STUDENTS, PARENTS HEAD BACK TO CAMPUS
November 10, 2005

Above, Tulane President Scott Cowen addresses parents and students at an information session in the Reily Center during the weekend of revisits to campus. Below, the Reily gym became the staging area for boxes of students' belongings from dorm rooms. Revisits to campus will continue Nov. 11-14. See some reactions from students and parents in video footage from the weekend.

Students and their parents arrived in droves on the Tulane campus Nov. 4-7 to retrieve cherished possessions and to learn about the condition of the university and the city. Visiting residence halls they last saw more than two months earlier, they took in sights on campus and in surrounding neighborhoods.

While collecting personal items from the Diboll Complex parking garage or Reily Student Recreation Center, many students and parents took advantage of informational sessions held in the Reily Center lobby. The meetings featured comments by Tulane President Scott Cowen about the hurricane and Tulane’s response to it, followed by a question-and-answer session offering students and parents the expertise of a panel of Tulane officials. 

Coordinating with further visits by students and their parents to campus on Nov. 11-14, additional information sessions are planned for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, and Sunday, Nov. 13, also to be held in the Reily Center lobby.

The activity on campus was a welcome change after the past two months, when the campus has been empty of students.

“Most students arrived on move-in weekend only to drop their bags and be told within hours that there was a mandatory town hall meeting at McAlister Auditorium,” said Missie McGuire, assistant vice president of campus recreation and student centers. “The message President Cowen gave them was: Moms and dads, take your students and leave.”

Following the storm, clean-up and repair operations started on campus. For weeks, safety and security considerations precluded anyone other than work crews from being on campus.

“Working with the restoration team, we developed a schedule that allows students from three residence halls at a time with the opportunity to come back,” said Marty Brantley, director of housing services.

Students were instructed to notify Tulane if they planned to take advantage of the opportunity to come back and retrieve some belongings. “They have the option to take all items, or take some items and leave the rest here to be returned to their rooms before they come back in January,” said Brantley.

Many of the student-owned items in storage were rescued from flooded ground-level rooms in residence halls around campus, including the newly completed Wall Residential College and the Mayer, Aron and Willow residences. These items were stored securely in the Diboll Complex. Student possessions also were removed from rooms in Monroe Hall, which was undamaged but is temporarily housing employees of the recovery contractor. These boxed items are stored in the Reily gymnasium.

The job of collecting and managing all this material has been a Herculean task. “I never before realized just how much stuff students bring to campus,” said McGuire. The winner, to date, is a student whose personal possessions, all taken from one-half of a dorm room, filled 55 boxes.

A lot of the students have been delighted to see their articles, according to Brantley. “One student was glad to see her ironing board,” he said. “Some students bring their entire world with them.”

At the question-and-answer sessions, parents asked a variety of questions, including queries about tuition and scholarships, the schedule for the upcoming year, and the safety of the environment on campus and in the city.

Jacob Wymore, a sophomore mechanical engineering student, had traveled from his home in St. Francisville, La., just to check out the campus. “There’s still a lot of work going on,” he said, “ but it’s better than I thought.” Will Wymore be back in January? “Definitely,” he said.

Jessica Wiener, daughter of Laurie and Joel Wiener of Allentown, Pa., took a tour of her room and the adjoining suite in Irby House. “It was really good they let us in here,” Laurie Wiener said. “ Jessica feels a lot better now that she has seen her room.”

The Wieners picked up some items, leaving the rest to be moved back to the residence hall before the spring semester starts. “Jessica can’t wait. If she could come now, she would,” said Joel Wiener.

Since the hurricane, interest in Tulane as an institution has risen, Cowen told parents and students filling the Reily Center lobby. “Applications for next year are up 45 percent over this same time last year.”

Cowen said he realizes some parents are questioning why they should allow their children to return. “Each and every one of you need to do some soul-searching about that, but let me give you my answer,” he said. “I’m the parent of four children. I spent my entire life talking to those kids about overcoming adversity, having character, being courageous and making a difference in the world. In talking for 30 years at graduations and orientations, I’ve spoken from the bottom of my heart, saying that when all is said and done, you are the chosen few, the best and the brightest in America, and part of your responsibility is to make a difference.”

That means, Cowen said, that now is the best time to be at Tulane. “What better university, what better place or time than Tulane University right now to exhibit all those things? It’s right now, it’s right here.

-- Arthur Nead

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