From the eye of the storm

Due to Hurricane Katrina, Justin and Alex Cooper's summer vacation became slightly longer than expected.

Both students in New Orleans, the brothers were forced to seek enrollment at other institutions this fall after flooding and structural damage closed both Tulane University and Loyola University of New Orleans.

Justin was still in Seattle when the Hurricane hit, and never left to go back to New Orleans. Alex experienced the brunt of Katrina's fury.

This is their story.

Justin

Twenty-year-old Justin, a junior bio-engineering major from Tulane University, along with nearly 100 other students from six of the predominant colleges affected by Hurricane Katrina, now call the UW home.

"Everyone has been really nice and helpful," he said. "The UW has been the greatest they could be given the situation."

Due to an agreement made public Sept. 8 by representatives of the Association of American Universities and seven other collegiate associations, Justin will be able to attend many of the classes he would have taken at Tulane this fall at the UW, despite the vastly different academic systems of the two universities.

In order to make sure his transition to the UW goes smoothly, Justin will also have access to a special adviser at the recently formed UW Katrina Student Resource Center.

For the most part, the credit he earns this fall will contribute to his degree at Tulane, he said.

This is also the case for recently admitted students from Dillard University, Xavier University, University of Southern Mississippi, Loyola University of New Orleans and University of New Orleans.

Justin said he chose to spend fall quarter at the UW rather than one of the other schools that opened its doors to displaced students because its quarterly schedule allowed him time to regroup.

And after all, it was close to his hometown.

"I feel really lucky to be at a place close to home where I know a lot of people. Many of my friends from New Orleans aren't so lucky," said Justin, a native of Olympia, Wash. "I've also technically been a Husky fan since the age five and, let's face it, the Huskies are a way better franchise than the Green Wave [the Tulane mascot]."

While Justin was fortunate enough to attend an institution in his home state, many of his native New Orleans friends were dispersed and admitted to institutions throughout the nation under the auspices of the agreement made by the collegiate associations.

He still hopes to return to Tulane in January 2006 when it is scheduled to reopen and is confident the school will have no trouble recovering from the storm that struck the Gulf Coast little more than a month ago.

"We're fortunate enough to have the funds to rebuild," he said. "A lot of [poorer] areas of New Orleans don't have that luxury."

Justin estimates the belongings he left in storage with friends over the summer are most likely destroyed, but acknowledges that his loss pales in comparison to many.

"It's been difficult and frustrating to really figure out what's going on for the past few weeks," said Justin. "I just hope that soon I can have a better idea."

The Tulane Web site, non-functioning for several days due to the damage sustained by its server in New Orleans, now operates from a make shift command center in Houston. Recently threatened again by Hurricane Rita, the site's postings resemble a frantic blog, displaying a series of updates by Tulane President Scott Cowen.

"Things continue to be unstable in New Orleans, although there is hope that we have experienced the worst," Cowen wrote in an Aug. 31 statement. "We continue to put the safety of students and employees first. We are working around the clock to bring continuity to the university and to re-establish our presence, however much of this is dependant on the city of New Orleans and Mother Nature."

Scrambling to create a way for Tulane students to attend classes this fall, Cowen, along with the presidents of the other universities affected by the disaster, called for assistance from the nation's collegiate associations. A plan was negotiated whereby students pay the tuition of their home school, but attend another institution on an exchange student basis.

"Enrolling our students as visitors at no additional cost to the student beyond his or her original Tulane tuition is an incredible act of philanthropy on the part of my colleague presidents, because despite our many financial resources, tuition remains a key source of revenue for the long-term financial health of Tulane," Cowen wrote in a Sept. 8 statement.

But students wishing to stay at the UW will have to traditionally apply for transfer.

Despite the complex nature of the process and some difficulties finding housing, Justin said his transition has been relatively easy.

Justin was still in Seattle when news of the Hurricane hit. He never caught his flight back down to New Orleans.

His brother Alex was not so lucky.

Alex

Nineteen-year-old Alex, a sophomore from Loyola University of New Orleans, now attends Seattle University. As a resident adviser in one of Loyola's dormitories, he had already moved in when Hurricane Katrina hit.

"The students moved in to their dorms on Friday [Aug. 26] and the mayor issued the voluntary evacuation order the next morning and at that point about 75 to 85 percent of the students left -- many with their parents still in town," said Alex.

Despite the relatively coordinated efforts of Loyola University, the process was "chaos," he said.

As a member of the Loyola staff, Alex had planned to wait out the storm on campus with students unable to leave during the initial voluntary evacuation.

"I was working at the front desk [of a dormitory] Saturday night when my boss told me to 'get everyone out of here'," said Alex. "Some students were able to leave that night, but in the morning we drove the remaining students in Loyola AstroVans to Baton Rouge."

The trip to Baton Rouge took more than nine hours.

"It's usually only slightly more than an hour's drive, but the traffic was ridiculous and the hurricane hit while we were on the road," he said.

Stepping outside the AstroVan in standstill traffic, Alex and student evacuees initially felt a few drops of rain.

Then it began to pour.

"Within two minutes the wind and rain was so strong I could barely close the door to the van," he said.

Alex arrived safely in Baton Rouge, La. but spent the next two days in a Red Cross shelter set up in a Baptist church with other student evacuees.

Loyola experienced only minor damages due to Hurricane Katrina, but due to the situation of the city, plans to re-open in January as well.

Alex said he experienced few problems transferring to Seattle University and started classes last week.

Justin starts classes at the UW today.

"It's great to be in Seattle, but in January it will be good to go back to New Orleans," he said.