The Last Day

I am overwhelmed with emotions. I want to cry, get angry, laugh, think, sleep, but most of all...remember.

I had played a basketball game last night so I slept hard like a rock. I woke up with such excitement! Rachel, Jon and myself had been working on fixing up these old wooden porch chairs. We were supposed to paint them red, white, and off-white to match the color scheme with the house. First, we removed the rusty screws and replaced them with new ones. It was very time consuming. I love to paint and the artist in me is very anal so I knew it was going to be challenging for me. The truck came today so the lot had to be emptied of all the trash and bricks that occupied it. The exterior of the house had to be primed and painted, its metal fence had to be painted with enamel, and the shutter were still being scraped and painted. I was so concentrated and determined to get those chairs finished that lunch had crept up on me with surprise. It was over pretty quickly and the rest of the afternoon went by pretty fast as well. I had finished two chairs with the help of Kevin, Renee, and Rachel. Under my favorite chair, I had written today's date and my initials.

As a group, I think we did a fantastic job. No one was injured, everyone got along, there was a good healthy spirit in the air, it was amazing. I will take everything from this trip and apply it to my life. Not only can we do good work here, but we can also do it back at home in Los Angeles. I should not be so quick to pass judgment on people because I was surprised several times throughout this experience. I am truly blessed in life, and I will not take anything for granted. This has been the best week of my life and I am so sad to see it end. I've seen myself grow as a person, and I've seen the others around me grow as well. I am really happy because I had always expressed such disappointment, concern, anger, and sadness on the Hurricane Katrina/New Orleans devastation issue. It feels so good to have finally done something about it! I am slightly sunburned, full of peanut butter and jelly, dirty, and feeling accomplished.

Thanks to: Renee, Vanidy, Stephanie, Tiffny, Noel and the crew of Annunciation, Amanda and Jessica,Herman and Rick, and especially the students of ASB New Orleans 2009. You have truly made a difference in my life and I will never forget it.

Vania Ellison
Resident of Building 6
Deaf Studies Major

I will never forget (ASB Day 4)

Flowing streams of tears fill
swollen eyes shut from drowning sorrow.
Never to have known a levee.
So many questions unanswered.
Screaming souls at the bottom of the river.

Silenced.

Loud echoes fill my eardrums.
And I am tormented.
Markings on walls leave
memories from the forgotten victims.

And I am silenced.

Yet, I still remember.
I remember the cries.
I remember the hopelessness.
I remember Hurricane Katrina.

How could I forget?
I gather my tools.
And I implement my faith.

Splintered hands leave
marks of remembrance.
How could I forget?

I look up and there lies
the water line in the Schumaker's home
from the disaster.

How could I forget?

Riding in a caravan with agents of change.
Making note of the abandonment
and seeing Flood St.

How could I forget?

Empowerment is only valuable
if you implement change.

New Orleans I can hear your cries.
And I will never forget.
Your culture.
Your history.
Your story.

How could I forget?

Vanidy Bailey
Community Director
CSUN Student Housing
ASB Co-Advisor

Why Is This Day Different From All Other Days?

On all other days, it's business as usual. On this day, we take a step back to gain new perspective on ourselves, on New Orleans, and on the world.

Today is the first day of Passover, the celebration of G-d's redeeming the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. It marks the beginning of a week filled with family, tradition, ritual, food (though restricted), and for many, thoughtful reflection.

Today is also the last day of our time here volunteering in New Orleans. It marks the end of a week filled with friends, hard work, learning, celebrating, and thoughtful reflection. But it's also a beginning for this team -- the beginning of a strong community at CSUN committed to service and social justice. The beginning of a new understanding of the differences that separate us and the commonalities that unite us. The beginning of a movement among students to make a difference in their world - globally and locally.

I am inspired by this team's investment in their own experience. Each person contributed something of him or herself to make this ASB meaningful for all of us. Each member of the team has made a commitment to utilize this trip as a catalyst for action at home. My own spirit is buoyed by their unbridled enthusiasm and optimism.

There is only one thing left to say: Thank you.


Renée Cohen Goodwin
Executive Director
CSUN Hillel (Jewish Student Center)

Third day

Today is the third day and I can finally say that we as group have bonded and scratched the surface of knowing each other and we are having more meaningful conversation. I can see this not just by conversation, but at the work site when people are separating from their groups and working with other people that they normally did not work with. It seems everyone has let their guard down and we can actually see what we are all about, which makes the group closer. On the work site we have finished doing most of the cleaning and now we are focusing on more meticulous jobs like fixing the chairs and taking off primer off the walls; these jobs take more focus, but go a long way.

David Haft
Major: Sociology

The Light of Hope Shining Through the Rubble (Day 3)

So today was the third day of working on the house. After I accidentally woke up late and I barely made it to the van before we left, ASB finally arrived at the work site. Since we had finished cleaning the yard during day two, I decided it was time to do something a little different. I made an effort to sand and reassemble wooden chairs for the porch. At first this job to me seemed small and unworthy. Why would I want to fix chairs when other students were finishing up yard work or recreating the inside of the house? I realized during this time that this small project was not so small after all. The chairs that I was fixing were a detail that the homeowner would notice when they finally saw the completed job. It might not have been the most significant to me, but this tiny task will make a difference in the life of someone further down the road.

Rachel Silverman
Modern Judaic Studies
Resident Building 11

Reality As It Is (ASB Day 3)

The Declaration of Independence emphatically proclaims that, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I would argue that the now notorious assertions made by the Declaration of Independence have become bankrupt in their application to reality. How can one have Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness without being given the tools to preserve them? American democracy thrives on the notion that the least among us have the same opportunities and rights as any citizen, however, the vestiges of Hurricane Katrina denote the more than apparent fact that societal and governmental hypocrisy is alive and flourishing. I have always known that oppression and discrimination existed in American society, however, this trip has shown me that an overflow of both can be detrimental not only to the citizens affected, but to the community at large. Appropriate policy implementation can only be held liable for a portion of the devastation seen in the greater New Orleans area, at some point the essence of humanity was forgotten, either purposely or through human error. The basic structure of humanity relies, to a certain extent, on the goodwill, compassion, empathy, and cooperation of all individuals within a society. This trip has shown me that that dependency is no longer a viable expectation; it has merely become an intangibility. Each morning as we drive to the work site of the home we are helping to restore I cannot help but become angry, frustrated, and downright pissed off. When did it become acceptable to leave entire neighborhoods bare of resources? I find myself lamenting on my inability to give a plausible explanation for this occurrence; My entire life has been built on the notion that the government cares about its constituents; that it was unfathomable to believe that government assistance was not readily available to any citizen. I now know for a fact that governmental assistance is stipulated upon ridiculous benchmarks and inconceivable social constructs of race, creed and mainly socioeconomic status. I am extremely proud of the work we have accomplished, the relationships I have forged and the dialogues I have had the pleasure of partaking in. Despite all the devastation and inhumane conditions we have been exposed to, we have all rallied around one singular and profound goal: Helping Another Human Being.


Devin O'Neal, Sophomore
Political Science
Resident of Building 10

Tree Branches

Today started with a pile of tree branches bigger than a minivan. Our task-- break down and compact the pile with our bare hands.(Okay, with our work-glove-covered hands...) "This is just ridiculous!" I exclaimed, "Do they really expect us to do this by hand?" Thus began my lesson in doing things with love and patience, the good old-fashioned way. I started to learn something about myself that I'm not quite sure I would have learned in any setting other than this particular street in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

It's about being positive. And unfortunately, I'm not the world's most positive person. In fact, I think I've just about worn out the adage, "I'm not being pessimistic. I'm being realistic." It was perfectly characteristic that I approached this large task with such a cynical, biting remark. Then, all at once, something clicked. One of my friends trotted past toting a 10-foot branch and said, "Hey, Amanda, wanna give me a hand with this one?" How could she so easily pounce on a job that a couple of power tools and a dump truck could have done in half the time? I suddenly felt sheepish for being such a moron! There I was, in New Orleans with my heart set on helping people, and yet I wasn't doing it with a happy heart. I was still worrying! I was still dwelling on the negative aspects of my situation. After all the fundraising and meetings and long hours spent to get here, all I could do was worry and fret. That's the moment when it began to make sense. Yes, there was definitely a more efficient way to tackle this pile of wood. But did it really matter? Was there any point in dwelling on the negative? Of course not! I had my friends around me hacking away at that pile. They are soooo much better than a box of power tools.

So that's my new goal. No more negativity. The small annoyances are simply that-- small, trivial annoyances. There are so many more things in this world that can benefit from the energy I spend fretting.

I took a deep breath, turned to my friend, and said, "Yep, let's kill this sucker! I bet we can all get this done by the end of the day!" And that's exactly what we did.

Amanda Roth
Major- Religious Studies