Last week’s “WFF Pay ‘Just Isn’t Enough” cover story drew long-overdue attention to the plight of hard-working WFF workers who earn only $7.19 an hour, which is below the wage needed to live in post-Katrina New Orleans. But the story didn’t just affect my emotions. It shined a light on how the university has failed after Hurricane Katrina to remain dedicated to its justice-oriented mission.

The story of the WFF workers shines a light on the failure of administrators to accommodate for the human problems created by the storm. As the article vividly outlined, the average rent in New Orleans has increased by nearly half since 2005. Yet Loyola has not adjusted its wage rates in any significant way since the storm. The failure to help out these workers, many of whom might as well have tenure for the length of time they’ve been here, stains Loyola’s claim to be a social justice university.

Though the WFF wages are disheartening, nearly equally disheartening was the termination of faculty employment through the May 2006 Pathways Plan. For full disclosure, I was a leader on SGA throughout the release and approval of the plan. Hurricane Katrina created a new economic reality for Loyola, which included lower enrollments for the future. The plan reacted to the storm by overlooking any sense of social justice. Tenured professors were notified of their firings only when the rest of the community was, when the plan was released with only weeks left in the semester. Loyola’s haphazard method of firing showed a disregard for the well-being of the individual person.

Finally, Loyola has failed to adjust to the unjust realities facing residents in New Orleans in any institutional way. No adjustments on the university-wide level after Hurricane Katrina encouraged Loyola, its students and its community to help out our neighbors in need throughout the city. This shows a lack of commitment to the Jesuit ideal of being men and women with and for others.

With all of these post-Katrina institutional failures, how can I remain optimistic about Loyola as I graduate walking across the Superdome stage in a few weeks? I can be optimistic because many students, staff and faculty go out of their way to be polite and converse with the underpaid WFF workers. I can keep optimistic when other faculty and students fought, and continue to fight, to avoid another Pathways-style plan. I gain hope when I see student organizations and faculty focus on using not only their hands but also their brains in helping struggling New Orleanians.

This effort shows dedication of Loyola’s students, staff and faculty. I hope the institution comes around to support them in these endeavors in the coming years. For now, the support, to quote last week’s headline, “just isn’t enough.”