By Megan Twohey (KRT)
Mark Stilp was brimming with excitement when he packed his belongings in the car and set out for New Orleans on Aug. 26. The 21-year-old from Milwaukee is entering his senior year at Tulane University. As he looked ahead, Stilp saw two final semesters spent with college friends, graduation in the spring and the launch of a career next summer.
Then Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, leaving in its path of destruction almost a dozen colleges in the New Orleans area that were forced to shut down. The colleges could be closed for a semester, or even a year, according to the American Council on Education.
Nearly 100,000 students from across the country are in limbo as a result. They must decide soon whether to transfer, wait for their schools to reopen -- or drop out of college altogether this year.
"I feel frozen," said Stilp, who is thinking about returning to Milwaukee, getting a job and taking classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee next semester. "It's hard to react to it all."
Kate Garvey was just beginning her freshman year at the University of New Orleans when the hurricane hit. The 18-year-old from Eagle, who had earned a swimming scholarship, was looking forward to competing and the start of classes. Back in Wisconsin, she is mulling over what to do now.
"I was looking forward to starting this whole new life," Garvey said. "Now everything has been put on hold."
The condition of the colleges in the New Orleans area -- among them, Dillard University, Loyola University and the University of New Orleans -- is unclear, said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education.
Phone lines are down, he said. Tulane might be the only one maintaining a Web site.
"The majority of the damage can be remediated in a reasonable period of time," Tulane President Scott Cowen said in a statement posted Tuesday night.
But he added, "We don't know when our employees will be able to return to the city, much less to the university."
In the meantime, other colleges are scrambling to help.
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta took in hundreds of Tulane students who had been staying at Jackson State University after being evacuated. Most of those students now are heading home. But Georgia Tech is still trying to find long-term housing for 83 international graduate students who cannot return home, said Elizabeth Campell, a Georgia Tech spokeswoman.
Centenary College in Shreveport, La., told Hartle it was housing 250 displaced Dillard students in its field house.
George Washington University, Tufts University and the University of Florida are among the colleges that have told the council on education that they are willing to enroll students who want to transfer.
UWM has already enrolled a Shorewood freshman who was scheduled to begin at Xavier University of Louisiana. UWM has told other displaced students that they can earn college credits that can be transferred to their original schools.
"We've seen a flurry of activity as a picture begins to emerge of how bad and long-lasting the hurricane damage is," said Tom Luljak, UWM's vice chancellor for university relations. "It looks like we're going to see more and more in the coming days."
Marquette University is opening its doors to students from Loyola or Tulane. UW-Madison, meanwhile, is offering enrollment in its undergraduate programs to Wisconsin residents whom it has previously accepted. Freshmen and upperclassmen not previously accepted to UW-Madison can continue their education through the university's Division of Continuing Studies.
"We want to do everything in our power to assist families -- especially Wisconsin families -- as they cope with the horrible damage caused by this natural disaster," said Chancellor John D. Wiley. He said other Big Ten and national research universities are planning similar efforts.
But it's a bad time to scramble. Classes are beginning. Because their communication is knocked out, New Orleans colleges cannot advise students on what they should do and whether credits will transfer.
"Mother Nature could not have picked a worse week for college students," Hartle said.
Although they are frustrated that their college plans might unravel, Garvey and Stilp feel fortunate when they compare themselves with the people who have lost family members and homes to the hurricane.
"I'm just thankful to be healthy and safe," Stilp said.
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