Colleges join forces for Katrina summit

College students from 25 schools have united forces to petition the federal government to create an additional 100,000 jobs for Hurricane Katrina victims on the Gulf Coast.

The initiative, which grew from initial interest by Gulf Coast college students to a nationwide appeal, calls for a National Post-Katrina College Summit to be held April 9 through April 14, to which all college students in the United States are invited.

The summit will be a week-long effort for students to engage in many activities promoting a re-awareness of Katrina’s aftermath as well as the Golf Coast Civic Works Project, the official name of the program designed to create 100,000 jobs for displaced residents, which would cost about $4 billion to implement.

Key schools in the struggle are Xavier University of Louisiana, Tulane University, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, San Jose State College, Stanford University and the University of Michigan.

Shante Berry, a student organizer from Xavier University, is one of the group’s founding members.

“I became so passionate about the people of the coast when we lost the concern of the American public and the support of the American government. We’re still living in the aftermath here in New Orleans,” she said.

Another founding member, Tulane University student Lauren Elliot, said if the Gulf Coast situation is to improve, continued awareness is required.

“It’s very easy to move on and not realize there’s still destruction,” Elliot said. “Every American should be considered when it comes to American humanitarian rights. And every American should be concerned about what’s happening along the Gulf Coast.”

While the summit is still being planned, organizers hope to have documentary showings, expert speakers, art and literature showings, rallies and petition drives. One documentary the group plans to show is director Spike Lee’s “When the Levies Broke.” The petition would be on behalf of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project.

“The purpose is to bring awareness among U.S. citizens back to the coast,” Berry said.

She suggested one possible structure for the summit.

“We want to have a spoken word segment, and we’d like to incorporate art into it. The idea behind this is to highlight memories from the hurricane and to allot people time to express their emotions,” she said.

Representatives from all colleges and universities are encouraged to participate and interact first hand with hurricane victims.

“We’d also like to have a community forum,” Berry said. “Here, community members can come to share their stories.”

“Louisiana Winter,” an event this past winter, inspired the involved college students to come up with the summit idea. For “Louisiana Winter,” about 100 students from colleges around the nation met at the Gulf Coast to discuss the lasting effects of Katrina as well as potential solutions.

For more information on the project and the summit, visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com.