For the fourth straight year, students, faculty and staff will immerse themselves in hurricane recovery work in Louisiana as part of Union’s Community Service mini-term.
The group, led by sociology lecturer Janet Grigsby, left Dec. 3.
In December 2005 and 2006, students spent part of their December break in New Orleans helping to rebuild parts of the city that were damaged or destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The course that grew out of those experiences, SOC 387, combines community service with the academic study of New Orleans and the hurricane disasters.
This year, the Union group, which includes 18 students, will go to New Orleans and the Louisiana wetlands. While recent hurricanes Gustav and Ike spared New Orleans from major damage, winds from Gustav wreaked havoc on homes in the wetlands, and flooding from Ike also caused major destruction.
“Many families in the region have to start all over again. There is much for us to do,” Grigsby said.
The Union volunteers will spend two weeks building and repairing homes, and they will also do some gutting in the wetlands. They will meet with environmental experts and local service and recovery workers, as well as study the local culture. The rest of the time is devoted to preparation and debriefing on campus when they return.
In preparing to go, the students spent several hours learning to use power tools at Community Land Trust of Schenectady, an agency that helps low to moderate income families become homeowners. They also watched documentaries and did Web research.
In January, the students will present individual projects at a campus symposium. In the meantime, they’ll be posting their findings and reflections at http://ublog.union.edu/soc387.
“I can’t wait,” said Graham Kaplan ’09 in a recent blog entry. “As long as we keep an open mind, listen, and be respectful toward those we are helping, I think this will be a very successful trip.”
“We will be able to spread the message that the people of Southern Louisiana still need help, which many Americans are unaware of,” said Amanda Samuels ’11. “When you see the documentary footage, it is hard to believe that this catastrophe happened in our own country… I am ready to go down there and experience it first hand.”
Accompanying Grigsby and the students will be Molly MacElroy, director of Residential Life, and Paul Matarazzo, Union’s capital projects administrator.