Maroon

              THE MAROON MAROON.LOYNO.EDU VOL. 79, NO. 10 hghg I — Loyola University New Orleans RAW END OF THE DEAL Value, convenience clash in meal plan price structure By Jim Gunter Staff writer Mark Atkinson, director of Loyola Dining Services, confirmed the discrepancy that students who are on a five- or seven- meal-per-week plan pay more per meal than if they were to purchase them on an individual basis. "The one that is economical is the nine-meal meal plan," he said. Students on a five-meal-per-week plan pay the most above what individual meals would cost. Gold Level Value? • With gold-level Wolf Bucks factored in, simple multiplication shows this plan to be worth $1,138.40, while LDS charges $1,429 — a difference of $290.60. • By the same token, the gold-level seven-meal plan is worth $1,153.76 — $94.24 less than its $ 1,248.00 cost. • The gold-level nine-meal plan is worth $1,569.12, which is $86.12 higher than its cost of $1,483. The actual cost differences may vary depending on a student's eating habits and do not take into account the weekend brunch or special event prices in the Orleans Room. Atkinson said the discrepancies were not intended to overcharge students and that he sees no problem with the meal plan's pricing due to the convenience that being on a meal plan offers. "There are some who are concerned about |wasting! uneaten meals," he said, in offering a reason why a student might want to be on a five- or seven- meal-per-week meal plan. Numbers from LDS suggest that a majority of students do not prefer taking their meal plans to a max: Of the 878 students on meal plan, only 263 are on a nine-meal-per-week plan. Adding It All Up While The Maroon's calculations were conducted from the bottom-up, starting with the cash cost of each meal at the door, Atkinson said the costs of each meal plan were determined from the top-down, using the nine-meal plan as a starting point. Chris Cameron, director of Student Activities and the Danna Center, said the base figure is drawn by weighing the anticipated costs of offering the meal plan against the revenue that the system must generate. Cameron works each year with LDS to determine the meal plan costs. "[The Maroon's] numbers are fairly accurate, but they're not the way Mark and I calculate that," he said. Sodexho Marriott, which operates LDS, takes in a portion of the money. STAFF PHOTO BYIGNACIO CHACON Nathan Pace, music composition sophomore, has his card swiped at dinner in the Orleans Room. Groups lobby interests By Anthony Fulgieri, Ellen Pivach and Jason Dupuy Staff writers The upcoming presidential election has lobbyists active in ensuring that the people have a forum for voicing their opinions. Loyola's Student Government Association does not participate in the conventional lobbying process because it funds all student organizations. Instead, students make requests concerning their on-campus needs and SGA addresses them accordingly. In mainstream America, interest groups represent public opinion and must find ways to fund and pass legislation for their organization through fund-raising and lobbying efforts. However, all Loyola chartered clubs are financed through the SGA, making them student interest groups. Charting The Course The major difference between national interest groups and Loyola's student interest groups is that any organization who wishes to hold meetings, set policies and procedures and become organized under Loyola's name must be chartered through SGA. An organization cannot be chartered unless it has a minimum of Mid-city movie house told to leave By Asya Johnson Staff writer Another local hangout will be history as of Oct. 31. In June Sav-A- Center bought the land that Movie Pitchers, located at 3941 Bienville Ave., now operates on and subsequently evicted the movie house that was a part of the neighborhood for almost 10 years. The building that houses Movie Pitchers will be demolished in November. Sav-A-Center will use the space to add 54 parking spaces to the main parking lot of its future Mid-City store, which will have 195 spaces upon completion. The movie house opened in May 1991 with two screens showing Cinema Paradiso and Warlock. The theater introduced its cinema pub concept with a concession stand that sells sandwiches, pitchers of beer and boasts a full bar as well as traditional fare. The casual atmosphere continues inside the screening rooms, where patrons relax on sofas as they watch a mix of hit movies, second-run films and independent endeavors. Brown!, a comedy troupe that formerly performed weekly to a packed house at Movie Pitchers recently relocated to True Brew Theater, 200 Julia St. In addition, fans of the musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show will also be without their bi-monthly midnight ritual that called Movie Pitchers home. It was the last local theater to carry the science fiction spoof. The Sena Mall Cinema and Lakeside Theatres both played host to Rocky Horror nights. Both have closed due to competition from the Palace Theaters. The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization took the Movie Pitchers issue as one of its chief causes. A petition sponsored by the group collects signatures at the theater's box office. The organization's efforts have brought publicity to the issue. A meeting held Tuesday by the organization was covered by WWLTV and addressed the Movie Pitchers issue before the entire viewing STAFF PHOTO BY JULIE SCHUMACHER Movie Pitchers has been a local Mid-City hangout since 1991. Despite efforts by the neighborhood association, the building will be demolished for a parking lot. See MEAL PLAN, Page 6 See LOBBYING, Page 5 See EVICTION, Page 6 • ACM Geeks & non-Geeks coming together • Free cuddles are just a click away rTi^^R^ijTiß^nM^TJkY'i^EjL^ BREAKDOWN GOLD LEVEL Five meals estimated value $1,138.40 cost $1,429 different * ■jg^Ct^iiA?PO.gO Nine meals estimated value $1,569.12 cost $1,483 difference -$86.12 Source: Loyola Dining Services STAFF GRAPHIC BY ELIZABETH STUART SPORTS WOMEN'S SOCChAf TUCKS ANOTHER®* WIN AWAY