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              The Maroon Vol. 87, NO. 9 A LOYOLA TRADITION SINCE 19 2 3 • ONLINE EDITION AT I OYOI.AMAHOON.t OM FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009 "FOR A GREATER LOYOLA HINI vaccinations start at Loyola By EDUARDO GONZALEZ Senior Staff Writer Loyola University has obtained vaccinations to prevent the HINI virus and will only be offering to students 24 or younger — for now. Marcia 'Cissy" Petty, vice president of Student Affairs and associate provost, announced in a campus wide e-mail that Loyola "received an initial shipment of 2,500 doses of the HINI flu vaccine and has been vaccinating students since Friday. Oct 30. Starting Wednesday. Nov. 4. Loyola will offer vaccinations to select employees and contract staff, ages 25- 64, who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control." The e-mail also said that the vaccine would be free to everyone who is involved with the university and that those who want the vaccine will be required to show a university identification card. Alicia Bouique. director of University Counseling and Health Services, is encouraging that students get vaccinated quickly. "Students should consider to get vaccinated as soon as possible." she said in an e-mail to the Maroon. "That way. they would have a better chance of remaining healthy during the upcoming travel season and too, during final exams." All the measures Loyola is taking come from the Center for Disease Control, including making recommendations so different organizations can take action and remain safe from this illness. Campus construction part of "Loyola 2012" By JOHN ADAMS Senior Staff Writer While the construction around campus may not look appealing to some. University President the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., said he believes it is necessary for school improvements. Currently the university is working outside of the Communications and Music Complex and Bobet Hall, which Wildes said is improvement on infrastructure, such as lighting, heat and power. Paul Fleming, assistant vice president for administration of Physical Plant, said all the work going on is part of the university's long-term plan to improve campus systems. "In order to meet the demand of future campus improvements as KEVIN ZANSLER/The Maroon The Peace Quad has been overtaken by large-scale construction in recent weeks, causing detours around Bobet Hall. KEVIN ZANSLER/The Maroon Large portions of the Peace Quad have become roadways for heavy construction equipment, killing off large areas of grass in this photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 4. Student's death leads to organ donor drive By ALLISON BAZNIK Staff Writer Nie Whitacre, a nursing student at Delgado Community College, was diagnosed with renal failure in 2(X)6 and had been on organ donor lists for six years. After Whitacre. 46, was admitted into a hospital for treatment, they immediately put him on dialysis. Unfortunately, they had trouble finding a permanent access point for the dialysis. Five permanent access attempts, 15 catheters and two years later, his kidneys were still failing, and he had been on dialysis for so long that his blixxl became useless in his own body. The doctors told him they had done evetything they could, but he was sent home to die. Doctors told him he would live only for a day or two. But while he was at home writing his will and getting his insurance policy together, Whitacre received a phone call that doctors had found a match Whitacre was matched with the kidneys and pancreas of Chris Gregory, a freshman at Loyola who suffered a brain aneurism. He was put on life support but died a tew days later on March 27, 2008. His death shcxDk the Loyola community, and many students have still been trying to cope with the loss. "It's been so hard on everybody, and everyone is dealing with it separately," said Matt Nolan, jazz studies junior. "I don't think many people have been able to move past it" Whitacre received the transplants on March 28, 2008, and founded the H-E- R-O Movement, which stands for "Help Everyone Receive Organs," on Dec. 22, Law students participate in United Nations town hall meeting By &HARMAINE JACKSON Staff Writer Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolink, at St Bernard Community Church in Mid-City. As part of a seven-city tour approved by the U.S. State Department, Rolnik traveled to New Orleans for a two-day visit to investigate the housing disparities in the metro area. Rolink met with city officials, conducted site visits and investigated issues such as the increased homeless population, public housing and the foreclosure crisis. Cynthia Coulange. a second-year law student who said she would like to work for the UN, said she did not think housing would still be an issue four years later. "We are one of the most powerful countries in the world," Coulange said. "If we have substandard housing, that's a huge problem." Deborah White, who lived in a St Bernard housing development before Katrina now lives in the Iberville housing Loyola law students aided the United Nations Oct 30 by serving as legal reporters for a New Orleans town hall meeting, and a United Nations representative will present this information to the UN next March as part of a report on the national housing crisis. A group of about 20 Loyola students, along with community members and members of housing advocate organizations such as Mayday New Orleans, Unity of Greater New Orleans and C3/Hands Off Iberville, listened to testimonies and suggestions from residents still suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina as well as advocates for affordable housing. Students listened while members of the community affected by the housing crisis shared their stories with the appointed UN development and gave a testimony of the conditions in her unit "I am living in a mold and mildew house that looks like fungus is growing on the ceiling," she said. White, who has been diagnosed with asthma, emphysema and a chronic lung disease called COPD, was told she had to pay $250 because her desire to move from one unit to another was classified as a "convenient move." "I'm looking for a 'necessary move.' It is necessary," White said. "What do 1 have to do, die before they move me?' Steven Kennedy, a student of urban and regional planning at the University of New Orleans who sat on the panel, said affordable housing should be a right. "Everyone should spend 30 percent of income on housing, but some are paying 80 percent," he said. According to Rolink, viewing adequate housing as a human right "gives a different vision on the housing crisis," and the crisis becomes a social issue rather than a financial and economic one. "1 expect in a humble way to contribute to this change," she said. Charmaine Jackson can be reached at cjackson@loyno.edu COURTESY OF HAROLD BAOUET Loyola Law Society students attend a town hall meeting at the St. Bernard Community Church in Gentilly Friday, Oct. 30. The students heard testimonies from people affected by Hurricane Katrina, the findings of which will be presented to the United Nations in March 2010. see VACCINE, page 4 see PLAN, page 7 see HERO, page 4 Loyola's "A Christmas  Carol," a tale from holiday future HH see Life fx rimes page 8 :ifi P' Corrections: In the Oct. 30 issue of The Maroon, we incorrectly spelled 6ail Tumulty's name and incorrectly identified her as the head of nursing. We also inadvertently placed a profile of Rotary Downs where a profile of Fatter Than Albert should have been placed. We at The Maroon regret these errors. MAROON DIRECTORY: CRIME WATCH, page 2 | SPORTS, page 5 | LIFE & TIMES, page 8 | EDITORIAL, page 10 | NEWS TIPS: 865 3535