Photo Sequence: "Xavier University Transformed into Lake"

Continued

Text by Michael Grant, Photographs by Katrina Byrd, Special to Black College Wire and THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine

Monday, Aug. 29 Students emerged from their dorm rooms the day after the storm and congregating on mostly dry walkways. “No one thought it would get any worse.”
Tuesday, August 30 After the levee gave and water advanced to the campus, the view from the walkway rapidly changed.   “Just the day before, I could walk across the street and take pictures. Here, you can’t see the grass, and although the water is shallow, the walkway was covered by morning.”
Wednesday, August 31 The water at the walkway was 2-3 feet deep or more, and students were growing more concerned. “We were trapped in the dorm, and we got word that some places on campus had water that was neck high.”

About the Contributors

Katrina Byrd, 19, of Detroit, was among 400 students and staff rescued Sept. 1 from the flooded campus of Xavier University of Louisiana. She now attends Wayne State University.

 Michael Grant is a senior at Grambling State University.

They contribute to this section through a special project, "Hurricane Katrina: Views from America's HBCUs," focusing on student perspectives of the disaster.  The project is a collaboration between Black College Wire, a non-profit organization that provides training and publishing opportunities to student journalists representing America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and THE BLACK COLLEGIAN, now celebrating its 35th anniversary.

More stories from the Black College Wire can be found at www.blackcollegewire.org.  For more information about THE BLACK COLLEGIAN, visit www.black-collegian.com.