For most of her college career, Stacie Gould lived in Braithwaite, La., and commuted north to attend the University of New Orleans.
After Hurricane Katrina struck her home last August, she moved to Eugene and enrolled at the University for fall term.
Gould, a senior, is one of thousands of college students nationwide who moved to a different school after Hurricane Katrina shut down their home campuses. Now, with schools in the New Orleans area set to reopen in January, students like Gould must decide whether to return to their old schools and friends or remain at their new campuses.
Assistant Vice President and Director of Admissions Martha Pitts, who worked to ensure students affected by Hurricane Katrina had a smooth transition to the University, expects the majority of relocated students to return to New Orleans.
“We encourage them to return to their home schools, if possible,” she said in an e-mail.
Pitts said some students may choose to remain at the University, and they will be accommodated.
“A very small number of students have indicated that they are unable to return,” she said. “We have provided those students with information about the processes necessary to enroll at the UO.”
Gould, who has been pursuing a major in Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Administration, decided not to return to New Orleans, fearing the city would provide a bleak job market for someone with her skills.
“New Orleans is pretty much shot as far as the tourism industry for the next five to 10 years,” she said.
Sharon Gruber, vice chancellor for university advancement at the University of New Orleans, said students might not return for various reasons.
Traditionally, the University of New Orleans has a large number of commuter students who live outside the city.
Damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina means that some of these students have no home to commute from, Gruber said.
“We are probably going to lose some of the students who were enrolled in the fall,” she said. “In some situations, that’s not going to be of their choice.”
Tulane University expects most all of its students will return in January; so far only 150 students have officially withdrawn, said Mike Strecker, director of public relations at Tulane University.
“We’re anticipating that the vast majority of our students will return,” he said.
Strecker noted that at this point, the actual number of returning students “is a guessing game.”
Whatever their concerns, students cited a number of factors that are drawing them back to New Orleans.
Lex Steers, who lived in Eugene before attending Tulane, has spent the last few months living with his parents and taking classes at the University.
As an engineering student and a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Steers was disappointed to be at a campus without an engineering department or a chapter of his fraternity.
His decision to return to Tulane was an easy one.
“The difference in classes, the difference in degrees, makes it a pretty tough sell to stay here,” he said.
Lauren DeGraffenreid, a sophomore ecology major from Tulane, relocated to the University to study at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. She said that because of her loyalty to Tulane, she wants to return.
“I do not wish to abandon my beloved alma mater during our hour of need,” she said in an e-mail.
DeGraffenreid is quick to offer praise and thanks to the University for providing her with a place to study this fall. She ended her e-mail to the Emerald with: “GO GREEN WAVE! GO DUCKS!”
Sophomore Nina Pavlich decided to remain permanently at the University, despite her fond memories of Tulane.
“There’s a little part of me that wants to go back,” she said. “It’s hard to let those memories go.”
Pavlich has enjoyed her time in Eugene so far and is excited to have found a place in the architecture program, but she said her decision to stay was based largely on concerns about the safety of New Orleans.
“A family friend went down to New Orleans with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and said it wasn’t safe,” Pavlich said. “When they start bulldozing houses there will be social unrest, and it’s the social unrest more than the physical instability that could make it an unsafe place to be.”
While students make plans to stay or leave, a feeling of uncertainty seems to linger.
Aram Krauson, a second-year graduate student in biochemistry who came to the University from Tulane, said that right now, he still is not sure where he’ll be several months from now.
“My first choice is to go back to Tulane if conditions are safe and housing is available,” he said. “If not, I’d be happy to stay here.”

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