By Elise Schoening
Features Editor
Every week, Features Editor Elise Schoening hits the archives and finds old Signals that relate to current College topics and top stories.
The new school year is upon us. Residential halls have finally opened their doors and classes have officially begun. Most students on campus hail from throughout the state, with only a handful of New York and Pennsylvania residents enrolling in the College each year. But in 2005, over a dozen students at the College originated from Louisiana. The influx of out-of-state students was due to Hurricane Katrina and the devastation left on colleges and universities in New Orleans.
As the nation comes to terms with the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina, the reality facing many students in New Orleans is that most of its schools are simply too damaged to accommodate them for the semester. The College, however, is making efforts to accept undergraduates who were to attend schools in New Orleans until their schools recover from the storm.
According to Lisa Angeloni, dean of admissions, as of Friday afternoon, the College has already admitted a number of students displaced by the hurricane.
“It could be up to 15 at this point,” she said. “It’s going to keep fluctuating. Our phones haven’t stopped ringing.”
The students, which Angeloni said represent Tulane University, Louisiana State University, Loyala University New Orleans and Xavier University, have been for the most part, New Jersey residents. However, Angeloni said the College would consider admission requests from out-of-state students as well.
“We probably will begin to get inquiries from out of state students. We’re all trying to help as much as we can,” she said. “It’s so horrific that it’s hard not to help people.”
Angeloni added that a hotline was set up for students who want to make inquiries over the holiday weekend. She said the number of admitted students will likely increase as the week progresses.
“Because this is such a dire situation, we are going to push ourselves beyond what we consider capacity under normal circumstances,” said Matt Golden, assistant director for the office of College and Community Relations. “Depending on how many students are interested in coming, we want to turn some of the lounges within the dorms into housing facilities.”
Golden said more than 20 faculty and staff members have offered to open their homes and take in refugees.
