Check for fire escapes and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. And while Annis said her Freret Street location is handy, the landlord has yet to fulfill any promises of fixing the problems. "If I had known, I would have never agreed to pay $300 to live in a crack house," she said. Matthew Schiele, English senior, is STAFF PHOTO BY PATRICK CONDON A small cat plays in a hole in the floor of an off-campus apartment. Possible impeachment kept under wraps at SGA meeting An SGA business representative was the target of an impeachment Tuesday. The impeachment attempt came only three weeks after Alex Dowds, international business and finance freshman, was approved by the Student Government Association for the position, Dowds said. Congress came to a vote. However, neither J.T. Hannan, political science senior and SGA president, Nathan Hodges, finance senior and SGA Court of Review chief justice, nor Dowds would confirm whether Dowds was removed from office. They also refused to disclose the charges brought against Dowds. The meeting was closed to the public and non-voting SGA members, including Hannan, executive SGA staff, the court justices and Tim Barnett, director of the Danna Center and SGA adviser. The court is SGA's judicial branch. According to Hannan, the meeting was closed to protect "the person in question" from personal attacks. Members in the meeting were Hodges, who facilitated it, and Becky Dayries, psychology senior and SGA vice president, who breaks ties, Hodges said. HODGES Instructor resigns due to class cuts By ROBERT TREADWAY Assistant News Editor Jason Juneau, part-time classical studies instructor, will not return next semester. Department chairpersons throughout the College of Arts and Sciences made budget cuts that reduced some part-time positions, including Juneau's. Davina McClain, assistant professor and acting classical studies chairperson, asked Juneau to teach two classes in the spring semester instead of four, cutting his course load in half. Juneau, after learning about the cut, discussed his options with Frank Scully, dean of Arts and Sciences, and his family. Juneau decided keeping the job would not be in his best interest. "Teaching two classes instead of four would produce a cut in income which I could not take," Juneau said. McClain maintains that the cuts were mandatory and are not to be taken as a reflection of job performance. "It has nothing to do with Jason (Juneau) personally," McClain said. "If we were to cut civilization, literature or translation courses, students might be prevented from fulfilling their requirements." Students throughout the university White paper spurs mixed discussion By PATRICK HAAS Staff writer In a few years, playing a sport for Loyola might pay off in $5,000 for tuition. The Rev. Bernard Knoth, S J., university president, proposed as much in his statement known as the white paper. "1 believe opportunities for athletic development are completely compatible with Jesuit education," it reads. Also in the white paper, Knoth proposes offering participation awards to athletes who play a sport at Loyola. The award would be equivalent to a year's worth of work study, which Knoth estimated at $5,000 in the white paper. Not all students or faculty at Loyola find this necessary or appropriate for the university, though. Adam Huberty, English sophomore, opposes participation awards. "Rather than using university funds for athletic scholarships, the money could be put to better use," he said. Knoth also suggested remodeling the Recreational Sports Complex to provide more seating for spectators. John Dewell, psychology junior, said he feels that the university misspends its money. "It seems like we want to use our money for better facilities that will be more attractive," he said. "But Loyola isn't spending any of its money on the more educational aspects of Loyola, like it should be." If the white paper is approved, the newly renovated Rec Plex should be completed by 2003. Mark Rubinfeld, assistant sociology professor, advocates improving Loyola's athletics but thinks other aspects of Loyola need to be addressed fust "Ideally, I have no problem upgrading Loyola's athletic programs and providing Ex-Ecuadorian vice president in exile, denounces some policies By JOE DANBORN Staff writer Alberto Dahik, exiled former vice president of Ecuador, discussed economic policy as well as the situation of Ecuador's politics during his time in office. Casino deals and drug money are on a par when it comes to undermining democracy, according to Alberto Dahik, the exiled former vice president of Ecuador. Dahik spoke at Loyola Nov. 11 on the subject of political validity and economic policy. Loyola's economics club sponsored his appearance. At the lecture, Dahik called for a restructuring of global economics. He also claimed democratically elected governments throughout the Americas and elsewhere so frequently renege on promises. "Part of the problem is political legitimacy," Dahik said in an interview with The Maroon. "How much can you do when you have to transform society and people perceive that the government is not legitimate?" He spoke of political legitimacy in terms of public sentiment He said the trouble with democracies—large and small — is plain crooked politics, especially a campaign system that he thinks all but requires candidates to lie in order to get elected. "The fact that you win an election which is clean and fair does not mean that you are a legitimate government,'' he said. "You are forced to say things that give you votes, things that society needs to hear. "There is a widespread feeling that 'My government doesn't represent me.' That political weakness is selfdefeating when it comes to long-term economic policy." Dahik formed opinions like these from a rocketlaunchedrocketlaunched career that blew up mid-flight His doctoral studies at Princeton University sharpened his mind until he became a world-class economist He quickly rose through the political ranks and arrived, at age 39, in office with President Sixto Duran Balien in 1992. He rode astride a radical new free-maricet program designed to jump-start Ecuador's stagnant economy. At that time, Ecuador had been in arrears on its foreign debt longer than any country in the world. Dahik's "three-legged table" of economic stabilization, private-sector reform and political reform had an immediate and dramatic impact International reserves quickly hit an all-time high of STAFF PHOTO BY AMY STYER See LANDLORDS, Pg 3 See CUTS, Pg. 3 See SPORTS, Pg. 3 See ECUADOR, Pg. 3 New nurse plans to * Swim team brings Symphony orchestra teach healthy habits. home the gold. makes sweet music. "For a Greater Loyola h jhgh