Maroon

              THE MAROON VOL. 84, NO. 7 HTTP://M AROON.LOYNO.EDU FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2006 Memories washed away By Kelly Brown Senior Staff writer Part 1 of 3 Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series highlighting Loyola community members who have been particularly affected by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. There was no reason to think the house wouldn't survive. It had, after all, weathered the wrath of Hurricane Camille and the six feet of storm surge that sloshed in with it. And so on the day before Katrina, when Nancy Dupont picked up her parents from their coastal house in Gulfport, Miss., she never imagined it would be the last time she looked at her childhood home. "My feeling was we had actually seen the worst," said Dupont, who is an associate professor of communications and head of the broadcast journalism sequence. "They called Camille a hundred-year storm, which meant that it would be the worst that you would ever see. That was my feeling — that it would probably be battered, messed up, maybe flooded. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I was saying goodbye."Growing up on the sprawling ranch, 50 or 60 yards from the beach, Dupont's childhood and adolescence were played out on the beach and her small neighborhood, which stretched five blocks out from the water. "My life growing up was the beach. I went out in boats and I sailed, and I swam, and those are still my favorite things to do. ... My church was on the beach, all of my schools were on the beach." During her senior year of high school in 1969, Hurricane Camille struck and devastated the town. "At first after Camille, [people] were devastated and wondering what they could do with their lives ... It was quite tragic; there were a family of five killed just three doors down," Dupont recalls. "It was a very, very sad time. It definitely affected my senior year of high school — Camille was everywhere." Her parents, like most in the town, decided to stay and rebuild. Like many New Orleanians today, they "stripped their house down to the studs." And so, on a Sunday morning thirty-six years later, Dupont and her parents, like everyone affected by Katrina, had no idea of what the storm would do. Top: Nancy Dupont teaches one of her communications classes. Left: Trailers add to the rubble on top of Dupont's parents' home in Gulfport, Miss. STAFF PHOTO BY ALETHIA PICCIOLA PHOTO COURTESY OF NANCY DUPONT Meningitis scare subdued By Lindsay Netherly Staff writer Concern over the possible spread of meningitis within Loyola has diminished in the two weeks since Trent Fucich's death, due in part to students' access to vaccinations and antibacterial treatments. Student Health Services has given 150 meningitis vaccinations as of Monday. The vaccinations cost $95 and will continue to be available as long as there is a demand. The vaccine offered by Student Health Services is called Menactra and is effective for a longer period than the vaccine previously offered. One shot is expected to inoculate a patient for seven to ten years. It eliminates the bacterium that causes the disease, according to the Student Health Service Web site. Student Health Service will also continue to give out doses of the Cipro antibiotic if any students or staff requests them. The Cipro antibiotics will also remain free to students. Demand for the antibiotics has drastically decreased from when it became available two weeks ago. "The clinic has only given out a few since Monday," said Vicki McNeil, associate vice president of student affairs. Most people who felt they were at risk have probably already taken action and gotten the Cipro or the vaccination, she said. To meet with the initial demand, Student Health Service was open extra hours following the death of Fucich on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The clinic was open the following Saturday morning, as well as the Wednesday after Mardi Gras. Extra physicians were added to the clinic staff. McNeil said she is now monitoring the clinic to see if any extra hours need to be added. The university still has not been notified as to whether the meningitis contracted by Fucich was bacterial or viral. The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, continues to be in contact with the medical examiner and will receive that information as soon as it becomes available, said McNeil. There have been no other cases of meningitis reported, though two students complaining of meningitis-type symptoms were sent to the emergency room to be screened in the week following the initial meningitis occurrence. Both students tested negative by way of Loyola student running for City Council By Jared Bailey Staff writer Second-year Law student wants united levee board for Uptown district Sonia Gupta, a second year student in the School of Law, will be campaigning against seven others for one seat on the New Orleans City Council this April. The District A seat encompasses the Uptown Riverbend area, including Loyola and Tulane universities, and extends all the way to the Lakefront. Gupta, 25, said that her decision to campaign was solidified in part by the misdirection of the current New Orleans City Council, who she said have plagued the city for far too long. "Their lack of communication and overwhelming sense of nepotism is creating a stagnate city," Gupta said. "Now we have a chance to try something new," she added. "We can make New Orleans into this amazing place and finally set a higher standard." Gupta's primary concern is the condition of the New Orleans levees. Despite the complaints of current officials, Gupta feels that a united levee board is the first step to ensuring protection for New Orleans and its surrounding communities."This isn't just a local issue, STAFF PHOTO BY ALETHIA PICCIOLA Sonia Gupta, a second-year student at the School of Law, plans to challenge seven others for the District A City Council seat, which encompasses Uptown and part of Lakeview. See DUPONT, page 3 See SUBDUED, page 2 See QUPTA, page 3 A LOYOLA TRADITION SINCE 1 923 * "FOR A GREATER LOYOLA" MAROON DIRECTORY: CALENDAR, page 2 • OPINION, page 5 • LIFE & TIMES, page 6.• SPORTS, page 10 LIFE & TIMES After Loyola, the real world. Time for a job. page 6