As the fall semester draws to a close and the Northeastern winter begins to set in, more than 300 of Boston University’s visiting students from Tulane University are preparing to return to their home school, where they face a daunting rebuilding process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Tulane President Scott Cowen spoke to hundreds of Tulane students and parents Dec. 2 at the Track and Tennis Center about how important students will be to the rebuilding effort and the city as a whole.
“Tulane was on its way to becoming a great institution, but then Katrina happened and bang – we stopped,” Cowen said in his speech. “I have a nobler goal now – to recover not only a great institution, but a great city as well. It’s in my DNA – I can not stand by and watch this city be neglected.”
THE BOSTON EXPERIENCE
Tulane students said they look forward to helping rebuild the city after spending three months living and learning more than 1,500 miles away.
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said although Tulane students at BU had a positive semester, they are ready to return to the Big Easy.
“It’s been a very good semester, until the snow,” he said. “The students I have spoken to are very eager to get back to Tulane. They have had a really positive experience and a newfound respect for the university. However, being good Southerners it won’t be too impossible for them to return.”
Tulane senior Shelby Beierle, who attended Boston College this semester, said she has come to terms with the fact that the New Orleans she will be returning to is not the same one that she left.
“It’s not going to be same New Orleans. I finally dealt with that and I was reassured when Scott Cowen came last week,” she said. “We’re all going back to a different New Orleans, but that’s nothing to be apprehensive about. Right now it is the safest city because no one is there.”
BU spokesman Colin Riley said BU President Robert Brown played a pivotal role in making displaced Tulane students feel welcome.
“From the top down, President Brown certainly made the option available quickly and led the university into having the largest representation of Tulane University students,” he said.
Tulane sophomore Nika Durham said although fellow classmates at BU were highly supportive, she was unable to truly connect to the BU lifestyle in such a short amount of time.
“I guess as a displaced student, it’s hard to express my thoughts about the university,” she said. “I was thrown into new location and it was also a matter of adjusting to Boston. I didn’t really have a chance to get involved. For that reason really, I’m really looking forward to going back to Tulane.
“In comparison to Tulane,” Durham continued. “It was hard to fully embrace BU after you start at one place and you become so attached to Tulane.”
Riley said BU students made a great effort to accommodate the added number of students.
“We were really pleased with the efforts of the university and the way accepted and welcomed [Tulane students] into classes,” he said.
Durham said the BU administration was extremely accommodating and made the registration process easy.
“BU was very supportive,” she said. “It was probably the most supportive out of a lot of places that took in students from Tulane. They even extended the last day to register. I had just gotten home and I was figuring out where to go next semester.”
TULANE TRANSFER
In regard to reports that many Tulane students were looking to stay in Boston, Elmore said visiting Tulane students will be unable to stay at BU unless they apply for a transfer.
“Those students who were visiting, but did not apply, will not be able to stay,” he said. “Dr. Brown granted them BU student status for one semester only.”
According to Riley, three Tulane students have filed transfer applications.
“There have been very few students to apply as transfers,” Elmore said. “But we take those applications and look at them like any other applicants.”
Beierle said she does not know anyone, especially any upperclassmen, who will be staying at their Boston school.
“I haven’t actually met anyone who is planning on staying, but everyone has their own situations,” she said. “Regardless, I wouldn’t personally want to stay and no senior has the opportunity because schools aren’t going to accept that many credits.”
Cowen discussed the high retention rate of students despite rumors that some students want to stay.
“I’m happy to say that we believe the return rate of students will be at least 90 percent,” he said in his speech. “The vast majority remember New Orleans as more than a place – a state of mind and a state of heart.”
BUILDING A BETTER
BIG EASY
Tulane senior Glenna Gross, currently studying at BU, said community building will become a major aspect of her life when she returns to Tulane.
“I know that our school made it mandatory for students graduating next year to perform community service,” she said. “Having us back in New Orleans and going back to Tulane, which is the largest employer in the area, will help. But also going out and getting the car washed or getting food will help the economy.”
Durham said she feels it is particularly important for students to go back because many other people in New Orleans have been unable to return to their homes.
“The city is kind of depending on Tulane students to help businesses and the economy,” she said.
“It doesn’t function without university students. Because so many people not are going to be in New Orleans.
“It is kind of depending on college students,” she added. “I do feel like I need to be there. I love New Orleans and it would be hard not to go back. Everyone I know is going back.”
Durham said she is looking forward to becoming part of the rebuilding process in New Orleans.
“I do feel like [New Orleans] is still an amazing place,” she said. “To be a part of rebuilding a city is going to be a huge undertaking.”