I don’t ordinarily do this, but just this once I can’t help it: I have to thank Loyola’s administrators for their efforts to keep the university rolling during the Gustavacuation.
You have to understand that as a recovering newspaper editor I’m not the type of person who gives many thumbs-up. My natural inclination is to tear apart administrative plans, find flaws and then shine a big spotlight on them.
Admittedly, there were parts of our latest diaspora that weren’t fabulous, but I’ll get to those bits in a minute.
Overall, things went OK, and “OK” during a hurricane is like “spectacular” on a sunny day.
We evacuated successfully. Loyola’s Web site stayed up. The emergency team posted updates on the site, and they sent backup e-mails. We still had Blackboard to keep our classes together.
That last one didn’t quite come together in practice, but at least we had the theory of Blackboard to lean on.
Looking at it optimistically, as members of a higher education institution, we can appreciate the merit of theory.
Most importantly, we’re back – a little behind schedule, but with no long-lasting ill effects.
As a side note, I’ve never been so happy to be back here. Mandatory evacuation is a wonder cure for early-onset senioritis.
Loyola’s Gustav experience couldn’t hold a candle to Katrina. Of course, that’s mostly attributed to the differences between the hurricanes themselves. But part of the difference also lies in the higher level of organization that characterized this year’s hurrication.
Administrators learned from Katrina, and they adjusted their plans accordingly.
And overall, we made it work.
Most importantly, Hurricane Gustav was proof that Loyola’s post-Katrina hurricane plan will hold up. It was a solid dress rehearsal for the next big storms looming in our future.
Notwithstanding, no dress rehearsal would be complete without a critique.
So allow me to offer to anyone from the Hurricane Emergency Preparedness Plan who might be reading a few suggestions for the future that have been swirling among students.
First off, Blackboard practice has a long way to go before it matches Blackboard theory. Some students lost electricity. Others had spotty Internet connections. Others were caught in transportation purgatory.
And while this next excuse drifts into the realm of personal responsibility,
I’ll list it anyway. Honestly, it’s not easy to learn abstract algebra when I’ve got a loop of bigger worries playing out in my head: Is my new house okay? How about my grandparents’ house? Has the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updated the Ike track? How many more years of evacuations can my grandparents handle? And so on.
At any rate, the Blackboard endeavor wasn’t exactly a sparkling victory.
More frequent postings from professors, even just to say something fluffy, would have helped snap me back into school mode and kept my priorities straight.
The same goes for updates to the Loyola Web site. Sure, we got the necessary information, but I found myself checking it compulsively each day to see if the emergency team had said anything new.
We call ourselves a Loyola community, and there’s no more important time to maintain that ideal than when we’re scattered.
So even if there’s not much to say, post whatever you have as often as you can. It’s an invaluable reminder that our community isn’t broken.
Catherine Cotton is a mass communication senior and can be reached at [email protected].