Message from President Myers: Sarah Lawrence Goes to the Gulf Coast

The unbelievable destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina touches us all. Some students at Sarah Lawrence come from the areas hit hardest by the storm. Some members of our community have relatives and friends who found themselves in harm's way this past week. Our thoughts go out to all those whose lives have been imperiled or dislocated by this tragic set of circumstances.

Like campuses across the country, members of the Sarah Lawrence community are pulling together to aid victims of the tragedies wrought by the hurricane. Fund raising efforts are underway. As an academic community, we are taking steps to help students displaced from Tulane, Loyola, Xavier and other Gulf Coast colleges and universities. Students from those schools who were evacuated back to their homes in the New York Metro area are invited to register for courses at Sarah Lawrence as guest students. In accordance with the wishes of the affected schools, we will not charge these students Sarah Lawrence tuition. However, we will collect tuition on behalf of the affected schools and remit it to them. If you are a displaced student and would like information about enrolling as a guest student this fall, please contact the office of the Dean of Studies at 914.395.2249.

Our Office of Alumnae/i Relations would like to hear from any and all alumnae/i who live in the devastated area to let us know you are safe and/or if the College can be of any assistance to you. If you have any information about any of our alumnae/i in the area, please contact our office by calling 914.395.2530 or by email at alum@sarahlawrence.edu.

The magnitude of the real tragedy in Louisiana and Mississippi makes us realize just how vulnerable and fleeting our lives can be. I hope everyone will consider supporting the disaster relief effort in whatever way they can.

The following are fund raising efforts and educational programs currently planned or ongoing on campus:

A canned food drive in conjunction with Second Harvest kicks off on Tuesday, September 13. Canned goods can be placed in drop-boxes located in Slonim, Westlands, common areas of residence halls and the Student Affairs Office in Bates.

The College bookstore is accepting donations to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina and the humanitarian crisis it has created. 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Please donate $1 (or more) at the SLC Bookstore.

Understanding that there will be a critical need for volunteers in the Gulf Coast in the months to come, Sarah Lawrence College is facilitating volunteer efforts by members of its administration and staff. Individuals who wish to volunteer for hurricane relief work through a recognized agency may request a short-term leave of absence. During this leave, employees will be paid their full salary for one week. Since relief efforts are expected to continue for some time, this policy will remain in effect through August 15, 2006.

Sarah Lawrence College will host a panel discussion titled “What Next? Bush, Katrina, Iraq and America’s Political Future” on Tuesday, September 20th at 1:30 p.m. in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center. The discussion will feature Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Frances Fitzgerald and Sarah Lawrence faculty members Fawaz Gerges and Nicolaus Mills.

Donations of new pajamas for adults and children as well as donations of like-new children's books were welcomed during the week of September 5th. The drive was part of The Pajama Program's hurricane relief efforts. The Pajama Program is a charitable foundation that provides new, warm pajamas and books to needy families across the country and internationally. RD Weis Companies, a Port-Chester-based commercial floor contracting company, donated a truck and driver to deliver the pajamas and books to the Houston Astrodome and other gulf-coast shelters during the week of September 12.

Some of the hottest poets on the scene performed at Sarah Lawrence College's Poetry & Potluck event on Thursday, September 8, to help raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Performers included The Last Poets, Mahogany Browne, Jive Poetics, Elizabeth Acevedo, Michael Cirelli, Fish, Celena Glenn, K Swift, Kasim Allah, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, Lemon and many others. More than $7,000 was raised and will be given to the NAACP Disaster Relief Fund. First year students Dylan Morgan and Aja Monet organized the event.

Katrina-What Went Wrong? A panel and teach-in on the social catastrophe that followed Hurricane Katrina took place on Wednesday, September 7. Speakers were Josh Muldavin, Mary Dillard, Matilde Zimmermann, Komozi Woodard.

If you wish to support the relief effort, you may want to visit any of the organizations included in the How You Can Help page.

Please help us to help those in need in whatever way you can. Your participation, no matter what it may be, is greatly appreciated and will make a difference.

—Michele Tolela Myers