2008 Woodie Awards
Welcome, Tulane Students
Meg Savin
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: Arts & Features
Chatting with first-years Melissa Gordon and Sara Weinreb at the Coop on a Tuesday afternoon, I could observe the ease with which the two have adapted to college life. The two young women have become close over the past few weeks as they made the transition from high school to college. The beginning of this bond, however, did not form from the fact that they both hail from Westchester County, NY. Instead, it was a truly extraordinary experience that brought the two together, and one that will most likely remain imprinted in their memories forever.
"We just got in the car and drove west. We had a rented car. We had no idea where we were going. We just drove to Dallas," said first-year Melissa Gordon, remembering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and her evacuation from Tulane University, the school she had planned on attending. Classmate Sara Weinreb found herself in a similar position. Having planned on entering Tulane as a member of the class of 2009, she instead found herself in Hamilton, NY, as a visiting student for the semester after the hurricane devastated New Orleans.
Gordon was forced to leave New Orleans just hours after arriving on Tulane's campus the Saturday before Katrina hit. Weinreb had the opportunity to see a bit more of the city before the University's president held a meeting requiring that students be evacuated by 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 27.
"I moved in on the 21st for a pre-orientation program for the school paper," said Weinreb. Just a little over a week later she would be on a plane heading back home to New York.
"We were told we could return by Wednesday. The President urged students to head back with parents or go to relatives' houses. The problem was that there were no flights out of New Orleans to New York." Weinreb explained that this mass exodus from Louisiana to New York made making plans to get out extremely difficult.
"30 percent of Tulane is from the Northeast," said Weinreb.
Both Gordon and Weinreb agreed that it took time for them to notice the enormity of the devastation. Gordon explained that when she arrived on Tulane's campus people were joking about the possibility of having to go back home, but she never imagined that it would turn into a reality. The two classmates flew down to Louisiana to begin their first year, yet before orientation was officially underway Gordon found herself driving to Dallas with her parents before finding a flight back to New York. Similarly, Weinreb drove to her cousin's in Atlanta before flying home.
"We just got in the car and drove west. We had a rented car. We had no idea where we were going. We just drove to Dallas," said first-year Melissa Gordon, remembering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and her evacuation from Tulane University, the school she had planned on attending. Classmate Sara Weinreb found herself in a similar position. Having planned on entering Tulane as a member of the class of 2009, she instead found herself in Hamilton, NY, as a visiting student for the semester after the hurricane devastated New Orleans.
Gordon was forced to leave New Orleans just hours after arriving on Tulane's campus the Saturday before Katrina hit. Weinreb had the opportunity to see a bit more of the city before the University's president held a meeting requiring that students be evacuated by 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 27.
"I moved in on the 21st for a pre-orientation program for the school paper," said Weinreb. Just a little over a week later she would be on a plane heading back home to New York.
"We were told we could return by Wednesday. The President urged students to head back with parents or go to relatives' houses. The problem was that there were no flights out of New Orleans to New York." Weinreb explained that this mass exodus from Louisiana to New York made making plans to get out extremely difficult.
"30 percent of Tulane is from the Northeast," said Weinreb.
Both Gordon and Weinreb agreed that it took time for them to notice the enormity of the devastation. Gordon explained that when she arrived on Tulane's campus people were joking about the possibility of having to go back home, but she never imagined that it would turn into a reality. The two classmates flew down to Louisiana to begin their first year, yet before orientation was officially underway Gordon found herself driving to Dallas with her parents before finding a flight back to New York. Similarly, Weinreb drove to her cousin's in Atlanta before flying home.