Maroon

              THE MAROON VOL. 84, NO. 12  Hrnv/M A ROO N.I.OYNO.EDU FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2006 GONE WITH THE WIND By Lindsay Netherly Staff writer The announcement of the "Pathways Toward Our Second Century" strategic plan for restructuring last Monday brought a significant amount of opinions and concerns among Loyola students and faculty. The plan, if approved by the Board of Trustees on May 19, would cut or suspend 27 undergraduate and graduate programs and terminate 17 tenure and tenure-track faculty members, The need for restructuring has cofhe about largely as a result of the enrollment drop following Hurricane Katrina. "The university is facing a great instability in terms of enrollment." said the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president. The usual size for an incoming freshmen class is about 850. This fall's class is expected to have 550 students. This enrollment gap will leave the university with a $9 million deficit, which more or less continues for the four-year enrollment cycle. "We cannot afford the current framework of the institution," Wildes said. About 70 percent of the university's operating revenue comes from tuition and fees. Operating expenses in all other areas of the university have been reduced by 20 percent. Fiscal concerns may be the driving force behind the restructuring plan, but according to the introduction of the "Pathways" document, the intent to restructure predated Katrina. "Planning has been part of the future of life at Loyola," said Wildes at last Tuesday's town hall meeting. "We want to take a comprehensive look at our successes and where we want to be better." Many undergraduate and graduate programs previously available through the College of Arts and Sciences could be discontinued. At the undergraduate level, these would include the broadcast journalism, broadcast production, communication studies and film studies sequences available in the communications department. Programs that fall under the umbrella of computer science and education would be discontinued. The graduate level programs for communications, computer science and education would also end. The plan was based on consultation with the deans of each college and the Board of Trustees, according to Wildes. The restructuring plan has been devised with attention to the program review criteria that have been approved by the Standing Committee on Academic Planning. But many people still have concerns about the methods and data used to reach the conclusions of the strategic plan. "The so-called program review criteria should have been directly linked to the data, along with the corresponding reasons and rationale for decisions made," Stephen Scariano, professor of mathematics and computer science, wrote in an e-mail. "The decision to eliminate or suspend degree programs was made STAFF PHOTO BY JENNATETER Students protest the 'Pathways' proposal at a town hall meeting in Roussel Hall last Tuesday. The proposal would discontinue or suspend programs such as computer science, education and parts of communications. Affected freshmen, sophomores face uncertain future By Jordan Schneider Contributing writer For many students facing | possible program cuts next year, I finals week looms larger than usual — tests, papers and the college application process all over I again. The April 10 announcement i I of the strategic plan has induced confusion, stress, sadness and frus| tration among affected students. The announcement also came two I weeks before finals, and as applij cation deadlines continued to slip through their busy fingers, many students said that the administration acted too late. "I missed most of the application deadlines," said Christine Pleban, a communications sophomore in broadcast journalism. "1 : even contacted most of the schools I was interested in, but they are all at full enrollment and won't even consider the circumstances." According to Pleban, better ' timing of the cuts might have changed her decision to come back to New Orleans for school. "I'm asking myself, 'Why didn't I stay where I was?' If I had known about the cuts beforehand, I would have reconsidered coming back to Loyola," she said. Alex Hemard, computer sci- Recap of school year's top stories By Maroon staff Hurricane Katrina The hurricane hit New Orleans the day classes were scheduled to begin for the Fall 2005 semester — Monday, Aug. 29. Katrina scattered students, faculty and staff throughout the country. While the administration helped get the school back on track following the cancelation of the fall semester, Loyola students attended more than 400 colleges and universities. About 92 percent of students returned when the school reopened on Jan. 9. 'Pathways' While the "Pathways Toward Our Second Century" proposal is not yet confirmed, it has already made a mark on the university. Seventeen tenured and tenure-tracked professors would be affected by the plan as well as several students. The proposal calls for, among other things, the elimination of the education department, the computer science department and the broadcast journalism sequence in communications. The plan is scheduled to go before the Board of Trustees on May 19. «i| Meningitis scare Shortly before Mardi Gras, hundreds of students flooded the Student Health Center after psychology junior Trent Fucich died of meningitis in his Cabra Hall room. The university supplied students with a free dosage of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used as a preventative measure against the bacterial strain of meningitis. No other cases of meningitis have been reported. Carrollton After 15 months of renovations, the Carrollton Hall construction was completed in March. Carrollton first opened for students in 1999, but two years ago major structural problems with the building were discovered. Students who were living in the dorm during its renovation had regularly complained about the noise. Said the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president: "I'm just glad that it's over." SLU/Quarter semester Students faced many problems after returning to Loyola from other universities. Despite assurances by every other Jesuit institution that Loyola tuition would be honored, St. Louis University charged its transient students full SLU tuition. Other students who attended schools on the quarter system had their credit hours reduced when they were converted to Loyola's semester system. Student Health garners criticism from women By Lauren Laßorde Staff writer Caitlin Clifford sat in a room and candidly answered questions about her medical and sexual history — with the door open to a waiting room full of students. The drama/communications freshman visited the center for treatment for what she assumed was a yeast infection, something she has had before. Miles away from her home of Medina, Minn., she hoped to find medical help on campus while in New Orleans. According to Clifford, the visit went downhill after I mentioning the possible yeast infection to a physician. "He said 'oh God, oh God,' turned red and started talking a million miles a minute," she said. The physician then began to doodle frantically on a piece of computer paper and "write the words 'gonorrhea' and 'syphilis' and trace them over and over again." See CUTS, page 4 | See FUTURE, page 4 See HEALTH, page 3 A LOYOLA TRADITION SINCE 19 23 • "FOR A GREATER LOYOLA" LIFE & TIMES World Leader Pretend chats with The Maroon, page 12 MAROON DIRECTORY: CALENDAR, page 2 • EDITORIAL, page 8 • LIFE & TIMES, page 12 • SPORTS, page 18"