NEW ORLEANS – Sandwiched between Interstate 10 and devastated neighborhoods, John T. Scott’s kinetic sculpture “Ancestral Legacy” stands relatively unscathed in the Xavier University Quadrangle.
The sculpture, built to withstand hurricane-force winds, had no problem with Hurricane Katrina.
The rest of the campus wasn’t as fortunate – 4 to 5 feet of water filled the college’s buildings, causing $35 million in damage, but most of the heavy construction was complete before students returned for spring classes.
Xavier, the nation’s only historically black Catholic university, now celebrates daily Mass in an old administration board room - its new chapel ruined by the rising waters.
The chapel, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the buildings currently under renovation. But aside from tire ruts cut deep into the grounds of the university’s quad and a few boarded-up windows, the campus is a bright spot in a neighborhood littered with flooded cars and spray-painted body counts.
Jeff Bullock, vice president of Xavier’s Student Government Association, said the campus is “just trying to get as normal as possible.”
“Especially for the freshmen, it’s a big deal,” Bullock said. “They’ve been out, and now they’re ready to do stuff.”
In the university’s pharmacy building, wood planks bolted into the ground keep temporary desks from sliding down the inclined floor. The auditorium’s plush seating had to be removed after flooding. Around campus other imperfections are noticeable, with some luxuries, such as elevators, still not operational.
“It’s amazing how far they’ve come,” said Irving Johnson, III, a photographer for Xavier who was one of the first to return to the campus in September. “The mold was everywhere.”
But more than 3,100 students – almost 70 percent of Xavier’s pre-Katrina population - returned to the campus to find buildings had been gutted and repaired in time for classes.
Those who did return have little more than bare floors and ruined greenspace to remind them of the damage and destruction Katrina brought. Student organizations are up and running, and Bullock said students are taking advantage of an offer from Tulane University to use their recreational center.
Jackson State University’s bulldog mascot graces the center court of Xavier’s gymnasium. The school’s brand new floor was ruined in the flood, so JSU loaned its extra floor to Xavier. Intramurals will start up again soon, Bullock said, but the basketball teams won’t start playing again until next year.
Bullock said more people are living on campus, including many faculty, staff and construction workers who live in 96 Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers that crowd one of the campus’ parking lots.
Joseph K. Byrd, Xavier vice president of student services, lives in one of the FEMA trailers on campus after his house was destroyed in the hurricane.
“I never got away from work anyway,” Byrd joked.
Byrd was one of the 40 staffers and 250 students who were trapped at Xavier until they were evacuated Sept. 1 in what he described as “neck-high” waters.
Byrd said after setting up offices around the state and holding student meetings around the country, pre-registration efforts gave Xavier an idea how many students would return this spring.
Now the damage to the campus seems miniscule compared to the catastrophic losses at fellow historically black college Dillard University. Byrd said Xavier has offered to let Dillard students use their library and career services offices while based out of the Hilton Riverside Hotel.
“The only rivalry we have with Dillard is on the court,” Byrd said. “It ends there.”
Ryan Simoneaux, Xavier third-year pharmacy student from LaPlace, said the campus’ biggest problem is parking.
“We’re parking in deserted neighborhoods,” Simoneaux said. “When we have late classes, it’s bad [walking] back at night.”
Simoneaux said the once-rich and friendly campus is now “sad.”
“Everyone seems a little bit depressed,” Simoneaux said. “I guess when people repopulate the area things will start to be open. I think that will take a while though.”
 
Reporter Rachel Flarity contributed to this report.
 
Contact Scott L. Sternberg at [email protected]