Protesters call for reopening of SUNOOf course no one is surprised that SUNO is the last college in New Orleans still not back to operating at its flooded campus or that the matter only makes news as the result of a public demonstration on behalf of the school's neglected community. What is a bit more interesting is who we find in attendance.
Posted by The Times-Picayune October 10, 2007 2:24PM
By John Pope
Staff writer
Massed in front of a campus building that has not been touched since Hurricane Katrina two years ago, about 200 placard-waving demonstrators today cheered a procession of speakers who called for immediate action to restore the Southern University at New Orleans campus.
For the past 20 months, SUNO has been housed in temporary buildings about a half-mile away. It is the only local institution of higher education that hasn't returned to its campus.
The only gubernatorial candidate to appear was John Georges, who not only spoke and worked the crowd but also provided 3,000 chilled bottles of water bearing his red, white and blue campaign logo.
"I am the man with a plan, and my plan includes rebuilding SUNO," he said to cheers. "It's the last university to be rebuilt; it should have been the first.
John Georges and his water bottles were last seen, by the way, at the Jena 6 rally back in September.
While there isn't much in his background or his platform to suggest that Georges would garner much support from African-American voters this election, it should be noted that his campaign is paying, at least, cursory attention to some of their concerns. And this is more than can be said for any of his opponents. Especially Bobby Jindal who continues to make a very different sort of appeal.
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