At the end of this semester Yoni Sunshine '06 will graduate from Brandeis, even though he spent his first three years of college at Tulane University in New Orleans."I don't hate it here, it's just I'm out of my comfort zone here," he said.

Since he had just had his wisdom teeth pulled, Sunshine never made it to New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina hit. Like the other four people he now lives with in a Charles River apartment, Sunshine has decided to continue his education at Brandeis for the semester.

"I applied to eight schools after the hurricane, all on the east coast within driving distance from Baltimore," he said, referring to his hometown in Maryland.

According to Sunshine, he chose Brandeis because Maryland schools "start too early" and he thought he would be too behind in classes. His aunt is a Brandeis alumna and his cousin currently goes here; both recommended the University - so when it was the first to accept him, he came.

Although Sunshine is here with his girlfriend, Natalie Wesson '06, who also attended Tulane, he did not know any of his three first-year apartment-mates before he came to Brandeis.

"Now I have all these new worries to think about," he said. "I had to worry about housing. I don't have a computer. I had to sign up for classes, all of which are more academically challenging than I was planning on. But everyone's been nice, friendly, very considerate. It could be worse."

With Wesson's car and the BranVan-which he said is better than Tulane's shuttle-Sunshine has tried to settle into campus life. He said he recently looked at The New Orleans Times-Picayune and saw pictures showing Mardi Gras floats mostly undamaged, indicating the festive event should still be taking place this year. He also saw a friend from Tulane last week.

But he had to get a new cell phone, since New Orleans numbers do not currently work, and Tulane webmail is also down, leaving him feeling "really out of touch."

Sunshine originally chose Tulane not only for its academics and the classes that fit his majors of political science and environmental studies, but also because Tulane is in New Orleans and is pretty social, almost like "going abroad for four years." He said that adjusting to Brandeis has been slightly difficult.

"It's a lot quieter... it's nice, in its own way. I don't want to say anything bad about Waltham," Sunshine said. "I love my home so much in New Orleans. I love my friends down there. I love my roommates. I was so excited to be down there. It's always such anticipation to get down there. No matter where I'd gone, it wouldn't have really lived up to New Orleans."

Most of the Tulane students that Sunshine knows are also taking classes at other schools this semester, rather than seeking a job or taking the semester off. He said that when he spoke to his roommates, they all hated the schools they were attending.

"A lot of people are taking classes and everyone is unhappy," he said.

Sunshine said he does not hate Brandeis, but that his experience has been "rough" because he was so excited to see his friends, be back at school and back in New Orleans. Despite the fact that incoming first-years have never really been students at Tulane, Sunshine thinks most will go back there when the school re-opens.

"I feel sorry for them because they are missing out on the freshman experience, which in New Orleans is quite an experience," he said. "They definitely aren't going to get what they expected. But they're going to get something else, which might be better."

This perhaps speaks to the loyalty of Tulane students, also mentioned by Avra Heller '09, who would have been a first-year at Tulane and now lives in Charles River with Sunshine. "Kids who have already been to Tulane are hardcore," she said.

Heller managed to be at Tulane for a few days, and was in New Orleans for a week because her family took a vacation there before her orientation. She said she walked into her room to meet her roommates and a friend asked her if she had heard about the hurricane.

"I go to get my ID and they are signing you out as they sign you in," Heller said.

Tulane marked where students were going, and with whom, in order to ensure that everyone was safely accounted for. Students who had no friends or family as travel mates were transported by bus to Jackson State University.

Heller stayed with a few Tulane seniors for Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. The seniors had been planning to go to Texas anyway, and simply moved up their trip. When they went outside to leave, however, their car had been stolen.

"They called the police and the police just laughed at them," Heller said. "So, my dad drove us in our rental car to Texas. My dad had heard on NPR over the summer what happens to New Orleans if the worst happens, the whole [city] becoming a soup bowl and he was like, 'You're leaving now.'"

When Tulane's Web site updated to state that due to the severity of storms, classes would not be starting until Sept. 7, Heller flew from Texas to her home in San Francisco. She said she considered taking EMT classes or an art course in the interim, but when it became clear that Tulane was not going to open for the semester, her dad pushed her to make a decision.

"I called around to find out what schools were taking in students - there was this incredible consortium of schools that decided that students could come tuition-free," she said.

Heller had applied to Brandeis the first time around, and this time, she chose Brandeis because she said that if the one-semester Tulane delay turned into a year, Brandeis might be a good place to transfer.

"It was like the college process all over again, except faster," Heller said.

Between high school and college, Heller spent a year studying in Israel, where she made best friends who now attend Brandeis. She reasoned that with the possibility of having to live off-campus, having those friends could create the social network she would need to adjust.

"I don't feel like I am a freshman here," she said. "It feels like a weird continuation of last year."

"It was an awkward freshman experience," Heller said lightheartedly.

On the same day that Heller talked to admissions, she and her father flew to Brandeis. She started classes two days later.

"It is kind of a fun little apartment ... it has been working out really well," she said of her Charles River housing.

Still, Heller has felt awkward from attention she receives on campus when people discover she is from Tulane. "I keep getting 'we feel bad for you,' and for me it's working out fine," she said. "I'm not from New Orleans. I mean my stuff is there, blah whatever, but for the most part, I have it really good compared to my friends that are from New Orleans."

Heller and many incoming Tulane first-years left their belongings in residence halls because at that point, they thought orientation was simply postponed for a week. Students who were bussed to Jackson were allowed to bring what could fit on their laps.

Compared to the rest of the city, Tulane's campus is in fairly good shape and reports are that the residence halls are generally intact; security personnel were on campus to protect the school from looters.

"My room was on the fifth floor and I hadn't even unpacked," Heller said. "My suitemates had set up completely and the furniture was all nice and pretty. I went home and stripped my house of everything, but I tried to control the shopping because when I get my stuff I will have too much."

Although Wesson said she is planning on going back to Tulane next semester to finish her senior year, Heller is not as sure. She admits that the city was a huge draw, although she added that the people were very welcoming and she was excited about the classes she was supposed to take this fall at Tulane.

"But the thing is, because people who work there have nowhere to live, it's not so clear, Heller said. "I plan on going back, but if I can't handle it, I will take it from there."

Tulane has addressed many safety concerns and questions about the spring semester on its Web site, www.tulane.edu. The school repeatedly stated that although it is confident the campus will be ready to open in mid-January, it will not do so if the area is unsafe or if too few shops and resources are available to students, faculty and staff.

Sunshine also mentioned that faculty and staff might have difficulty finding places to live. He added, though, that Tulane is the largest employer in New Orleans and there will be people back looking for jobs and Tulane will provide that opportunity.

"Even though it's a terrible thing, I think that the community is stronger, the school is stronger," he said. "I haven't heard anyone say that they don't ever want to go back."

After he graduates at the end of this semester, Sunshine wants to return to New Orleans and help with relief efforts. "If I've been studying to make a difference and improve the world, might as well start in my own backyard," he said.

Both he and Heller said they thought Brandeis' fundraising efforts were great. What makes Sunshine unhappy is the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. He said the White House was "irresponsive" and that officials knew the disaster could happen, having even done a practice evacuation the previous year.

"I think the [federal response] was wholly inadequate from the get-go," he said. "People don't realize how poor Louisiana is...the Federal Government has to step up...because otherwise people are going to die. I'm kind of angry at everybody."

Yet, it seems most Tulane students are looking to move on and make the most of this semester no matter what their plans for the spring are.

In fact, last night the suite held a 19th birthday party for Dave Brownstein '09. Wesson said she noted differences in Tulane parties compared to Brandeis ones, including increased concern about getting in trouble.

But, in Tulane-like fashion, with the suite and some newly acquired friends, the birthday celebration was not postponed until the weekend, but held on its proper night.