Arrival • President
Robert C. Maxson introduces Rhett O’Keefe,
a student displaced by hurricane Katrina
who will attend CSULB, to the Academic
Senate Thursday. Jamie Rowe / Daily
Forty-Niner
The
Beach welcomes Louisiana evacuees
By
Starr T. Balmer
Daily Forty-Niner
City Editor
Thousands of Louisiana residents continue to search for food and shelter in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that pounded the state a few weeks ago.
Many residents began crying out for help and starting searches for loved ones.
But some Pelican State residents are starting to pick up the pieces, including
continuing their education. Many displaced children and adults trekked across
the country and squeezed their way into full classrooms to continue their education
after water buried many Louisiana schools. In particular, some college students
attending schools in Louisiana found their way to Cal State Long Beach.
“When the hurricane was over New Orleans, it sounded [like] you were outside
a jet engine,” University of New Orleans student and Jefferson Parish resident
Rhett O’Keefe said. He is coming to CSULB this semester to finish his senior
year during the fall.
He said he was home with his family when they heard about the hurricane coming
to Louisiana. He, his brother and father decided to stay with family in the
city of Ponchatoula, a town about 50 miles northwest of New Orleans.
But around 4:30 a.m. Monday, he said the electricity shut off and he was awakened
by the thunderous hurricane. “You [could] hear the winds whipping,” he
recalls. “You [could] see the trees almost bent at 90 degrees.”
Even though they were without electricity, he said a New Orleans radio station
was their only form of receiving information.
“The radio gave half information, half rescue,” he said, meaning
people were listening to learn about the hurricane and calling in asking to be
rescued. “We had no idea how our family was.”
He recalled people calling the radio stations and saying that they were stuck
in attics and were in need of help. O’Keefe said he did not think it
was going to be as bad, because Ponchatoula is above sea level.
“I was worried about the trees falling and getting the electricity and
water back on,” he said.
That changed when he heard radio hosts continuously reporting rising water
and levees breaking in the state.
He and his family decided to buy a generator, but they had to travel to a store
in Baton Rouge, where hundreds of people gathered to get supplies.
“The line wrapped around the corner,” O’Keefe said. He said
they arrived at the store at 10 a.m. but were not able to purchase the generator
until 4 p.m.
After getting some electricity from the generator, he was able to talk to family
members. But his mother who works at East Jefferson hospital in New Orleans,
was stuck in the hospital and told them to leave.
O’Keefe, his brother and father decided to evacuate. They met with family
members in Arizona, who had advised him about universities in California. He
then made contact with admissions processor where Angela Williams, who accommodated
him with classes at CSULB.
“Everyone has been great,” O’Keefe said. “They have been
extremely helpful.”
He said his mother was eventually released from the hospital and was able to
retrieve some of his clothes which she shipped to him, because he was only
able to pack for a few days.
The 22-year-old senior only needs to take two classes to graduate and said
he plans to take a management and political science course.
He misses his hometown, but attempts to adjust to Long Beach life by staying
with family in Long Beach.
“The weather is unbelievable. It’s unreal,” he said. “It’s
hard because I want to be there to help them.”
O’Keefe plans to go back to New Orleans, but he said he was angry when
the possible reconstruction of New Orleans was questioned.
“It hurts because it’s my home and they question if we should rebuild
it,” O’Keefe said.
He explained how people did not expect the hurricane to be so disastrous.
“That mentally hurt us,” he said. “It didn’t hit us directly,
but a lot of people took it for granted.”
Even though Anthony Nguyen was not directly in the path of the hurricane, it
drastically changed his life. Like O’Keefe, he has also joined the student
body from the University of New Orleans this semester.
The 25-year-old business major recalled sleeping in his apartment in Metairie,
a town five miles northwest of New Orleans, that Saturday night when he was
awakened by his brother and his brother’s girlfriend, asking him what
he going to do when the hurricane hit.
He said he was unaware of a hurricane coming toward the South, so he began
to watch the news, but he did not pay much attention.
“I never though much of it,” he said. “Even when Hurricane
Ivan came last year, I boarded up the house.” He said after doing so, nothing
much happened. “I though it would be the same thing. I thought I would
ride out the hurricane.”
Nguyen was invited by his brother’s girlfriend to leave with them to
go to Houston. But he had plans to fly to Los Angeles. “I decided if
I could take a flight, I’ll stay there until it ends,” he said. “If
not, I figured I can just ride it out.”
After a while, he was convinced and left at 2 a.m. Aug. 28 for Los Angeles.
He contacted his cousin and aunt in New Orleans and convinced them to leave,
and most of his family members traveled to Houston and California.
Nguyen said he also contacted his friends; he said they were terrified but
were doing well.
“With the devastation, it was really hard to look at,” he said. “New
Orleans is my home and I’m used to it.”
But officials angered Nguyen because they question New Orleans’ future.
“It really appalled me that some politicians and journalists were saying
that they don’t want to rebuild New Orleans,” he said. “New
Orleans is a city and it’s their lives.”
Nguyen was pleased with how the United States helps other countries in need,
but was upset to view how emergencies within the U.S. are controlled. “How
patriotic are we if we can’t help our own people?” he asked.
After checking the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Web site, www.fema.gov,
Nguyen said it reported that the area near Metairie was under eight feet of
water. “I live fairly close to where the levees broke,” he said.
But, he said, the overall stay in California has been a pleasant one. While
staying with family in Bellflower, he said he enjoys the atmosphere.
“[Long Beach] has nice weather and there aren’t any mosquitoes,” Nguyen
said.
Williams also assisted Nguyen with his classes. He plans to take economics,
finance, English and math courses this semester and plans to graduate in 2.5
to 3 years.
“I do thank the school for taking us up so quickly,” he said.
Tom Myers, director of Admissions at CSULB, said 56 students expressed interest
in the school. Nineteen of the 56 students are currently enrolled.
Sept. 19 is the deadline for displaced students to enroll. If students miss
the deadline, they will have to wait to enroll for the spring semester. Additionally,
Myers said 20 people in the Long Beach community offered extra rooms to house
displaced students.
O’Keefe noticed the support when he arrived in Long Beach. “Neighbors
are offering rooms and their homes to victims,” he said. “It’s
overwhelming to see the support.”
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