Students help recovery

While most students use winter break as an opportunity to kick back and relax, one group of UB students is rebuilding a city.

Nathaniel Cornman, a junior architecture major, is one of 23 UB students who are going to Louisiana between semesters to help relief efforts in New Orleans.

The jewel city of the Mississippi delta is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which caused $80 billion in damage, making it the costliest hurricane ever recorded in the United States. The hurricane also directly caused an estimated 1,200 deaths, not to mention the estimated 600,000 households that have been displaced, according to the Associated Press.

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something," said Cornman, quoting American writer Edward Everett Hale. "The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will."

But Cornman is not the only student going. Robert Szuzik, a first year graduate architecture student, is among those joining Cornman on the trip to New Orleans.

"Basically we're leaving the 28th of December, right after Christmas," Szuzik said. "The length of the stay will be about three weeks. We're coming back the 14th or 15th of January."

The work they plan to do in New Orleans was organized through the Clarence Church of Christ. They will work with Habitat for Humanity for the first couple days and then with a similar Christian group called Journey, according to Cornman.

"With Habitat, we would be doing rebuilding or building new houses," he said. "When we get into New Orleans with Journey it sounds like most of what we will be doing is cleaning houses out of damaged furniture and carpets, removing moldy drywall, so others can start rebuilding. A lot of it sounds like they won't be rebuilding until the spring because there's so much to be done."

Szuzik said the group, made up mostly of architecture students, would have to support themselves for the most part.

"They (support organizations) are going to give us most of our meals. I don't know about dinner. They're also going to give us a place to stay in the church basement," he said. "We have to bring sleeping bags, stuff like that. We're also going to have to bring our own tools."

Szuzik also said transportation, food and water, as well as a large amount of safety equipment such as safety goggles and respirators, would be needed for the trip.

Cornman said that going to New Orleans to volunteer would not be cheap, and although some local businesses have donated for the cause, he's been unable to find much help at UB so far.

"We've not been quite as successful as I'd hoped for raising support," he said.

Although the architecture department has talked with some of the students about some financial help, nothing has come through yet, and talks with the Student Association about using SA vans also fell through.

"They're not under our insurance because they're not an SA club," said Sonia Kang, SA vice president.

She also explained other difficulties in the use of an SA van, such as a test drive with the transportation director.

Regardless, these barriers have not stopped anyone planning to go.

"Obviously there's a high need for help down there. I have the ability, and I have the skills to do something," Cornman said. "Even if I go down and just put in one two-by-four, it would be worth it for me to just help out."

He said that originally he was planning to go alone, but when he realized that others may want to help as well, he tried to reach out as much as he could.

Szuzik said the opportunity excited a lot of his fellow architecture students in many ways.

"It isn't often that an architect gets to build what they've designed or do what they've learned," he said.

Szuzik added that going to New Orleans to help out wasn't just for people with expertise in architecture.

"It's not that difficult," he said. "If a student wanted to do this, they could get 10 of their friends together and do it."

"I've worked in construction for three years - it's an opportunity for me to put my skills to work and help people. It'll be a good experience," Szuzik added. "Plus, it gets me away from Buffalo and into 60-degree weather."