As Gustav charged through the gulf towards Louisiana a little over a week ago, several students at Southern fled the campus to their hometowns and nearby states, including Mississippi and Texas while some who remained faced power outage, gusty winds, and theft.
By Friday, Aug. 29—days before Gustav hit the state of Louisiana—the parking lots of the campus apartments and Ulysses Jones Hall were virtually empty. Approximately 50 students who remained on campus during Gustav were updated about the hurricane and given information on how to remain safe during its course in a meeting held in Boley Hall on Saturday morning, Aug. 30.
At the meeting, Marilyn Hill, interim director of Residential housing encouraged students to take the hurricane seriously and to stock up on non-perishable items in case of an electricity outage. Hill also told students that meals would be available for them in Boley Hall and delivered to them if the weather made it unsafe for them to leave their rooms.
The campus lost electricity in buildings 200, 300, and 400 at 7 a.m. on Sun., Aug. 31 according to Hill. Power was restored mid-day on Monday, Hill said.
While students remained physically unharmed during Gustav, a few were violated as their rooms were broken into and their property was stolen.
Denise Arceneaux, a senior speech communications student from Houston questioned the security of Boley Hall during the hurricane. Arceneaux’s cell phone was stolen in a matter of minutes in Boley.
“It wasn’t safe. It was random people there from the community. We didn’t know Boley was going to be a shelter,” said Arceneaux.
Arceneaux said she wanted to report the incident, but was discouraged to when a housing staff member told her, “Southern would not replace any items since students were told to get insurance before they came.”
Hill said Boley was not open to anyone in Baton Rouge, but was available for Southern University New Orleans (SUNO) students and parents of students who remained on campus during Gustav.
“We kept control on who was going in and out,” said Hill.
Kevin Lynch, a freshman mass communications student from Dallas has never experienced a hurricane before. The effects of Katrina motivated him to head back home before Gustav hit Louisiana. Instead of returning to campus relieved that he did not experience the hurricane, Lynch discovered that his room had been burglarized—his television and stereo stolen.
The suspect gained entry into Lynch’s bedroom by cutting out the area of the door surrounding the knob.
“I could not chill out when I came back because I had to take care of my things being stolen. I was frustrated that there were no cameras in here. They (SUPD) said they checked the cameras but did not see anything. I felt I wasn’t being helped—like they were not going to do anything about it.
As Gustav hit closer to Baton Rouge on Monday morning, students living in the dorms and apartments experienced rain and strong wind, which shattered a window of one of the apartment units and Washington Hall.
“I remember I was in bed. I wish I had taped it. The winds were strong. I saw car windows break. I didn’t think it was going to be that bad,” said Holt.
Holt said while she was afraid during the storm, “I felt safe because I knew we were in a safe environment.”
The loss of electricity for two days was not the only inconvenience students experienced because of Gustav. The hurricane caused power outages for most of Baton Rouge, shutting down several essential businesses, including grocery stores and gas stations. A curfew was also enforced for Baton Rouge requiring residents to initially be in their homes by 6 p.m., and later by 10 p.m.
Student were discouraged to leave campus during the days after Gustav according to Holt, but those like her, who left to go to the store or gas station, encountered bumper to bumper traffic and long lines to get the services and items they needed.
According to Hill, minor damage occurred as a result of Gustav. Hill said there was flooding in Bradford Hall, broken windows reported in Washington Hall and the apartments, and one reported break-in.
“I think our students felt safe. I am thankful that all of our students were safe. That was our goal,” said Hill.
Hill said residential housing is currently preparing for Hurricane Ike in case it hits Louisiana. A team of people from Southern University will meet today to discuss preparation plans for Ike.
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