After spending a semester at SMU, Louisiana transfers are taking the next step. Moving past the devastation of Katrina, most students are ready to return to their familiar environment of Louisiana.
Several Louisiana transfers said their time spent at SMU was enjoyable. They found students and staff to be accommodating and welcoming but are ready to return to the college life they remember.
“I miss my school, my friends and the city. I liked it here [at SMU] but it was just different,” Jason Blanchard, a junior legal studies and business major, said.
Blanchard said he found SMU to be more focused on academics than what he was used to at his home school Tulane. He was surprised to find that Dallas bars close at 2 a.m., whereas in Louisiana they stay open all night. He was accustomed to nightly opportunities to go out.
“In Louisiana, it wasn’t weird to go out on Wednesday nights. I don’t feel like people do that much here,” he said.
Blanchard was one of the many students who moved onto campus at Tulane only to be told after his first day the school had to be evacuated. Blanchard, who is from New York, said he came to SMU because the school honored the scholarship he received at Tulane. He said he had some complications because SMU was targeting transfers that lived in Dallas.
Ben Fisher, a junior Tulane transfer, related to Blanchard’s situation. Fisher, who is from Denver, is also leaving for the spring semester. Fisher is a chemical engineering major. His main reason for returning to Tulane is because SMU doesn’t offer his course of study. He said his experience at SMU was like no other.
“It was kind of like a semester abroad. I got to start over,” he said.
Fisher also said he enjoyed the campus atmosphere. He said SMU, in comparison with Tulane, is a much larger campus with well-kept facilities.Fisher was also concerned for freshman Louisiana students. He said he hopes the storm doesn’t hurt their academic careers. However, his main concern was the city itself.
“[The city] looked pretty devastating. It’s such an active city. I hope it stays that way,” he said.
Sheree Guimont, who transferred from Xavier University, is also returning to Louisiana in spring. Her reasons for leaving SMU are based on her academic goals, grades and scholarships. She said if she didn’t return to Xavier she might lose her scholarship. It was not only her situation but her heart that led her to leave.
“I was comfortable there. I made it my home,” she said.
Guimont said initially she was in denial about the severity of Katrina. However, it hit her when she arrived at her home in Dallas. Although excited, she confessed to apprehensions in returning to Louisiana.
“I don’t know what I’m going back to. I don’t know what the conditions will be like, if all my teachers and friends will be there,” she said.
The story that differed the most from those interviewed belonged to Chantiia Fiffie. Fiffie is a sophomore business administration major who transferred from the University of New Orleans. She also will not be returning to SMU. However, unlike most of the other students leaving SMU, she is not returning to Louisiana either.
Feffie will be attending the University of North Texas in spring. Originally from California, Feffie evacuated to Dallas, where her parents are now residing. Feffie is a mother of one and is expecting her second child in January. Since the move, Feffie’s husband has been searching for work in Dallas.
“I’ve gotten settled here. It would be hard to move back now,” she said.
While the people of New Orleans try to restructure their city, the students are working to restructure their academic track. “They’re going to be offering two semesters in one,” Guimont said.
Each for their own reason, most Katrina transfers are ready to return to their home school. According to the SMU Registrar’s Office, out of the 200 students who attended the school during the fall semester, only 10 have applied for spring.