Loyola needs two things to reopen The Underground: employees and a new floor, according to Chris Cameron, director of the Danna Center and Student Activities.
Following Hurricane Katrina, about three inches of standing water ruined the lounge’s floors and furniture, he said.
Water also entered the outside hallway of The Underground, making it necessary to replace the carpeting in the Wolf Den, student activities office and the hallways.
The Underground, located in the basement of the Danna Center, “will be open for August without a doubt, if we can get the floor fixed on time,” Cameron said.
“Money is not the problem, though,” he said. Loyola Dining Services needs to hire enough workers to keep the food services staffed.
Six of the 16 employees who worked in The Underground have returned since Katrina.
“There was no way we could’ve staffed The Underground adequately for the amount of traffic going through,” said Vance Howe, director of Loyola Dining Services.
Howe said that he has hired 26 Loyola students to work in food services this semester, and he is looking for more students to fill the vacancies on both the main and Broadway campuses.
Another major problem with the renovation of the Underground is the room’s original construction in 1964.
“A layer of sand was used for sub-sub-flooring, thus allowing water to creep up through the concrete sub-flooring and then up through the tile floor,” Cameron said.
Because of this flaw in the room’s design, water was able to seep through to the flooring and remained there because of lack of power to drain the room with pumps.
Cameron said new flooring and furniture will replace the damaged items in the room and no problems are anticipated with laying the new floor.
Fifty-five percent of the total employee base for the Loyola Dining Services has returned since the storm, and like other New Orleans food businesses, bonuses are being offered as incentives to join the staff.
“You can live on campus and eat for free if you work here,” said Howe. He added that he would hire students “in a heartbeat” to work at any of the food service locations.
He said students would make $7 an hour plus a bonus of $125 per week. More student employees would also mean longer hours of operation for The Underground.
Howe said he is also looking into changing certain concepts about The Underground. He proposed sending out a survey for students to say what they would like to see changed about the lounge.
Justin Coleman, international business freshman, said one of the reasons he chose Loyola was because of The Underground.
“It seemed like a cool place,” Coleman said, “a place to get away from the cafeteria.”
Communications senior Kerry Plagman agreed.
“It was a good place to sit and be by yourself,” Plagman said.
Jenna Harris can be reached at [email protected].
