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September
19, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 16Oakland,
CA
Local colleges enroll students displaced by Katrina
They find
themselves navigating unfamiliar hallways and campuses, shell-shocked
and lacking books, transcripts or even a change of clothes, but as dozens
of students displaced from Gulf Coast universities arrive at local Catholic
schools, they are finding a warm welcome, with practical help and moral
support.
At St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Holy Names University in Oakland,
the University of San Francisco and elsewhere, students are settling into
new routines, helped with generous financial aid, housing, and orientation
events aimed at easing the shock of sudden change.
USF has accepted 161 students from Loyola, Xavier, Tulane, Dillard, the
University of New Orleans and Southern Mississippi. “The homes of
some of the students are still under water and some of them have lost
everything they own,” a USF release states.
Although USF housing was filled to capacity, the school was able to put
up 81 students on campus, placing a third resident in some double rooms
and converting student lounges into dorm space. The students come from
throughout California and the Gulf Coast, and USF alumni have offered
to house some of them. One student left his home under 17 feet of water,
the university reported.
The new students were introduced to the school during a welcome and orientation
session that included information booths from several campus centers and
services.
At Holy Names University 31 students from Xavier and Dillard have enrolled
during the college’s extended admission period for evacuees. Most
of them come from Los Angeles or the Bay Area, and 15 are living on campus.
Some had managed to salvage only a few items before they fled, and one
lost her belongings when a fire destroyed her evacuation bus.
From six students who contacted the university admissions office soon
after the hurricane, word spread to others, and the number grew, according
to Lonnie Morris, enrollment director.
Another 10 students have made their way to St. Mary’s College, where
“every effort was made to get them into the classes they needed
as well as accommodate their housing needs,” according to spokesperson
Debra Holtz. The crowded residence halls were able to squeeze in five,
she said, and the rest did not need housing.
Most of St. Mary’s new students are from Northern California and
were attending Loyola, the University of New Orleans, Tulane, Xavier,
Dillard and the University of New Orleans.
“We’re financially supporting them as much as possible,”
Holtz said. “Every case is handled individually.” Most students
have already paid tuition at their original schools, but they face problems
trying to get this money back since the schools themselves are facing
financial problems.
Only one new St. Mary’s student is from the Gulf Coast, Holtz said,
and he had come with a friend from Hercules because his own family lost
everything.
The Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley has offered to take in up to
four seminarians from St. Thomas Major Seminary in New Orleans for the
fall semester without charge. It has also offered admission as a guest
student to any graduate students in theology and ministry from schools
closed after the hurricane.
Several students have made inquiries, and as The Voice went to press,
one lay graduate student from Loyola had enrolled, according to Karen
Ellis, director of development. The school may be getting more, she said.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, secular universities have also accepted student
evacuees. UC-Berkeley took in 59, including 20 at its law schools. Most
are taking in students temporarily, until their original schools are functioning
again.
St. Mary’s College in Moraga
Holy Names University in Oakland
