UF to host forum on Hurricane Katrina aftermath

October 4, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A group of speakers will be at the University of Florida Saturday to discuss their personal experiences of the devastation left in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina tore through the city two years ago.

Mark Willow, a captain in the New Orleans Police Department, will talk about the rescue effort and what it was like trying to respond to a disaster of such epic proportions with a severely understaffed force. Willow, along with thousands of others, lost his own home to the floodwaters.

Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose, a member of a reporting team that won two Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina, also will share his experiences of the desolation left in the wake of the storm. His book, “1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina,” also was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held in the Reitz Student Union Grand Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sponsors include the University Honors Program, the Black Student Union, the Reitz Union Board, the College of Journalism and Communications, the Political Science Department and the Honors Ambassadors.

For more information, contact conference organizer Jonathan Bennett.