<p>Tulsadem-GROW UP! I have no humanity for people whochose to go live in the city AGAIN. Pre Katrina, maybe. Post Katrina.....you kidding me? These idiots actually re-elected Ray Nagen, that should tell you something. Put the testosterone away and think using your head, man.</p>
<p>curmudgeon,
I see the move to more service work at Tulane as a very good thing. It's always had a bit of a rich kids, party-school rep and a lot of people (particularly in academia) never appreciated the quality of the academic work going on there. Some of the historical rep is accurate and remains today, but now those same kids are confronted with a reality that many have never been exposed to before. My impression is that the students' work in greater New Orleans is having a mutually beneficial positive impact. </p>
<p>My biggest frustration is the lack of outside understanding of New Orleans. So much of what took place was politicized and that is all that outsiders know. Folks in New Orleans didn't spend nearly as much time worrying about that as there was/is so much to do. But the views of outsiders create resentments, such as tomslaw expressed above, which are understandable but also hamstring the city's rebound. I understand where he is coming from, but I suspect he would feel differently if he actually visited New Orleans. They need help. It is a very unique city and a treasure (even if it is a bit seedy in places) and a fun place to spend four years of college. And Tulane and its students are playing a consequential role in the rebirth of New Orleans. I think that should be applauded.</p>
<p>I worked on a Habitat build last February in the area of most destruction. There were a number of Tulane students and faculty working with us. I was very impressed. There was also a group of young men who were all grads of UNC who were in New Orleans for a bachelor party weekend for one of the guys. They ALL worked on the Habitat build all day Saturday before starting their partying. The biggest problem Tulane faced after Katrina was the destruction of many historic documents and books which had been stored in basements. Also, the engineering program was a casualty.
There is a poster on this site who is a junior at Tulane and has had a great experience. He had to leave, of course, on his first day and attended Brown for a semester but did return to Tulane.</p>
<p>I appreciate what you are saying, but you ignore several of the elephants in the room. Once you peel below the "cultural" and historical layers of the city, the REAL picture emerges... Before Katrina, NO was predominantly a poor, uneducated, illiterate (illiteracy rate was ~40%) and committed violent crime city:</p>
<p>In 2003, New Orleans’s murder rate was nearly eight times the national average—and since then, murder has increased. In 2002 and 2003, New Orleans had the highest per capita city homicide rate in the United States, with 59 people killed per year per 100,000 citizens—compared to New York City’s seven. New Orleans is a New York with nearly 5,000 murders a year—an unlivable place. The city’s economy has sputtered over the past generation partly because local and state officials have failed to do the most elementary job of government: to secure the personal safety of citizens."</p>
<p>Who’s</a> Killing New Orleans? by Nicole Gelinas, City Journal Autumn 2005</p>
<p>Of the 131,000 poor people in the city in 2000, nearly 50,000 (38 percent) lived in those neighborhoods of extreme poverty. That put New Orleans second among large American cities in 2000 and far above the national average in its concentration of poverty.</p>
<p>Concentrated</a> Poverty in New Orleans and Other American Cities - Brookings Institution</p>
<p>But, what you are missing is that the people are helping rebuild a city that will get pummeled again.</p>
<p>When Galveston was destroyed by a storm, they rebuilt. they, however, raised the city above sea level as part of their plans and have been fine ever since. Rebuilding inside the bowl, just so it can be filled again is just a stupid idea. There is nothing even close to being smart about it. then, people will chose to live in the city again. Katrina will happen again. Like I said before, I just don't get it.</p>
<p>tomslaw,
Like many major cities in America, there is crime in New Orleans and some of it is violent. Physically, the school is located more than 4 miles from the badly hit 9th Ward. Criminals have cars so crime rates throughout the city have risen, but Tulane remains in one of the very best areas of city. </p>
<p>Now compare the experience of Tulane's neighborhood in New Orleans with other college settings like U Penn in Philadelphia or Johns Hopkins in Baltimore or U Chicago in southside Chicago or USC in Los Angeles or Columbia in New York City…..In every case, I think most observers would conclude that Tulane's neighborhood is much nicer and more settled and much less likely to experience violent crime. But I agree with your comments about the poverty and the illiteracy. It has long been a problem in Louisiana and solving it will take massive improvements in capital and even more massive improvements in political leadership. The current trends for this are positive, but almost anything would have been an improvement over the pre-Katrina scene. </p>
<p>As for the wisdom of rebuilding the low-lying neighborhoods of New Orleans, you'll have to take that one up with the politicians.</p>
<p>
This sound so much like a small LAC in another southern city with blinding, incessant poverty. It too has plenty of opportunities to serve some of America's most needy, most forgotten, most desperate. The school doesn't just pay lip service to "service". It is the school's primary extracurricular focus (up to and including recruiting public service advocates with some pretty good incentives ;)) And yes there is violence there , too. </p>
<p>Give Tulane and her students credit for being a standup school. I do.</p>
<p>The peculiar thing is that the president Cowan said that last yr. they had about 20,700 apps, and this year about 33,700 apps. Thats a 62% increase (still HUGE) but not 100% increase. No matter, its still overwhelming. Yield was only 19% last year.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether people feel this marketing reminds them of the WUSTL marketing, it is still obviously effective! I was in NOLA in Oct. and will be back again at the end of the month. I'll try to give a report upon my return.</p>
<p>I just wonder how their admission is going to determine the overall admission rate.</p>
<p>With such a growth of un-dedicated applicants (from "spam" emails and snail mails), how is Tulane gonna approximate the yield rate? If they base it on their previous yield rate, they might be in some trouble.</p>
<p>If I was Tulane, I would be confused as hell right now.</p>
<p>quit being a coward and go to the lower 9th ward and spew this social darwinist nonsense to a resident of the city. i'd love to see what happens.</p>
<p>and if you think mitch landrieu would have been much of an improvement over nagin, you need to get your head examined.</p>
<p>What they can do is evaluate carefully for each applicant, and reject the obvious ones that don't cut it, and the obvious ones that won't attend if admitted. (similar to a strategy that Tufts used a few years ago, might still do that) Give good merit aid to the top of your admitted class.This way you get a nice low Acceptance rate, and a good yield. Of course it's easier said than done, but good techniques can help the yield a lot.</p>