colleges

Loyola students and professor in self-quarantine after coronavirus exposure at conference

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Two Loyola University students and a faculty member went into a 14-day self-quarantine on March 10, at the request of the university, after attending a journalism conference and having lunch at a downtown restaurant with an individual who was later diagnosed with COVID-19 novel coronavirus. The students and professor have not displayed any symptoms, Loyola President Tania Tetlow said in a March 11 letter to the Loyola community announcing that all classes will taught online for the rest of the spring semester beginning Monday (March 16). Tetlow said the potential exposure was not the reason behind suspending on-campus classes. Tulane, Xavier, UNO and other local universities also have moved their classes online as more coronavirus cases are announced in New Orleans. “I have spoken to the director of state public health, who tells me that there is not a reason to broaden that circle more widely — those who later interacted with the faculty and students do not also need to self-isolate,” Tetlow said in the letter.

arts, books and music

Tulane cancels Book Festival, moves all its classes online over COVID-19 concerns

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From Tulane University

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University has canceled its inaugural event for 2020, citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and adherence to university protocol. Tickets purchased for keynote addresses with John Grisham, Michael Lewis and Malcolm Gladwell will be fully refunded within 10 business days. The book festival had planned to run March 19-21, and festival organizers estimated around 30,000 visitors would attend the three-day event on Tulane’s uptown campus. However, the top priority for the festival organizers is that of the health and safety of the general public, authors, volunteers and Tulane’s faculty, staff and students. On Wednesday afternoon, Tulane University announced it would reduce the concentration of people on campus by conducting classes online beginning March 23 and through the end of the semester, reducing the number of gatherings and eliminating non-essential travel.

arts, books and music

Octavia Books hosts Dillard University recipe book signing

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Food historian, educator, and author Zella Palmer will present her recently published “Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard, 1869-2019” this Sunday, March 8. Using recipes and research, Palmer’s book documents the African American culinary history of New Orleans through the lens of Dillard University. She will be signing copies of her work for 2 p.m. at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St. The event page describes the collection as follows:
This cookbook shares over eighty years of international and indigenous New Orleans Creole recipes collected from the community, friends of the university, campus faculty, staff, and students, providing readers with a glimpse into the rich food culture of African-Americans in New Orleans. Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard is dedicated to Dillard University alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and family who enjoyed past campus festivals, dinners, picnics, Monday red beans and rice with fried chicken, and Friday fish frys in Kearny Dining.

colleges

Four Lusher seniors receive full leadership scholarships as Posse Scholars

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Four Lusher Charter School seniors have been named Posse Scholars, an honor that provides them with full-tuition college scholarships. Two of the students, Esperanza Milla and Allan Buezo, plan to stay in New Orleans and attend Tulane University. India Miller is heading to Villanova University in Pennsylvania, and Kayla Red will attend Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. The four Posse Scholars were chosen for their leadership potential. The Posse Foundation identifies, recruits and trains individuals to become tomorrow’s leaders.

arts, books and music

New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane attracts lineup of more than 100 authors

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From Tulane University

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University announced today the daily lineups of more than 100 celebrated and rising authors for its inaugural weekend, March 19-21 on Tulane University’s Uptown campus. The book festival is free and open to the public with the exception of three keynote author sessions, which include a pair of opening-night events on Thursday, March 19, with “Michael Lewis in Conversation with Sean Tuohy,” from 5 to 6 p.m., and “A Conversation with John Grisham,” from 6 to 7 p.m. The author session on Saturday, March 20, will feature “Malcolm Gladwell in Conversation with Michael Lynton, Chairman of Snap Inc.,” from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

General admission tickets for Thursday and Saturday keynote events are $10 each. Students will be admitted free with a valid identification card. Click here to purchase tickets. All events will take place on Tulane’s Uptown campus, including the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, McAlister Auditorium, Freeman Auditorium, Dixon Hall, Rogers Memorial Chapel and the Berger Family Lawn.

arts, books and music

Sarah Broom on ‘The Yellow House,’ marginalized communities and climate change

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By Emily Carmichael, Uptown Messenger

Writer Sarah Broom is from New Orleans, but not the part of New Orleans where she spoke on Tuesday (Feb. 4), the famed, oak-lined streets of Uptown. She’s from a yellow house on Wilson Avenue in New Orleans East. Her experience in that house — and what it says about New Orleans, the United States, and our relationship to our environment — is the subject of her debut book “The Yellow House: A Memoir.” It won the 2019 National Book Award for nonfiction. Broom was interviewed in Woldenberg Art Center on Tulane University’s Uptown campus by Atlantic staff writer Van Newkirk, another potent investigator of place and environment.

arts, books and music

Tulane acquires Anne Rice’s archives

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By Roger Dunaway, Tulane University

Tulane University’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library has acquired the complete archives of famed best-selling New Orleans author Anne Rice, thanks to a gift from Stuart Rose and the Stuart Rose Family Foundation. Born and raised in New Orleans — the setting of her most famous books — Rice is the author of 30 novels with more than 100 million copies sold, placing her among the most popular authors in recent American history. Rice’s work has included gothic and erotic fiction, as well as Christian literature, but she is best known for her novels in vampire and supernatural fiction. “That Tulane has provided a home for my papers is exciting and comforting,” said Rice, a former Garden District resident who grew up on St. Charles Avenue.

arts, books and music

2019 National Book Award winner Sarah Broom to speak at Tulane

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By Barri Bronston, Tulane University

Sarah M. Broom, a New Orleans native and winner of the 2019 National Book Award, will speak Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Tulane University as part of the “American Water and Actual Air” speaker series, which focuses on interpreting the environment across academic disciplines. Sponsored by the Tulane School of Liberal Arts’ Environmental Studies Program, the event will be in conversation format with Vann Newkirk II, a staff writer at The Atlantic. It will take place at 6 p.m. at Stone Auditorium at Woldenberg Art Center, beginning with a reception sponsored by the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South. It is free and open to the public.

city government

City approves Tulane police substation at the former site of a notorious frat house

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By Emily Carmichael, Uptown Messenger

Tulane University has won city approval to build a Tulane University Police Department substation on the previous site of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity building across from The Boot Bar and Grill. The now vacant lot at 1036 Broadway is zoned as residential and required a conditional use approval to be used in a public works and safety capacity. As Uptown Messenger previously reported, the station will be a single story, 3,600-square-foot building to serve as a 24/7 command center for TUPD’s off-campus patrols. The City Council approved the conditional use by a unanimous vote on Thursday, Jan. 16, following an earlier City Planning Commission recommendation.

business

LSU championship game boosts Uptown economy

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By Christian Willbern, Loyola University New Orleans

As the LSU Tigers paraded down Victory Hill on Saturday, Uptown restaurant and stores still basked in the influx of cash from Monday night’s football game. LSU’s national championship win against Clemson gave a boost to the local economy, especially to businesses that kept the drinks coming. “Keep in mind that all the Baton Rouge kids are all driving down here. We got a 50% increase in sales just on Monday alone,” said Broadway Food Store manager Kal Ghalbatar. “It was crazy.”

“Probably 80% of our customers were not regular customers.