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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Sociology Society hosts Katrina lecture

Hurricane Katrina may have ended in August, but its effects live on, say TCU faculty members and community workers.The Sociology Society is sponsoring a lecture on the current and future situations of Hurricane Katrina evacuees at 5 p.m. today in the Woodson Room, rooms 207 and 209 of the Brown-Lupton Student Center.

More than 10,000 evacuees are settling in Fort Worth and although the city is moving the evacuees into housing, their futures are unclear, said Jean Giles-Sims, a sociology professor and a coordinator of the event.

Guest speakers include Paula Jackson, the site manager for evacuees residing in the Ramada Inn, and Joseph Robair, an evacuee working in Fort Worth. TCU speakers include Giles-Sims, Jeff Ferrell and David Cross.

“Now, we are particularly interested in what’s going to happen in the future,” Giles-Sims said.

Jackson helps assist with basic services, such as coordinating clothing and food donations for the evacuees.

She will lecture on where the evacuees started out in the disaster, their current situations and their futures. Jackson said she wants to convey how Fort Worth pulled together during the disaster.

Cross, an associate professor in the psychology department, said he will speak about the effects of trauma on the human psyche and relationships.

Ferrell, an associate professor of criminal justice, said he wants to touch on the crime and law aspects and how America has dealt with relocations from this disaster compared to historical relocations.

“We have to look at the already existing poverty in New Orleans,” he said.

Jackson said he hopes the community will leave the lecture more knowledgeable.

“We need to learn from the disaster,” Jackson said.

Giles-Sims said the community must play a large part in helping to integrate the evacuees.

“It’s the knowledge and understanding of the evacuees up to this point, but it’s also the commitment of the community,” she said. “Why don’t we do something?”

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