As many of you know, we are currently developing a play called Drowning Evangeline, which hinges around the loss of wetlands in Southern Louisiana and its impact upon the disintegration of youth culture there. As part of the plays development, Dr. Inno Onweume and I traveled to the region on several occasions and interviewed numerous people from different walks of life that were being impacted. The people there were very giving, opened their doors, and were uniformly appreciative that Missouri State was taking an initiative in support of telling their story- which is quite profound.

Unfortunately, I've just discovered that one of the families interviewed has finally fallen victim to land/resource loss and is being forced to move elsewhere. I can't possibly explain the impact involved in a "decision" like this. This family comes from a long cultural heritage of fishing/shrimp industry and their resources have been steadily diminishing. Their loss has apparently passed the tipping point. Like many others, loss of resource and insurance has left them with little to nothing to depend on.

These folks, given their heritage and profession, are unbelievably pround and self-sufficient. Nonetheless, I'm going to try to pull some resources together and send it that way to assist in their transition. I think any amount would help them at this point. They were very helpful to our project, so I figure its the very least that can be done.

I know money is really tight these days, so I'm not going to ask for any monetary donations. However, being the end of the semester, I thought we may be able to collect some used textbooks on their behalf.

If you have any used textbooks, even just one, that you can spare, please drop it by the T&D office by Wednesday. I'll put a box in the office in the morning that says "Vanishing Wetlands." We'll then refund the textbooks and forward the proceeds accordingly.