Public invited to join in exploration of Hurricane Katrina tragedy at UW-Fond du Lac

Fond du Lac, Wis.—The public is invited to join the UW-Fond du Lac campus community as it reflects on the 2005 Hurricane Katrina tragedy through a film showing, common read and panel discussion during the spring semester. All events are free.

The first event is a showing of the Spike Lee film “When the Levees Broke” at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the Prairie Theater at UW-Fond du Lac, 400 University Dr. A follow up discussion about the film will be held the next day at 11 a.m. on Feb. 4 in the Large Group Instruction (LGI) Room (UC-113) at the campus.

The campus community will be doing a common read of “1 Dead in Attic” by journalist Chris Rose during the spring semester. The phrase “1 dead in attic” refers to one of the markings Rose saw spray-painted on a house in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Rose is a columnist for the “Times-Picayune” in New Orleans and the book is a collection of stories recounting the first year and a half of life in New Orleans after the storm.

A series of four panel discussions open to the public will explore various topics related to the book and the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. While the discussions are based on topics in the book, it is not necessary to have read the book to participate.

All discussions are at 11 a.m. in the LGI Room at UW-Fond du Lac.

• Wednesday, Feb. 11 – “Natural Disasters: Hurricane Katrina” led by Dr. Michael Jurmu, geography/geology professor.
• Wednesday, Feb. 18 – “A Journalist’s Perspective” led by Peter Toeg, journalism lecturer.
• Wednesday, Feb. 25 – “A Social Conscience” led by Dr. Michael Nofz, sociology professor.
• Wednesday, Mar. 4 – “Perspectives on History and Race” led by Dr. Paisley Harris, history professor.

A wrap up discussion on the book will be held at 11 a.m. on March 11 in the LGI room at UW-Fond du Lac.

All events are part of the UW-Fond du Lac Engaging Students in the First Year (ESFY) initiative at the campus. For more information call (920) 929-1100.

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