College News
You Can Go Home Again
Reflections on Hurrican Katrina and its aftermath with New Orleans professor Georgette Ioup
"The rebuilding is just not happening..."
~ Georgette Ioup
When Georgette Ioup first arrived in Altoona last September, she was disoriented and under a great deal of stress.
The Altoona native found her way back home, and to Penn State Altoona, after evacuating New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Grabbing a small suitcase, a book, and her two cats, she left the city and its flooding to return to her mother's home.
As soon as she arrived in central Pennsylvania, the University of New Orleans (UNO) linguistics professor needed to find a college environment to set up an online version of one of her classes so that her students could continue their studies despite the physical destruction to their college. Penn State Altoona was glad to lend a hand.
Fleeing New Orleans without her books, research materials, and laptop, and having never taught an online course, Ioup appreciated the college's help with filling all of these needs, even "directing me to a great hairdresser to get my hair cut," Ioup remarks. During her nearly four months in Altoona, Ioup did venture back to New Orleans for short periods.
"I first returned to New Orleans in October right after the water had finally been drained out of my neighborhood. My own house had taken on about a foot of water. I started damage control by throwing out everything that was wet, putting things out in the sun that could be salvaged, and, worst of all, emptying out the decaying food from my refrigerator and washing it down with Clorox.
While there, she checked on the condition of UNO and found it to be in very bad shape, noting that most of the buildings were closed to faculty until they were decontaminated for mold. Significant vandalism and looting of the buildings and equipment had occurred both during the hurricane and the decontamination.
Because of all the damage and problems that ensued, the start of classes was postponed until January 30, 2006. But while classes started and 12,000 students signed up for the spring semester, the problems were—and are—far from over.
"Several of the large classroom buildings are still damaged and closed. My building has no heat, the water is out, and there is no access to bathrooms, sinks, or water fountains. Students are having a hard time because there is no place for them to live and many are commuting long distances. Because of the financial crisis in the state of Louisiana, UNO has to make severe cutbacks. It will be a fractured university in the future."
Although Ioup is enjoying her classes and seeing students on campus, other aspects of her life in New Orleans are not as positive. For starters, she says there has been very little progress in repairing her house and she's still not living there. Her kitchen has to be replaced and it is difficult to find workers to do repairs.
"If I am able to get in by next winter, I'll be lucky."
'Home' for Ioup has been four different houses since the hurricane and she is tired of living out of a suitcase. Next month, she will go to her fifth place: a small FEMA trailer. And her situation is not unique.
"The rebuilding is just not happening; the city looks virtually the same as it did last October when I was first allowed to return. It is a real disaster zone, with 80 percent destroyed and unoccupied. My neighborhood has no markets, restaurants, stores, or gas stations. Few of the people have returned, and some are living in FEMA trailers on their property. It's incredible that these conditions are allowed to persist in a part of the United States. People from New Orleans feel that people from the rest of the country don't understand how bad things are here and have sort of moved on from Hurricane Katrina."
Despite the difficult conditions that she and other residents of New Orleans are facing, Ioup is grateful for the caring and support she received while in her hometown:
"Everyone in Altoona was so gracious and helpful. There is no way to thank you all enough. Going back to Altoona for four months allowed me to reconnect with people from my past whom I hadn't seen in so many years and, even better, it allowed me to spend some quality time with my mother."