By From The Editors
When Tulane University ordered its students to evacuate the Louisiana campus on Aug. 27, Joanna Asher and her 15 classmates took shelter at a friend’s home in Dallas, where they huddled around the television hoping their school would survive the storm.
The damage Hurricane Katrina inflicted on Tulane is substantially less than what other schools in the Gulf Region suffered, but on Tuesday the lights in the building remained off and its doors were closed to the 13,000 students enrolled for fall classes.
The University has joined colleges nationwide in an effort to help the students displaced because of Katrina by allowing Asher and 22 others to register as visiting students and offering $5,000 “hardship grants” to those taking at least 12 credits.
The status allows the students to study at the University but acknowledges that they may leave as soon as Tulane finishes repairs. According to a student blog, voicing the opinions of more than 600 Tulane students, an overwhelming majority are eager to return to the Big Easy.
Even if Tulane forbade students from stepping off the campus while the city of New Orleans rebuilds, Asher said she still would go back, stating that Tulane students are “loyal” to their school.
University students may find the school spirit of Tulane baffling, since the Princeton review has ranked our campus among the top 25 of colleges with the “least happiest students” nationwide. While this statistic has not been tested, the poor attendance at sporting events are an indication of the lack of school spirit on campus.
As college students living in one of the most affluent places in the world – the closest encounter the majority of students had to Katrina was when our wallets felt lighter after shelling out $50 each time we pumped gas into our Audis.
But what we should learn from these students, in addition to the 24-hour media coverage of the Katrina, is that in the blink of an eye everything you value and especially that which we take for granted could be gone.
In the first days after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Asher said she was not concerned about all the possessions she had left behind in her dorm room; All she cared about was making connect with many of her classmates who live in the region.
She finally made contact with them days later, at the same time she learned she would be separated from her friends and her school in the months to follow. Despite the trauma these students endured, the disaster has only brought the Tulane student body closer together and strengthen their school pride, while students at this campus remain disgruntled and detached.
It would probably be safe to say that there is not a student on campus who has not complained about the University, and while many of these grievances are valid, why not focus your voice on more worthwhile projects.
Katrina was a tragedy, but long lines at Memorial Hall and having to park your car on the North side of campus are only minor inconveniences. So while it is important to keep the administration on its toes, why not take advantage of some of the positives the University has to offer.
For example, the office of University Relations has constructed a link of the school’s main Web-page that highlights student and faculty efforts to help the hurricane victims.
What better way to kick-off the semester than to help those suffering in the Gulf and support the philanthropy projects of members of our campus community.
By now many of you have learned of the infamous SuperDome, where the poor of New Orleans took shelter as Katrina charged toward the region.
The beautiful arena which became a “hell hole” had resembled our own stadium before it was turned into a refuge camp for hurricane evacuees.
In honor of those victims, we should make it our goal to fill our own stadium on Sat. for the first football game of the season – the athletic department will be collecting donations for hurricane relief.
This is a chance to not only help your fellow Americans, but to support your fellow classmates.
Let’s help those in need by helping one another.
We may not be capable of driving down to New Orleans to pitch in the relief efforts, but there is much we can do within our community.
The victims in New Orleans will need help for a long time and I’m sure there will charity events on campus throughout the year which will depend on the participation of our student body.
While it sounds cliche, it is true that everyone can make a difference.
So the next time you toss a the dollar bill into the Red Cross donation bucket, whether motivated by a desire to ease the pain of Katrina’s victims or to quiet your own conscious, know that money is not the only way you can help.
We all have our own unique talents, which, when combined can accomplish amazing feats. So with the year just beginning, get involved – join a club, support student events, organize a volunteer effort, and smile knowing that you made the University a slightly happier place.