The Maroon March 3, 2023 Issue

Mardi Gras is over, it’s time to clean up

Recycle center works to reduce Carnival waste

By Sophia Maxim svmaxim@my. loyno.edu

Now that Mardi Gras celebrations have concluded, efforts across the city have continued to combat and reduce the waste produced by the parades. As floats rolled down the streets, countless arms flailed in the air, competing for the anticipated prize – a gleaming strand of metallic pearls. The moment these beads were caught or hit the ground, they lost their fleeting value.

Following the parades, the fate of the thousands of beads thrown during Mardi Gras has become an environmental concern. While some may be cherished and kept as mementos, many throws are discarded and left to clog up city drainage or contribute to the city’s landfills.

Last year, Mardi Gras celebrations sent 1,150 tons of waste to the landfill, according to the City of New Orleans. This waste can clog the city’s storm drainage system, leading to flooding issues. In 2018, krewes pulled 46 tons of beads from the catch basins near the main parade route, according to New Orleans city officials, as reported by The Times-Picayune.

Robert Thomas, Ph.D., Loyola’s environmental communication director, has observed the evolution of a “litter culture” that normalizes leaving large amounts of trash and throws behind.

“We always measure the success of Mardi Gras by the amount of garbage that’s picked up,” he said.

In response to environmental concerns, the city formed a recycling initiative called Recycle

Dat in partnership with organizations like Arc of Greater New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Recycle Center. ArcGNO employs and supports people with intellectual disabilities while reducing Mardi Gras waste, according to their website. Many of the beads left behind are picked up and taken to recycling centers like ArcGNO to be sorted, repackaged, and sold back to krewes the following year.

ArcGNO works with grocery stores, hotels, schools, and various local organizations to supply recycling bins across the city. This year, Loyola’s Student Government Association has partnered with ArcGNO to provide recycling bins in every residence hall.

“Loyola can contribute to cleaning up the city by recycling the large amount of beads students bring back to campus,” said Rowan Sawyer, an SGA senator-at-large and co-chair of the sustainability committee. “We must play our part in the mission to reduce the harmful residue that Mardi Gras leaves behind.”

THE MAROON MARCH 3, 2023

Loyola Chorale gets “once in a life time” opportunity to perform with Italian tenor

By Macie Batson mmbatson@my.loyno.edu

“Nothing could really prepare me for being that close to one of the greatest tenors of all time,” said Loyola senior Ava Lipford. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Lipford, like many others in the Loyola Chorale, performed in a 60-person ensemble alongside famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli early last month.

The opportunity resulted from the Director of Choral Activities, Margaret Frazier, and her connection with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Frazier said that she and her local choir, NOVA Chorale, have been playing with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for years and that when Bocelli’s management contacted the LPO for recommendations, they suggested her. As the choral contractor, Frazier felt confident about hiring the students as part of the choir.

“I have been so impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of my students,” Frazier said. “I love to hire them for gigs because I can count on them to be prepared and reliable—and it’s so much fun making music together with them.”

It’s always good when students can see the jobs they may be hired to do, Frazier said, from her part as the contractor to the students as the backup choir to the crew and other performers in the show.

Lipford said that, aside from performing, the most memorable part of the process was telling their family about it.

“My grandma and my great aunt both love Bocelli. And so being able to call them and be like, you know, I’m going to be performing in his accompanying choir was very awesome,” they said. Lipford also said that their mother was able to secure a ticket and fly in at the last minute to see it happen, so having her there was a real treat for them.

See BOCELLI, page 9

Sophia Maxim/The Maroon

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Nearpeer app lacks popularity

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

@AriDAntonio

The Nearpeer app launched at Loyola with a primary focus on remote student engagement, but many students like Emma Lucas, a first-year graphic design major, did not find the app suitable for facilitating social engagement.

Lucas joined the app while taking the college and community course and said that Nearpeer felt like a dating app but for friends.

“We live in a digital age, but you can’t replace human interaction,” Lucas said. “Not that the app is replacing it, but I’d rather just meet people in person.”

The idea behind Nearpeer was to have a Loyola-only platform that is different from platforms like Instagram or TikTok that can be anxiety-inducing and “like-based,” according to Liz Rainey, assistant provost of the Student Success Center.

Sebastian Walser, another first-year student who downloaded Nearpeer as part of the college and community course, expressed similar concerns.

“I get that it’s a way to make acquaintances, but talking to people in person worked out better for me,” he said.

Rainey ushered in Nearpeer at Loyola by partnering with the College Innovation Network.

“The point of the app was to make a friend, and then you can do your thing,” Rainey said. “I don’t imagine people would stay on the platform forever.”

Rainey described the app as a more low-key way to meet people, having noticed that students’ communication skills are different as a result of the pandemic.

“Imagine going up to someone in your class and being like, ‘Hey, do you wanna study together?’ For some students, that’s really hard,” she said.

Tia Teamer, the newly appointed assistant director of student life, said she hopes for more students to get involved with the Nearpeer app as a means of social engagement in a COVID world. All students have to do is go to nearpeer.net to create their profile using their Loyola email address, then download the app on their phone and log in.

“From my understanding, there was a lack of communication or socialization with our students,” she said. “Nearpeer was supposed to be used as a platform for our students to engage with others in another way besides going to in-person events and things of that nature.”

Marquette Faculty Fellowships are now available for application

Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Tanuja Singh, announced that Marquette Faculty Fellowships are available for full-time professors who are working on scholarly or other creative projects over the summer.

The fellowship is designed to help professors who are interested in doing research during their summer break by awarding recipients a $5,000 stipend. Faculty are expected to then present their research during the 2023 fall semester.

The Marquette Fellowship application is only open to full-time faculty and closes on March 31 at 5 p.m. Recipients will be chosen by the university president and provost upon the recommendation of the University Committee on Internal Grants, according to Singh.

For more information, you can contact Vice-Provost Erin Dupuis at edupuis@loyno.edu.

Teamer said that Nearpeer has been useful for krewe leaders at Loyola to engage with incoming first-years during orientation, but she hopes to extend the popularity of the app to transfers and commuter students.

“It is still in the works [as to] what features of the app we can use to promote to transfer and commuter students,” Team-

er said. “Ultimately, they might not be on campus for anything besides classes, so they might not go to the different events and meet new people.”

Teamer hopes for the Nearpeer app to be a social media tool and main channel for engaging students, as HowlConnect and Corq have aided students with their events, fundraising, and club activity.

However, she expressed her concern for oversaturation of social media, hoping the app would not just become “another random media thing on your phone.”

Further data on how Nearpeer has been performing at Loyola will be available after the Student Success Center meets with the College Innovation Network.

The Women’s Resource Center in partnership with the Women’s Leadership Academy are hosting its inaugural International Women's Day event on March 8.

The event will celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world and serve as a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

The event will feature a number of distinguished guests, including former Loyola Chief of Staff and current City Council member, Lesli Harris, Dean of the Loyola’s College of Law, Madeleine Landrieu, and former Afghan prosecutor, visiting professor at Loyola University and women’s rights and human rights advocate, Negina Khalili.

Khalili will discuss her advocacy work, speaking for the rights of Afghan girls and women, as well as her work as a prosecutor of gender crimes under the previous Afghan government, and her daring escape to the United States after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan government.

Loyola plans 15th Peace Conference

By Ava Acharya aaachary@my.loyno.edu @avaallene

Loyola students and faculty are in the process of planning the university’s 15th annual Peace Conference, in which students will discuss and debate topics in order to expand their own understanding of global inequality, justice, and conflict.

This year’s theme is titled, “complexities of humanity, everyday life in an interconnected world,” according to Margot Bullock, a Loyola Latin American

studies senior who is involved in organizing this year’s conference.

“We want to highlight the fact that there’s so many different pockets of struggles that are happening right now,” she said.

Bullock added that these different areas where people experience struggles are often connected, regardless of cultural or national borders.

The Peace Conference was first organized at Loyola in 2008 by Behrooz Moazami, the founder and director of the university’s Middle East Peace Studies program. Moazami is a distinguished

professor at Loyola, journalist, political activist, and author.

Moazami said he started the conference a year after he began teaching at Loyola as a forum for young people to talk about the current problems of life.

2023 will be Moazomi’s last year teaching at Loyola, but he said he is optimistic the program will continue to grow and hopes to continue to be involved in Loyola’s Peace Conference after he leaves.

The conference will take place from March 27 through March 31. Students have the option to submit papers, proj-

ects, and designs.

Student submissions are divided into different groups based on their general topics and each group presents their work before a panel of critics, including one student and one professor, for review.

Of all the presentations, a panel of judges will choose three winners, Bullock said.

Bullock said the conference will feature several guest speakers, including Noam Chomsky, a well-known political activist and linguistic theorist. Other guest speakers will discuss topics such

as the development of women’s rights and education.

The Peace Conference is an opportunity for students to engage with contemporary issues through meaningful and informed feedback, according to Karina Ceinos, a Loyola history senior also involved in planning this year’s event.

“We bring good people in,” Ceinos said. “People who are qualified to give meaningful and helpful feedback.”

Student opens the Nearpeer app on their phone. The app is being promoted by the university to help students engage with each other. Photo illustration by Nelson Capote.

RECYCLE : Non-profit makes impact through recycling

Continued from page 1

Once the beads and throws are collected, they’re brought back to ArcGNO’s warehouse to be processed for reselling at their Recycle Center Bead Store.

“In the bead store, once they're refurbished, recycled, and cleaned up, then they’re sorted by color or krewes and put in sections. Each krewe has their own section,” said LaTonya Quillens, the assistant director of community integration at ArcGNO. “Beads, toys, stuffed animals – anything you would want, it’s there.”

Many krewes have begun to utilize recycling services to purchase and reuse their custom beads due to cost-savings.

“I think most krewes are cognizant of the fact that they need to be recycling, especially if it saves money for them,” Thomas said. “That’s the success of sustainability across the board. If you can make money with it, it’s going to just take off like crazy.”

Alternative bead businesses have

formed to offer more sustainable replacements for plastic beads with biodegradable materials. While bead alternatives are increasing in popularity, their higher production cost makes them less competitive with standard beads.

In order to be successful, Thomas emphasizes that sustainability efforts must consider the important role of Mardi Gras in the city’s economy and culture. While krewe leaders make the major decisions in terms of sustainability, krewe members can choose to purchase and advocate for more sustainable throws and practices.

“There’s a huge recycling system in place, but it’s not perfect, and there’s no coordination, so it’s really up to the krewes if they want to step up and do that sort of thing or not,” Thomas said. “We still need to figure out how to transition and still have the fun and the beauty.”

Supreme Court student loan hearing: what you need to know

By Cora Lewis/Associated Press

The fate of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan is up in the air after Supreme Court justices questioned whether his administration has the authority to broadly cancel federal student loans.

At stake is debt forgiveness for up to 43 million Americans. Nearly half could have their federal student debt wiped out entirely. But in hearing two cases challenging the plan, the Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court seemed likely to block it.

Already, about 26 million people have applied for debt forgiveness, and 16 million applications have been approved. However, because of court rulings, all the relief is on hold. The Education Department stopped taking applications in November because of legal challenges to the plan.

The Supreme Court will have the ultimate say on whether Biden can wipe out student loan debt, fulfilling a campaign pledge he made in 2020. Here’s what to know if you’re waiting for debt relief:

When will the Supreme Court decide

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday, but there won’t be a decision for months. The court usually issues all of its decisions by the end of June.

Who qualifies for Biden's student loan forgiveness?

The plan Biden announced last August would cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those earning less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, who typically come from lower-income households, would receive an additional $10,000 in debt forgiveness, for a total of $20,000.

Federal student loans for both undergraduate and graduate school, including Graduate PLUS loans, can qualify for forgiveness under the plan.

Borrowers would qualify if their federal student loans were disbursed before July 1.

Under the plan, if you paid off your loans during the pandemic, you can request a refund and then apply for forgiveness.

How do I know if my studen loans will be forgiven?

The relief under Biden’s plan is on hold until the court cases finish — even for people who applied for student loan forgiveness before courts blocked it.

If the justices allow the plan to proceed, Biden’s debt forgiveness is for borrowers holding federal student loans, not private loans.

To determine what kind of loans you hold, log in to the Federal Student Aid website, studentaid.gov. Direct loans, including Parent PLUS loans, qualify.

Some older Federal Family Educational Loan and Perkins loans are also eligi-

ble, if owned by the Department of Education. For people holding older FFEL loans, consolidating those loans can lead to credit for forgiveness under certain income-driven repayment plans.

If you’ve already applied and been approved, you should have received an email telling you this. But you’ll still have to wait for the Supreme Court ruling to find out whether those loans will be wiped out for good.

How is the Supreme Court expected to rule on student loans?

The Supreme Court is dominated 6-3 by conservatives, and those justices’ questions in oral arguments Tuesday showed skepticism about the legality of Biden’s student loans plan. The court seemed likely to rule in a way that would doom the student loan forgiveness plan.

Several conservative justices suggested the administration had exceeded its authority with the program. Chief Justice John Roberts mentioned the program’s cost — an estimated $400 billion over 30 years — and its wide impact on millions of Americans. Most observers, he said, would think “that’s something for Congress to act on.”

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out Congress had declined to pass student loan relief, so Biden did it himself. That, he said, “seems problematic.”

The only hope for Biden’s plan appeared to be a legal technicality. The oral arguments left a slim possibility that the court finds the states and people challenging Biden’s plan lacked the legal right to sue. We won’t know for sure how the court is going to rule until the decision is announced.

Who would pay for Biden's student loan forgiveness?

Ultimately, the cost would become part of the equation used to figure the federal deficit. Biden’s plan for student debt cancellation would cost the federal government about $400 billion over the next 30 years, according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. The office cautioned that its estimates are “highly uncertain” because it’s hard to know exactly how much borrowers would have paid in the future without Biden’s action.

Biden has said those costs would be offset by other measures to reduce the federal deficit. He has pointed to a bill signed into law in August that’s estimated to raise around $740 billion over a decade, from a combination of govern-

ment savings from lower drug prices, higher taxes on large corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger IRS tax collections.

Will the pause on student loan payments continue?

During the pandemic, two presidential administrations paused payments for those holding federal student loans. The pause has been extended to as late as this summer.

Payments are set to resume, along with the accrual of interest, 60 days after the court cases are resolved. For example, if legal issues remain at the end of June, payments would restart at the end of August. If the court issues a ruling in March, repayment could restart as early as May or June.

If the cases haven’t been resolved by June 30, payments will start 60 days after that.

Is it possible Biden's student loan forgivness won't happen at all?

Yes. Biden’s student loan forgiveness might not happen, period. Other loan forgiveness programs, such as those for teachers or nonprofit workers, or for people who have been defrauded by a for-profit college, would continue.

The administration has not given insight into a Plan B if it loses the Supreme Court cases.

“We’re focused on ‘Plan A’ because we’re confident in our legal authority to carry out this program,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.

Still, advocates point to other ways the debt might be forgiven, including through the Higher Education Act.

How should I prepare for student loan payments to restart?

Betsy Mayotte, President of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, encourages people not to make any payments until the pause has ended. Instead, she says, put your payment amount into a savings account.

“Then you’ve maintained the habit of making the payment, but earning a little bit of interest as well. There’s no reason to send that money to the student loans until the last minute of the 0% interest rate.”

Mayotte recommends borrowers use the loan-simulator tool at StudentAid. gov or the one on The Institute of Student Loan Adivisors website to find the payment plan that best fits their needs. The calculators tell you what your monthly

payment would be under each available plan, as well as your long-term costs.

“I really want to emphasize the longterm,” Mayotte said.

Sometimes, when borrowers are in a financial bind, they’ll choose the option with the lowest monthly payment, which can cost more over the life of the loan, Mayotte said. Rather than “setting it and forgetting it,” she encourages borrowers to reevaluate when their financial situation improves.

Can I set up a payment plan for my student loans?

Yes, but some advocates encourage borrowers to wait for now, since there’s no financial penalty during the pause on payments and interest accrual.

That said, Katherine Welbeck of the Student Borrower Protection Center recommends logging on to your account and making sure you know the name of your servicer, your due date and whether you’re enrolled in the best income-driven repayment plan.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to resume payments, it’s important to know how to navigate the possibility of default and delinquency on a student loan. Both can hurt your credit rating, which would make you ineligible for additional aid.

If you’re in a short-term financial bind, you may qualify for a deferment or a forbearance — allowing you to temporarily suspend payment.

How can I reduce costs when paying off my student loans?

If you sign up for automatic payments, the servicer takes a quarter of a percent off your interest rate, Mayotte says.

Income-driven repayment plans aren’t right for everyone. That said, if you know you will eventually qualify for forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, it makes sense to make the lowest monthly payments possible, as the remainder of your debt will be cancelled once that decade of payments is complete.

Reevaluate your monthly student loan repayment during tax season, when you already have all your financial information in front of you. “Can you afford to increase it? Or do you need to decrease it?” Mayotte said.

Break up payments into whatever ways work best for you. You could consider two installments per month, instead of one large monthly sum.

Local disposes of beads in front of an ArcGNO facility in Uptown, Feb. 24th. These beads will then be recycled and reused next Mardi Gras. Sophia Maxim/The Maroon

Student debt relief advocates gather outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, as the court hears arguments over President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan. Associated Press/Patrick Semansky

"Muff" goes to prom

Students host prom for release of new short film

By Mia Oliva mfoliva@my.loyno.edu

This past summer, digital filmmaking sophomores Oliver Parker and Quinn Young collaborated to generate a concept for their script-to-screen class. In approximately four days, “Muff” was born.

Parker and Young premiered their film on Feb. 25 at the Broadside Theater. The premiere was prom-themed and showcased several Loyola musicians, such as music industry sophomore Evan “Chimney” Michell, who wrote and performed Muff’s score.

“We really wanted to make sure Evan’s work didn't go unrecognized. They made all this really great music for the film, but you barely hear half of it, so a big event with live music where they’d perform the whole soundtrack just made sense. Quinn and I both love getting fancy so we took the prom thing and ran with it,” Parker said.

The duo said their goal was to create something that’s been lacking in queer cinema for quite some time now: authenticity. Drawing inspiration from the melancholic pining of Gus van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho” and the transgressive revulsion of Harmony Korine’s “Gummo”, Parker and Young pieced together what they consider a love letter to unconventional queer cinema.

“For me, Muff is everything that I miss about the independent cinema boom of the 90s. It's raunchy, it's raw, it’s an honest story from people who care about cinema, and it’s for queer people that

cannot and will not assimilate,” Parker said. “Virtually all the movies we’re forcefed now are so sterilized and contrived and just fake, and I don’t want to see it. I don’t care if the representation is good. I want to see the people I love on screen. I want to see myself on the screen. I want bad gays and weird gays and evil gays, as long as it’s honest. If you want a real story, to see something earnest, Muff is for you.”

“Muff” is the first independent film both Parker and Young have made.

“The Muff marketing campaign and the people behind it are at the top of their game,” said digital filmmaking professor Miles Doleac.

Granted the permission to hand select film friends and peers for their crew, shooting for “Muff” was completed in three days.

“It was so stressful but so fun planning every little bit of how we’d shoot, edit, make everything look. We also got so incredibly lucky with such an amazing crew I can't thank enough,” Young said. “Everyone involved has been so, so wonderful and helpful, and I can't imagine the process having gone smoother.” Young said.

While it was first brought up as a joke concept, Parker and Young ultimately decided a prom-themed premiere for their film would be fitting, as many–if not most–queer individuals didn’t have an ideal prom experience back in high school, said Parker.

“You can do it right this time at Muff prom,” Parker said.

The pair submitted “Muff” to ten dif-

Prom-goers dance the night away before the premiere of the short film "Muff" at the Broadside Theater on Feb. 25. The film aims to showcase authenticity in queer cinema. Maleigh Crespo/The Maroon

ferent film festivals and the anticipation of other communities apart from Loyola watching their work thrills them beyond imagination.

“It’s so important to us that what we make is genuine and exciting. We recognized from the beginning that we would only ever make movies we wanted to

watch,” Young said. “Muff is just so much, it’s been hard to describe it to anyone. I hope the mystery of it is as alluring as I want it to be.”

Tulane's music scene is trying to leave the Doghaus

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

When Tulane business sophomore Brody Smith decided to put a band together, he didn’t realize how difficult it would be to recruit musicians from Tulane. He decided to distribute fliers and conduct interviews, but only one member that’s in the band now even responded to the poster.

Smith said that since you don’t see many bands and musicians coming out of Tulane, the music scene feels almost like a wasteland, especially if your music style is anything near alternative rock.

“Putting up these posters made me realize I never should have went to Tulane,” Smith said. “If you don't want to be in, like, a Grateful Dead cover band basically, there's not much room.”

While Loyola and Tulane are often seen as sister schools, and many students have access to each campus’ resources, Smith said it feels like the universities’ music communities are entirely separate.

“Freret Street is what, maybe 20 feet across. But in reality, it's more like the Grand Canyon,” Smith said. “I mean, as soon as you cross the street and head to Loyola, it's a whole different world.”

Smith’s band, Doghaus, consists of two other Tulane students and one Loyola student, a music industry studies junior Sofia Casanova.

“Aside from her singing and writing ability, even just being able to have Sofia’s connections at Loyola has been huge for us,” he said.

Casanova said that she thought Loyola would be the best fit for her ca-

reer from the start, and that a music-focused school is what she's always intended to pursue after participating in choir and taking music lessons growing up.

“I knew about Loyola, and I knew how good of a school it was in terms of music, so I wanted to continue that,” she said. “Ultimately, I decided to go to music school because it would be a really good opportunity to meet people and make connections.”

Andrew Tannebaum, Doghaus’ bass player, said it’s been nice to have more than just a Tulane perspective with Casanova in the band.

specific music majors on campus.

“We were able to record our first single, ‘Opia,’ at Loyola’s recording studios, and they just put Tulane to shame,” he said. “It’s very hard. We’re kind of struggling through right now, but one of the biggest things we want to do is break out of the Tulane stratosphere and get into the Loyola universe.”

“There needs to be some kind of connection between Tulane and Loyola music scenes.”

Last semester’s flea market at Loyola was mind-blowing to Smith. The event, hosted by Loyno Costume Shop, featured student artists and their works, along with pop-up vintage shops and live music played by Loyola bands.

“Loyola has much more of a focused music scene and has so many resources Tulane does not have,” he said. “It’s just a different culture.”

— Brody Smith Tulane business major

Tannebaum said it’d been fun to join in on playing more “Loyola-centric” shows and house parties since live music at house parties don’t often happen for Tulane.

“The last show we played was at Neutral Ground, which was more of a Loyola crowd for sure, I didn't see a single Tulane kid there, which is nice, to be honest,” he said. “It felt more, like, accepting, and they’re known just to enjoy live music versus a crowd that is expecting really high-end music because they don't get music very often.”

One of the band’s main struggles has been finding a space to practice because of the few studios that Tulane has available. Smith said they are only open to

Smith said that such creative events with live music felt like an alien concept to him.

He added that he didn't understand why there wasn't some kind of official length through each university that connected both music departments, claiming that it would benefit both sides.

“Not only would it benefit Tulane bands a lot, but it would benefit Loyola bands because of all the people in the music business over here,” Smith said.

Most clubs and activities held that are music-related at Tulane are student-run, Smith said, so bridging the gap between the schools would help Tulane pull its weight in the college music community.

“There needs to be some kind of connection between the Tulane and Loyola music scenes,” he said. “Tulane’s got the people, but yet there’s no bridge to get them across the river.”

Brody Smith (left) and Sofia Casanova (right) perform at Neutral Ground Coffee House. She uses Loyola's music resources in a band comprised of Tulane and Loyola students. Courtesy of Jack Paciera

Women's basketball wins regular season title

By Jane Wright jswrigh2@my.loyno.edu @janewriight1

As the 2023 women’s basketball regular season nears the national tournament, Loyola’s team has high hopes for the final outcome this time around.

The Wolf Pack started the season 160, the best start in school history, but as of late, the games have gotten more competitive.

“I think in the beginning, teams weren’t after us because we didn’t prove anything,” said fifth-year senior guard Tay Cannon. “I feel like now we’re proving ourselves so teams are giving us their best every night.”

The Wolf Pack has outscored their opponents by an average of 25 points this year and has 491 assists this season, while opponents have 327 against them.

“We’re team players. We love to share the ball. That’s what makes us a good team, so we just want to keep that going on the way to the championship,” said fifth-year senior guard and this season’s Southern States Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Kennedy Hansberry.

Last year’s team had a strong start similar to the one this year, but the players and those around them said they believe this is the year they take the trophy back to New Orleans.

“They were good last year but this is definitely the best that I’ve seen this group specifically since I got here six

years ago,” said Jason Quigley, the playby-play commentator for Loyola sports.

Last season ended with a loss in the opening round of the playoffs, which left the team with a sour taste in their mouths.

“I think as much as we love the boys and supported them, it was really hard to see them keep going with their season, and we were done, so that motivated us to get after it,” said junior guard Jazmene McMillan.

Multiple players have returned to the court who have played together for over three years. This year, senior forward Sandra Cannady is averaging double figures in points and rebounds and her efforts have earned her SSAC Player of the Year this season.

The Wolf Pack also has three active players that have reached the 1,000-point mark in their careers in Cannon, Hansberry, and Taylor Thomas.

While the individual accolades are fun to keep up with, this team's focus is on bigger things.

“We want to end on a dub, and the only way to do that is to go all the way,” McMillan said.

The Wolf Pack clinched the regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the SSAC Conference Tournament, but fell to Faulkner University in the championship game.

The team will be back in action in the National Association Intercollegiate Athletics National Tournament on March 7 when they host the regional competition here at The Den.

Esports team provides new chances for growth

By Dexter Earley daearley@my.loyno.edu

The Loyola esports program, headed by coach Lumen Vera, is dedicated to helping students succeed inside and outside of the esports community.

"Matches have been going well,” Vera said. “We won one and lost one. The teams are playing better this season."

The Loyola teams compete in “Overwatch 2” and “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”. Competitors train 10-15 hours a week, and while winning is good, the main focus of the program has been "to learn and grow," Vera said.

"Winning is a luxury and a result of good practice,” he said. "The program's goal is to have students use esports as a vehicle to pursue their careers, whether in esports or something else.”

Kaleb Moore, a freshman cybersecurity major, said being part of the team has been a great opportunity for him.

"Esports gives me good experience with technology and how to run and manage all of it behind the scenes,”

Moore said. “It also helped me to grow my social skills. Making new friends with the same interest built upon teamwork and communication."

The esports space recently hosted the New Orleans branch of the Global Game Jam, a three-day open invitation event. The game jam is an event where programmers, artists, and designers get together to plan and execute a brand-new video game. The organizers were New Orleans Gamedev, a local meetup professional group, who aim to help create support networks for students interested in making games.

The theme for this year’s jam was “roots,” and was up for interpretation by the jammers. Some made games based on gardening, and others approached from a different perspective like horror.

It’s like a musical jam, “except instead of instruments, each person brings their unique talents to the jam,” a video from the jam’s website has said.

The team will play again on March 7, when they match up against Irvine Valley College in Overwatch 2.

UP NEXT

Senior guard Tay Cannon shoots a shot against Spring Hill College on Feb. 14, 2023. Cannon was named to the SSAC All-Academic Team on Feb. 26. Maria DiFelice /The Maroon

“This is definitely the best I've seen this group since I got here.”

— Jason Quigley

Play-by-play

broadcaster for Wolf Pack Athletics

The esports team plays "Overwatch 2" against Colorado College on Feb. 28, 2023. The team is 4-2 this season. Maleigh Crespo/The Maroon

BOCELLI : Loyola Chorale sings with renowned tenor

Continued from page 1

Loyola sophomore Taylor Tumulty shared the sentiment with Lipford and said she remembers the moment she found out she was performing over winter break.

“I remember getting the email and telling my parents, and all of us being so excited,” she said. “It was definitely a jump up and down with joy moment.”

Tumulty said that while the music was relatively easy, there were a few sections with fast Italian that proved to be a little tricky. Dr. Frazier arranged a few rehearsals so they could practice together.

Lipford said that the rehearsal before the performance was also really motivating because they got to work with conductors from the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra who had such a keen eye for detail.

“It wasn’t until halfway through the rehearsal before we saw Bocelli,” Lipford said. “Then, when he came on stage, I didn’t fully realize what was happening and didn’t prepare myself for that.”

Lipford said that they had never performed in such a large venue before and that it was crazy enough just to see it empty when they were rehearsing, so seeing all of the people in there at the end of each of Bocelli’s songs when the lights were turned back on was surreal.

“He was just so natural. He's done this for so long it's like second nature to him at this point,” Lipford said. “It was very inspiring to see just how comfortable he was.”

Lipford also said it was very inspiring to hear the other singers Bocelli brought on stage with him.

“He brought a soprano on stage, which he called one of the greatest sopranos in the world, and she was just amazing. I mean, just her control, and her tone. She was like a princess,” Lipford said.

The performance proved unforget-

table, according to Tumulty, especially since they got to perform four encores with Bocelli.

“The performance was absolutely amazing. I’ll never forget what it felt like to step on a nearly sold-out stage at the Smoothie King Center and hear the audience cheering,” she said. “Just being able to simply share the stage with

someone as legendary as Andrea Bocelli was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The chorale took the stage again Thursday, March 2, as part of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s regular season, performing the choral parts of Haydn’s “Die Jahreszeiten,” or “The Seasons” at the Orpheum Theater.

“This is a work for orchestra, choir, and soloists. We’ve been working on this since we got back from Christmas break,” Frazier said. “It’s a lot more complicated and difficult than our previous engagements.”

Tumulty agreed that it has been difficult because the components are all in German, but she said she is looking for-

ward to the reward.

“We’ve all been working extremely hard on it for the past couple of months. It’s going to be beautiful and I can’t wait for all of the hard work to pay off,” she said.

Alessandra Carvallo contributed to this story.

The stage is set for the Loyola Chorale to perform alongside Andrea Bocelli on Feb. 11. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the choir. Courtesy of Ava Lipford

It's hard being a fat girl in a Barbie world

MALEIGH CRESPO English sophomore macrespo@my.loyno.edu

When you are a fat girl living in a Barbie world, every day is an uphill battle. Your head is constantly swarming, and self-loathing is all you know.

But when the loathing is over, draw yourself a bath. Slowly settle in, and let your body get used to the warmth. Drop in a bath bomb. Feel the breeze on the tops of your thighs. The cold air hitting the parts of you that the water doesn’t cover. Pull them close to you. Sit there, arms wrapped, head on your knees. Look at the dove etched into your ivory soap. Feel the soft fibers of your washcloth against your skin, as the soap and water create a soft lather. Begin to scrub your skin like it is the icky, brown gunk at the bottom of the lake you visited as a child. Scrub as if you are peeling back the layers of your body, and you start to shrink smaller and smaller. Scour away your stretch marks and your “extra.” The extra that does not fit in the bathtub when all you want to be is submerged.

And as you sit in the bath, consider what life would be like if you were thin, the freedom you’d have, to be able to eat whatever you wanted: sweet tea with no Splenda, unlimited breadsticks from

People need to stop protecting predators

ried about how you could have ruined someone’s life.

Olive Garden, and bacon. There’d be no more sugar-free jello cups or fudge pops. You could drink a Coke and feel no shame.

To be thin is to be shameless. To wear a bikini and not feel the stares and glares of society sitting in beach chairs. To go on a date with a hot guy and not be asked if he’s your brother. To go to the movies, order popcorn, and want extra butter without being asked, “are you sure you want extra butter?” To have jeans that fit. To order any and everything on the menu. To actually eat “all you can eat” at an all-you-can-eat buffet. To not have a constant calorie calculator in your head. To be thin is to be beautiful.

When you are fat, you are not beautiful. You do not have such luxuries. You have oatmeal-colored Spanx and cottage cheese thighs. You have weight loss ads and metabolism pills. You have entire stores that do not carry clothing to fit your ugly. You have doctor’s visits that never fail to diagnose you as fat. You have severed belt loops and hip dips. You have a whole genre of jokes tailored to your excess.

When you are a woman and you are fat, you’re hilarious. The comical relief. When you are a woman and you are fat, you’re a world-renowned vocalist. The belly of the ball. And it’s not over ‘til the fat lady sings. Except, you are the fat lady, and you have yet to sing. It’s not over. It’s never over when your body is the punchline of every joke. When being fat has become the only thing you are known for. When being fat means

the only talents that you can possibly possess are the abilities to crack a joke or hum a note. When you are a woman and you are fat, you’re a preconceived idea that the world has claimed as truth. Nothing more than a body that takes up too much space. When you are a woman and you are fat, you are matter that does not actually matter.

You are the one no one sits with at lunch, the supporting role in all the best movies; second best, the one no one ever remembers. You're never the “hot girl.” You're the funny one. You will always be the funny one.

And they say, “big girls need love too.” As if being fat means you shouldn’t be loved already.

This world is not tailored to fit you. There aren’t enough bolts of fabric to fit your surplus of a body. But you are more than your body.

So when your bath bomb has fizzled away, and your skin has begun to prune, watch the water drain beneath you. Feel the cold air against your soggy, wet skin. Dry yourself off, and feel the moisture escape your body. Look at yourself in the mirror, and heed these words:

Dear fat girl, do not let your circumstances be because you are not small. Do not let your size define you. Don’t let it hinder your happiness. Stop seeking validation from the mouths of predators when you are their prey. You do not owe them anything, so you eat whatever the fuck you want. Devour it. Lick the plate clean. And if they ask why, tell them because you want to.

ABIGAIL SCHMIDT Mass communication sophomore

acschmid@my.loyno.edu

Yes, that was me who got your friend kicked out of the bar. And I will unashamedly do it again the next time I see them there. It pays to be friends with the right people. You know who it doesn’t pay to be friends with? Rapists.

I will never understand how someone can find out, with rock-solid proof, that their friend raped someone and continue to be friends with them. How can you look at them the same? And how can you look at yourself the same for standing with them? It’s bad enough that these people continue to show their faces. People who defend them are no different.

I am not trying to give a holier-than-thou rant on how I’m better than everyone and how my friends and I are sin-free angels. I am saying, however, that if I find out one of them assaults someone, they are not my friend anymore. It is that simple. I have heard countless times of people saying that they continue to be friends with a known rapist because they feel bad for them, or they would have no friends otherwise. Are you really worried about looking like you have no friends? You should be more worried about how you look to other people after you rape someone, or associate and defend someone who has. You should be more wor-

It is completely backward. So many people work so hard to defend and cover for their friends after they do something terrible when it is so much easier, and better for everyone, to cut them off. And spread the word that they are a bad person. Would you rather protect one villain, or protect several innocent people? No matter how much you defend yourself or your friend, there is no coming back from this. Modern misogynists call it a witch hunt. So please, report when you see the devil. Don’t dance with him.

How do you think victims of sexual assault feel when they see their assaulter walking around campus with their head held high as if no one can touch them? Or when they walk into a room full of people who are still friends with that person? You should be responsible for calling your “friends” out and cutting ties when they assault someone. It’s not you ruining their reputation; they did it to themselves when they put their hands on someone without proper consent.

There are people on this campus who will not look me in the eye because I have called them or their friends out on being a rapist. I call that a win. That’s just an admission of guilt.

Trust me, losing someone you considered a friend because they raped someone is not a loss. Because if they do it once with no repercussions, chances are they will do it again. People who think that is okay only see others as objects. And that is not someone you should want in your life.

Loyola, hold your friends accountable. And if they assault someone, they are not your friend.

Gabrielle Korein/The Maroon

Abigail Schmidt/The Maroon

HOWLS & GROWLS

HOWL to sandwiches

GROWL to the patriarchy

HOWL to Women's History Month

GROWL to all nighters

HOWL to women

GROWL to unsustainable throws

HOWL to chocolate parfaits

GROWL to getting hacked

EDITORIAL BOARD

Macie Batson & Jackie Galli

Time to retire the beads and throw sustainable

The 2023 Mardi Gras season has come to a close, so as we hang up our beads and finish the last bites of our king cake, we need to have a discussion about the lasting effects of wasteful throws during the parade season.

The City of New Orleans reported that last year, in the span of 11 days, 1,150 tons of Mardi Gras trash was collected. As climate change continues to wreak havoc on our ecosystems, environmental concerns grow. Heavy waste-producing events, like Mardi Gras, need to find ways to reduce their overall carbon footprint, and the best way to start is by providing more sustainable throws during parades.

Sustainable throws are throws that have more purposeful uses than that of beads and light-up bouncy balls. These are items someone wouldn’t throw away after

catching, meaning fewer items would go to waste each year.

Grounds Krewe is a local nonprofit on Magazine Street dedicated to promoting waste prevention, recycling, and sustainable throws during Mardi Gras. They have an interactive marching krewe, “Trashformers,” which goes around the French Quarter and encourages people to recycle their aluminum cans and plastic bottles while also selling sustainable throws for float riders.

More krewes should take a piece from Krewe of Iris, who provided a bunch of these sustainable throws taken from Ground Krewe’s sustainable throw catalog this season.

At Loyola, small efforts are being made. Bead recycling buckets have been placed around the dorm buildings by the Student Government Association’s sustainability committee to collect unwanted beads.

As for the city, there were recycling stations around the parade routes this year, according to the City of New Orleans website. There were four stationary recycling hubs for cans, beads, and glass collection between Napoleon Avenue and Poydras Avenue, as well as ten “Can Stations” for aluminum can collection between Napoleon Avenue and Louisiana Avenue.

And while recycling stations and donation bins help to combat the extensive waste of Mardi Gras, it’s simply not enough.

As a city, it is our responsibility to take care of the streets that we are privileged to stand along every year during Mardi Gras.

By being proactive in making efforts before the start of parade season, instead of being reactive and focusing only on efforts in the aftermath, we can make a greater difference.

Sustainable throws are just one example of being proactive.

People are more likely to take the throws provided by Grounds Krewe home with them and use them until the next Mardi Gras season, rather than other throws like plastic beads that can be easily broken and tossed away or items wrapped in plastic bags that are left discarded on the ground never to be used again. Mardi Gras is about letting the good times roll but if we want to keep letting them roll, we need to be more responsible with our waste. Beads may be a tradition dating back to the 1800s, but times are changing. And so is our environment. Mardi Gras needs to change with it. If we want Mardi Gras to continue for decades to come, sustainable throws must be made a priority.

Editors-in-Chief

Cristo Dulom Managing Editor for Print

Ava Acharya Managing Editor for Digital

Devin Cruice News Director

Maleigh Crespo Design Chief

Gabrielle Korein Photo Editor

Patrick Hamilton News Editor

Abigail Schmidt Life & Times Editor

Aron Boehle Worldview Editor

Matthew Richards Sports Editor

Mark Michel Opinion & Editorial Editor

Kloe Witt Breaking News Editor

Mia Oliva Reviews Editor Equity & Inclusion Officers

Victoria Hardy & Melody Newsome

Arianna D'Antonio Senior Staff Writer

Torrie Shuff Senior Staff Photographer Copy Editors

Heather Rabassa & Violet Bucaro

Bella Kelley Social Media Coordinator

Alexis Horton Assignment Editor

EDITORIAL POLICY

The editorial on this page represents the majority opinions of The Maroon’s editorial board and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Loyola University.

Letters and columns reflect the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of The Maroon’s editorial board.

The Maroon does not represent the opinion of administration, staff and/or faculty members of Loyola.

Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and style. Please limit submissions to 400 words. Submissions are due no later than 4 p.m. the Sunday before publication.

Please send all submissions —

The Maroon, 6363 St. Charles Ave., Box 64, New Orleans, LA 70118.

Email us your letters — letter@ loyno.edu.

Submissions may also be made online at www.loyolamaroon.com.

Jackie Galli/The Maroon