Maroon

              A LOYOLA TRADITION SINCE 192 3 • "FOR A GREATER LOYOLA" THE MAROON VOL. 85, NO. 1 WWW.LOYOLAMAROON.COM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2006 Enrollment down, not out By COLEEN O'LEAR NEWS EDITOR Each year Loyola welcomes about 850 freshmen, 100 transfer students and 50 readmits, but with applications down by 25 percent after Hurricane Katrina, those numbers are no longer the standard. Though enrollment is not what it was before the storm — total enrollment is down by between 15 and 17 percent — that doesn't mean Loyola is doing worse than anticipated. In fact, with 730 new students currently (the official head count won't be done until Sept. 15) on campus — 555 freshmen, 125 transfers and 50 readmits — the university is over its projection by about 40 students. Loyola admitted as many students as possible without lowering its standards, Deborah Stieffel, dean of admissions and enrollment management, said. "We're really pleased with the incoming class," she said. Despite the effects of Katrina, Loyola seemed to maintain its traditional appeals in the eyes of most potential freshmen. "When I took a campus tour of Loyola, my tour guide had this remarkable passion for Loyola," said Chelsea Mansulich, political science freshman. "1 saw everything Loyola had to offer, and (the tourguide) could answer all of my questions and then some." Of the transfer students, Stieffel said, a number of them previously attended schools that Loyola students attended during their displacements last fall. "I think it's a real tribute to the institution," she said. Transfer students came from all over the country and Central America, with 29 students transferringtransferring to Loyola from universities in Louisiana, Stieffel said. Students transferred from Jesuit institutions — such as Saint Louis University and Taking a moment to reflect Freshmen acceptance rates Loyola, New Orleans remember the day that changed the Gulf Coast forever By JENNA HARRIS ONLINE EDITOR In commemoration of the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Loyola hosted a special mass and reception Tuesday. Reflection boards were also posted in the quad for students, faculty and staff to share memories and experiences from storm. The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, presided over mass in the Ignatius Chapel. He said prayers and called for a moment of silence for victims of Hurricane Katrina and those in the New Orleans area. "As a city and a university," he said, "we have a chance to do something great." The mass focused on the opportunities to rebuild after the storm. Wildes compared the resilience of rebuilding the city to the Israelites' exile from Babylon. He also encouraged those in the city to stay positive by living "in hope for the future," while focusing on the present. Wildes said he hoped for a smarter, more fair and more just New Orleans. VICTORIA LODI / THE MAROON Students were given the opportunity to post cards on remembrance boards outside the Danna Center Tuesday. TRADING SPACES VICTORIA LODI / THE MAROON Due to high demand for on-campus housing, Molly Clifford, chemistry sophomore, originally set to live in Cabra Hall, was relocated to Buddig Hall, a switch that ended up being a success. On-campus housing demand forces shuffle By LAUREN LaBORDE CHIEF COPY EDITOR For a year, life has been full of uncertainties for most Loyola students. The issue in some way always seems to come back to housing. First it was, where will 1 go after Katrina? Now, the issue has become where will Residential Life put me? On July 30, upperclassmen — who had originally been assigned to live on the fourth and fifth floors of Cabra Hall — received an e-mail from Res Life explaining that they would be relocated to the Main Campus come fall. The e-mail cited "a recent increase in the demand for on-campus housing" as the reason for the switch. It also said that female students would be relocated to the third and fourth floors of Buddig Hall, while male Loyola reaching stability' By DANIEL MONTEVERDE EDITOR IN CHIEF With the initial uncertainty of operating in post-Katrina New Orleans now in the past, Loyola is beginning to reach a point of stability. That's the message from the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, to Loyola in an electronic document e-mailed to students, faculty and staff. "I believe the university has great challenges ahead, which also present great opportunities that can strengthen the university," Wildes wrote in the document. Wildes, however, stopped short of saying the university is ready to rebound or sink. He noted that this semester's freshman class of about 550 students, as of Aug. 23, mixed with another 156 or so transfer and readmitted students will help the university. Loyola is heavily tuition dependent and Wildes said that even with a class of 706 "new" students, university officials are looking at a deficit of about $1 million. The main loss, Wildes said, came from the number of out of state students. This year, Wildes told The Maroon, there is almost an even split of Louisiana students and out of state students. The national perception of the city may have something to do with the drop in out of state applications, Wildes said. But he feels that everything has been done to counteract that image in Loyola's favor. "I believe that we have controlled as many variables as we can so that we can have more control over our future and decide what ought to be our 'ideal' size," Wildes wrote. see ENROLLMENT, page 3 see CABRA, page 2 see VISION, page 3 see KATRINA, page 4 LIFE & TIMES mi Dunbar's rebounds after Hurricane 1 Katrina with new Broadway Campus ; J location. paQG 6 http7/maroon loyno.edu MAROON DIRECTORY: CALENDAR, page 2 | LIFE & TIMES, page 5 | SPORTS, page 8 | EDITORIAL, page 10 | NEWS TIPS: 865 3535