Less than a week into my freshman year, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana.
I lived on campus, and in my first few days away from home, I had to navigate this anxiety-inducing experience by myself. There was no point in me heading further south to go home, so my only options were to evacuate with my roommate’s family or stay on campus by myself. I chose the former.
Going through this experience made me realize that LSU should do more to inform students about natural disaster-related resources, especially in the approach or the wake of a major storm.
There are a number of resources at the university, but their usefulness is limited by students’ awareness of them.
On the human resources and management webpage, students are directed to resources that include emergency shelters, flood recovery help, food assistance, grief counselors and more.
This page has a number of links to easily redirect students to helpful resources, but the university could do more to make students aware of this directory. Students may grapple with serious, urgent issues in the face of a major hurricane. It should be as easy as possible for them to access needed help.
While storms threaten residents’ physical safety, the emotional distress of disasters is often underrecognized.
“Feelings such as overwhelming anxiety, constant worrying, trouble sleeping and other depression-like symptoms are common responses before, during and after these types of storms,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Highlighting how frequently survivors of disasters suffer from some negative impact on their mental health shows the importance of offering them help.
A 2020 environmental health analysis from a collaboration of medical scientists said that “more disaster survivors experience psychological distress than physical harm.” Being deprived of electricity, food, shelter and regular communication increases the likelihood that storm survivors develop PTSD or depression, the scientists said.
Hurricanes can affect short-term mental health, but they can also cause lifelong harm. Offering help and coping mechanisms to these people, especially young adults who may be less prepared, can alleviate psychological problems down the line.
The vast amount of damage caused by Ida impacted students across the country, some having severe damage to their homes or losing them completely. This included many students at our own university. Making resources easily accessible to people who have suffered such losses is important in supporting students and even saving lives.
I think of Hurricane Ida as a dark point in my life — my first time living away from my parents and, not even a month in, I needed to evacuate. Being at college away from my family multiplied the negative effect on my mental health. I was unsure whether I should evacuate from Baton Rouge or if I should stay in a dorm alone.
I am thankful to have evacuated and made it through the hurricane with minimal damage to my family’s home, but knowing the resources offered by the university may have allowed me to talk with a counselor and better cope with the experience.
While I am not the university’s responsibility, hurricane support is a necessity in a state like Louisiana. Students and families should be able to count on LSU when disaster strikes.
Kate Beske is a 19-year-old journalism sophomore from Destrehan.
