Students from Gulf Coast schools who have relocated to Marquette because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita are having a hard time getting aid from the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Lindsay Williams, a freshman from Tulane University , and Omodesola Aguage-Williams, a freshman from Loyola University New Orleans , are attending Marquette as temporary students for the rest of the semester.

The two have sought relief from the American Red Cross and FEMA through reimbursement for the cost of relocating, buying text books for this semester and other related expenses, but are having trouble receiving it.

Three weeks ago Williams and Aguage-Williams went to the Tommy G. Thompson Youth Center in West Allis to apply for assistance. At the center, which the Red Cross and FEMA are using as an emergency shelter for hurricane victims, they were each given a debit card with $360 on it. A message on the card said it expired 120 days after activation but was only active for 30 days.

"If we don't use it within thirty days we lose the money," Agauge-Williams said.

The 120 day deadline is of secondary concern for Williams because her card has not been activated yet.

"My card still is not activated," Williams said. She has been calling the Red Cross but has made little headway.

"They said there is no reason why the card should not work," she said.

Another complication is that Aguage-Williams needs a meningitis shot.

"I was told that they were available at the medical clinic in the Thompson Center," Aguage-Williams said. "When I went to get the shot, I found out they don't carry them."

Aguage-Williams plans to go to Marquette's Student Health Service to get a meningitis shot.

According to Williams, the Tommy G. Thompson Youth Center is the only place to get aid from the American Red Cross.

"If you go to the Red Cross office at 2600 W. Wisconsin Ave. they will send you to the Tommy Thompson Center," she said.

According to the two students, the Red Cross is doing a good job.

"They are very helpful for those who need help," Aguage-Williams said.

Their real problems are with FEMA.

When Aguage-Williams and Williams went to pick up relief checks from FEMA they were told the system was down and they had to call FEMA's national office in Washington, D.C. to sort the problem out.

Agauge-Williams said she spoke with a FEMA official who didn't seem to believe her situation. According to Aguage-Williams, the woman "kept asking if I was lying, and if I was I would be fined by the government."

Williams had a similar experience with a FEMA representative.

According to Williams, the representative asked her a series of questions, but there were long pauses between answers and questions that made Williams think the representative was not familiar with the procedure.

The students eventually received forms from the FEMA representatives they spoke with, but the forms expired in February 2003 and contained a number of inaccuracies.

"There were a lot of typos on the form," Williams said.

One of the questions on the form was "Has anyone in your family lost work or become unemployed as a result to disaster?" Williams' form has her answer as "no," which is wrong.

"I said yes," Williams said.

The students also received letters telling them they did not qualify for emergency aid because the areas they live in — Williams is from Arizona and Aguage-Williams is from Illinois — are not considered disaster zones.

As of yet, Agauge-Williams and Williams have not received aid from FEMA. The American Red Cross and FEMA were contacted several times but could not be reached for comment.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 13, 2005.