An outpouring of support for hurricane victims

From numerous fund-raising events to admissions assistance to research expertise, the University community rallied during the fall semester to help the victims of hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast this year.

Several freshmen who had been admitted to UD but opted to attend Tulane University in New Orleans now have enrolled at UD after Tulane was evacuated when Hurricane Katrina struck. Housing and academic officials at UD helped streamline the process for the displaced students.

Also in September, the Disaster Research Center began dispatching researchers to study issues related to the response to the widespread devastation wrought by Katrina. Students and staff went to such stricken cities as New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Biloxi, as well as Houston, where many evacuees were moved into shelters.

Additional expert assistance came from art conservationists at UD. In mid-September, Debra Hess Norris, Henry Francis du Pont Chair in Fine Arts and chairperson of the Department of Art Conservation, was invited to join a delegation of archivists who traveled to the Gulf Coast to review some of the hurricane damage and help advise local officials. Norris said faculty and graduate student conservators from UD plan to continue working with Gulf Coast conservators to restore items onsite in the devastated communities and in the laboratories at UD and at Winterthur Museum.

University efforts on behalf of hurricane victims included a Sept. 12 interfaith candlelight vigil held on the north lawn of The Green and attended by more than 300 members of the UD community. The vigil was held in memory of those who died and in support of those who are rebuilding their lives.

The same week as the vigil, a number of UD offices, including Campus Life and Residence Life, launched a fund-raising drive called Giving on The Green to help hurricane victims. Throughout the week, students sold $1 raffle tickets for a long list of prizes donated by area merchants, raising $8,665 to send to victims of Hurricane Katrina via the American Red Cross.

For a week beginning Sept. 16, a ribbon garden was established on the south side of Memorial Hall, with campus volunteers distributing green ribbons to students and community members. Recipients were asked to write messages on the ribbons to survivors of the hurricane, and then install them in the garden to show solidarity and encourage reflection and awareness of those in need.

All during the semester, student organizations sponsored a variety of creative fund-raising activities for hurricane victims. These ranged from benefit concerts and sporting events to collections of such needed items as baby formula and diapers to the UD Chorale's recording of a new song, "Big Easy on My Mind," with profits from the accompanying sheet music donated to hurricane relief.

Additionally, English Prof. Ben Yagoda, with support from the Office of Public Relations, organized a faculty auction to assist Dillard University in New Orleans as the private, historically black, liberal arts institution struggles to restore its campus, which sustained heavy flood damage. UD faculty members donated numerous items and services to the online auction, which was held throughout November, with proceeds donated to Dillard.