In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita ,the colleges and universities of New Orleans are looking ahead to the future of their institutions. As the city prepares to rebuild, so do its schools.

"We don't have a dollar figure (for the damage) now, but relative to the rest of the city we fared pretty well," said Mike Strecker, director of public relations at Tulane University. "We had some windows knocked out and flooding on the first floors of classrooms and residence halls. We fared better than a lot of our other fellow institutions."

Loyola University New Orleans did not incur much physical damage, either.

"The campus is in fairly good shape," said Kristine LeLong, a spokeswoman for Loyola.

Although Tulane and Loyola did not sustain much damage on their campuses, other universities in the area did not fare so well.

"I know Dillard University got hit pretty hard, along with Xavier University," Strecker said.

"I think it's going to take Xavier longer to get back to normal because we'll be in temporary areas. It'll be about a year until we're back in New Orleans," said Xavier University of Louisiana student Cheria Hollowell, currently an enrolled freshman in Marquette's College of Arts & Sciences.

Hollowell said she thought Xavier might resume class at Morris Brown College in Atlanta rather than have students return immediately to New Orleans.

As universities in New Orleans begin to assess the damage, they must also calculate the amount of money needed to rebuild.

"We're in the process of raising money for the relief fund," LeLong said. "The president is going around the country visiting alumni and students asking for help for the university at this critical time. After that, we'll have a sense of how much money we have in the relief fund.

LeLong acknowledged the process would take time.

"There's not a lot of revenue coming in, which will be a challenge for Loyola," she said. "The relief fund is to help Loyola stay viable in the next few years. It's not going to happen over night."

Schools must also aim to draw student enrollment for the spring semester.

"We expect 90 percent of our students to return," Strecker said of Tulane.

"We've been hearing from a lot of parents and students that they want to come back, but we don't have a percentage yet," LeLong said.

As for students from New Orleans schools who are attending Marquette this semester, there is the question as to whether their schools will re-open in the spring.

Marquette is looking into whether or not those students can remain here if they are unable to return to New Orleans, according to Brigid O'Brien Miller, director of university communication.

"Discussion on that policy is in progress and an announcement should be forthcoming, probably next week, on how we will handle visiting students if the colleges don't reopen next semester," she said.

As Marquette and the Gulf Coast schools are concentrating on the spring semester, so are the students who were displaced.

"I want to go back because that's the school I wanted to go to," Hollowell said.

"I'm really excited," said Tulane University student Kevin Arts, currently an enrolled freshman in Marquette's College of Arts & Sciences. "I can't wait to get back — not that Marquette isn't a great place, but I feel attached to Tulane."

"It's frustrating being someplace you had no intention of being," said Loyola University of Louisiana student Gina Morrison, an enrolled junior in Marquette's College of Arts & Sciences. "Sometimes you say 'I don't want to be here. I want my stuff and I want to be in New Orleans.' But you have fun while you're here and learn to appreciate New Orleans."

"I'm pretty sure in the long run I'll realize this is all for a reason, but it's been very hard," said Loyola University of Louisiana student Serena Malone, an enrolled junior in Marquette's College of Arts and Sciences.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 6, 2005.