Nine distinguished panelists convened in Schwartz Auditorium Monday night as part of a program entitled "Understanding the Katrina Crisis: A Brandeis University Teach-in." The event shed light on the impact of the hurricane from several vantage points including race, economics and the media. The event was sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Student Union, which brought the panel of Prof. Anita Hill (Heller), Brandeis chaplain Rabbi Allan Lehman, Prof. Jacqueline Jones (HIST), Prof. Mingus Mapps (AAAS), Prof. Attila Klein (BIO), Prof. Robert Reich (Heller), Prof. Michael Doonan (Heller), Michael Sinclair, the Director of U.S. Programs at Oxfam America and Prof. Pam Cytrynbaum (AMST).

The auditorium was so full that the panelists were also broadcast on a television in the Schwartz lobby so that more people could watch.

As the moderator, Hill began by stating that "Not since Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty [in the 1960s] has a single event made us focus so much on race and wealth." That comment set the tone for the remarks to come.

Jones sighted a number of startling statistics, as did Mapps, which provided a very bleak picture of the city of New Orleans, both before and after Hurricane Katrina wreaked its havoc. Jones' primary point was that jobs are a barometer of a society, and currently 900,000 citizens of New Orleans are out of work. Jones also stated that the state of Louisiana is losing half a million dollars per day since the hurricane. She said the Bush administration is not doing enough to rectify these problems.

"The Bush administration's response seems to provide a laboratory for faith-based charities and large corporations," Jones said.

Mapps demonstrated how disproportionately Katrina affected both African-Americans and the poor. Citing The New York Times for his statistics, Mapps said that in the areas that experienced significant flooding, 76 percent of the population was black, while just 18 percent was white. The average annual income for those in the flooded areas was $25,759, as compared to $31,455 in the areas that did not flood.

Reich explained the reason for this disparity in historical terms.

"The reason for the pattern [of discrepancy] in this country that poor or black people find themselves renting homes in areas that are poor or unsafe ... the reason for all that has to do with historic and institutional racism," he said. "Poor people need cheap housing, which is in bad places."

The discussion also touched upon the faces and the individuals affected by the disaster. Both Lehman and Cytrynbaum have close personal ties New Orleans. Lehman, a native of the city, remained stoic until the close of his remarks, finally breaking down slightly as he quoted the Louis Armstrong song, "'Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?'"

Cytrynbaum, a former employee of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, spoke about how the hurricane forced the media to focus on our society's inherent inequalities. Although she remained calm during her speech, she candidly told the audience at the beginning that "I've got a script, or I'll cry."

Hill gave final thoughts before the panel took questions from the audience and then broke into small discussion groups. She left the audience with a question.

"We know in this country who is most at risk, but what we have to think about with the Katrina and Rita disasters is what do we do when our own ideals don't match reality?"

For those looking to answer this and many other questions stemming from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the politics department is hosting a discussion this Wednesday, "Lessons from New Orleans and 9/11." It will be held in Golding Auditorium at 8 p.m.