Dear Loyola Staff,
We are getting more encouraging news from Entergy. Some power transmission has begun to the city and now the work of repairing actual lines begins. It’s still impossible to know the exact timeframe, but my hope is that it is more like a week or two rather than months.
As you know, Southern Louisiana experienced a major hurricane which resulted in infrastructure damage. While our campus suffered minimal structural damage, electricity remains out for all of New Orleans. Many of our faculty and staff have had to evacuate and may or may not have power. Based upon the most recent updates from the city, they will begin restoring power soon, but it may take some time to restore the entire city.
If you need to come to campus to retrieve some of your belongings, please use this form to sign up for a timeslot on Thursday or Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
We are cancelling class this week and next, and we will make up those classes in person during the fall semester (including using the fall break and pushing back exams a few days). We will maximize the time we spend together in the classroom.
On September 13th, we will begin teaching virtually, hopefully just for a week. If campus has power by then, it will give us time to get back and get situated. If not, we won’t lose any more time.
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:
Faculty and staff, I hope that each of you is safe, that your loved ones are safe, and that your house is (mostly) ok. I hope you finally sleep tonight without being awakened by blaring emergency alerts or general anxiety. For those who stayed, I hope you can quickly find a way to get to a place with power and internet and the sweet blessings of air conditioning. For those who left, once we’re allowed to move around, we can help each other check on your homes.
I am relieved to tell you that our remaining on-campus students are all safe, and as far we know, so is every other member of our community. As it has for a century, our campus held up well, with only minor damage.
We made it safely through the night but there is extensive damage in the city. We are relieved that the campus remains safe with no major damage, and our students are well taken care of. We are assessing conditions on campus and in the city and will share information with you as it becomes available.
At this time we have canceled all classes, including law and online, and are suspending work for non-essential personnel for the rest of the week. As soon as we have a better understanding of how soon we can get back up and running, we will let you know.