We are working diligently to help students on campus and others make individual arrangements to travel to a place where you will be both safe and comfortable while the city gets back up and running. For some of you, that will mean personally travelling home to be with your families. Others of you have indicated that you would like to evacuate with Loyola.
As of this evening, we have a few new options to share:
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we will be running shuttles and making stops in Gulfport and Mobile where you may catch a flight from the airport or be picked up by friends and family. Those of you who need temporary housing may also register to stay at Spring Hill College, a fellow AJCU school in Mobile, while continuing to study virtually at Loyola. If you simply need to spend a night or three at Spring Hill College, that is possible too. Parents may also make arrangements to pick up their students in Mobile or you can make flight plans when everything’s calmer.
We will be running three buses on each day, for a total of nine buses leaving Loyola. You must arrive at the first floor of West Road Garage at 9 a.m., central, to check-in for your bus. If taking one of these buses, please schedule your flight AFTER 3 p.m. on the date you plan to travel from Gulfport, and AFTER 4 p.m. from Mobile, to leave time for check-in and departure.
Professional staff will travel with you to ensure your comfort and safety. Everyone will be required to show a Loyola ID and wear masks on the bus. We will plan to have prepared meals on bus travel days - with grab-and-go breakfast and lunch, and dinner served nightly at Spring Hill on travel days. If a student chooses to fly out the day after bus arrival, then Uber or Lyft is available for transportation to the airport (and if there is high demand, we may make arrangements for shuttles from Spring Hill).
Our plan is to close the residence halls by Friday evening. If you stayed in the residence halls for the hurricane, we will be conducting floor meetings and will check in with each of you to determine your plans. Everyone will need to reconfirm or make adjustments to their evacuation plans at this time. If you have not shared your plans by the end of this evening, please report to the Biever Hall desk at noon on Tuesday to provide your information.
In the meantime, we will also be taking names on a waitlist for commuter students and students who live off campus, in the event that we have additional openings on these buses.
Commuter students, if you would like to join the waitlist for evacuation with us to Mobile, please email ida@loyno.edu. Thank you.