<p>Hello. We moved our S into his dorm on Saturday and headed to Atlanta on the Interstate 10 in a rented Hertz arriving past midnight. We were lucky to get out early didn't hit too much traffic. Our S stayed behind with his roomate's family in Baton Rouge. But now we decided to fly him up one way to NYC until we get further notice. We found the cheapest one way rate at cheaptickets.</p>
<p>Does anyone have info as to when New Orleans residents will be permitted to return? Was there damage to campus buildings?</p>
<p>cnn.com seems to have the most comprehensive online reporting and photos; also <a href="http://www.nola.com/hurricane/katrina/%5B/url%5D">http://www.nola.com/hurricane/katrina/</a>.</p>
<p>80% of NO is under water, lots due to the breaches in the levee.</p>
<p>On the North Shore (north of Lake Ponchartrain), they are saying at least 30 days to restore power.</p>
<p>FEMA and the governor will not be allowing people back into New Orleans for a few days, and then I imagine that they will be allowed to return in stages as the physical threats in their neighborhoods, such as broken gas lines and downed power lines, have been eliminated There are issues with health and safety. Until there is power and water, there isn't much that can be done.</p>
<p>OMG, </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wwltv.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.wwltv.com/</a></p>
<p>"Break in 17th Street Canal Levee is now 200 feet wide and slowly flooding the City of New Orleans. Huge sand bags are being airlifted to try to stem the rush of water in that area. The expectations are that the water will not stop until it reaches lake level."</p>
<p>There is a new and sobering letter from Scott Cowen on the emergency website.</p>
<p>I can't get through to <a href="http://emergency.tulane.edu%5B/url%5D">http://emergency.tulane.edu</a>. Can someone who can please post the message here? Thanks.</p>
<p>August 30, 11:45 a.m.</p>
<pre><code>Dear Tulane Faculty, Staff, Students and Friends:
As you all know by now, New Orleans and the surrounding parishes were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The physical damage to the area, including Tulanes campuses, was extensive.
Unfortunately, conditions in the city continue to deteriorate, making it virtually impossible to begin recovery efforts. On a very positive note, in Tulanes case, we are very thankful that all of our people are safe, including all the students and staff who evacuated to Jackson, Mississippi.
We have started the process of assessing the condition of our campus facilities and determining how long it will take us to reopen. This assessment process will take days because many of the answers will be determined by how quickly the city and its services become operational. The situation is further complicated by the fact that there is no power in the city, water levels continue to rise, all city roads are blocked, and the vast majority of our workforce had to leave the parish as part of the mandatory evacuation order. It is unclear at this time when people will be allowed to return to the city.
Given the uncertainties, we cannot determine at this time when employees and students should return to campus. We will do the best we can to keep you appraised of our situation and progress.
Also, I want to remind you that the universitys main website is not operating at this time and we do not know when we will be able to bring it back on-line. Due to this, the Tulane email system is not functioning. However, this website (emergency.tulane.edu) will continue to have the most up-to-date information about university operations and the Tulane Alert Line at 1-877-862-8080 and 1-504-862-8080 will also have the most current information available. These communication vehicles are the best source of information about Tulane since phone and cell service are unreliable.
I realize that you have many more questions than we have answers at this time. However, Im sure you understand the complexity and difficulty of the situation we face. Nonetheless, we are determined to move forward as quickly as possible and make Tulane University an even stronger and healthier institution. We have been in New Orleans for 171 years and we look forward to another century in this great city.
Scott S. Cowen
</code></pre>
<p>Hey concerneddad, if we are out of school for a prolonged period of time, do you think Tulane will shorten the semester or extend it?</p>
<p>This was not altogether unexpected. We are all disappointed, dare I say heartsick, but we'll work through it. Tulane has invested a great deal in my son's future, and he loves the school. Hopefully, we will find out very soon how we can help get the school - and the city - back on its feet. I'm getting ready to make my first donation.</p>
<p>vicks, I think there will be sveral options for the school, including changing the timing of the semesters, running through summer, using satellite campuses, and/or contracting with other schools. Right now this is all just speculation and options, and I do not speak for the school or have anymore info than anyone else. These are just some options I have heard discussed.</p>
<p>Concerneddad, these are all interesting options. I think this is going to take a monumental amount of patience. (Not something I'm known for!) Paraphrasing Dr. Cowen, we have more questions than they have answers. Hopefully your son will start getting info as soon as he returns to NO.</p>
<p>This is all so disappointing and indeed devastating for so many who lost so much.</p>
<p>I am curious about the actual condition of the campus as I've seen on other blogs, etc that the Tulane/Loyola area fared pretty well. So the news of "extensive damage to the campus" was a little surprising.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any more information? Certainly, the city's infrastructure will all need to be in place before any resumption of Tulane services though.</p>
<p>I just read a report on the cnn site that it might take 4 to 6 weeks to restore electricity in the city.</p>
<p>Jeff Parish President. Residents will probably be allowed back in town in a week, with identification only, but only to get essentials and clothing. You will then be asked to leave and not come back for one month</p>
<p>Barrons, where do you get this information?</p>
<p>I just saw the same information on this site: <a href="http://www.wwltv.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.wwltv.com/</a></p>
<p>We have been without internet or cell for 1 1/2 days until now, as I sit in the Memphis airport. Evacuees such as us in Baton Rouge could have stayed only one more day, as the hotel was being taken over by FEMA. We had no certainty that our Delta flight would leave BR airport so we have driven to Memphis.</p>
<p>We passed right by Jackson, but without internet or cell could not figure out how to execute our plan of seeing whether any kids at MSU would like rides north with us (at that time, we had planned to drive al the way to Maine). When we left the highway at Jackson, there was no sign of serious damage - a few downed trees - however, no power, gasoline stations either out of gas or swamped with customers. We could not get through to MSU to see if Tulane kids were still there. We had received (I think) misinformation that MSU had flooded, so we guessed that Tulane students were no longer there. Another Maine family had started home on Sunday and took our son. We wanted to return the favor, as he is now safely home (where we hope to join him). So sorry that we had no way to get info as I would have dearly loved to see what was needed and whether we can help.</p>
<p>Like others, I cannot get on to the emergency.tulane.edu site, so will appreciate that, whenever one of us can, we post the updated info here.</p>
<p>We will wait, with patience and hope, to see what plans the University is able to make. Worst case, for my S, I am envisioning a "gap semester." But that is just a guess. I can imagine many options - allowing credit for certain on-line courses, allowing credit for certain courses (maybe outside the major) taken at other U's around the nation, etc. etc. I'm sure great minds are at work at Tulane.</p>
<p>My heart goes out especially to those looking to graduate this spring and hope that plans can be worked out for them.</p>
<p>Would anyone have an idea of whether there is a possibility of Tulane canceling the semester entirely? My parents seem to think that this is essentially inevitable and are at this moment trying to enroll me in my state college for the semester (where I would HATE to go).</p>
<p>Personally I don't think this is likely as it would disrupt so many people's plans for graduate school, student loans, etc. A better option would be changing the timing of the semesters, as concerneddad suggested. Since this is so unprecedented I don't know that anyone would have insight into this, but any thoughts are appreciated.</p>