UM aids students displace
by Hurricane Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast and swamped New Orleans on Aug. 29, Heidi Fanslow never dreamed people fleeing the disaster would surface way up north in Montana.

Fanslow, director of admissions for The University of Montana law school, has worked nonstop in the days since the hurricane to help four displaced law students continue their studies in Missoula.

“People have been calling me on the road in tears, not knowing what day it is, wondering what they are going to do,” she said. “They are arriving exhausted and traumatized, and we’ve worked to make sure they don’t have to worry about the basic necessities the rest of us take for granted.”

The disaster shut down New Orleans’ two law schools at Loyola and Tulane. Fanslow said UM agreed to take in two Loyola students — a first-year and a third-year — as well as two second-year students from Tulane.

“UM and Gonzaga were the first law schools in the country to accept first-year law students affected by the hurricane,” she said.

The UM law school generally caps first-year enrollment at 85 students, but Fanslow said they were glad to squeeze in the Loyola student. She said it’s easier to accommodate the second- and third-year students, adding that the cut-off date for new admissions is Sept. 12.

Fanslow said that, whenever possible, existing financial aid the students had in place will be shifted to UM. “But the first-year student from Loyola was on a full-ride scholarship, and we will honor that,” she said. “We also have contacted textbook manufacturers who have agreed to supply textbooks to the students at no cost.”

Fanslow also has worked to personally ensure the students feel welcome and sheltered. For instance, she called Missoula attorney friends to get them to donate stacks of clothing. She also called area businesses to help with essentials, receiving donations from the Orange St. Food Farm, Trail Head, Regis Salon and Worden’s Market to Bath & Body Works and the Good Food Store have donated. Quality Supply Inc. and Go Fetch even helped provide food for the four dogs owned by the displaced students.

Fanslow said a clothing donation came with a card, new bracelet and note that said, “I will take you shopping if there is anything you need.”

The law school employee also helped facilitate an internship for the third-year student from Loyola with the Missoula County Attorney’s Office. And she recently learned a woman who lives in Missoula’s Rattlesnake neighborhood but works in Helena during the week has offered up her home to the Tulane students “for as long as they need.”

“We all send money off to the big organizations,” Fanslow said, “but I feel better whenever I can personally help somebody. It’s not often in life you can see an immediate benefit and positive impact on somebody.”

Besides the law students, UM also is helping a biology undergraduate student named Mia Eason continue her studies. Eason had attended the University of New Orleans before contacting UM about enrolling in Missoula. She and her boyfriend, Jim Marchiano, left the Big Easy with nothing but clothes, their cat, important papers and a laptop computer.

Jed Liston, UM associate vice president for Enrollment Services, said UM can’t waive all fees for Eason, but a financial-aid package is being arranged.

“These are extraordinary circumstances,” Liston said, “so we wanted to make sure they had a nice landing point when they got here.”