#019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS
SFSU Office of Public Affairs & Publications
(415) 338-1665
Denize Springer
(415) 405-3803
denize@sfsu.edu
Matt Itelson
(415) 338-1743
pubcom@sfsu.edu
Press Release published by the Office of Public Affairs
& Publications
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SAN
FRANCISCO, September 23, 2005 –- Members of the San Francisco
State University faculty are available to provide analysis of the effects
of natural disasters from a variety of perspectives. Below is a list
of professors who are closely following events in the wake of such
tragedy and can provide timely commentary. For additional assistance
in locating an expert, call the SFSU Public Affairs office at (415)
338-1665.
Economic impact:
Michael Bar, assistant professor of economics, is an expert on macroeconomics. "The
indirect cost of the hurricane is the loss of production caused by the
inability of workers to go back to work, loss of life, interruption in
energy supply, and reduction in port activity," Bar said. "This
indirect cost is much greater than the direct cost of damage to property.
Past experience with disasters suggests that shortly after the disaster,
the regional economies will get a boost from reconstruction work. The
U.S. economy prior to the disaster experienced a healthy growth that
is likely to continue. The combined production of Louisiana and Mississippi
is less than 2 percent of the national GDP, and although the impact on
those economies is horrific, its significance for the national economy
is small." Bar can be reached at (415) 338-3026 (office) or mbar@sfsu.edu.
Environmental impact:
Carlos Davidson, associate professor and director of environmental studies,
is a conservation biologist and an expert on ecosystems. "Wetland
ecosystems between New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have been depleted
by poor urban planning (and ironically, the levees protect the city)," Davidson
said. "When the hurricane hits, the height of the swell depends
on the amount of wetlands, which serve as natural protection against
storms and rising sea levels." Davidson can be reached at (415)
405-2127 (office) or carlosd@sfsu.edu.
Historical/cultural perspective:
Cristina Ruotolo, associate professor of humanities, is an expert on
the arts and culture of New Orleans. "Culture in New Orleans,
perhaps more than in any other U.S. city, lives and breathes with its
people, not only during the major tourist seasons of Mardi Gras and
JazzFest, but throughout the year and throughout the city's neighborhoods
where jazz, funk and hip hop thrive, and brass bands regularly claim
the streets for music and dance," Ruotolo said. "The music,
of course, will play on, and this tragedy will surely expand the New
Orleans musical diaspora. But what becomes of such rich local traditions
as the Mardi Gras Indians, with
their year-long dedication to creating uniquely flamboyant costumes,
or the
social
aid and pleasure club parades and jazz funerals, depend
entirely on what becomes of the people -- the neighborhoods, homes, jobs
and communities -- who bring them to life." Ruotolo can be reached
at ruotolo@sfsu.edu.
Media coverage of the aftermath:
John Burks, professor and chair of journalism, is an expert on trends
and issues in news reporting. "I've been absorbed and transfixed
with first the broadcast cable networks, then with citizen journalism," Burks
said. "No newspaper can contend with the defining coverage of
MSNBC, CNN, NPR, Pacifica and other cable and alternative news venues.
Then there are the blogs -- particularly those providing first-hand,
up-close observations and experiences as survivors who rode out Katrina
and are eking out their existence day by day. We see little in the
newspapers that so effectively connects us with these brothers and
sisters in their ravished world. I give them much greater credibility
than the professionals -- no matter what their pedigree." Burks
can be reached at (415) 338-2663 (office), (650) 355-7169 (home) or
jburks@sfsu.edu.
Philip Kipper, professor
and chair of broadcast and electronic communication arts, is an expert
on news in the electronic media. "Media coverage
of the hurricane has been excellent with exception of a few showboat
reports during the actual storm when some reporters risked their lives
to show what it looks like to stand out in a 130-mph wind," Kipper
said. "Perhaps most notable about the coverage and commentary has
been its outspoken quality. For example, New York Times editorials critical
of the president and the administration were as blunt as any I can remember.
Some television coverage has been equally hard-hitting." Kipper
can be reached at (415) 338-1788 (work), (415) 664-0968 (home), pkipper@sfsu.edu or pkipper@msn.com.
Political landscape:
Robert Smith, professor of political science, is an expert on American
politics, the presidency and African American voting patterns. "Katrina,
Iraq and the budget are the Bush agenda for the rest of his term (assuming
there is not another terrorist attack); Social Security reform, immigration
and tax reform will gain little traction in Congress or with the public," Smith
said. "Iraq, Katrina and the budget are likely to create fissures
in the Republican Party, and cause vulnerable Republican congressional
candidates to distance themselves from the president in 2006. The president
and the Republican Party chair have been aggressively reaching out
to blacks. The immediate response to Katrina has damaged this effort.
The president's speech was a first step in remedying this damage, and
a recovery program that visibly includes minorities could repair the
damage." Smith can be reached at (415) 338-7524 (office), (510)
222-7273 (home) or rcs@sfsu.edu.
Reconstruction (labor and fair practices):
Sheila Tully, lecturer of anthropology, labor studies and human sexuality
studies, is an expert on labor issues, cross-cultural aspects of sex
and gender, histories of terror, and motherhood, marriage and family "While
an estimated 400,000 jobs have been lost, the White House has suspended
the Davis-Bacon rules, in effect since the Great Depression, which
require that workers on federal contracts be paid the prevailing wage,"
Tully said. "As the displaced wait in
shelters for housing vouchers, FEMA has awarded lucrative contracts
to private
firms with
close ties to the White House. You can be certain
that they will not be rebuilding public housing projects. … Possibly
most troubling, and ignored so far by the mainstream media, are first-hand
accounts of the intense militarization of many poor neighborhoods in
New Orleans and elsewhere." Tully can be reached at (415) 338-7497
(office), (415) 752-3815 (home) or tullyclaymor@igc.org.
Sociology, race relations:
Andreana Clay, assistant professor of sociology, is an authority on youth
culture, social movements, race and ethnic relations, cultural studies,
feminist theory and ethnography. "Despite the important work of
movements like the civil rights movement to better the lives of African
Americans, the treatment of poor African Americans in cities like New
Orleans --but also in cities nationwide -- indicates that race and
class divisions continue to influence the ideology and actions of the
state and individuals," Clay said. "These are divisions that
people of color, academics, journalists, teachers and young people
of the 'hip-hop generation' have been trying to articulate for several
decades." Clay can be reached at (415) 405-2480 (office) or andreana@sfsu.edu.
Social welfare (displaced children):
Felicia Law Murray, Licensed Child Social Worker and project coordinator
of SFSU's Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Project, was a social
worker with Alameda Family and Children's Services for seven
years and is a native of Louisiana. "There are no words to describe
what the children held in shelters hundreds of miles away from home
who do not know what happened to their parents or guardians are going
through," Murray said. "They may be in shelters, but further
harm or violence can happen there as well." Murray can be reached
at (415) 405-3482 (office) or fmurray@sfsu.edu.
Social welfare (public health, homelessness, community recovery):
Roma Guy, instructor and program associate of health education is serving
her third appointment to the San Francisco City and County Health Commission.
She is a former director of the San Francisco Homelessness Project
and founder of SFSU's Stay-in-School Family Resource Center.
A former Peace Corps volunteer, Guy has been a community activist for
more than 30 years and is one of 1,000 women nominated for the next
Nobel Peace Prize. "The Gulf States crisis highlights the strengths
of kinship and family relations and what is required to restore health
and stability. In the face of disaster both public and private civic
leadership must restore what was taken away and imagine, then implement
what is socially just." Guy can be reached at (415) 338-1938
(office) or romaguy@sfsu.edu.
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