Hospitality

A&M welcomes Sea Aggies to College Station

By: Clair Lavender and Rick Rojas

Posted: 9/18/08

As Hurricane Ike struck Galveston Island, the Texas A&M branch there was heavily affected, closing the school down indefinitely and causing more than 1,200 of its displaced students to transfer to A&M - College Station, University administrators said Wednesday.

The Galveston branch is made up of three campuses spread across the island. The one near the seawall and St. Louis Hotel - where most of the media was stationed during the hurricane coverage - emerged relatively unscathed. The Pelican Island campus, where most of the classes are located, is nearly inaccessible because the roadway to the campus was eroded. The Teichman campus, where the athletic facilities are located, suffered the most damage, with several buildings destroyed.

L. Bowen Loften, the CEO of A&M Galveston, said that, despite the damage done, the hurricane plan worked because there was no human toll. "I'm very thankful," he said. Students were evacuated from the campus by Sept. 10 and faculty left Sept. 11.

But the evacuation and transfer to College Station brought a considerable logistical undertaking for the University, said President Elsa Murano.

"We need to accommodate these students, making sure they have housing, their parking passes work, they have their textbooks and get enrolled," she said.

The biggest problem, Murano said, is to find a place for 1,200 students to live. She sent an e-mail to students and faculty Tuesday, asking for anyone with an extra bed or room to volunteer it for Galveston students. She said they have found 700 beds in the University so far.

Murano said her goal was to make sure the education plans of the Galveston students were not disrupted by the hurricane. Loften said he promised the students would not incur extra costs because of the hurricane.

Ron Sasse, the director of Residence Life, has been tasked with making those promises come to fruition.

Housing was an issue before Ike, with a shortage of on-campus rooms forcing students to temporarily live in the Memorial Student Center Hotel. With College Station students finally out of temporary living and moving into alternative campus housing, the spaces are ready to be occupied by Galveston students. Contracting a space off campus remains an option, depending on the number of students received, Sasse said.

On-campus residence halls could house 300 Sea Aggies, with many of the cadets joining the College Station Corps of Cadets.

A&M will reopen enrollment for Galveston students wishing to finish the semester. Monday and Tuesday, assemblies will be on campus for Galveston students and those interested in helping.

With the influx of students adding to the more than 48,000 already living here, student leaders say it's important to make sure the Galveston students are treated as warmly as possible during their time in College Station.

"We want to make sure they have the best time they can in College Station," said Student Body President Mark Gold. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that."