The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 24, 1993 - 5 One small casualty in this summer's massive war against nature, students at universities in Iowa grin and bear dampened circumstances and try to get life he frazzled woman behind the desk in the University of Iowa (UI) housing office has answered the same question countless times a day - every day -- since the dorm first closed. "We'll try to be accommodating. Soon you will have a permanent room. We're shooting for October 15." Although the date has changed each week since school began, she's pretty sure this time she's telling the truth. And while the 900 students living in temporary housing grin and bear the situation, they can't wait to finally have their own space. The UI Mayflower residence hall in Iowa City, Iowa, Oas been closed since early July when flood waters rushed up to its front steps, poured into its basement and destroyed its entire infrastructure. Given less than an hour to evacuate, the students living there this summer grabbed a few T-shirts and a handful of CDs and sud- denly became residential refugees. It was supposed to be a temporary prob- lem. But the rains had no mercy. The river continued to rise, and soon the summer became fall. The 1,000 students scheduled to occupy Mayflower were piled into more than 500 makeshift barracks of residence hall lounges and squeezed into 400 rooms that were sup- posed to be for one. One small casualty in this summer's mas- sive war against nature, UI continues to an- ticipate the consequences of the flood. Two months after the Great Flood of 1993 captured the nation's compassion and prayers, communities are still pumping water out of basements. Entrepreneurs are still selling equipment to capitalize on the disaster. And farmers are still looking for ways to compen- sate for crops that couldn't swim. But students at universities in the flood plain are happy just to be back at school. Despite disruptions in the normal college life- style, they're psyched to kick back in a bar Friday after class. Due to flood damage to a University of Iowa dormitory, first-year student Aaryn Schultz and sophomores Melissa Mayer and Sara Cheesman are among the 540 Iowa students who have been living in the makeshift barracks of residence hall lounges since classes began Aug. 26. (ABOVE) A University of Iowa employee clears mud from a sidewalk that recently emerged from under water. "You go along and you take things for granted - like that river. Then suddenly you realize the 7, power of mother nature. It's something completely overwhelming. AT THE MERCY OF THE WEATHER It was the Fourth of July weekend, but threatening rivers precluded celebration at schools across the flood region. One-third of the Iowa State campus in Ames, Iowa, was under water by July 9. The ISU center - a huge performing arts and athletic structure - filled with 14 million gallons. Disappointed UI seniors in Iowa City learned that the summer commencement cer- emony would be cancelled. And the likeli- hood that the flood would postpone fall classes increased with the size of the river. Universities in Iowa were at the mercy of the weather. Even on the rare sunny days, Iowans could sit by the river and watch it rise due to rainfall hundreds of miles upstream., Administrators and students in Iowa be- came captives, frantically fighting a war they couldn't win and preparing for what could happen tomorrow. The three men livino in the Phi Tlelta Thea4 "The day-to-day stress of what will hap- pen next and the crisis management was the most challenging experience I've had in the profession," said Tom DePrenger, director of UI orientation. The only ones who could relax this sum- mer, it seemed, were the orientees. Because orientation coordinators aimed to hide the chaos from orientees, this summer's incoming class may have had an even easier orientation than previous classes, said Jan Warren, program assistant for UI orientation services. In summers past, incoming students quiv- ered at the thought of leaving high school friends, moving in with strangers and entering the unknown. But the 1993 incoming class was staying afloat - literally - in the century's worst natural disaster. Compared to this, meeting a new room- mate was like wading in the shallow end. "Rather than creating an added tension (to orientation), the flood almost worked the other way," Warren added. "It really put things into perspective. (Students) sort of had the attitude that 'If I can handle the flood, I can handle anything."' For many orientees, the trip to Iowa City - though longer than usual due to water flooding four of the five roads entering cam- pus - was actually a chance to get away. Compared to damage to some students' homes, campus looked like the Sahara, and for the large number of students who came from Des Moines during the 14-day water shortage, orientation meant a chance to take a shower. Considering the fact that every county in Iowa was declared a disaster area this sum- mer, starting school this year was a breeze - that is, for students who had a place to live. only mirror is in high demand and some stretch extension cords down the hall to blow dry, their hair. When the semester began, 540 students living in dorm lounges at UI hung posters on the walls to create a semblance of home. They made the best of their situation and tried to laugh at the annoyances. Dealing with nine roommates is a pain, they say. So is living out of a suitcase a month into classes. But these are inconveniences. Nothiig more. They're glad to have a place to live. ] "It's something you live with. You just] accept it," Mayer said, smiling.] Once a week, lounge students receive a notice called Temp Times, updating the status of the Mayflower cleanup. The Housing Of- fice uses these notices to keep loungees in- formed and to avoid the gossip that flies1 around Iowa City and surrounding communi- ties. Students sigh when the Temp Times tells] them it'll be another week before they can move into Mayflower, but they can't really get angry.1 "The common denominator here is the flood. All the students here have had contact1 with disaster this summer. It's not1 management's fault," said George Droll, di- rector of residence services. "This is heaven compared to the problems people have right now," agreed UI sophomore Sara Chesman. "I'm just glad that our school is still here." Then there's Brandon Winn, a first-year student from Bondurant, Iowa. He's using the lounge experience to make a quick buck - spending his spare time marketing a Late- Night T-shirt with the "top ten reasons lounge life sucks" budgets or drain student pocketbooks. Iowa universities may have to raise tuition to pay for the $7.7 million in damages to ISU and the $4.5 million in damages to UI. And empty beds at UI will translate into severe revenue loss.for the Housing Office. "Eventually, something's going to have to give," Droll said. It's also unclear whether schools will be able to provide additional financial aid to students who suffered personal loss due to the flood. There is no magic formula to determine how much financial aid will be necessary, UI Director of Financial Aid Mark Warner said. Right now, it is too early - for both families and universities - to make estimates. There are too many unanswered questions, Warner said. What exactly is the damage to homes and businesses? How much will insurance cover? Will there be an early frost? What kind of aid will be made available by the federal and state governments? Students won't start lining up outside the financial aid office until they know the an- swers to some of these questions. But Warner saidheknows the lines will get longer - particularly next year once families have assessed the damage. Fornow, he's count- E - Geoff Dahl, UI senior. ing on the current system to handle extenuat- ing financial circumstances. "What we need to be prepared for is unan- ticipated large numbers," he said. At the University of Missouri, however, more than 100 students have already come forward to request additional financial sup- port in direct response to flood damage, said Associate Director of Financial Aid Leonard Johnsen. Johnsen said many of the Columbia, Mo., university's students come from flooded St. Louis areas and from Iowa, and have already begun to request extra funds. But all schools with students from flooded regions will have difficulty satisfying addi tional student needs. Universities will have to wait to find out how requests for additional funds fared with the government. Of the $5.7 billion flood relief package approved by Congress in July, $30 million was earmarked for Pell Grant, funding. In addition, the U.S. Department of& Education declared that unused funds from last year will be made available to schools in the flood region. "But we're just going to have to wait and see," Warner said. "I feel we're prepared but with disasters like this one, you never how what's going to happen." , ,I