Maroon

              The Maroon A LOYOLA TRADITION SINCE 192 3 • "FOR A GREATER LOYOLA" ONLINE EDITION AT LOYOLAMAROON.COM FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 Vol. 87, NO. 10 Three senators resign from SGA By CHARMAINE JACKSON Staff Writer A total of three SGA senators have resigned in a matter of two weeks, which leaves a few seats available for interested students in the Loyola community. Student Government Association Senator-At-Large Kiva Keiser, marketing senior, resigned from her post due to a spring semester conflict in her class schedule. "I must take a class next semester and felt it would be irresponsible to continue in Senate knowing I couldn't devote the appropriate amount of time to student government," she said. To fill the seat, which represents the entire campus as a whole compared to a college-specific seat, the Senate nominated two SGA senators: history junior Garrett Fontenot of the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences and international business junior Jourdan McCullough of the College of Business. The senate voted by secret ballot, and the votes declared Fontenot as the new senator-atlarge, who immediately assumed the position. Courtney Mattison, mass communication freshman, resigned as representative of the College of Social Sciences due to medical reasons. "SGA was one of my most valued involvements on campus, and I was upset to resign but had to make health a priority and return home to see doctors," she said. Mattison withdrew from Loyola and said her return will be based on the condition of her health. Her proposed initiatives will not be considered this semester due to her absence. To fill the vacant seat, the senate interviewed three candidates: Carl Harrison, mass communication freshman. Shina Massiha, political science freshman and Joshua Muller, political science sophomore. After an executive session, Massiha was chosen and sworn in as senator of the College of Social Sciences by Chief Justice and finance junior Andrew Austermann. As a commuter student, part of Massiha's SGA hosts its first town hall meeting Campus safety, dining services were discussed By CHARMAINE JACKSON Staff Writer SGA'S first town hall meeting of the school year covered several topics ranging from dining services to parking services. About 20 students came to voice their issues with the university to a panel of faculty committee members. Student Affairs staff. Dining Services staff. Academic Affairs staff and Student Government Association representatives. Attendees had the opportunity at the beginning of the meeting to write down questions they wanted to pose to the panel on Nov. 17. Those who were unable to attend had also submitted questions through SGA's Facebook group and from the SGA table that is set up every Tuesday for constituency issues in front of the Danna Center. Roger White, vice provost and member of the HINI committee, began the hour-and-half meeting by encouraging that more students get vaccinated. "We have lots of vaccines, and not enough students are coming to get the vaccine," he said. He suggested that students get the vaccine before peak season and to consider the welfare of the university. To give students a option for health care after Loyola's student health hours, students were advised to call Tulane Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) for medical care. Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Robert Reed continued discussions by announcing that Loyola plans to begin a campus car rental program to open up garage parking spaces and push for a student discount for all New Orleans public transportation. Brittany McClain, psychology and pre-medicine senior, said there were too few shuttles running on campus, and Director of Public Safety Chief Patrick Bailey said another shuttle should be in service after the Thanksgiving holidays. ELLE MALONEY/The Maroon During a SGA Town Hall meeting in the Audubon room Tuesday, Nov. 17, students react to the panel's responses. Students raised questions about dining services, University Sports Complex policies and campus safety issues. Shootings garnering Loyola response Muslim community reacts to Fort Hood By KATIE URBASZEWSKI News Editor Mass communication sophomore Zaina Mansour's father asked her not to walk back from her night class alone the day after Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on his fellow soldiers in Port Hood. Texas. She said her father was worried about the responses people would have to the ties officials and news media were making between Hasan's Muslim religion and his act of violence, a connection that many in the Loyola community said was skewed and upset much of the Muslim population on campus. "I thought, 'Oh God, not again,"' Mansour said. "So many thoughts were going through my mind. Here we go again with the media blaming this on Islam and our beliefs. Why did he have to be Muslim?" Mansour, who grew up in New Orleans and lived in Palestine for a short time, said two separate Loyola students came up to her after the news broke and asked if she knew Hasan. "Really?" she had told them. "Are you seriously asking me that question?" Muslim Student Association President Amna Aziz, biology senior and member Omar Syed, psychology senior, said they didn't face any discrimination, but were offended by the connections TV news networks were making. "Why do you have to make Tulane's Bruff Commons now accepts Loyola's meal plan By JOHN ADAMS Senior Staff Writer After many people complained about the new rule allowing Tulane students to use their meal plan in the .Orleans Room, Loyola students will get to return the gesture. Caitlin Brewster, marketing and customer service manager for the Orleans Room, said that Loyola students will now be able to use their meal plan at Tulane's Bruff, their version of the Orleans Room. "It was a big complaint that students said it wasn't fair and it was easy enough to change to make it fair across the board," Brewster said. Loyola students could use their Wolfbucks at Tulane's Bruff but not meals from their meal plans. Brewster said all that need to be done was to order a new card reader and that one was a little over a week ago and that it should be installed no later than Dec. 1. Brewster said last year 6,000 to 8,000 people ate at Tulane per week with only about 50 Tulane students eating at Loyola. Now that Tulane students can use their meal plans at Loyola Brewster said that number as bumped up to 1,000. Loyola's large freshman class and the high number of Tulane students has caused overcrowding in the OR. This has also created tension between some Loyola and Tulane students. Though some people are indifferent. "We go over to their LBC so I don't mind them at the OR," said Francesca Sussman, marketing senior. Brewster said that one benefit of allowing students to use meal plans at Tulane's Bruff is that they are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. with no down time unlike the OR which is only open for lunch and dinner. Though Brewster said that Tulane's Bruff is overcrowded as well. "Since Bruff has continuous hours from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. most days, it should me a nice addition to Loyola's meal plan," said political science and environmental studies sophomore atTulane, Sarah Smith. "I hope the addition of Loyola students being able to use swipes at Bruff will KEVIN ZANSLER/The Maroon Loyola students can now use their meal plans in Tulane University's dining hall, Bruff Commons, pictured here. see SGA, page 4 see HOOD, page 4 see HALL, page 4 see BRUFF, page 4 B Loyola's Wolfpack battles Freret Street rival Itolane See Sports, page 5 MAROON DIRECTORY: CRIME WATCH, page 2 | SPORTS, page 5 | LIFE & TIMES, page 8 | EDITORIAL, page 10 | NEWS TIPS: 865 3535