Reporting class to tour New Orleans

Nine IU journalism graduate students and a professor are traveling to Mississippi, the Gulf Coast and New Orleans Wednesday in an effort to report on recovery efforts several months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region.\nJournalism professor Carol Polsgrove and her Public Affairs Reporting class will drive to Mississippi and will return Nov. 14.\n"We want to get as much done as we can in a really short period of time, looking at stories that didn't get much attention in the mainstream media," Polsgrove said. "What we hear from people down there is that things are still very, very difficult for a lot of people."\nThe students will report and write stories about issues like the destruction of historical records, the fate of foster children displaced by the hurricane, labor issues and disruption to higher education, Polsgrove said.\n"It's focusing on the rural areas where there has been less aid and journalistic coverage," said Ashley Wilkerson, a student in the class and Indiana Daily Student photographer.\nThe students will drive from Bloomington to Jackson and Hattiesburg, Miss., then along the Gulf Coast and eventually to New Orleans.\n"When it started it was just going to be the tent city," said Rich Powell, another student in the class. "But the New York Times did that exact story after we thought of it."\nThe trip evolved out of a class discussion. Polsgrove told the class that in the past, students would have just hopped into a van and driven down, Powell said.\nPowell said he and his classmates thought it was a good idea, and within a few weeks, Polsgrove had gotten permission and funding for the trip.\nThe students will be driving their own cars and staying in hotels, though Polsgrove said several students are considering spending a night in one of the tent cities.\nThe students plan on getting their stories published. Polsgrove said local news outlets have expressed some interest in their pieces and some students will even try to pitch their articles to national publications.