After the storm

One year after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, New Orleans natives enrolled at IU are still dealing with their losses, both in financial and emotional terms. Despite everything that has been taken away from them, these students remain optimistic that the rebirth of the city will come. \nIU senior Carrie Bart, a New Orleans native, said a lot of her friends are transferring from schools across the country back to Louisiana just to return home and be a part of the rebuilding. \n"All my friends and family have returned to the city," Bart said. "Some of my friends are even transferring to Tulane (University) because they just want to do whatever they can to help." \nBart's family returned to New Orleans in January while her younger sister finished her senior year at a boarding school in Dallas. \n"It was hard for my sister to spend her senior year at a different school," Bart said. "But my family is very lucky we still have each other." \nMatthew Braun is starting his freshmen year at IU, and, like Bart's sister, he was forced to enroll at a different high school after Katrina hit. \n"My house took on four (to) five feet during the flooding," Braun said. "We evacuated to Dallas, then Baton Rouge (La.) where I spent the first semester of my senior year." \nBraun's high school reopened in January, so he returned and finished out his senior year at home. His house was damaged beyond repair. He and his family now are waiting to sell their lot, as the house waits to be bulldozed. \n"We are living in an apartment uptown," he said. "We were lucky." \nBecause of Braun's mother's connections with a New Orleans deputy, Braun and his family were able to use a squad car and return to the locked down city days after the storm. \nWhile most seniors were enjoying their place at the top of their high schools, Braun was navigating his pirou -- a Cajun canoe -- through the muddy waters around his house to salvage what memories he could. \n"We passed dead bodies along our way." Braun said, "It is something I can never forget." \nSenior Shane Kupperman has mixed feelings about returning to Bloomington. He often finds it hard to relate to others while New Orleans is always on his mind. \n"I love being back in Bloomington with my friends," Kupperman said. "But it can be hard because a lot of people have no idea how bad it is and seldom talk about the situation down there."\nKupperman, like most other New Orleans and Gulf Coast natives, have not gone a day without thinking about the destruction that was caused last August. Katrina's wrath remains the focal point for many of the people's daily activities. \n"The homes of my friends that were destroyed still sit untouched," Kupperman said. "Very little has been done. The devastation is overwhelming." Bart said she often times has trouble believing she lives in the United States with the scattered debris, presence of the National Guard and lack of infrastructure. \n"A lot of the times it feels like the third world," Bart said. "A lot of the time I am in shock this is an American city." \nDespite the risk some see in investing in the city, many people, like Braun and the other IU students, argue that those who have lived in the city and experienced its culture know it is worth the price to rebuild one of the country's most historic and treasured cities. \nKupperman said with events like Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and its unique food, music and culture, it is definitely something worth saving. \n"The people of New Orleans are very proud," he said. "They want to come home, and they will come home. The city is too important to let die"