English professor Ernest Hebert, other Dartmouth staff and 26 undergraduates traveled to Biloxi, Miss. over spring break to witness firsthand the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The group demolished and repaired buildings in addition to writing journals detailing the ruin they saw, excerpts from which were recently published in the Valley News.
Hebert, who lived in the New Orleans area for seven months as a college student, was hesitant to volunteer at first, despite seeing the obliteration on television.
"It was the first time I had really volunteered for anything," Hebert said. "It's a habit I picked up from my army days - never volunteer for anything."
After committing to go on the trip, Hebert decided his role should be to record what he saw and he encouraged the students to keep journals.
The students whose writing was featured in the Valley News said they were heartened by the media exposure of the continuous rebuilding process.
"Finally, one day when I was working in a high school, I asked a student what repairs the community needed most," Lauren Hartz '09 said. "She told me they appreciated all of our work, but that what the Gulf Coast truly needed was for the rest of the country to hear its story. The article in the Valley News allowed me to share that story with a community on the opposite corner of the country."
Matt Hill '08 said that while he was overwhelmed by the devastation caused by Katrina and the amount of work recovery required, he was encouraged by the trip.
Hill is also a member of The Dartmouth staff.
"It is really overwhelming to see the amount of devastation that Katrina wrought in the South, and at times the amount of work still required seems almost too much to handle," Hill said. "Among the Dartmouth students that went to Biloxi over spring break, there's a collective hope that our stories will inspire others to want to help, to join the volunteer effort and really make a difference."
Many members of the group said they were particularly visual reminders of the more than 1,000 deaths caused by Katrina in the region.
"I remember walking toward the coast and coming across a gate with four crosses on it where a house once was," Hebert said. "The crosses each had one name and its relation to the others. The house was supposed to be hurricane proof. The builder was the only survivor of the family."
