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Tuition Double Trouble

Mayor Helena Moreno delivers her inaugural address after being sworn in as New Orleans’ 63rd Tyler Kaufman/AP Content Services for Inauguration Fund of Mayor-Elect Helena Moreno

New Orleans has a brand new mayor

The Louisiana National Guard, military police, and Louisiana law enforcement agencies patrol the French Quarter along Bourbon Street for New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. AP Photo/Matthew Hinton

Guard patrols city streets

By Pablo Piñeiro ppineiro@my.loyno.edu

Helena Moreno, the first Hispanic person to be elected as mayor of New Orleans, was sworn in on Monday, Jan. 12. In her first speech as mayor, Moreno expressed hope for the future of New Orleans. “We must have deep, real, sincere faith on what New Orleans can be, because that type of faith calls us to action. It calls us to be all in for New Orleans,” she said. Moreno, who campaigned on promises such as smoother streets, crime reduction, and affordability, said “We can’t keep doing things the same and expect a different result. It’s time for a new direction for New Orleans, a new direction to realize that New Orleans that we all want, one that is rich with culture and also opportunity.” Former Vice-President Kamala Harris swore in the new mayor. Harris, who referred to Moreno as a “dear friend,” referred to her as “a dedicated public servant who believes in the dignity of all working families.” At the end of the ceremony, New Orleans musician Dawn Richard sang her song, “All In,” which served as the theme of Moreno’s inauguration.

By Alana Frank anfrank@my.loyno.edu Federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection walk along West Wacker Drive in the Loop, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Chicago. Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

Students hit with false bills again By Pharrell Every pjevery@my.loyno.edu

As the new semester begins, students across campus have been facing challenges when it comes to tuition. Despite students being financially cleared from funds from previous semesters, some are still receiving communications stating that they still owe money, and are at risk of being removed from classes. Political science sophomore Ava Dufrene received an email recently about

her spring registration being past due. Dufrene said, “ My initial reaction to the email was frustration. I was worried that a mistake from Loyola would cost me my registration when there wasn’t anything I could do about it.” The emails were sent out en masse, and not restricted to just the students who still had unresolved balances. Dufrene believes that this situation caused more stress for students and the department than was necessary, and could have been avoided all togeth-

er, saying, “The email being mass sent seemed rather careless and nonsensical. I feel like it ended up causing them more issues/work than if they had sent it individually and only to the people it actually affected. Now they had created more work for themselves because they had to backtrack this mistake.” As of the publication of this article, there has been no communication sent by any department to explain why the mistake happened, or ways to rectify the situation.

Loyola celebrates MLK with interfaith celebration By Olivia Sanyal ossanyal@my.loyno.edu

Poster for the MLK Jr. Interfaith celebration on Tuesday, January 20th.

Martin Luther King’s Day is remembered each January, but goes far beyond something we only look back on once a year. Martin Luther King Jr.’s influence and guidance is something we take with us each day, reminding us that we have the power to speak out for what we believe in. King was a reverend at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and is most well known for his activism in marches for equal voting rights, fair education, and fair em-

ployment. In 1955, King made a stance leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which started the rise of his societal and national influence. Martin Luther King Day was established as a federal holiday in 1983 after President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law. This day honors the legacy of how hard he worked to spread his message and the influence he spread to encourage other people to fight for justice, equality, and respect. Today, people are still advocating for what they believe in and standing up for their human rights, emphasizing their fight for justice and freedom of speech.

On King’s journey, he spread the message and movement to end segregation in the South, invigorating and energizing each city to stand up for what they believe in. King eventually traveled to New Orleans, and met up with other civil rights leaders to discuss their movements and strategies for the Civil Rights Movement while having a bowl of authentic New Orleans gumbo, according to Nola.com. King would meet these leaders at a restaurant called Dooky Chase’s.

See LUCAP, page 8

As students returned to campus for the spring semester, New Orleans police reported that violent crime continued to trend downward in 2025, marking it the third consecutive year of declines citywide. The New Orleans Police Department’s year-end crime data show reductions in several violent offenses, including homicides, shootings, armed robberies and carjackings. Police officials said the decreases extend a pattern that began after crime levels peaked in 2022, when New Orleans recorded some of the highest per-capita violence rates in the country. According to NOPD statistics, the city recorded 121 homicides in 2025, less than half the total reported three years earlier. Police also reported notable drops in nonfatal shootings and carjackings, which officials attributed to focused enforcement efforts and partnerships with community organizations. The release of the crime report came days after U.S. President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of roughly 350 National Guard officers to New Orleans. The troops have been stationed in busy areas, such as the French Quarter, to increase security during large events, though they do not have the authority to make arrests or conduct investigations. Instead, National Guard officers are there to direct crows and support local police.

See Progress, page 7