Maroon

              THE MAROON VOL. 79, NO. 19 hghghg MAROON.LOYNO.EDU hgh Lawsuit stems from injury By Elizabeth Stuart Staff writer A stunt aimed at elevating student cheers at a basketball game last January sent a cheerleader crashing to the floor and landed Loyola in a lawsuit. According to public record, lawyers for Shannon Ruelle, former Loyola student and the injured athlete, filed suit against the university Jan. 16. According to Gail Howard, assistant to the president, the Rev. Bernard Knoth, S.J., university president, had not been served with the lawsuit as of press time. On Jan. 13, Ruelle and other cheerleaders tried to perform a stunt called the Elevator. Ruelle landed on the hardwood basketball court, striking her head and back. According to the lawsuit, the university allegedly "failed to render aide, assistance or medical attention" to Ruelle. The lawsuit also contends that after the accident, Loyola "agreed and promised to pay |Rue 11 e's | medical expenses relating to the accident." It states that the university then refused to do so. The suit calls for Loyola to answer these charges. Yet according to a waiver form the cheerleaders and all club sports athletes must sign, they agree to release "Loyola University, its agents, employees and representatives from any responsibility or liability for any and all personal injury and property damage to [the club sport athlete] on account of, or in any way arising out of, |club sport athlete's) participation in the activities, practice and play of this sport." They must carry personal injury onH incnranrp in nrHpr tr» o —  It (performing stunts) was never an issue because we're not up with the big-rig schools, - JASMINE DE LA CRUZ, CHEERLEADER CAPTAIN AND COMMUNICATION S SENIOR, on Loyola's new policy of cheerleaders no longer performing stunts with partners. Cabra has change in store [campus construction I By Nicole Haase Assistant News Editor The New Hall and Biever Hall renovations were completed in the past two years only slightly behind schedule and slightly over budget. The completion of these halls has given students more options on the main campus. Those living on the Broadway campus, still only have Cabra. Lack of money is a key factor in the delay of Cabra renovations. According to Robert Reed, director of Residential Life, Buddig is also in line for renovations, but it will also have to wait. We had a budget of $20 million for the New Hall and Biever, and that is gone," Reed said. He estimates that the cost of renovating Cabra will be about $6 million. In the meantime. Res Life is looking into some other solutions for living in Cabra. This past semester. Reed and his assistants discussed turning the current eight-person suites into four-person suites in Spring 2001. That didn't happen, but Reed said the THE SETUP switch will occur for the 2001-2002 school year. The extra bed in each room will be removed and the suites will be suitable for single habitation. Meanwhile, Cabra residents have become accustomed to living there, and some even say that they enjoy it, although living there may not have been their first choice. 1g • a Residential Life hopes to convert rooms in Cabra Hall over the next year and a half into single rooms by removing a bed, noted above by a dashed line. In four years they hope to renovate the rooms to look like suites in the New Residence Hall. STAFF GRAPHIC BY ROBERT TREADWAY "It's an experience," said Patrick Triplett, political science sophomore. "It's nowhere near as bad as 1 thought it would be. Plus, the community atmosphere that the suite brings makes up for it. The only downfall is the commute." Since the Law School is located on Retention rates up for Spring By Latoya Simons Contributing writer Loyola's student retention rate for this semester is up and higher than expectations, according to a preliminary survey compiled by the office of Admissions. Loyola has realized its enrollment goals, and its population has experienced a healthy build, said Debbie Steiffel, admissions director. While the national average graduation rate is going down, Loyola's graduation rate is rising. She credits this to Lydia Voigt, associate provost for Academic Affairs, who is in charge of the retention effort. She heads a task force that has developed ways to keep students happy. Loyola has begun to target the right kind of people, said Gidget Fields, psychology senior and Wolf Den underused, some say By Matt Walter Staff writer OFFICE SPACE IN LIMBO The Danna Center traded pool tables and video games for desks and chairs when the Wolf Den game room was closed to make room for office space for Loyola's numerous student organizations. A year later, only a handful of the 20 organizations with designated desks in the office space actually use the facility, causing some students to question whether the game room was a better use of the Wolf Den. Chris Cameron, director of Student Activities and the Danna Center, thinks the room is being underutilized. He originally closed the game room to meet the demand for organization office space. "When I interviewed to be the Director of the Danna Center, I had a vision. My number one complaint was the lack of office space," Cameron said. Cameron said that before closing the game room, he had work-study students count the number of people using the facility every half-hour. Very few students used it. "With the exception of BSU people, no one used it." Cameron said. "Then once it was taken away. STAFF PHOTO BY BRANDY KNIGHT Catherine Sledge, communications senior, is one of the few students who spends time in the Wolf Den. Many students were disappointed when the games were replaced with desks for clubs. See SUIT, Page 4 See WOLF, Page 3 See CABRA, Page 4 See RETENTION, Page 3 LIFE & TIMES NATURE THAT'S NOT SO NATURALLY NAWLINS Page 10 [- Nothin' But 0-fi-t http://marr)f)n.lnynn.pHn Your 24-hour Loyola news source j Farrah Moan, daily wild art and Web Xtras i NEXT WEEK: Money puttout. Read it. jrfmWk BASEBALL  A PACK PREVIE|J^/