Your thoughts: Hurricane Katrina

Silver Chips Online has assembled a collection of student and faculty reflections on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. We invite readers to share their thoughts.

"Amazingly awful, what happened. I think we could have done a lot more in a shorter period of time. I think now were trying as much as we can, but we should have started out earlier."
Bao Nguyen, Junior

"They didn't get aide quick enough and Bush could have been quicker on his response. I have not yet donated money, but I plan to."
Rose Doughlas, Sophomore

"I couldn't believe just that the whole city was covered with water. Just when they thought it was over, the levees broke!"
Rehana Mohammed, Sophomore

"For the amount of advanced warning and government agencies set up to deal with this, they did a horrible job responding to the catastrophe."
Peter Lorenz, Sophomore

" Something bad happened to the people. What we should do to help is have fundraisers. The president isn't taking care of his people."
Julio Duarte, Senior

"I think that the state and local government screwed up so it was harder for the government than it needed to be, but they're still not doing a good job."
Andrew Garfinkel, Freshman

"I heard on the radio that donating money to the Red Cross is good, but that donating money or clothes, whatever the victims need directly would help more. In my church this week we're organizing a fundraiser for the victims, and my mother is going to buy clothes for the victims. Everyone should help."
Aaron Townsend, Junior

"Some people think that since it's far away it doesn't affect us, but looking at pictures and hearing stories makes you feel more connected and want to help."
Rachael Bernstein, Junior

"It's like God putting humans to the test."
Madeline Clark, Senior

"If there were more white people in Louisiana than relief would have come a lot faster. Because the government isn't taking action, we or us as citizens need to come together to send support down South."
Emanuel Waktola, Junior

"Bush doesn't want to play the blame game. but he's the one to blame."
Christoff Visscher, Sophomore

"This is more urgent than Iraq right now."
Naina Soni, Freshman

"I think that the government has not handled it very well. They need to stop talking about what didn't go well and start helping people."
Amelyne Major, Senior

"The entire United States needs to come together."
Jozi Zwerdling, Senior

"My dad went down [to New Orleans] as a volunteer. I volunteer for the Red
Cross up here. They're really busy and everyone is on alert. They are doing their best 24/7."
Kim Mason, Sophomore

"I was in shock, I can't imagine water going up to my ceiling and having to leave everything behind. I would have been scared."
Sophia Smith, Junior

"I think the government should have given New Orleans the money years ago when they asked for it to rebuild the levees. Five years ago they asked for money to prevent this from happening."
Dan Murray, Sophomore

"Personally, I think the government should have done more since they
knew that if a natural disaster hit, the city would be destroyed. They should have done more in preparation. The rescue effort came in too late, and didn't focus on the people quick enough"
Katy Donahue, Senior

"I think it's absolutely devestating, but we brought it upon ourselves; we should learn from our mistakes, and not rebuild the city."
Maryam Elbalghiti, Sophomore

"It was pretty bad and devistating to watch all the people who were kicked out of their houses. And it was pretty sad about the time it took for food, water, shelter to come into play."
Felicia Olawuni, Junior

"My aunt in Pascagula, Mississippi, lost everything in her home and I think that the fact that people are still suffering and that so many people are dead shows that [the government hasn't] done what they needed to do."
Adam Wesensten, Junior

"I feel like we could've responded more quickly because with the Tsunami it didn't take us long to help. There was too much delay and not enough resources devoted to [hurricane relief]."
Nilan Schnure, Sophomore

"I feel sorry for the people that have had to face this disaster, but I felt that the government should and could have rescued the people earlier, given the fact that they knew this hurricane was coming days before it hit."
Areeb Quasem, Sophomore

"[New Orleans] has always been one of my favorite cities to visit and to learn about. It breaks my heart to see hundreds of years of history and culture washed away in a matter of hours."
Joanna Cross, Junior

"New Orleans obviously has a ton of things to fix and get done, but let me tell you, once they're ready to build, in ten years, it'll be the nicest city in the world. They're going to have so much money for spending and will be starting from zero. Everything is going to be brand new! It's going to build back up, I guarantee it."
Kevin Shindel, Social studies teacher

"I don't think the government did a good job warning citizens to leave ahead of time, nor have they done enough in the aftermath. It took them too long to get to the victims at the Superdome and the convention center and get aid out there. I would place the most blame on President Bush, FIMA, and the governor or Louisiana."
Maura Druhan, Junior

"It was an exercise in bureaucracy, pettiness and
incompetence at its worst."
Pam Bryant, CAP English teacher