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Choice for Students: Delay School or Transfer

Photo credit: Michael Grant Xavier Student Michellee Moss, left, a freshman from St. Louis, and friend Shanette Cofield, a freshman from Los Angeles, read the latest edition of the Gramblinite of Grambling University while at Centenary College in Shreveport.

By Artisha S. Lawson
Black College Wire

Katrina�s destructive blow to historically black colleges and universities in the Southeast leaves some students facing a difficult choice: postpone their education or transfer to other schools.

�It hurts,� said Shawnee McFarland, a senior at Dillard University whose graduation has been thrown into peril by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. �It really hurts. All I have are three outfits, two pairs of shoes, a toothbrush and some toothpaste and my car.�

McFarland said she was notified at work on Saturday, Aug. 27, to gather her belongings and leave town immediately. McFarland was able to grab only what she could. Now, as a result of the flooding to her off-campus apartment a little more than a mile away from Dillard�s campus in New Orleans, she fears she has lost everything.

Aside from the loss of her material possessions, she was most concerned with the notion of changing schools and not being able to graduate on time.

�I have already paid my money to Dillard,� she said. �I cannot afford to pay another university and start all over again.�

In New Orleans, flooded Dillard University, Xavier University and Southern University at New Orleans were among colleges closed indefinitely. The status of Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Ala., was not clear.

"We face tremendous challenges; however, I want to personally reassure the Dillard community and the public that we will continue to offer education for our students," Marvalene Hughes, Dillard's president, said in a news release Sept. 3. "Our spirits are strong and our will unbroken. Dillard will be back and better than ever."

Alternative classroom space and sites are being explored so that instruction can resume as soon as possible, she said. She directed staff members and students to use two Web sites to find news of recovery plans and to locate far-flung faculty and friends. Recovery news is being posted at http://www.centenary.edu/ and www.dillard.edu.

According to Hughes, more than 68 of the nation's colleges have offered fall semester enrollment to students from the storm-damaged Gulf region.

Several colleges and nonprofit organizations have stepped up to help the affected students -- and faculty �- in picking up the pieces.

Offers of tuition aid, admissions without red tape and academic accommodations have come from many historically black colleges as well as mainstream schools.

Here�s a roundup of reports citing sources of help:

• A new Web site providing state-by-state details about colleges offering aid and admissions to displaced students is now available at www.campusrelief.org. Created by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), this information clearinghouse is being continuously updated. Details include deadlines for applying for transfers and descriptions of the tuition relief and other offers made by dozens of colleges and universities.

• Tennessee State University was offering counseling and an opportunity for displaced college students to continue their education. The university's Health Center was offering individual counseling for students. Call Fannie Perry at (615) 963-5632. For specific information about Tennessee State University, call (615) 963-5105. Students who have been admitted to institutions affected by the hurricane should contact the admissions office at the University of Memphis at (800) 669-2678. The University of Memphis is serving as clearinghouse for inquiries about Tennessee colleges.

• Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert announced efforts under way to enroll 51 students from the flooded colleges. "We expect many more in the days to follow. Howard University is prepared to provide housing, financial aid and other arrangements for the students," he said.

• Delaware State University was offering free tuition for the fall semester to students enrolled in colleges in the region affected by Hurricane Katrina. According to Associated Press reports, the students must be enrolled in schools in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and be residents of those states or Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York or the District of Columbia. Allen Sessoms, president of Delaware State University, said officials there wanted to make sure that students did not have to put their educations on hold.

• Alabama�s two-year college system will cover fall semester tuition and fees for students enrolled in public community, technical and junior colleges in Mississippi and Louisiana that cannot reopen due to hurricane damage, according to the Alabama College System. Also: Three historically black colleges, Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama A&M University in Huntsville and Tuskegee University said they were opening their campuses to displaced students, but were placing special emphasis on students from sister institutions, such as Dillard, Xavier and Southern University's New Orleans branch. Joe Lee, president of Alabama State, said the university will let students enroll without transcripts or financial records and then work with them to get those records later.

• Several organizations have banded together to raise awareness and financial support for the affected historically black colleges and their students, according to a report on BlackAmericaWeb.com. The United Negro College Fund has set up a special relief fund to benefit Xavier and Dillard universities. Meanwhile, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education is seeking to provide for alternatives in the event that the colleges are not able to quickly reopen and return to a regular academic schedule. NAFEO, based in Washington, is a membership organization for 120 historically and predominantly black colleges and universities.

  Lezli Baskerville, president of NAFEO, told BlackAmericaWeb.com, "The presidents at other institutions don�t want to see the education process interrupted for students. This attitude speaks to what we are about -- when you have Morris Brown College say, 'we have some challenges, but we will do whatever we can do.'" Jackson State and Alcorn State opened their doors to students from Dillard and Xavier, Baskerville said.

• Chicagoans who were enrolled at schools closed by the floods may audit, or attend for no credit, classes this semester at any of Chicago's seven community colleges. These students may later have an opportunity to enroll in the City Colleges of Chicago, said Chancellor Wayne Watson.

• Clinton Bristow Jr., president of Alcorn State University, has agreed to receive and enroll any nursing student displaced from Dillard or Xavier in the Alcorn State University Nursing School for the remainder of the semester. President William Harvey of Hampton University is extending a similar offer to Xavier�s nursing and pharmacy students. Virginia State University President Eddie Moore has offered to take any Virginia residents. President John Garland of Central State University has offered to take Ohio students, and Morris Brown College said it was committed to providing any needed assistance.

• At the urging of Watson of the City Colleges of Chicago, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced that the state would receive and enroll for the remainder of the semester any displaced Illinois student. Texas Southern University said it would admit for the fall semester any student currently enrolled at the institutions affected by the hurricane. The university said it would hire displaced faculty as required.

• Black Entertainment Television announced a 2 1/2-hour telethon for hurricane relief to air Sept. 9. The program is to feature hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, Mississippi rapper David Banner, and two guests from New Orleans: rapper Master P and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Partners include the National Urban League, American Red Cross, Simmons� Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Kevin Liles and the Warner Music Group and Essence Communication.

• Southern University is making plans to absorb on its main campus in Baton Rouge the students enrolled at its New Orleans commuter campus, which is under water.

• People who wish to volunteer in the flooded region have been asked to contact the USA Freedom Corps (www.usafreedomcorps.gov).

• Internet sites such as Yahoo and Google, and newspaper Web sites including the Times-Picayune online, are creating space where family members can go to list a missing relative or let family members know that they are OK. However, there is no single Web site that everyone may check or use. The federal government has established a list of links where family members can find loved ones, information on what victims can do, and disaster cleanups and resources. Interested people may report information to www.governmentguide.com.

• In cooperation with Reach Media Inc., �The Tom Joyner Morning Show� and BlackAmericaWeb.com, the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund is giving visitors to the site a vehicle for providing financial assistance.

According to the Associated Press, the following organizations are collecting financial contributions:

Red Cross (www.redcross.org) or call (800) HELP-NOW

Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org) or call (800) SAL-ARMY

Catholic Charities (www.catholiccharitiesusa.org) or call at (800) 919-9338

Episcopal Relief and Development (www.er-d.org) or call at (800) 334-7626

United Methodist Committee on Relief (http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005) or call Relief at (800) 554-8583

Operation USA (www.opusa.org) or call at (800) 78-7255

FEMA tips on giving (www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm)

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (www.nvoad.org)

Islamic Relief at (www.irw.org/katrina)

Islamic Circle of North America Relief at (http://icnarelief.org)

Humane Society of the United States at (www.hsus.org)

United Jewish Communities at (www.ujc.org).

Artisha Lawson, who has graduated from Central State University, is a Black College Wire intern. Kendrick Marshall, a senior at Jackson State University, contributed to this report. Shawnee McFarland was a Black College Wire intern and is a contributor to the Black College Wire.

Posted Sept. 5, 2005

Read additional articles about aid for student victims of the flooding in Black College Wire's "In Other Media" section.