Maroon Dec. 2, 2022 Issue

THE MAROON

For a greater LoyoLa

A Night of Lights

Basketball puts a ring on it

By Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

The Loyola men’s basketball players and coaches recently celebrated last sea son’s championship win once more, and they have the bling to show for it.

The team held a ceremony on Nov. 12 where they raised their banner to commemorate winning the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship last season, and received their championship rings.

Business management junior, Milan Mejia, was a guard on last season’s team.

“I feel like this is a great experience for us as a team and I’m truly blessed to be a part of it,” Mejia said.

The ceremony was a great way to culminate the team’s efforts to win the championship last season, said Assistant Coach Andrew Fava.

Last season was only the second time in Loyola’s history that this champion ship has been won. Fava said that having this ceremony and winning this champi onship is special.

“The amount of work we put in to get to that point, (the ceremony) was the culmination of everything we went

through last season,” Fava said.

Even after the ceremony, Majia said this doesn’t change his goals for upcom ing seasons.

“(We) just have to make sure we are all focused towards the same goal and doing the same thing again. It doesn’t matter who is on the court or on the team, just that everyone does the best they can, know their role, and compete,” he said.

COLUMN: Sodexo’s heart is in its employees

By Maleigh Crespo macrespo@my.loyno.edu @maleighcrespo

Many of us eat in the Orleans Room. Whether it’s a quick bite before class, a free meal with a friendor an all-you-caneat-buffet after a long day, the OR is the place to go if you live on campus.

We walk in eagerly to swipe our IDs and are greeted with a warm smile and dim lighting before going to the grill for our usual burger and fries. We load our parchment-lined, metal trays with the specialty fries of the day and head for the condiment station.

But have you ever looked up at the framed faces of Sodexo employees

New Orleans fishing industry suffers

beneath the gigantic “meet the team” signage while getting your condiment of choice? Have you ever wondered how one’s photo makes it into the goldtrimmed borders of recognition?

It’s simple: by being a part of the Loyola Dining management team.

Meanwhile, the faces we consistently see on campus are the ones who are say ing “Thank you, baby” as we swipe our IDs, handing us tightly-wrapped Subway sandwiches, or carefully crafting madeto-order pasta bowls for us. We see their smiles floating around the OR and the Danna Center food court, yet we don’t see their faces represented anywhere else.

Cross country season comes to an end

Residential halls again re lying on student workers

Mr. Bingle sleds at the entrance of the Celebration in the Oaks in Wednesday, Nov 30. Celebration in the Oaks takes place every year in City Park Botanical Gardens from Nov. 24 to January 1. For more on Celebration in the Oaks see Life & Times, page 6. Anna Hummel/The Maroon

A carousel spins behind two Christmas trees at the Celebration in the Oaks on Nov. 30. Anna Hummel/The Maroon

A group stands around a fire at the smores tent during the Celebration in the Oaks on Nov. 30. Anna Hummel/ The Maroon

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SGA said they achieved goals despite setbacks

By Macie Batson mmbatson@my.loyno.edu @maciembats

Loyola’s current Student Government Association administration ran on the promises of improving student quality of life, increasing accountability through out the school, and improving relations between student government and the student body.

Despite what they described as a busy and difficult semester, SGA Presi dent Stephanie Oblena and Vice Presi dent Viviana Alvarez said that they feel that they have accomplished their main goals, and more, at the halfway point of the school year.

“I feel really good about where we are at,” Oblena said. “If not all of our initia tives have been completed, there's been some kind of progress, which feels really good.”w

Budget cuts and making do

It's been a busy semester for SGA, Oblena said. Oblena currently serves on Loyola’s search committee for the university’s new president. She said that this responsibility has increased her re quired time commitment.

Oblena added that because this year’s incoming class was smaller than antici pated, SGA’s overall budget suffered. She said that they had to shift their financial plan and make some budget cuts as a result.

“This semester’s been very eventful,” Oblena said. “We hit the ground running with the late election and then it felt like there was one obstacle after another, with things like the budget and having to make certain decisions.”

Oblena said that despite all of these challenges, she is glad that her admin istration was able to make do with the money they were given. She said that the amount decreased by $15,000, or 9% less compared to last year.

The average funding for student gov ernment at Loyola is roughly $150,000 every semester, with the president, vice president, and cabinet members re ceiving a total of between $25,000 and $30,000 in compensation per semester.

The president and vice president are receiving around $2,000 less than last year’s administration, according to the budget.

“Me and my team were on the same page that if there were going to be some cuts, it had to start with our compensa tion because it wouldn’t be right for us to get the same amount of money,” Oblena said.

Three promises

In order to to achieve their promise of boosting student quality of life, Oblena

said she is proud to have implemented sexual assault respondent and interven tion trainings for the whole student gov ernment, as well as a diversity, equality and inclusion training sessions.

“We want to make sure we are invest ing back into these student leaders that are giving up a lot of their time,” Oblena said.

Oblena added that they are looking into getting SGA members certified to conduct these trainings to other student organizations.

Before Halloween, SGA had a tabling event to hand out nightcap scrunchies, which cover drinks, as well as to share resources on sexual assault awareness, Alvarez said.

“We have focused greatly on sexual assault awareness and prevention, both as an executive cabinet and through the legislative branch,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez added that they’ve also been working to make improvements in Iggy’s Cupboard, Sodexo and dining accom modations by adding more healthy and ready to eat options. She said they have met with Sodexo to discuss dietary re strictions.

Oblena said that going into her po sition, she took the initiative to create contracts for her staff in order to hold ev eryone accountable, as well as to include

expectations and regulations within each branch and committee.

Each cabinet member has been required to implement committee ex pectations in order to ensure that ev eryone is doing their part. Alvarez said that the cabinet has been documenting everything that SGA works on, such as committee meetings and community meetings, which she claims increases transparency and communication with in the student government.

“I can see what the chief of staff is working on with a click of a button,” Al varez said. “I can see what the director of finances is planning with the click of a button.”

Alvarez added that another way they practice accountability is by voicing the need for faculty diversity. They’ve had at least two SGA cabinet members present at each faculty hiring decision at Loyola this semester, she said.

“It is through voicing these concerns that we facilitate dialogue between stu dents and staff to find solutions,” Alvarez said. “So we make sure that those issues are brought to their attention and we brainstorm on how we can fix them.”

Concerning the last campaign prom ise of student body and student govern ment interactions, Oblena and Alvarez said that they will have meet and greets

with student organizations. One will be held on Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. and another ear ly next semester.

Alvarez also noted that their chief jus tice Jai Shy recently presented a series of programs to educate students on the sig nificance of voting and what was on this year's ballot during national midterm elections. She also pointed out Director of Finance Patrice Roberts' hosting fi nancial wellness events.

Looking forward

In January, Oblena said SGA plans to hold a town hall meeting in order to ad dress where they are with their adminis tration’s goals with the student body.

Oblena added that her main focus for next semester’s administrative plan is sustainability and accessibility on cam pus.

“Just even walking on the campus, you can see it’s not super accessible, so we are seeing what more we can do with the Office of Accessible Education on how we can advocate more for those students,” Oblena said.

Loyola’s student government has more than 29 vacancies according to SGA’s website, but Alvarez said she be lieves that by cultivating a positive and responsible community of collaborators,

retention rates will improve and help re duce burnout.

Alvarez said that the current admin istration frequently checks in with their staff to make sure that everyone feels good about the work they’re doing, which in turn, she said increases involve ment, engagement and retention.

“I want my entire cabinet and their committees to feel as though the work they’re doing is meaningful and not something that’s drawn out, boring, or has no purpose because that will lead to a quicker burnout,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez added that she and her staff want to capitalize on this momentum by continuing to connect with the Loyola community and keeping their eyes and ears open for any concerns that could require open collaboration with student government.

Ava Acharya and Patrick Hamilton contributed to this report

Res life moves back to nighttime student workers

By Jackie Galli jegalli@my.loyno.edu @jackie_galli

Loyola’s residential halls now have student workers manning the front desks overnight, again, as university po lice no longer provide night-time securi ty at front desks since early this semester. Prior to the pandemic, residential life had students working the front desks in residence halls, but the need for in creased security protocols during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led to funding for night-time security, accord

ing to Chris Rice, the director of residen tial life. Evening security guards were managed and supervised by the Loyola University Police Department, Rice said.

Funding has since changed, which led residential life to transition back to covering the customer service desk with student employees, he said. Rice added that residential life is currently gathering data to assess the impact of this change.

Training for the front desk assistant job consists of a two-hour onboarding training prior to the start of their first shift to cover things like how to handle various incidents, Rice said. Student

desk workers also can call the resident assistant on call, the professional staff on call, or Loyola police if they need any support while on duty, Rice said.

Rice said that even with the change, university police still conduct rounds of the residence halls and monitor the lob by cameras at night.

Wes Amandi, a sophomore hip hop and R&B studies major, sits behind the check-in desk in a residential hall. Amandi, along with other students, works as security for residential life. Piper Demman/ The Maroon.

The sign, which reads "Student Government Association," sits on the door leading to Loyola's SGA Hub. Loyola's current SGA administration recently finished their first semester in office. Ava Acharya/ The Maroon

New Orleans fishing industry suffers sourcing issues

By Sydney Piglia snpiglia@my.loyno.edu

Fishing runs through Merlin Schaef fer’s blood. He has been fishing in Lou isiana waters for decades, and before him, so did his father and his grand father. While primarily a fisherman in Lake Pontchartrain, Schaeffer is also the owner of Schaeffer’s Seafood. Located in Bucktown, a small community that thrives on the fishing industry, Schaef fer’s is a shop that sells anything from crabs to shrimp to catfish.

Because fishing is a touch-and-go job, fishermen often lack routine and certainty when they head out to work, he said.

“You gotta go with the flow, around the weather, the bite, the tide, it goes off a lot, the sails,” Schaeffer said. “Everything varies.”

This variance includes prices as well.

“Prices have been going up, but then they took a hard crash,” he said. “The sales up north are going down, because of the storm.”

This storm was Hurricane Ian, which struck the east coast in late September this year.

Deflating prices are especially detri mental to an industry still dealing with the effects of its own natural disaster. It’s been a year since Hurricane Ida struck a struggling fishing industry in New Orle ans. Schaeffer said that the industry was already lacking support from the state government prior to Hurricane Ida, and assistance in the wake of the hurricane was sparse.

“There are so many restrictions on what they assist with. It’s hard for people to get it,” Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer also struggled with getting the product, as crabs were driven away by the storm. This leaves local fishermen with little or nothing to sell, and no mon ey to be made. With rejected subsidies and almost no monetary support from

the government, “fishermen are at a loss” Schaeffer said.

Now, Merlin Schaeffer struggles with the opposite problem, an excess of crabs driven down the coast by the effects of Hurricane Ian. However, this is not longterm, he said.

Just like fishermen, customers can never know what to expect. According to Schaeffer, domestic seafood has been rising in price for years, and labor costs, fuel prices, and inflation have added to the costs of commercial fishing.

According to Schaeffer, customers have had to pay more, and now it's final ly starting to adjust.

“Everything went up with inflation. With every new delivery we get, you get a price hike,” Schaeffer said. “From sea food, fish, shrimp, to paper products, plastic products, everything’s going up.”

This fluctuation in seafood prices and availability as well as high gas pric es makes people buy from more con venient places that often don’t provide domestically-caught seafood, according to Schaeffer.

“They buy it from the grocery store,” Schaeffer said. “I see a lot of seafood from South America, where it's coming from out the Gulf, just down south.”

Cheaper labor in the Gulf along South America means big industries there can sell seafood in America slightly cheaper than domestic fishermen and pocket the difference. This also leads to confusion among customers who believe they are actually buying domestically caught sea food.

At Loyola, Charlie Casrill, the general manager of Loyola Dining, assures that the seafood served weekly is domestical ly sourced.

“The catfish, shrimp, and crawfish are sourced from Louisiana Seafood that is located in New Orleans, and buys local seafood for distribution,” Casrill said.

Louisiana Seafood ensures that local companies can bulk buy locally caught

seafood and connects fishermen with the type of sales they need, according to Casrill.

As for the seafood not bought through Louisiana Seafood, Sodexo said they

ensure the product served is ethically sourced and sustainable.

With growing efforts to shop locally and ethically, Schaeffer said a needed boost to the local fishing industry could

be coming. He said he looks forward to reaping the rewards that come from spending his days along rough waters, making sure that the Louisiana seafood industry doesn’t die.

New Orleans midterms fill Senate seat and push Commissioner into runoff

By Patrick Hamilton pthamilt@my.loyno.edu

New Orleans residents voted on ten elections, eight constitutional amend ments, and one parishwide home rule charter in this year’s midterm elections.

In the Senate, incumbent Republican John Kennedy won his first re-election campaign with 62% of the vote. Kenne dy faced off against a crowded field of twelve other candidates which included two high profile Democratic challengers, Gary Chambers and Luke Mixon.

In Congress, incumbent Republican Steve Scalise won Louisiana’s first Con gressional district, paving the way for his eighth consecutive term in office. Louisi ana’s first Congressional district only in cludes 12.5% of Orleans Parish residents.

Incumbent Democrat Troy Carter won his first full term in Louisiana’s second Congressional district which includes 87.5% of Orleans Parish. Carter won a special election last year to fill a vacan cy. Incumbents won all of Louisiana’s six Congressional districts this midterm cycle, sending five Republicans and one Democrat to the House of Representa tives.

In the State Senate, Democrat Royce Duplessis won against his Democratic challenger Mandie Landry to fill the va cant District Five seat after former State Senator Karen Carter-Peterson’s sudden resignation due to indictment last year. Duplessis won with 53% of the total vote and secured a large margin of victory in

Jefferson parish with 76% of the votes.

District One School Board Member, Democrat Leila Eames won the school board special election with 63% of the vote. Eames has served as the inter im-school board member from district one since 2021 after her predecessor resigned. Eames previously worked in New Orleans Public Schools for 33 years as a teacher and administrator and will oversee 13 schools in her position.

Three judicial seats were on the bal lot: two Municipal Court elections, and one 4th Circuit Court of Appeals elec tion.

In the Municipal and Traffic Court Di vision D, Judge Mark Shea won re-elec tion against attorney Derek Russ. Judge Shea has served as a Municipal and Traf fic Court judge since 2009. Shea won with 56% of the vote. In Municipal and Traffic Court Division E, Bobbie Smith, a longtime public defender, won his race against Geoffrey Gates, a longtime local prosecutor. Smith won with 54% of the vote and had received endorsements from local politicians like Councilman Joe Giarusso, District Attorney Jason Williams, and Representative Troy Car ter. The Municipal and Traffic Court manages traffic violation cases and oth er misdemeanor offenses like theft, bat tery, and drunk driving.

In the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Karen Herman won with 63% of the vote. Judge Herman currently serves on the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. Herman previously served as the

first executive director of Court Watch NOLA, a non-profit organization dedi cated to bringing greater transparency to criminal courts. Herman began her ca reer in the District Attorney’s office and worked as a prosecutor for five years. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals han dles all criminal court appeals across Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes.

In the Clerk of First City Court elec tion, Democrat Donna Glapion defeated incumbent Democrat Austin Badon with 60% of the vote. The clerk is in charge of filing civil lawsuits, maintaining records, and overseeing property evictions. Ba don served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2004 to 2016. Last year Badon launched an unsuccessful campaign for Orleans Parish Criminal Court Clerk, losing against Darren Lom bard. Glapion previously worked for Darren Lombard and also served as the clerk for the Second City Court.

The District 3 Public Service Com missioner election will head to a runoff Dec. 10, 2022 as incumbent Lambert Boissiere did not secure a majority of the vote which is required to win elected of fice in Louisiana. Boissiere, who won 49% of the vote, will face off against Da vante Lewis, who won 19% of the vote. Boissiere has held the position since 2005 and won unopposed last election. The Public Service Commission is re sponsible for keeping public utilities, like gas, electricity, water, heat, and telecom munications safe, reliable, and reason

ably priced. The commission is getting more attention as residents across the city have seen their utility bills skyrocket in price in recent months. The commis sion is also drawing attention from cli mate activists that have heavily invested in progressive candidates like Davante

Shrimp boats float in Bucktown Harbor in Metairie, Louisiana. The Louisiana fishing industry has recently experienced sourcing issues. Sydney Piglia/The Maroon

The Capitol is seen as Congress resumes following a long break and the Midterm elections, in Washington, early Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. The Midterms featured significant local elections, including a Senate race. The Associated Press

Lewis who have put climate change solutions at the center of their campaign platforms.

Smoked Louisiana Cochon de Lait from Commander's Palace on Washington Avenue. Celebrate the holidays at a New Orleans staple and enjoy some classic New Orleans faire. The tender, falls-off- the-bone pork, is accompanied with a pumpkin pureé, and fire roasted vegetables.

Seafood Gumbo from Casamen to's on Magazine Street. The classic New Orleans eatery has been selling their famed gumbo for 102 years. Made with tomatoes and okra, this classic recipe will leave you warm and cheery.

X-Mas Howl Foods to Eat Drinks to Sip

Vegan Eggnog from Kindred After a few rounds at Snake and Jake’s you can take a nice walk to Kindred on Maple St. for some quality nog with out the egg. Their vegan take on this festive drink sells for $10 for 12 ounc es. For those averse to the eggy flavor in eggnog like myself, this one tastes more like an alcoholic horchata.

The Kea Colada from Beachbum Berry's Latitude 29. Located at 321 N. Peters St, this intensely sweet drink is made with Jamaican rum swirled with coconut cream, lime, and pineapple. PS: They have Tikki Santa Mugs.

Shows to See

Prytania's Very, Merry, Christmas Party at the Prytania Theater Uptown. From Dec 10-24, the theater is screen ing Christmas classics, catch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman" and many more before Santa goes down your chimney.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Musical at the Saenger Theater showing from Dec. 13 to the 18. This Christmas classic is being showcased under the hot stage lights.

Culture

Sneaux The University Programming Board will be once again hosting Sneaux in the horseshoe on Dec. 6, from 6-8 pm.. in front of Marquette Hall. Stop by and have some hot co coa, do some crafts, take pictures with Santa, and play in the fake snow.

NOLA Christmas Fest, held from Dec. 21- 30. Enjoy the amusement park, attractions, Christmas themed food vendors, and the Yuletide Market with your significant other or your family, you'll be sure to have a good ol time.

M.U.S.E celebrates unity in movement

By Arianna D'Antonio asdanton@my.loyno.edu

M.U.S.E., directed by Loyola Theatre Arts and Dance faculty member Kai Knight, will make its debut Nov. 30 as an original movement piece inspired by in dividual and group conversations of six performing artists. The piece does so by applying its namesake process: Medi tate, Unpack, Synthesize, and Evolve.

The performance is an introspective look at how life events influence per spective, the ability to form community and the desire to evolve, as the show’s promotional materials state: “Life is our MUSE. How we move through it is based on our personal reactions, motivations or inspirations to situations and events. Join us on this movement journey to spiritual evolution.”

Students Christiana Rollins and Ka limay Stewart are in the midst of their

first semester as part of the Theatre and Dance Department’s dance ensemble, which is participating in the making of the show.

Rollins, a first-year musical theater major, feels that she has made life-long friends within the ensemble throughout the rehearsal process. “It’s a lot of fun working with so many dancers, differing in levels and backgrounds,” she said.

Stewart, a senior theater and inter national business major, hasn’t danced regularly for about three years, but said that having the opportunity to dance now is bliss.

“I love to connect with new people through dance,” she said. “It’s nice work ing with them and being able to discov er other people’s personalities through dance.”

Rollins also said that the process has allowed for creativity and fun, amidst all the hard work. “There’s never a time in

rehearsal where we aren’t laughing or cracking jokes." honestly, the show felt like a big group of sisters doing what they love together.”

As a team, Rollins said that they bring the fun, the fire, the laughter, the tears, the connection, and most importantly, the love.

“Above all else, there is so much love in this group,” she said. “The dancers and Mamma Kai both put our entire hearts into this entire piece. Every number is a piece of each of us that we want to share with the audience.”

Rollins described M.U.S.E as the “group’s evolution as people.” She said it shows how “our dances and physical movement help us navigate through life, while also depending on the people around us.”

The dance ensemble has been craft ing this production since late September, and they are looking forward to showing

the finished product for the premiere on Nov. 30.

Stewart said she hopes that the pro duction is a delight to the audience’s eyes but also warned viewers to expect the unexpected.

On the other hand, Rollins said that the audience can expect a little of every thing, but most importantly, they can ex pect a connection to every single dancer.

“We are going to be in your personal space, because we have invited you into ours,” she said.

Rollins added that audiences will genuinely enjoy the individual journeys that the dancers will take them on.

“Leaving here, I hope that we have created an hour of a simple breath for you to be at peace,” she said. “I hope you evolve just as we have, and we hope you fall in love with your evolution as we did ours.”

LIGHTS: Celebration in the Oaks kicks off holiday season

By Kloe Witt kgwitt@my.loyno.edu

It’s that jolly time of the year again and with it, the annual Celebration in the Oaks light display in City Park is up to spread the holiday cheer in New Or leans.

This event has been going for over 30 years, said Keith Claverie, the market ing and communications manager for City Park Conservancy, which hosts the event.

Claverie said that this year, the event is even bigger, with driving, walking, and biking tours all back in full force amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s changed over the years, but right now, this is the biggest footprint since Hurricane Katrina,” Claverie said.

The event is an important one for the park, bringing in 10% of City Park’s annu

al budget, Claverie said.

With elements such as an amuse ment park and train ride, the event is one that many people of all ages can enjoy.

Claverie has worked for the event for several years now, and still, one thing never fails to brighten his face each year, he said.

“For me, the highlight is getting to see children see it for the first time,” Claverie said.

The Celebration in the Oaks light dis play is a tradition in the New Orleans community that Loyola students can attend any of their four years.

The event will continue throughout the month of December, until Jan. 1. Tickets are available on the event’s web site.

Two children ride an amusement ride at Celebration of the Oaks on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Celebration in the Oaks takes place every year in City Park Botanical Gardens from Nov. 24 to Jan.1. Anna Hummel/The Maroon

Student dancers rehearse for the M.U.S.E. perfromance. The show premieres on Wednesday, Nov. 30. M.U.S.E. stands for Meditate, Unpack, Synthesize, and Evolve. Arianna D'Antonio/The Maroon

CEREMONY: Players put a ring on it

Second year freshman finance major, Blake Burkey, was one of the returning team members who received a ring at the ceremony. Burkey said that the cere mony meant a lot to him as a player.

“(The ceremony) was a celebration

of all the accomplishments that we had as a team. We had an incredible year last year and it was showing that,” Burkey said.

Burkey said he feels as though the ceremony meant a lot to not only the team, but the Loyola community.

“I really think it shows what we can re ally accomplish when we all work really

hard at something and come together as one,” he said.

Only returning players who were a part of last year's winning team received rings at the ceremony. Fava said that this ceremony not only means a lot to the players who received the rings, but for the new members as well.

“It shows them that we have the po

tential to do that. It’s one thing to see other schools winning championships but when you are on a team with people who have, it makes the goal a little more attainable,” Fava said.

This win will have a long lasting im pact, past those who received the rings, Fava said.

“It’s something the guys are going to

strive for. I know that everybody wants to win a championship so seeing the rings, and the prize for all that hard work, it’s inspiring to future teams, future coaches, and whoever comes through our basket ball program,” he added.

Cross country wraps up season

By Nadir Bensilmane nmbensli@my.loyno.edu

The 2022 season for the Wolf Pack cross country team has wrapped up with “mixed results,” according to Head Coach Geoff Masanet.

But despite battling sickness and los ing many of the men’s team top runners, Masanet said he was proud of the sea son’s outcomes regardless.

The women’s team placed fourth and the men’s team placed seventh in the Southern States Athletic Conference.

In the top 15, Madisyn Acosta placed seventh out of 68 runners in the confer ence. Acosta, a biology pre-health senior, said her personal goal was to make it to nationals and to beat her personal re cord in the 5K, and she did both.

“The championship this year did not

go how I wanted it to go, but I’ve learned that not every race is going to be your best race,” Acosta said. “I am still super happy that I was able to qualify for the second year in a row, considering how the beginning of the season went for me.”

Acosta said she learned a lot from this season.

In the men’s 8K race at the confer ence, Alex Medina placed 23rd out of 67 runners. Medina, a criminology and forensic science senior, said that his per sonal goal was to get back to where he was last season.

“Honestly I didn’t get to achieve that. I wasn’t able to get the summer training I wanted, but things look to be in line for a great track season,” he said.

This year’s conference went different for Medina than last year, he said.

"It was humbling but an experience I

needed,” he said.

Medina added that the union the mens’ team had this season despite their challenges was the most important part of the season.

“We faced adversity, had our resilien cy tested, and went through a myriad of trials and tribulations. In the end, we stuck together and learned a lot from the season. Our experiences from the fall will only sharpen us for the spring,” he said.

As the top runners prepare them selves for the next season, Masanet said he hopes to bolster both teams with new members, to guide the mens’ teams back to the top four positions in the next con ference, and to make sure that the wom ens’ team continue their climb towards a conference championship and top three finish.

Women's

The undefeated team ranked No. 10 in the in-season polls for the first time since 2015.

DEC. 8 AT 5:30 P.M.

Women's basketball at Southeastern Baptist University

DEC. 6 AT 7 P.M.

Women's basketball at Lamar University

DEC. 3 AT 12 P.M.

Men's and Women's basketball at Mobile University

DEC. 11 AT 2 P.M.

Men's basketball at Dillard University

The men's basketball team shows off their new rings under the team banner. They celebrated their championship season on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Kloe Witt/The Maroon

Senior Madisyn Acosta beat her 5K personal record this season. The team is wrapping up a difficult season, Head Coach Masanet said. Courtesy of Wolf Pack Athletics

basketball moves to top 10 national ranking

DINING: Sodexo's heart is in its employees

These are people who have dedicat ed themselves to serving us for over a decade. Where are their framed photo graphs? Are they not a part of the team?

I have been a Loyola-Sodexo employ ee since October of 2021; you’ve proba bly seen me behind the counter at The Market or making mediocre sandwiches at Subway. People often ask me if I like my job, and I do. I genuinely love my job. I love my coworkers, and I love getting to serve my peers.

But that’s not to say that it’s not hard.

I am a full-time student, and I work two other jobs to afford tuition and living ex penses.

Some days, I rush out of class with only half an hour to eat and change into my work clothes before frantically start ing my shift during the daily lunch rush. Other days, I’m unable to complete basic tasks, like laundry or grocery shopping, because I’m getting caught up on home work before work.

There are no days off for me. If I’m not in class or doing schoolwork, I’m still working. And the time I’m not working, I’m desperately trying to get enough sleep to be able to keep working.

But it feels as if there aren’t enough hours in the day. I’m tired all the time. I’m writing papers and doing assign ments and somehow, still remembering the Subway menu, like the back of my hand.

I’ve become accustomed to the strug gle. I’ve become content with never getting enough sleep, never seeing my friends, never being fully caught up on assignments, never being fully present in class or at work.

However, this is nothing compared to my coworkers who have been employed far longer and who have families to raise with the same wages as me.

Samantha Henry, a mother of three, who's been a Loyola-Sodexo employee for five years can barely make ends meet and has to work a secondary job on her days off to get by.

Rob Johnson, who has been work ing in the OR for a year now, must work overtime in order to pay for necessities.

“I also feel the need to work overtime because we are understaffed, and I want students to be able to eat and the opera tion to run smoothly,” he said.

These are just two people of Loyola-Sodexo who work tirelessly for our community, but that’s not the only commonality between the two of them. Both Henry and Johnson are Black, as are many of the employees who serve our campus.

Loyola-Sodexo is just one example of a company with an employee base that is majority Black with full-time employ ees making less than $25,000 per year.

Sodexo needs to do better. Loyola needs to do better. But beyond them, our country needs to do better.

Black people hold the highest share of those who are paid the minimum wage amongst people of color in the U.S., and the current federal minimum wage only perpetuates poverty amongst minorities.

These systemic issues of racism will take time to dismantle, but companies like Sodexo – who earned a worldwide revenue of approximately 21 billion eu ros in 2022 – needs to be held account able.

They need to be held accountable for

the 422,000 employees that show up ev ery day to work for a company and a sys tem that is working against them. They need to be held accountable for those who have dedicated their lives to this in dustry, for those who are trying to pay for college, for those who are just trying to take care of their families.

This is why we need a union. We need a union, so student work ers, like me, can focus on getting their education, not scrambling to scrape up enough money for tuition every month.

We need a union because behind ev ery billion dollar company that perpetu ates a racist, classist system, are people

like Henry and Johnson, and even more people who serve us whose names we don’t even know.

They deserve better. Their names should be known, and their work should be appreciated. They deserve a wall of fame. They deserve a livable wage. And both of these are the bare minimum.

Rob Johnson, a Loyola-Sodexo employee shares his experience working for the company at the Catholic Social Teach-In on Nov. 17. Maleigh Crespo/ The Maroon.

The toll of FAFSA on working class families

Dominique Tolliver Managing Editor for Digital at The Maroon

The cyclical, contaminating nature of money is what prohibits many people in the world from reaching their full poten tial.

While I initially wrote this piece to highlight the technical pitfalls of our gov ernment’s financial aid system, a recent series of tragic events in my personal life has yanked me from the details and into the bigger picture. Death makes money not an object, but a lens into quality of life itself.

Many students made their choice of college based on whoever gave the most money. I spent a year and a half of my life groveling and negotiating with colleges to give students like me more money so that my parents could end the cycle of debt. Having to choose a college with money as a large factor sucked the joy of college from me which has never been returned. I am constantly thinking about being perfect – doing perfect – so that the very money that allowed me to go to this university doesn’t get taken away. So that I don’t put my parents in a position where they have to make their dollar stretch even further. It is depleting, consuming and overall murderous to a young person’s spirit and drive.

While I am privileged that my family can afford to support ourselves, by no means does that mean we can cough up over $45,000 a year for me to receive a cracked door to possible connections. College itself may give you the knowl edge, but the world is built on who you know, not really what you know.

Working class families like mine make their money stretch. Our parents work multiple jobs so we can exist on the day to day without constantly won dering “what if.” If they have been given financial education, many working class families are one step away from living paycheck to paycheck.

But we are not seen as a group the

government and the Free Application for Student Aid wants to pour more money into. The way in which the gov ernment and FAFSA decides who needs aid is outdated, and doesn't take into account the current economic situation of the country. Many times I have heard students say that they are low income, but not low income enough for certain aid to be given.

That has always been my situation, and it has put a mix of emotions within my head. Not only do I feel fortunate for my family being able to provide for us, but I feel guilty for asking for more schol arships. That is because the government says my parents should be able to afford it, but where does that leave them? In a cloud of student loan debt that is ulti mately not theirs but their responsibility to bear until I am either married, older than 24, or supporting a child.

The decision to look at a family’s pre tax income, and from that number de termine whether they can afford a col lege education, is absurd. That money doesn't really exist. Part of it is waiting to be confiscated by the government.

I do not mean to say that I do not support the existence of Pell Grants and funding for lower income families. I wholeheartedly believe that funding should be in place and given. However, I believe who we see as low income and working class needs to be expanded.

The government has started to rec ognize that families across the world are struggling; as of July of 2023, FAFSA will switch from the Expected Family Con tribution to the Student Aid Index. This new index will account for extenuating circumstances that aren't shown on your taxes.

While this is only a first step, it hu manizes students to the government and the country. Not as just another number at just another university, but as a family who wants their child to advance their education and, hopefully, build a greater future for their loved ones.

Extra scholarships for students may be the difference between a par ent working three jobs or two, taking an extra shift or spending the holiday with family, coming home and taking a breath or constantly fixating on if they will put food on the table next week.

This is not about giving more aid to the 1%. This is giving families stuck in the middle a chance to give their kids more opportunities while not falling into more debt themselves.

This new accommodation should be expanded to every two-income house hold making under $125,000 a year. That is a large number, however, this means each individual makes approximately $62,000 a year. To put a face to this num ber, Louisiana teachers make on average about $50,217 a year.

In the end, this issue boils down to a simple question. Who really has the access to go to college? As universities

try to recoup money that they lost in the pandemic, student scholarships are disappearing from their accounts and grants are being cut. Students are grap pling with taking out more loans – which will set them back even more financially – or finding a non-traditional, alternative path outside of college.

My advice to universities: take a look at the state of the world and ask yourself how many people can really afford to attend your university? Give out more scholarships with income eligibility re quirements that aren't based on FAFSA, and maybe your university will become more diverse. If donors can find the

money to donate a chapel, they can find the money to get working class families more scholarships to make the college application process less stressful.

We are not cash cows. We are human beings just trying to do the best we can for the ones we love. Universities and the government can tap into their humanity and see that more people in the country are struggling more than they may think. We must see the investment in college not as numbers on a page, but as human beings trying to change their lives.

Stop voting for unqualified celebrities

Why do mainstream celebrities run for office? Usually, these campaigns are fueled by a narcissistic need to gain pow er, instead of a legitimate desire to pro mote genuine political change. To be fair, it's not entirely accurate to suggest that traditional politicians do not also run for these same reasons; however, at least traditional politicians gained notoriety from experience.

Celebrities gain popularity through their value as entertainers. But being en tertaining does not equate to any mean ingful political knowledge or experience.

Most Americans pay closer attention to their preferred form of entertainment than to their country’s politics, wheth er that entertainment is music, reality television, or any other form of media.

And, that makes sense. Politics can be depressing, especially when you are forced to deal with the conse quences of political change everyday. Enter tainment offers an outlet, and that is both important and necessary. The problem comes from the conflation of enter tainment and politics, wherein popular con ception the two become interchangeable. With the rise of social media, political news and informa tion can be consumed in a sphere intended for enter tainment. And this is not inherently bad, as it encour

ages people to become more politically involved and knowl edgeable. How ever, it also places people with ab solutely no po litical expe rience in a position to be as in fluential as those who have dedicated their lives

This entire opin ion is inspired by Mehmet Oz, also known as Dr. Oz, and his campaign for Sen ate earlier this year. Honestly, when I first saw that he was run ning, I thought it was

a joke. Because why on Earth would he run for Senate? This is someone who was previously proven to be selling fraudulent dietary supplements and has a history of promoting genuinely bizarre and misleading health advice. For in stance, telling his audience that various minerals and substances can cure can cer. Like most televi sion doctors, he effec tively takes advantage of both the people on his show and his wid er audience.

Even though he did lose his race for Senate, he shouldn’t have been able to run in the first place. Nothing in his back ground is related to politics, and his background as a doctor is questionable at best. But having any kind of audience now equates to a politi cal following. He ran for office as a grasp at greater power and relevancy and be cause he knew that his celebrity status already gave him a supporter base.

This is a huge part of why Donald Trump won his presidential campaign, despite never having held elected of fice. Similarly, Kanye West’s presidential campaign can also be viewed as a narcis sistic vie for attention.

This should not be why people run for office. In an ideal world, politicians would run out of a genuine desire to improve the world around them through legitimate and for mal policy. At the very least, politicians should understand politics.

Ava Acharya News Editor for The Maroon

Abigail Schmdit/The Maroon

Nadir Benslimane/The Maroon

“In an ideal world, politicians would run out of a genuine desire to improve the world around them through legitimate and formal policy.”

Maxim/The Maroon

Vote for politicians who care about the planet

Despite the fact that the climate chan ge issue is clearly a dire crisis important for everyone on the globe to address, po liticians refuse to step up to the plate. This year alone, several bills were introduced in Congress only to end up getting stuck in bureaucratic committee hell.

The one "climate" bill passed in August did not even include the requirement of emissions reduction. And climate change isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

It can already be felt in how wildly diffe rent the seasons feel. The summers are getting hotter, and the winters are getting shorter and more severe closer to the po les. But it goes much further than just affec ting the calendars. Animal populations are dying out at catastrophic rates, sea levels are rising, and weather patterns are chan ging dramatically.

For us who live in New Orleans, we are seeing some of the most dramatic examp les of these changes.

Because of a nationwide drought, the

once mighty Mississippi River is at its lo west point in decades. And with rising sea levels, salt water is pushing up the river, threatening several communities’ drinking water.

And with the average number of days reaching above 95 degrees projected to quintuple throughout the rest of the 21st century, the likelihood of these shifts ta king place will only grow as the years go by.

So, what can we as citizens do in order to fight back against climate change?

We can use our collective political voi ce to vote for politicians who will do their damn job and act as servants of the public.

Instead of pushing the blame onto the average citizen, maybe they should re cognize who is really at fault for the mess we’re in. Despite what many businessmen, CEOs, and world leaders will tell you, the main ones responsible for climate chan ge are corporations, as they produce over 70% of all global emissions. Banning plas tic straws may be a nice gesture and make

people feel good about themselves, but it does basically nothing to get at the root cause of the problem.

The free market is nice in theory, but when it means abusing the planet’s health as a source of easy money, then maybe reg ulations are necessary.

Unfortunately, again, politicians would rather try to gamify the system and maxi mize how long they stay in office. So, like an angry parent who wants their child to do their chores, we have to unplug them from the system.

In the next few election cycles, it is im portant that we make our voice heard. We have to vote out the many career politici ans who have enriched themselves and their families through donations and insi de information.

We must root out the few so that the many can move forward into the future and, hopefully, we can turn this world around and start healing.

HOWLS & GROWLS

HOWL to the end of the semester GROWL to finals

HOWL to Requiem, K. 626: Lacrimosa GROWL to school parking

HOWL to Star Wars GROWL to Star Wars HOWL to vegan egg nog GROWL to crabs

EDITORIAL BOARD

Gabriella Killett Editor-in-Chief

Jackie Galli Managing Editor for Print

Domonique Tolliver Managing Editor for Digital

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