I'm no defender of SFT as everyone who knows me on this board can attest. But, ignoring the fact that it is Shelby making the statement, in the larger picture a 9 day loss of classes really is an "interruption in services." When you consider that Tulane, and probably other schools, are losing at the least the entire fall semester, the perspective on losing 9 days of school may get a bit clearer.

And, before anyone jumps on me, I know how bad things are in Hattiesburg. I've spent all week on the phone coordinating information between folks on the ground there and trying to gather information for them. It wasn't much, but I hope it may have helped some folks in some pretty desperate circumstances. Even got a few of them to laugh.

I'm terribly glad that USM will not lose an entire semester. I'm also hoping that the Gulf Park folks can be helped through this crisis time.

Most folks are on here because they love USM. For the next few days, maybe we could all find positives in a situation that for so many is hopeless. I can't imagine what President Cowen of Tulane is facing. I'm thankful that we didn't have to count on Shelby to face something that enormous. But, they do have power and water on campus now, and they are trying to restore some semblance of normalcy in the midst of disaster. That counts for something.