October 13, 2005

Role of Race in Response to the Hurricane Katrina Tragedy Subject of Panel Discussion at UC Santa Barbara

Joan Magruder

A group of UC Santa Barbara faculty and Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum will talk about the ramifications of the country's response to Hurricane Katrina during a panel discussion entitled "Race and Response in the Wake of Katrina," Wednesday, October 19 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center on campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

The panelists will focus on issues related to race, government response, access to resources and media representation of the disaster.

Melvin Oliver, dean of social sciences at UCSB, will introduce the participants:

· Carl Gutierrez-Jones, director of the Center for Chicano Studies, who will serve as moderator

· William Freudenburg, professor in the Environmental Studies Program

· Gaye Theresa Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Black Studies

· George Lipsitz, professor in the Department of Black Studies

· Howard Winant, professor in the Department of Sociology

· Marty Blum, Mayor of Santa Barbara.

The discussion will be followed by a photo presentation by Nathan Bassiouni, a student at Tulane University who was deputized by the National Guard for rescue work.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Black Studies, the Department of Black Studies, and several other campus offices.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.