Maroon

              The Maroon  Loyola University New Orleans VOL. 78 NO. 8  ESTABLISHED 1923 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29 1999 Student sues landlord over alleged entry By Danielle Mastropiero Contributing Writer A Loyola junior filed a lawsuit against her former landlord in mid September, alleging sexual harassment. According to a press release from The Louisiana Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now Fair Housing Organization, she is suing her landlord with the help of the organization. The tenant reported that her landlord entered her Cadiz Street apartment without her consent, shook her awake and made inappropriate comments. She said she thought he was under the influence of alcohol 'at the time. "I couldn't even scream. He had been drinking. There was this heavy alcohol smell," said the woman, who asked to remain nameless. "He told me that he would do anything he could to help me and that he just wanted to make sure that 1 was okay. He told me that he had a crush on me. I was paralyzed," she said. According to the woman, the landlord told her he entered the apartment through her unlocked front door. Dragon takes Fox's place as nurse By Kasey Williamson Contributing writer When most people think of dragons, they probably envision medieval, fire-breathing monsters that live in dungeons. They probably do not think of the new nurse educator at the Loyola Student Health Services. But they would be wrong. Last Monday, Jo Dragon began working as the new nurse health educator for Loyola. Dragon graduated from Louisiana State University Medical Center in December 1990 and has been an emergency room nurse since then. She worked in Touro Infirmary's emergency room for four and a half years and in East Jefferson General Hospital's emergency room for the last five and a half years, where she is still officially on staff. She said she thinks it is important to stay trained in emergency medicine. Dragon made the jump from ER nurse to university health educator mainly for her family. She has a 4-yearold daughter and a 2-year-old son. She thought the more normal hours at Loyola would be better for them. Things in the emergency room DRAGON New nurse health educator A GHOULISH GLOW STAFF PHOTO BY KRISTY MAY Every year people place pumpkins out in front of their houses to let others know they are in the Halloween spirit. Loup Garou The University Programming Board reports that student ticket sales for the annual fall concert event were up compared to last year's inaugural concert, however total ticket sales were down. The Office of Student Activities reports that the event was a success nonetheless. Afroskull opened the event for feature act Run DMC. See Page 9 for related story STAFF PHOTO BY KRISTY MAY Ratio Reality Student-faculty ratio varies among colleges, differs from size of average classes By Robert Treadway News Editor When she came to Loyola, she anticipated smaller classes. "I was expecting 20 people to a class," said Michelle Hanemann, music performance freshman. "I have about 25 people in my class," she said. The information packets that the Office of Admissions sends to prospective students, say the studentfaculty ratio is 12 to one. While Loyola has a low studentfaculty ratio, it does not mean that the university has a small class size. This August, when U.S. News anil World Report published its annual rankings and statistics of the best national and regional universities, it awarded Loyola the rank of seventh in the Southern region. In the issue, the student-faculty ratio was reported as 12 to one. The ratio is determined by dividing the total number of students by the total number of faculty members. According to information from the Office of Student Records and individual colleges, this year the university has 435 faculty members and 5,341 students, which is a ratio of 12 to one. But the ratio varies among the different colleges. The ratio for the College of Business is 18 to one; in the Law School, 16 to one; and in City College, 15 to one — all above the university ratio. Not all colleges are above the 12 to 1 ratio. The ratios in the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Music are below the university ratio, nine to one and four to one respectively. These ratios do not guarantee small classes though. While Loyola has a 12 to one ratio, the reported average class size is well above this. According to the individual colleges, the average class varies between colleges: • Arts and Sciences: 20 to 25 • Business: 25 to 36 • City College: 22 to 25 •Music: 21 to 22 In the Law School classes range from 25 to 300 students. While some might say the ratio does not reflect true class sizes, Michael Rachal, director of Student Records, disagrees. "It depends on which way you look at it," Rachal said. "There's a lot that goes into it." Rachal said he thinks the ratio allows students to reasonably think that they are going to be in a class with 12 other students. "You will come into an intro course and have 80 people in class with you, but you could have an upper level course with three or four people in it," he said. Overall, Rachal said he thinks the student-faculty ratio is accurate, with some reservations. "I think it is [fair). If it stays the same over time, then it is accurate. If you compare it to 10 years ago with a different formula, then no it isn't," he said. Anne McGrath, managing editor of U.S. News & World Report s America's Best Colleges issue, said the studentfaculty ratio is only a sign of what kind of access to faculty members the college has. "We look at both (student-faculty ratio and class size). We are not saying that one is more important than the other," McGrath said. McGrath said that both factors should be used to consider a student's possible college experience. She also said that the ratio is not an indication of class size. "A college can have a low studentfaculty ratio and still have a large average class size," she said. McGrath said 40 percent of the rating for facultyrelated affairs comes from faculty OVER-AND UNDER-FULL See CASE, Pg.s See RATIO, Pg.s See HEALTH, Pg.3 • SPECIAL HALLOWEEN ISSUE• . C\ HHHHS f Souno Bytes /)^V\ f [t\ . i q \ Netvs and notes about The Maroon Online tf)is week I / \ \ hjgueam 081 Results from the online poll: What do you think of Harrah's Casino? |Sp(XTtS hi® TIIIICS I It will suck up all my money 16 percent IP j See Page 6I jli, ' llit wMK ii i/ spirits nn rnmnns I'm not2l; I don't care 28percent vyVfeL,. . yJIKj ■ ' Page 11 Results as of Oct. 27 Visit us at maroon.loyrio.edu ~ Next WMk: Part 1 of 4 in our news series, The Test of Time