Two Tufts students from New Orleans took part in a panel on Hurricane Katrina on the University radio station Monday.
Senior William Dunn organized the panel on his weekly evening show, "The Electric Light," on 91.5 FM, WMFO.
"I am honored to have y'all here," Dunn told sophomores Katherine Hunter and Ashley Van Wormer.
Hunter and Van Wormer evacuated right before Katrina devastated New Orleans.
Over the hour long broadcast Dunn, Hunter, and Van Wormer discussed the scale of the disaster in New Orleans. The discussion focused on the troubles the victims faced, before and after the arrival of the Category 5 hurricane.
"It is difficult to really put yourselves in the shoes of individuals who are experiencing it," Dunn said. "You might be from Boston, but something could happen to your city that could immediately change your view."
Throughout the discussion, Dunn mixed in some New Orleans-style music, including jazz musician Louis Armstrong.
One of the topics of discussion was the racial divide among the storm's victims.
"The [most hard-hit areas] are largely the black areas, the poor areas," Dunn said. "We obviously saw the racial problems in that area."
Hunter and Van Wormer talked about how they never imagined such horrible devastation occurring at home.
"Every year there are huge hurricane scares," Hunter said. "You're kind of used to that."
Every two or three years her family went to Baton Rouge, La. or Texas to avoid a hurricane, she said. The schools in New Orleans would then be closed.
"Out of everything I was afraid of as a kid, my city being flooded wasn't one of them," Hunter said.
Van Wormer said the same thing. "I feel bad to say this, but it was almost like a big joke," she said. "[Hurricane threats] had never been taken very seriously."
Hunter said when Hurricane Katrina came, her family went to Houston. "All of my family lives in New Orleans, so we just found a spot with a hotel room," she said. Hunter said she could hear gunshots in the streets while people evacuated.
Hunter and Van Wormer also discussed the sluggish effort by the state of Louisiana to properly notify the public of the imminent danger and evacuate the people.
On the Friday night before the hurricane reached New Orleans, Van Wormer said, the city was still just thinking about cancelling school on Monday.
Hunter's mother woke up at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning and decided to leave. Her brother did not bother to pack for college since he thought the family would return home before he had to leave for school. "My brother had to buy all new stuff," Hunter said.
Hunter stressed that she was one of the lucky ones. "When I thought about what I went through, it made me think of what they [the poor people of the city] went through," she said. "They really have nothing."
Despite the press coverage of the negative effects of the storm, Dunn said, "there was a lot of compassion shown."
The students were brought on the show to give a personal side to the national issue. "At the end of the day, I hope it hits a little closer to home," Dunn said.
