Maroon

              kighkyhu THE MAROON VOL. 84, NO. 5 HTTP://MAROON.LOVNO.EDI FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2006 School of Law expanding New building will include offices, more library space By Undsey Netherly Contributing writer Walking by the Loyola School of Law, it's impossible not to see and hear that the four-story building is undergoing a major physical change. The 16,000 square-foot addition will include a lecture theater, 12 offices and three seminar rooms. The new building will also add another floor to the Law Library and allow the original building to be reconfigured to include more room for support staff and extra space for the Law Clinic. The expansion ensures that the School of Law complies with American Bar Association regulations regarding the amount of space for the student population. Enrollment will not be increased beyond the current student body of 850, according to a Loyola press release from 2004. The new facility is meant to improve conditions for current and future law students. "It gives us more flexibility in scheduling, and in turn gives students more choices in selecting schedules," School of Law Dean Brian Bromberger said. Construction on the new building, located at the corner of Pine and Dominican streets, began last spring. The construction was originally intended to be finished by spring 2007, but it was delayed by Katrina. Now it's hoped that the addition will be done by fall 2007, said Bromberger. Katrina has caused a shortage of labor and supplies for the construction operation, but things are going as well as can be expected, Bromberger said. The construction is visible outside the School of Law, and several students have found it noticeable inside as well. The noise level depends on what classroom you're in, and can vary pretty widely, said Jeff Goldmen, a third-year law student. "It can be kind of distracting, but professors mostly talk through it," said Barbara Siefken, a third-year law student. The first floor office of Dean of Admissions K. Michelle Allison-Davis is close to the work being done on the addition. The noise hasn't been too loud since the building was razed last spring, she said. "The construction has been going on for almost a year now, so we've learned to deal with it," she said. Most of the disruption is coming not from the work on the addition but instead from work being done in the STAFF PHOTO BY ALETHIA PICCIOLA Lester Buckle, a construction worker, stands atop scaffolding on the Broadway campus. The School of Law's new building is expected to be completed in fall 2007. Required meal plan possible Proposal for next fall would affect all student residents By Kevin Corcoran Staff Writer Members of the Student Government Association are fighting a recent proposition put forth by Loyola's administrators to make a meal plan mandatory for all students living on campus. The plan, which ihe SGA was first informed of last Tuesday, would require that, beginning next fall, students living on campus purchase an $800 meal plan or a $900 Wolfbucks plan. While administrators are saying that the mandate would help alleviate the school's debts from Katrina, many SGA members are arguing that the minor financial benefit would be outweighed by the burden the requirement would put on the students, and it would potentially drive students off campus. "The reward doesn't balance out the consequences," said Andre Breaux, arts and sciences representative and communications sophomore."Looking at the numbers, it might make sense, but I don't think they factored in the students' point of view," he said. Among those Carrollton residents who say they would move off campus is Michael Girardot, music business sophomore, who has been Hurricane old news to nation By Lisa Campo News Editor The general public is tired of hearing about New Orleans, according to a panel of media professionals. 'Katrina fatigue,' as panelist Norman Robinson called it, was discussed in "The Media and Katrina: What Went Right? What Went Wrong?" the second of four planned panels sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Forum and the Loyola First-Year Experience. Seven media professionals spoke to a packed audience in Roussel Performance Hall last Thursday at 7 p.m. The panelists discussed the country's fading interest in New Orleans and its future after the storm. "They have got the idea that Katrina was a form of entertainment. In that respect, the entertainment value is wearing off," said Larry Lorenz, the A. Louis Read Distinguished Professor in Communications. Adam Nossiter, a reporter for The New York Times, said that the time that has lapsed since the hurricane is the reason people are disinterested."I don't think that this is a failure of the media. I think that peoples' attention spans are naturally limited," Nossiter said. "The attention that people want to give to things that are unpleasant is also limited," he said. The panelists also addressed the reporting of inaccurate information in the days after the storm. "Those inaccuracies came first from the police chief and the mayor," said Robinson, an anchor for WDSU-TV. "At one point we put up the phone number on the air telling [the mayor] to call us. It was a disservice. It was difficult for us to get information. The info we did get was inaccurate," said Dennis Woltering, an anchor for WWL-TV. Other panelists were quick to give the officials a break. "I don't think it was ill-intentioned on the part of city officials. It started up and took a while for anyoneSTAFF PHOTO BY VICTORIA LODI WWL-TV anchor Dennis Woltering discusses Katrina coverage with members of local media last Thursday. Woltering said officials gave media faulty information. See LAW, page 3 See MEAL, page 2 See PANEL, page 2 ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? Alone for Valentine's Day? Fret not, The Maroon's here to help page 6 MAROON DIRECTORY: CALENDAR, page 2 • OPINION, page 5 • LIFE A TIMES, page 6 • SPORTS, page 10