As the city of New Orleans attempts to recover in the wake of hurricane Katrina, some students enrolled at the now-closed Tulane University found themselves thrust into the arms of UW-Madison.
According to a statement from UW-Madison, students affected by the natural disaster would be admitted on several conditions, including previous admission to UW-Madison.
One student who fit this stipulation was Sam Melameb, a current freshman who had planned to attend Tulane this semester.
\My mom called and asked if it was possible [to attend UW-Madison],"" Melameb said, ""Fifteen minutes later they called and said they could do it.""
Melameb said he left New Orleans the morning Hurricane Katrina damaged the city, a day after he had moved into his dormitory.
""When I got here I had like eight articles of clothing and a pair of sandals,"" he said.
Unlike Melameb, some students chose to stay in New Orleans, hoping the storm's damage would be minimal.
""There were some people whose flights had been cancelled and I have no idea what's happened to them,"" Melameb said.
As of Friday, nearly 100 students had applied to Madison and, according to Melameb, he was one of the fortunate students able to find a spot in public housing. He is currently living in a Sellery Hall den as part of extended housing.
Now that the public and private dorms are full, hurricane students are living in private houses and apartments, Rouse said.
""Steve Brown apartments said that they'll help people find an apartment for just a semester,"" Rouse said. ""People obviously don't want to sign a lease if they don't know where they'll be for spring.""
According to Rouse, members of the Madison community and some UW-Madison professors have been offering places in their homes for these displaced students.
If Tulane is able to recover before next semester, students will be able to return permanently, but Rouse said a monetary issue could hinder that return.
""Without tuition flowing in, Tulane could go out of business,"" he said, ""They're going to need all that money to rebuild ... if we don't help Tulane by either reducing or waving tuition, they might not be able to recover.""
Melameb is unsure whether he will return to Tulane for the spring semester.
""Tulane was my first choice, but now I'm here and I can't help think things happen for a reason,"" Melameb said.
