Many Tufts undergraduates are dealing with more than the usual pressures of a new school year. Their families have been scattered and their homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Sophomores Katherine Hunter and Ashley Van Wormer were both
with their families in New Orleans, La. as the hurricane approached. Both are from the Lakeview area, northwest of the city.
Hunter, who is from the Orleans Parish, went to Houston, Texas with her family before the hurricane arrived. Her family was forced to leave without her grandfather, who was recovering from surgery in a hospital in New Orleans, and her grandmother, who wanted to stay with him in the hospital.
"My grandpa was flown [by helicopter] to a hospital in Florida," Hunter said. Her grandmother was not allowed to travel in the helicopter, but was later evacuated by boat and bus.
Van Wormer, from the Jefferson Parish, and her family went to Baton Rouge, La., a few days before the storm made landfall. Her family endured a power outage when they arrived but were safe otherwise.
Freshman Baker Potts, also from Lakeview, was with his family on his way to Boston when the hurricane hit, so they did not have to evacuate.
The most immediate concern for affected students was ensuring their family and friends were safe.
Sophomore Rebecca Abbott, another Orleans Parish resident, was also not in the New Orleans area when Katrina arrived.
Abbott was not in contact with her family until a few days after the storm hit. "The only way to contact people was by e-mail, and nobody who just evacuated had a computer," she said. "It was a scary first few days."
Her relatives were able to evacuate safely. "Everyone knew it was coming," she said.
Van Wormer said there was great confusion immediately after the storm hit. Eventually she was able to begin contacting friends and family. "All my close friends made it out," she said. "But I am still waiting to hear from some family friends."
Potts, on the other hand, had trouble communicating with many of his friends, although he is confident they are safe. "I haven't heard from most of my friends because the phones don't work," he said.
Students and their families are facing tremendous losses of property.
Potts' home was badly damaged. He also lost his room and many personal belongings. The water reached a height of eight feet around his house, and the flooding reached the top of his front door.
"My parents have been back a couple of times," Potts said. "They paddled over our back fence."
His parents have temporarily moved to Lacombe, about a thirty-minute drive from his home in New Orleans. In addition the destruction to the house, his parents are now without air
conditioning in the late Southern summer.
Hunter's mother's house was not severely damaged, but it was "on the dividing line of destruction," Hunter said.
Van Wormer's house also avoided major damage. Her parents returned on Saturday, Sept. 17. "Right now my dad is trying to fix up his chiropractic clinic," she said.
Abbott's family has not yet returned home, but Abbott said she saw a picture of a street one block from her house. It was completely covered in water.
The students' siblings are having different experiences adjusting to their new surroundings. Van Wormer's siblings are attending public high school in Connecticut. One of them is a senior and is going through the college admissions process. "The high schools were like, 'We can handle your college stuff,'" she said.
Abbott's sister was in high school but is now attending a boarding school in northwest Louisiana with a number of her classmates. Abbott's mother is working on the relief effort.
Some students said they were glad they had school to take their minds off the problems their families are facing. Abbott, Van Wormer and Hunter agreed the tragedy has not affected their lives at school.
"I was looking forward to school starting," Abbott said.
Van Wormer said the hurricane gave her a new perspective on life at Tufts. "You realize how much more of a bubble you are in," she said.
Potts, who just began his first year at Tufts, often stops to think about the hurricane. "Whenever I talk with my parents, it slows me down a bit," he said. "But they keep telling me, 'Don't worry about it and get good grades.'"
He wants to return home for Thanksgiving break, but is unsure if that will be possible.
Hunter and Van Wormer are looking forward to returning home to help.
Abbott, though, is unsure if her house will still be standing. "Our house is almost definitely going to have to be bulldozed," she said.
