2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: Student praises 'A Night for New Orleans,' warns of apathetic youth
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
01/24/08 - To the Cigar,
To the apathetic among us: On Dec. 11, there was a presentation and a panel discussion called "A Night for New Orleans" at the Towers in Narragansett. In attendance were townspeople, professors, parents and students.
During the two and a half-hour event, there was beautiful, soulful music pumping from the sound system flowing across a crowd of typical New Englanders stuffing their faces with crayfish and jambalaya. Everyone was wearing Mardi Gras beads, there was warmth and a sense of community in the air as well as intrigue toward the theme of the evening.
Looking out the window, we could see the docile ocean below us, not a few remembering the havoc it wreaked on the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. The night began with a panel discussion of five specialists, each with personal ties to the city of New Orleans and the natural disaster that was Hurricane Katrina.
They spoke individually of their stories, what had lead them to the Towers that evening; just what they thought of how FEMA, the United States and the world reacted to the largest social injustice of our generation.
After a question and answer session, the focus was turned to a documentary outlining the disaster preparedness of Rhode Island and what we are doing to get ready for the next Hurricane of '38. At one point in the evening, the discussion was turned to the current administration and the snafu that was the entirety of Katrina. The blame was reiterated, the fingers were pointed, and the frustration was politely vented between all of the panel participants and the audience members.
We were united in the theory of failure that was the Katrina response. However, something seemed wrong. Looking around the room, I saw 60 to 70 people of varying backgrounds. Of that, maybe 25 were students, including the 10 chief organizers of the event. Having a roommate and close friend who was part of the night's inception, I wondered alongside her why there was such a small turnout.
To the apathetic among us: On Dec. 11, there was a presentation and a panel discussion called "A Night for New Orleans" at the Towers in Narragansett. In attendance were townspeople, professors, parents and students.
During the two and a half-hour event, there was beautiful, soulful music pumping from the sound system flowing across a crowd of typical New Englanders stuffing their faces with crayfish and jambalaya. Everyone was wearing Mardi Gras beads, there was warmth and a sense of community in the air as well as intrigue toward the theme of the evening.
Looking out the window, we could see the docile ocean below us, not a few remembering the havoc it wreaked on the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. The night began with a panel discussion of five specialists, each with personal ties to the city of New Orleans and the natural disaster that was Hurricane Katrina.
They spoke individually of their stories, what had lead them to the Towers that evening; just what they thought of how FEMA, the United States and the world reacted to the largest social injustice of our generation.
After a question and answer session, the focus was turned to a documentary outlining the disaster preparedness of Rhode Island and what we are doing to get ready for the next Hurricane of '38. At one point in the evening, the discussion was turned to the current administration and the snafu that was the entirety of Katrina. The blame was reiterated, the fingers were pointed, and the frustration was politely vented between all of the panel participants and the audience members.
We were united in the theory of failure that was the Katrina response. However, something seemed wrong. Looking around the room, I saw 60 to 70 people of varying backgrounds. Of that, maybe 25 were students, including the 10 chief organizers of the event. Having a roommate and close friend who was part of the night's inception, I wondered alongside her why there was such a small turnout.