Local News
Letter to the Editor
Published: September 29, 2005
To the Editor:
Your coverage of the Gulf Coast Crisis in The Georgia Bulletin has been excellent. The gulf area is very Catholic as a result of the Spanish/French evangelism early in our country’s history. I am a product of such missionary efforts, having been raised in St. Augustine’s in Memphis, Tenn., a city along the Mississippi River. I believe there is a story to be told about the Atlanta and North Georgia post-secondary students who were attending Catholic schools and had to evacuate.
David Mitchell graduated from Marist in 2004. He, along with his classmates from Marist Lee Berg, Michael Barnhardt and Andrew Meaux, went to New Orleans to continue their education. David, Lee and Michael went to Loyola University while Andrew went to Tulane (next door). All four students returned this fall. The guys had only gotten their foot in the door and had barely moved their belongings into dorm rooms when they had to return to Atlanta. The blessing in all of this is that so many universities opened their doors to all displaced New Orleans college students.
In a class act, the Association of Jesuit Colleges, of which Loyola is a member along with 27 other prestigious colleges and universities, opened its classes to the Loyola students and others from the affected areas. The action plan was posted on the Web at ajcunet.edu. Each school appointed a contact person to welcome and facilitate the enrollment and matriculation of displaced students. I am proud to say that David is in classes at St. Louis University, another Jesuit school. The university staff worked the Labor Day weekend to place students in classes and in suitable housing. God is good!
Felicia Mitchell, via e-mail
