Hurricane Relief Week commences

Author: Mallika Rao

This past Sunday, Mead Chapel became the site of an intimate remembrance ceremony for the many victims of Hurricane Katrina as well as the city of New Orleans itself. The evening kicked off Middlebury's Hurricane Relief Week and was, according to one event organizer, Sarah Applebaum '06, not only a "chance to mourn, but also to celebrate."

"The world was shocked," said President Ronald D. Liebowitz at the start of the event, at the fact that "a country so advanced and so rich could be so unprepared to deal with a tragedy not only possible, but probable." His summary of the tragedy's aftermath extended beyond "scenes of destruction" to "the unsavory reminder of the racial discrimination that still exists in our country."

However, Liebowitz also commended the national effort to help victims of Katrina, citing Middlebury students as a noteworthy volunteer force. The president applauded the spirit of Middlebury students intent on traveling to New Orleans as part of a faculty-sponsored J-term class to support teachers and students in the struggling region. "Initiatives like this week of remembrance are just another way we will help," he said. Twilight Artist-in-Residence François Clemmons followed Liebowitz's speech with a simple and evocative hymn entitled "Take My Hand, Precious Lord!"

After Clemmons' performance came more personal expressions of sadness - the essays of two current Middlebury students, both intimately linked to New Orleans, were read aloud. Emily Peterson '08, a New Orleans resident, read a piece entitled "The Mourning of a Displaced Heart." "I miss New Orleans," she began simply. "It's pure and simple and without end."

She paid tribute to the famous disgraces and triumphs of the city - "its beleaguered reputation, its scandals and its secrets" and "the cool elegance and gentility of the Garden District." "New Orleans," she said, "refused to be defeated." Peterson ended on a note of private happiness - despite her fears that New Orleans may never recreate itself, she noted, "I've had the honor to call New Orleans home, and that makes me lucky after all."

The next reading, by visiting Tulane University student Romy Ryan, presented a different sort of reflection. Ryan detailed her experience with the treacherous storm as a returning student to the area. She described the disorienting sadness of watching her college town fall into total ruin. "[I saw] rescue boats in the places I'd eaten my first crawfish and had my first college crush," she said. These comparisons of the old New Orleans to the new set the tone for the night, a theme echoed in Applebaum's closing note. Reading directly from Tom Piazza's new book, "Why New Orleans Matters," Applebaum spoke of "the famous New Orleans tradition of jazz funerals" and positioned the night's remembrance in the same tradition.

At the night's end, the student band Groovelation played a cheery jazz salute - enacting Piazza's description "of containing the opposites that are part of life." With Tristan Axelrod '08 on bass, Eric Lonstein '08 on piano, Nick Barone '08 on drums and Derek Long '08 on tenor sax, the group injected a note of celebration into what could have been a somber night. Members of the audience hugged and chatted while the band played.

This event was the first in a weeklong tribute to New Orleans. Scheduled for the week are a Crescent City Coffeehouse, Cajun cooking lessons and a New Orleans-themed radio broadcast as well as a New Orleans-themed dinner at Proctor. On Friday, the week ends with a benefit concert and raffle at The Grille.

On Saturday night from midnight until 2 a.m., the Hurricane Relief Coalition (HRC) will conclude Hurricane Relief Week with a Mardi Gras party and concert in Ross Dining Hall. All of the money raised during the week will go to Students at the Center, an independent organization working within the New Orleans public school system. The HRC expects this to be the first in a series of initiatives toward Katrina relief.

Though the crowd was not large on Sunday night, Applebaum and Peterson said "that wasn't really the point." The week is "all about raising funds." The social events throughout the week will hopefully draw large crowds who can continue the theme of Sunday night - celebrating, donating and, in the words of Piazza, ultimately fulfilling our responsibility as "those left outside the walls of the boneyard to keep life going."