Three days before SMU welcomed Katrina victims onto its campus, the Tulane golf team received orders from the university on Aug. 27 to pack their clubs and evacuate the city immediately.
Leaving It All Behind
Saturday morning, the first day that residence halls opened, Kasi Lee, a freshman originally from New Jersey, was told to pack up her overnight things after she had finished unpacking the last of her many clothes from her suitcase. Leaving the university in a large green van, Lee observed students crying on the corner of the streets.
“After hearing that it was a Category Five, they had no idea what to do, no clue where to go. Nobody really thought it was going to happen,” Lee said.
Just a year ago, students had the same warning. Hurricanecity.com states that New Orleans has a history of being affected by hurricanes, with minor brushes and hits averaging once every four years. Students did not expect Katrina to destroy their campus. Some were even excited that school was cancelled, not once assuming that the unthinkable would occur.
Carrying only her laptop and precious golf clubs, the scratch golfer sat in the crowded van in heavy traffic, disappointed after the emergency alert because she was enjoying her first full day on campus and as an official college student. Sitting in traffic for 40 minutes to drive a mile to the airport, she and her team eventually went their separate ways. Watching the series of disastrous events that occurred in the following days, Lee, like most of America, was horrified and depressed after being glued to the television. The next week, she received a call at 7:30 a.m. from Tulane golf coach Sue Bower to come to Dallas.
A New Beginning
Arriving to Dallas on Tuesday, eight days after the hurricane, Lee met the rest of her teammates at the Radisson Hotel, her new temporary home. There, she and the other 11 young women had their coach pre-register their classes for them, since it would be too late if they registered themselves.The next day, they went to class, each person feeling completely lost.
“It was only a day after we arrived in a foreign place. It was hectic – after my first 8 a.m. morning class I was kind of scared to meet my roommate,” Lee said.
A new campus in a new city was not the only obstacles for them. The first two weeks in Dallas, nobody had a car except for Bower, who rented a car and shuttled the team back and forth from golf courses to campus. Lee explained the frustration of the players: “Everyone had cars in New Orleans, especially the juniors and seniors. They were all frustrated because they had no freedom to drive here. Not to mention we were all three weeks behind in school, and we couldn’t catch up because of practice and settling down here.”
Even more importantly, the team did not have any of its belongings. Two of the team’s members lost everything from the hurricane.
“It was really sad for everyone the first two weeks. We got donation clothes because we didn’t have enough clothes to wear. We wore the same thing almost every other day,” Lee said.
Life on the Hilltop
Speaking on behalf of the team, Lee said, “SMU is really nice. Everyone was welcoming us with open arms. I really am thankful for the professors here because they are really nice and understanding of the situation.”
The schedule of a golf player, as with any athlete, is packed with class, study hall, then three to five hours of golf practice daily, excluding week-long tournaments. Free time includes catching up on sleep, laundry or cleaning.
Moving On
Currently, the most important thing on the team’s mind is to try to make the best of their current situation and try not to think about the tragedy.
“We have nowhere to practice at, and still go day-by-day to any course that will accept us,” said Lee.
Not being able to practice to its full potential upset the team, who was ranked No. 12 last year as one of the nation’s top women’s college golf teams, declined to No. 23.
“Every tournament we go to people feel sorry for you, it’s almost like pity. We as a team want to get out game improved,” Lee said.
What Next?
Recruiting freshmen because of the hurricane is currently a major challenge and concern to not only the school but also the team, because four of the members are graduating seniors. Lee is anxious to go back to the friendly atmosphere and campus.
“I hope nothing is going to be different or not as bad. I’m just hoping,” Lee said.
Tulane University will go back into full operation next semester on Jan. 17. “The Chronicle of Higher Education” quotes Tulane President Scott S. Cowen, saying that although there is no structural damage, the biggest problem is molding from the flooding.
A little Southern hospitality has brought this tight group of students to the Hilltop. SMU freshman Jack Huang said, “It’s good when people need help in times of crisis and we can support them.”
Sophomore Shawheen Molavi adds, “I think it’s nice for SMU, a private university, to decide to extend an invitation for them. I mean, imagine otherwise … ”
Through trials and challenges, this tough team of Green Wave has endured more than their share of grief. Lee claims that she knew even before she met her teammates that they would all get along.
” I think that we all understood that we were all going through hard times, so we bonded and really opened up to each other. We went through it together. We still are, actually. I’m glad that we make such a good team,” Lee said.
