Maroon

              THE MAROON A LOYOLA TRADITION SINCE 1 923 • FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009 zh m VOL. 86, NO. 12 ONLINE EDITION AT LOYOLAMAROON.COM "FOR A GREATER LOYOLA" Loyola unites for inauguration By JAUNt JACKSON GABRIcLLA LOPEZ THE MAROON Bookstore employees wipe away tears immediately following the swearing-in ceremony of President Obama. Emotions ran high in the St. Charles Room throughout the inaugural coverage. DAN HELFERS /THE MAROON As the presidential inauguration drew near, millions of Americans traveled to the nation's capitol to witness history. For Loyola students who could not attend the actual inauguration, the events going on in the Danna Center were the hottest tickets in town. The Office of Co-Curricular Programs hosted a series of events Jan. 20 commemorating the inauguration of Barack Obama. Brandi Ebanks, political science junior, said she was initially surprised at how much support Obama received on Loyola's campus. After the many racially-sensitive issues that have plagued the campus the past two academic years, she found it refreshing for Loyola to come together and embrace President Obama. "Loyola really did shock me because, unlike any other HBCU (Historically Black Universities and Colleges) we did not have. day off." Ebanks said. "But Loy» -p has been celebrating President t .jama since early this morning, and I appreciate that." Some students skipped their morning classes in order to view the historical event. Others watched the inauguration in class, and some professors cancelled classes. "I started watching the events on TV and realized I needed to be there," Tanya Hamilton, political science sophomore said. "So my friend and 1 got together and watched the inauguration."The One Loyola Room by the bookstore showed a video project called "Yes We Can: Students Speak About Obama" in the moming. It featured student opinions on the inauguration. There was not an enthusiastic Iggy stands patriotically before the Danna Center, wearing an Uncle Sam hat and flying red, white and blue inaugural balloons the morning of Inauguration Day. The Danna Center hosted events all day long. TOM MACOM/ THE MAROON j& "A man whose father less than 60 years ago might not j have been served at a local restaurant can now stand m before you to take a most sacred oath." President Barack Obama  Board will raise salaries, tuition costs next year Endowment value decreased $ 100 M By ANDREA CASTILLO SENIOR STAFF WRITER The Board of Trustees approved a 5.9 percent tuition increase, but also approved a 3 percent salary increase for Loyola employees for the 2009-2010 budget at a recent meeting. "The dollar value of our stocks, bond, etcetera have declined in value," said Jay Calamia, vice president for finance and administration.With less money to withdraw, the university must adjust their spending and increase our revenue to offset this reduced amount, Calamia said. Tuition for 2008-2009 was $27,168, and the increase ,- jeans students will pay $28,770 fo. 2009- 2010. Calamia said the percentage of financial aid to tuition will remain the same. In 2007, the unrestricted endowment, money the administration can use for any purpose, was valued at $260 million. In November of 2008 the unrestricted endowment was valued at $ 160 million, a $100 million drop, Calamia said. The employee salary increase is not related to the decline in the market value of the endowment. "The university must remain competitive in retaining and recruiting employees," Calamia said. After Katrina, there were no salary increases for Loyola employees, while other colleges and universitiesStudents build online network to locally buy and sell used books By JORDAN DESHOTELS CONTRIBUTING WRITER The Loyola bookstore pledges on their Web site to distribute the most competitively-priced books to students. However, there's some new competition that might be hard to top. A new alternative to the Loyola bookstore is a recently created student-run Web site called Loomagoo. The idea was born during the Hurricane Gustav evacuation when Loyola students Andy Beal, marketing senior, Don Shaw, history junior, and Chris Zimny, finance senior, were thinking of a way to cut costs while driving to Austin, Texas. The three students did not budget for an evacuation, and their book money was spent elsewhere. Loomagoo is a peer-to-peer market where ads for used books, notes, study guides and other classroom material can be posted for sale or trade. Beal, Shaw and Zimny created Loomagoo "to build upon a student social network by creating a new online community," Beal said. The site went live around Thanksgiving and was perfected for the spring semester with over 150 current users, Beal said. A recent iPod giveaway has attracted more students to the site resulting in an increase in postings. "Professors support the posting of books and notes as a better way for Loyola students to share information and connect with each other," Shaw said. A random search of three textbooks reveals a savings of $129.25 compared with the bookstore used price. Loomagoo has grown large enough to sponsor a "Throwback Night" at Republic Jan. 23 as well as a city-wide book drive Feb. I to benefit local public schools. As Loomagoo lays their foundation at Loyola, more schools will be added to the site for more collaboration, Beal said. Jordan Deshotels can be reached at mjdeshot@loyno.edu. DAN HELFERS/THE MAROON L to R: Simon Weil, Chris Zimny, Andrew Beal and Don Shaw. Loomagoo is an online marketplace for textbooks. see OBAMA, page 8 see ENDOWMENT, page 5 |£/ MAROON M AND Sports ? r.n ir, P"*5 MAROON DIRECTORY: CALENDAR, page 2 | EDITORIAL, page 6 | LIFE & TIMES, page 8 | SPORTS, page 12 | NEWS TIPS: 865 3535