Six University of Northern Iowa graduate students from Louisiana all are from the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans. Celeste Parker is attending U-N-I on an exchange program from Xavier University. She says she came to Cedar Falls for school and her uncle and sister where there. She says her sister left, but her uncle tried to ride out the storm and they haven’t heard from him since. She says she saw her house on t-v and it was underwater. Parker says she’s frustrated that she can’t help her family. She says she talked to her niece this morning and they still haven’t heard from their uncle. She says she heard her family crying in the background, and it’s sad because she wants to be there with them, but she can’t do anything. Keena Griffin says most of the news she’s gotten has been good thus far. She says most of her family and close friends made it out of the city, although she has two aunts they don’t know where they are. She says it’s tough because the situation is constantly on her mind. Parker says she’s managing to get through it. She says she watches the news over and over and it makes her feel better in some ways. She says she has some good friends with her that have kept her strong and cried with her. Both hope to be reunited with their family members at Thanksgiving.
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