Tuition loss a peril for black colleges
By Lolly Bowean Tribune staff reporter
Mon Oct 3, 9:40 AM ET
Just as Southern University at New Orleans was about to begin classes for 3,800 students, its largest enrollment at this campus, Hurricane Katrina swept in, flooding all of the college's buildings and sending the entire student body packing.
Then Hurricane Rita followed.
Standing in front of the wind-beaten, water-soaked, mold-infested administration building recently, Robert Cannon, Southern's assistant vice chancellor for administration, said he didn't know where to begin cleaning up.
Floors that used to gleam are covered in a thick, black slime. Desks and computers are scattered. Trees that once shaded students lounging on the yard have been knocked down. Most of the grass and greenery are dead.
All of the classroom resources--paperwork, books, research materials--have been immersed in water for weeks.
"The smell is unbelievable," Cannon said. "It was a beautiful campus. Now it's a mess. It's going to be a massive undertaking to get this campus up and running again."
For years, New Orleans has been a hub of historically black colleges devoted to producing doctors, scientists, teachers and social workers. Southern, Dillard University and Xavier University are within 10 miles of each other.
But now, all three campuses have been devastated. Unlike their city counterparts Loyola and Tulane Universities, which have large endowments, Xavier, Dillard and Southern rely heavily on tuitions to function. With no students, the schools' futures are in jeopardy.
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