In a pact that aims to bolster South Florida’s biotech industry, create thousands of jobs and provide hope to the homeless, the University of Miami and the city of Miami have agreed on a land swap deal that will satisfy needs for both entities. Under the terms of the deal, the University will build a

1.4 million-square-foot bioscience research center on almost eight acres of land currently controlled by Camillus House, a charity serving the poor. In return, UM will give more than an acre of land on which Camillus House will build a new facility for the poor and homeless.

Located in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood, the entire area involved in the land swap is bordered by NW 20th Street to the north, SR 836 to the south, NW 7th Avenue to the west and I-95 to the east. With the bioscience center, UM will double its employment in the city of Miami over the next five to ten years, said UM President Donna E. Shalala. In addition, the many health-related initiatives and programs of the University’s Miller School of Medicine will help support the impoverished of Camillus House, Shalala said.

T.J. Eisenstein, art director for The Hurricane, was one of the students that traveled to Biloxi, Miss., to aid in the hurricane relief effort. Here he recounts his experience in this two-part series.

The inside of Frank’s house was almost unrecognizable as a place that was once livable. Looking around at the piles of Frank’s former possessions covering nearly every inch of the floors-and the layer of what can only be described as “slush” that covered all of this-it was hard for me to imagine that this was someone’s “stuff.” This was someone’s home. All the makings of Frank’s former life laid piled like trash throughout the house, and at this point, it was all trash. After a deep breath, followed by gagging from the smell, we got to work.

Everything had to go. The 20 of us that were at Frank’s (the other 20 were working down the street) split into groups and each took on a separate room of the house. Using shovels, hoes, pitchforks, axes, sledgehammers and especially our gloved hands, we began to clear out the rubble and form a trash mound in front of the house that would eventually become as large as the house itself, it seemed.

Eventually, we cleared out every single thing from the house, something that could only have been done with amazing patience and teamwork. It took about eight hours to finish, and we left Frank’s house power-cleaned, bleached, dry and empty. It was hard to imagine Frank being able to move back in and live in that house after all it had gone through. It would probably, we would find out later, have to be torn down. Only one thing kept the 20 of us, who had put all we had into cleaning that house for eight hours in the blistering southern sun, from feeling our efforts had gone in vain. Digging through the mess, we were able to salvage a few sentimental items for Frank to keep, the only tangible reminders of a past life before Katrina: a few framed family photos that were peculiarly still hanging on the wall amongst the rubble of his home, his and his wife’s wedding album, which was found relatively unscathed under two feet of ruined possessions and a few other items that had meaning in one way or another to Frank. His sister-in-law, who stopped by the house to pick up the photos for Frank’s wife, would tell us through teary eyes that these were the only things that they had left of their children. This alone was enough for us to know we had made a difference in someone’s life, regardless of the fate of the house.

The 41 of us on the trip repeated this routine in three more houses, finding in one of them the owner’s wedding band which had somehow been swept away and lodged underneath the wall. In another, we were told by a grateful Biloxi resident that “the world needs more young people like you all. I’ve never seen any young folks work as hard as you all.”

Every night, after eight to 10 hours of work, we would all go back to the makeshift Salvation Army headquarters and eat Papa John’s pizza from a donated pizza-making truck. We ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner for every meal while we were there. Then we’d set up our cots in the middle of the abandoned high-school football field we were staying at and play poker, share stories and get to know the 40 forty other strangers we had been put together with. Eventually, we’d go to bed, tired, sweaty, dirty and for most of us, without even a blanket or a pillow, to wake up bright and early the next morning and get back to work.

In perfect cyclical fashion, we spent the last night of our trip sleeping on the bus on the way back to Miami, just as we had spent the first night. We arrived back for midday classes Monday, and to many around campus it may never have seemed like we had gone at all. But for those of us who did go, we know our lives will never be quite the same.

T.J. Eisenstein can be contacted at t.eisenstein@umiami.edu.

TODAY

All Student Government election candidates and referenda sponsors can begin their graphic campaign at 9 p.m.

The American Society of Pre-Dental Students is hosting its first meeting at 6 p.m. in Pearson 103. Join it to learn more about future shadowing opportunities, DAT prep and the application process.

WEDNESDAY

The Department of Orientation and Commuter Student Affairs and Pier 21 will host the first Commuter Student Luncheon from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Lewis Room at the Rat. The luncheon is limited to the first 20 students who sign up.

The COSO workshop “How to Start a New Student Org” will be held at noon in UC 211.

The Cosford Cinema presents the film Madagascar at 8 and 10 p.m. ‘Cane Card is required for free admission.

THURSDAY

The Lowe Art Museum will be closing early to the public at noon. There will be a private event held in conjunction with Univision’s Premios Juventud 2005 awards show.

Join the Rathskeller Advisory Board and Hurricane Productions from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Rat and enjoy $.50 wings and live music. Drink specials will also be available.

SATURDAY

Watch the talents of several School of Music vocalists as they perform solo musical theatre selections for at 8 p.m. at the Nancy Greene Hall in the School of Music. Hosted by the Musical Theatre Showcase, the event is free for students.

Whoever said laundry was as simple as separating the whites from the colors? Despite Student Government’s recent achievement of providing free laundry in the dorms, many students are facing problems more annoying than a shrunken pair of jeans or a stained T-shirt. With laundry machines now available to all students, some feel the privilege is being abused.

In the apartment area, signs posted on the walls warn “Laundry for UM Students Only.”

“I hated having to pay all those quarters last year, so it’s great that it’s free now, “Whitney Skold, junior, said. “But it does mean that a lot of people who don’t live in the area bring their laundry over in their cars and do their laundry.”

Students in Hecht and Stanford residential colleges said that people are removing their clothes from a washer or dryer and leaving it in a pile in order to free up the machine for their own use.

Freshman Kyna McCartney thinks it’s rude when people touch her clothes.

“Why not have a way to lock washers and dryers, so people can’t take your stuff out?” she said.

Freshman Maggie Tague agreed.

“I like the fact that it’s free, but it does a [bad] job of washing my clothes,” she said. She said the washing machines don’t clean her clothes well enough: When filled up, the clothes don’t get clean, so she has to do smaller loads.

Then there are the dryers.

“Some just turn and don’t dry,” Tague said.

But perhaps all laundry rooms aren’t created equal.

“Laundry is great here. It’s fast, free and all the machines work well,” Dani Markham, freshman, said. Markham said she uses the laundry room in Hecht Residential College, and she’s not alone in her enthusiasm.

“I live in Stanford, but use the Hecht laundry room. This way my clothes don’t end up wet and wrinkled,” Ryan Caparella, freshman, said.

Various Stanford residents have reported constant crowds, a lack of working machines and a dirty atmosphere. Some wonder if the situation was any better back when students had to pay.

“It’s cool that it’s free this year, but they need to step it up a little,” Nick Gavronsky, sophomore, said.

“It was a little better last year,” Henry Holaday, sophomore, said. “At least most of the dryers worked. Now only like four or five do. I’d rather pay, and have all the machines work, than have them free like they are now.”

SG Chief of Staff Laura Turano said that a new room will be opening in Stanford within the next week, complete with new washers and dryers. Turano was the original member of SG to propose building a new laundry room. She said the ratio of students to machines was around 40-to-1 last year, when it should be 20-to-1, according to dorm living standards.

“I thought I’d do my laundry on Saturday during the football games but turns out all the guys in the whole area wanted to do their laundry during the game,” Skold said. “I had to fight for all four laundry machines.”

Taylor Pashley can be contacted at t.pashley@umiami.edu.