Student Reflections (Click Here for Full Set)
[Elizabeth] The fact that they are so adamant about rebuilding shows a lot of strength. They could easily give up and move out and never look back. I think the people of New Orleans have a lot of spirit and courage. This wasn’t my view before our trip down there though. I couldn’t accept the fact that they had roots there and that it has always been their home. My family has moved around a lot so I don’t know what it feels like to really be connected to a certain place, and I tried to push my own views onto the people of New Orleans thinking that they should think like I do. That would never work because everyone has different experiences and I obviously was not raised like any of them. This experience made me realize that there is no way I could know how everyone thinks and before pass judgments I need to realize that people have different backgrounds and their own reasons for the things they do. This sounds like common sense and that it would be easy to do if you are a good person, but it is difficult to do. <more>
[Kristina] Are the delays in New Orleans so petty as to be politically motivated? This would be such a lack of care for another; it is something I can barely conceive. If there is one thing I have learned from this class, it is that things are not always as they seem. I hope very much that this apparent lack of care for other humans is just not as it seems. Yet it begs the question, if the people of New Orleans were neglected because of their race and class, who else is America failing to recognize? Had Hurricane Katrina not drawn international attention, would this country still be putting the problems in New Orleans off for another day? Why is it that people have to die for a camera to be turned to a place in such obvious need? Perhaps had the media looked to a hurting city, more could have been done to prevent this. Don’t underestimate the power of the media. <more>
[Alex] Imagine a tree. Most people only look at society like they would look at a tree. They think to themselves something like this: “Oh look a pretty tree.” Or “Oh look, that tree is almost dying”. I have learned to look at the tree in a different way. I can now look at the tree, but also see the root system that lies beneath it, feeding the tree and giving it life. Without the roots, the tree would not be able to survive; so how can we look at society without looking at the connecting issues that make this civilization we live in so complex? To learn to connect the dots is a very powerful skill. <more>
[Katie] Gutting homes was an experience I will never forget. I never could forget even if I wanted to. Seeing the insides of these homes just affects you. I realized that they were homes, not just houses. People lived their lives in these homes, and we were cleaning up the pieces. This idea really hit me during the second house. When we were cleaning out the possessions from this house, I found many things in the bedroom that could have been mine. I found an English textbook that I had used my first year at Winona State. It was even the same edition. I found bath and body works products that I had as well. I also found a Gloria Estefan CD I used to listen to with my mom when we cleaned our house. It gave me the feeling that this could have been me and my family. These were real people, and these were their real possessions. That is why I can never forget this experience. <more>
[Amanda Kaufman] While spending several weeks reading parts of the Times-Picayune, it was apparent that the affects of Hurricane Katrina are still making front page news on a daily basis. It was disheartening to continue to see documentaries, read books and articles, and hear New Orleaneans’ accounts that so much is still being neglected, and that so much has yet to be done. The inequality of governmental policies, ignoring problems disproportionately affecting the poor and black populations, have not improved; as a matter of fact, Bush has actually cut funding in a large number of social welfare programs. With the huge scrutiny placed on the government due to the events leading up to and following Katrina, it is unclear as to why such things haven’t changed. Furthermore, without failures of the government being made known to the public, as well as the incompetent roles many politicians and bureaucrats played and continue to play, what basis would the federal government have to begin to change, anyway? <more>
[Amanda Krauss] On the trip down to New Orleans I tried to imagine what it would look like. In class we saw pictures, and I figured I was prepared for what I would see. Prepared wasn’t the word I would use to describe it once I saw the devastation firsthand. I knew there were certain areas of New Orleans that got flooded worse than others, but even the places that only got a few feet were still a disaster. The lower 9th Ward seemed like a ghost town, and I never would have thought that after 18 months it would still look the way it did. The first day working at ACORN totally changed my perspective on what volunteers down there go through. In my journal I said that, “It was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done both emotionally and physically” which I can’t seem to say enough. Even the first couple hours at the house changed my views on a lot of things. For some reason, I thought that all of the belongings would still be in their fixed places, and there wouldn’t be as much stuff as there was. Seeing all of the personal items made it clear that this was someone’s house, which is something most people seem to overlook. <more>
[Annie Stadstad] Race and class are two of the major issues that New Orleans is dealing with in light of rebuilding after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. This isn’t a new issue for the city, but the destruction of the hurricane has brought both of them into the limelight and is forcing people to deal with them. There are many ways that these issues were brought to my attention both years I traveled down to New Orleans to help with hurricane relief work, but there was one conversation that brought them to my attention in a big way. It was with Jack Wittenbrink, a street artist while in New Orleans last year. I made a comment to him about how people always talk about “Minnesota nice” but that it’s nothing compared to “southern hospitality.” He responded with a chuckle and said that the statement is true as long as you have money, are white, and are attractive. Sadly, this is about as accurate a remark as one could make in reference to the racial issues that underscore cultural diversity in the Big Easy. <more>
[Eric Schwanke] It was through my actual volunteering that I came to realize what is truly important to me. And that is life, in all of its turmoil and fortune. Not just my own life but life in general. I have never actually taken the opportunity to put my beliefs into action, at least not on this magnitude of a scale. I have seen and lived through tragedy in my own life before and I would not have been capable of this accomplishment had it not been for the help of others. It was nice to begin to give what I have received. I had not expected the amount loss I personally would encounter. And yet through those very losses I have gained. In the end it was not me helping the people of New Orleans out, rather, through my interactions, it was the very people I was trying to assist that helped me grow and realize that this is a purpose of my life. The purpose I speak of is the capability and actual performance of offering my assistance to those in need. <more>
[Erin Fern Morcomb] I had once heard a quote by Helen Keller that read: “We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world.” Working in New Orleans this Spring Break and last really helped me to see the truth in this statement, and both experiences have really helped to change my perspectives on a lot of the controversial issues that have been brought up in class both in the 2006 session and during this last semester. If Hurricane Katrina brought anything to our nation, it was the skills for some to overcome the fear of death, strengthen their faith that the Lord would help them through, become more brave than they had ever imagined possible in the rescue of their neighbors and friends suffering the same plight as they or even worse and to exercise more patience that they had ever done before in their lifetime whether it was with the federal government through the organization of immediate relief or in the living arrangements of the FEMA trailers to come in the aftermath. Life may not always be beautiful at times, but there is always something good to come out of every bad situation; everything will always be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, rest assured that it is not the end yet. This is not the end for New Orleans. <more>
[Rachel Christensen] For example a couple of days after we returned I was discussing my trip with some people at work. I was describing what we did and saw and felt. I remember commenting on how welcoming and appreciative people in New Orleans were and a woman I work with said she disagreed because she knows someone who went down soon after the storm to hand out food and water. Her friend reported to her hat people were not hospitable and they were aggressive and they did not want the food and water they were asking for money. She went further and said she didn’t know why they need other people to gut their houses for them; they should be doing it themselves. I was taken back by this because I really had not gotten this sort of response up till now. I was angry because I felt like she was saying our work down there was meaningless. I attempted to explain that people were very angry after the storm hit and they were not taken care of, and they had every right to be angry. I also tried to explain that people were evacuated and sent to different cities unable to return. On top of that it would be very difficult for people to gut there own houses, emotionally and financially. I don’t know if what I said to her made an impact, but I hope she thought about those things a little bit. I don’t know everything there is to know about the subject, but I learned a great deal and it is upsetting when someone relies on one source and one report for the basis of there opinion. Knowing the importance of searching for the truth by researching and asking those involved before I form my opinion is just another valuable lesson that I have learned as a result of taking this course. I also keep in mind that I should be flexible and be willing to see another side and it is okay to change my perspective as I gather more information. <more>
[Gerald Strauss] Even though I wasn’t directly affected by the wrath of Katrina, she has taught me a lot. I learned not to take things for granted because you never know when something might happen. I am also more aware of the social and economic class divides that are still an issue in this country. I hope that people will remember Katrina and what happens when we as a country forget about those who are less fortunate than us. I truly am proud of the work I did in New Orleans, and I am gracious for the opportunity that was given to me. I remember reading part of the book, Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans, and I can say after this trip and this course, I can honestly say that I do know what it means to miss New Orleans. <more>
[Full set of student relections]