September 21. 2005 lattò ©bseruer Page A6 Concordia Helps Hurricane Victims continued fro m Front union account in New Orleans. V ancouver Avenue First B ap tist Church, a m ostly African- A m erican congregation in P ort lan d , d o n ated m oney fo r her clothing and she was given aid from the Red Cross to help her get back on her feet. W hen she heard C oncordia U niversity was offer ing lim ited scholarships, she ap plied. She was given school sup plies, books, a dorm room and tuition. Her generous room m ates even surprised her with a room makeover. “I’m ju st so thankful to every one helping m e,” Calvin said, ex pressing sorrow for the children, w om en and elderly people who lost everything they had. A lthough C alvin said sh e’d miss the friendly, southern hos pitality of New Orleans, not to mention its food and strong sense o f history, she has no plans to move back. “1 d on’t want to put m yself in that situation again,” she said. Portland natives Alexis McCoy and Ismaelite Saint Felix were both freshman at Xavier Uni versity, hav ing moved into the dorms two weeks before the floodwaters from Katrina wiped out the city. They assumed the 400 students living in campus dorms would be moved to another school immediately if the hurricane hit. Instead, they were told to move to the top floors of their building. They were given flashlights and the power went out. “The storm was coming - all you heard was wind,” McCoy said. Felix held onto her blanket and a couple o f suitcases for the next photo by K atherine B lackmore /T he P ortland O bserver Concordia University is providing free financial assistance to Alexis McCoy (left) and Ismaelite Saint Felix, who arrived on the northeast Portland campus after Hurricane Katrina displaced them. Blues Concert for Katrina Relief Linda Hornbuckle neighborhood and are now ready to provide you with a wide variety of quality products and services. Irma Thomas continued fro m Front C harm aine N eville, vocalist daughter of New Orleans’ famed Neville Brother, Charles, will also perform as one of thousands to escape from Katrina's floodwaters. The songs of Ray Charles will be honored by Linda Hornbuckle, C urtis Salgado, Duffy Bishop, Andy Stokes, Patrick Lamb and Thara Memory, among many oth ers. P o rtla n d ’s M arch Fourth Marching Band will offer a colorful, high-energy and eclectic set, along with a mix of Mardi Gras mayhem and stilt-dancers. A donation of $ 1 Oor more can be made at the gate. All funds raised from admission and food sales will be donated to America’s Second Harvest and Oregon Food Bank for hurricane relief. For more inform ation, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com. We can hardly wait for you to stop by to see all that we have to offer you. W ood Village 23500 N.E. Sandy Blvd. SUPERCENTER I few days w hile the students hung around the dorm s, w aiting for an answ er. E ventually, when phone ser vice was available, Felix was able to make a quick call to her m other to tell her “it’s not that bad." A ssum ing school w ould start back up again soon, Felix contin ued to do her hom ew ork because she d id n ’t want to be behind in class. Then the levee broke and w a ter began to rise. The show ers and to ile ts sto p p e d w o rking. W ith w orries and tension grow ing, rest w asn’t easy to com e by. “W e ju st kept telling ourselves ‘at least w e’re aliv e.’ If I woke up and saw the sun was shining, I was grateful for that,” Felix said. T hursday m orning, girls were woken by the shouts o f “L e t’s go, the C oast G uard’s outside!” They gathered their things, went dow n the stairs and w alked out side into w ater that was about three inches above the ankle. (The w ater level around cam pus eventually rose to about six feet.) The students placed their belong ings on floating chairs and were rescued by boats fitted for ap proxim ately 12 people, including luggage. The X avier students were then taken to the I - 10 highw ay, where they w aited 12 hours until they were picked up by buses and es c o rte d to safety by N atio n al G uard units and L ouisiana State Police. D uring their w aiting time, Rev. Jessie Jackson cam e to say a prayer and asked the crow d if they w ere ju st happy to be alive. The buses then transported stu dents either to Grambling State University, about 5 hours north west of New Orleans, or Southern University in Baton Rouge, an hour and a half northwest, depending on individual destinations. W hen the students were rushed onto the buses, they were told to lay flat on the floor for protection. Angry residents, they said, had been randomly shooting guns to try to get a ride. “It was really scary because you didn’t know what was going to happen to you,” McCoy said. With McCoy at Southern Uni versity and Felix and Grambling, they were given food, cots or m at tresses, blankets, toiletries and tow els. Soon after, a friend’s grand mother picked McCoy and a few other students up and housed them until they got back to Portland. “It was scary, but when you have people around you that you’ re com fortable with, it makes the transi tion easier,” she said. Elsewhere, Felix was able to call her dad from Grambling. “I could tell he was overwhelmed and anxious and worried,” Felix said. She was eventually flown back to Portland. “I was just happy to be headed toward home,” Felix said. “It really helps you appreciate life. My heart goes out to every one who helped us.” C oncordia’s O ngoing E m er gency Student Aid Fund can be supported with donations by mail ing or delivering a check to the Concordia University Foundation, 2811 N.E. Holman St. Portland, OR 97211; or by contacting Andrea Bruno at 503-280-8505 or viae-mail at abruno@ cu-portland.edu.