Chancellor Sean O'Keefe's comments to all.

cajdav1 · Aug 30, 2005

LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe on Hurricane Katrina, LSU as a recovery center, etc.:

"This afternoon we made a decision to delay the start of the class schedule again until next Tuesday. That is precipitated largely by the fact that in the last 12 to 18 hours, we have really seen an intensive increase in the evacuation requirements here on campus. Up until midnight last night, the assessment was that the campus was in great shape. We have really weathered this as anybody would have hoped for. We didn't lose power. The residence halls have all been operational. Everything has worked exactly well. We couldn't be more proud of the facility service folks here that maintained the infrastructure across the campus to ensure that we had full operations. We are planning tomorrow to be back to full operations with all staff and personnel on campus.

"That said, with the intensity of this evacuation effort that has been going on, we were originally designated around 72 hours ago as a special needs shelter evacuation site. The (Carl) Maddox Field House has been occupied for the last three days in that role. Folks have been arriving there at a regular clip and being cared for. That intensity picked up again about midnight last night once the State Office of Emergency Preparedness designated this campus as an evacuation site primarily for medical triage purposes as well as for folks seeking shelter and assistance in the immediate community area. As a result, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center was open late yesterday evening. Medics and medical technicians arrived, and the first evacuees arrived late last night around 1 a.m. The intensity of that arrival has picked up dramatically as commensurate for what we are seeing as news reports come out of the southeast parishes around New Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. That effort has been intensifying dramatically and commensurate in what we see is the devastation that is now resulting as consequence of the levee breaks.

The consideration as a result of that was that adding additional folks to come on the campus and to come in for classes as early as Thursday would have really compounded the challenges we are confronting. As it stands in a very short order here, what you will see is that Nicholson Drive is going to get pretty well quad ranted in order to ensure that all emergency evac units, helicopters and all the ambulances that are converging on campus here. There is not a moment that goes by that you don’t hear them around this area. As a result, Nicholson Drive and that whole area there is going to be quad ranted pretty quickly. Public services folks here on campus facilitated that plan in order to make sure there is easy access on campus and then in turn, once triaged, allow folks to get to hospitals and get to evacuation centers as promptly as they possibly can.

"We have begun to cancel all activities around campus, and again deferred classes until Tuesday so that we do not see the influx in surge of students coming back. Power is going to be restored based on all assessment that we have heard from the city here. This afternoon they have been talking to the Entergy folks, and they have a high priority of doing so because this has become one of the primary evacuation centers in the Baton Rouge community. A lot of the campus activities, Fall Fest, a few other things that were scheduled for Friday have been postponed, and confirmed with that effort, we have also made a decision just based on the surge of activity we anticipate in the hours and days ahead that we have postponed the North Texas game that was scheduled for Saturday night. A lot of effort has gone on to work with our friends at North Texas, as well as in the Sun Belt Conference to ensure that we can do an expeditious rescheduling of that effort. The answers will be forthcoming shortly. Their efforts have been nothing short of astounding to really work through this."

"On a personal note last night, I looked forward to Saturday's game as an opportunity for us here at LSU to demonstrate on behalf of all Louisianans that we were not going to get beaten down by anything. This would be a chance to really demonstrate the resolve, to continue on and to have the spirit of this great state be reflected, and the folks would continue to get together on Saturday night and demonstrate that we are made of something and have lots of character. That said, I think that was overcome this morning with the concern of all the people coming into this area. We are looking to schedule all postponed activities as promptly as we possibly can and to assure that this is a single effort because an awful lot rides on it. An awful lot of hope and expectations of the people of this state will be reflected by the attitude we demonstrate and the character we show the nation. On behalf of all of us, I think that we can really work our way through this."

"I had the misfortune for whatever set of circumstances at finding myself in the middle of some crises, this being one of them. I was at the White House on 9/11, in the Washington D.C. area watching that happen, and this rises to that same level of absolute, dire and focused attention to activity and concern of well being of people. Of all things that we see as life's opportunities to really express ourselves, those are the kinds of things, much like we did on September 11 nationally, we need to think what the consequences are for this and be assured that our attention and focus is on caring for the people who need it most right now, particularly those who are fellow Louisianans. That is where our attention and compassion is going to be channeled towards in the days ahead as we see this intensify. Folks have viewed us as a logical place for this evacuation effort to be centralized and working through, in order to assure those that need the care the most get it. We want to make sure that nothing deters from or detracts from that particular commitment."
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Chancellor Sean O'Keefe's comments to all.

cajdav1 Soldiers are real hero's

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