Hey everyone!
    My name is Dana Hollister, I am a junior studio art major. Last night the Head of Common Grounds Relief, Thom, gave our NOLA group a little New Orleans 101. He talked about all the problems that have arisen in the parishes since the impact of Hurricane Katrina. I personally learned a lot of information that I had no knowledge of before coming down to Louisiana. I was unaware of how corrupt the government had become (to the point where a lot of their elected officers were either in jail or in the process of having their title taken away from them). The issue with the government is only the first half of it! The school systems bailed after Katrina and fired the teachers and administrators that ran their school systems. This left the children of the parishes without education, creating a direct correlation to what Thom mentioned as "dumb crime" (aka breaking and entering just because they can). The whole time Thom talked about the issues in and around this area, he never once made it sound like these problems could not be solved. I am excited to see the projects that we will be doing which will allow us to contribute to the  new growth and development of these parishes! LETS GO NOLA!