In response to the displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina, the city of San Francisco has readied 300 beds at St. Mary's church and SF State announced it will accept applications from students whose colleges have been affected by the flooding.

Students from regionally-accredited colleges in the Gulf areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama may be admitted conditionally and can enroll in fall semester classes, even if they do not have proper academic documents, according to a statement released by SF State officials on Friday, September 2.

Counseling and Psychological Services has also launched drop-in hours for students who wish to speak with counselors without an appointment.

“We are committed to working with students one-on-one to help them sort through the best options at this difficult time,” said Jo Volkert, associate vice president for enrollment planning and management, in the statement. “Counselors will help to expedite admissions, explore financial aid, identify classes with available space and suggest other options.”

Chris Gordon, an executive assistant for Counseling and Psychological Services, said services will be offered for students who feel personally affected by the effects of the hurricane.

Gordon said students will be able to seek professional help and voice any of their personal problems and concerns they may have to the counselors during drop-in hours.

"You can see one of the professional counselors," she said. "This is something we felt would be of good service to students."

Derethia DuVal, a clinical counselor, said all of the service members who are dealing with students are professionals, including licensed counselors, therapists, clinical and social workers and psychologists.

"We're all therapists," DuVal said. "Students can just come in at any time."

Alan Harris, a 21-year-old history major, said he grew up in Florida and is pretty familiar with hurricanes. He said he thinks it might be beneficial for students affected by the hurricane to have access to counseling services but what will be beneficial is if the community at SF State to help the victims of the hurricane.

"I wouldn't think there would be that many people [here] who are directly or indirectly affected by the disastrous aftermath of Katrina," Harris said. "I think the best service this community can offer the people along the Gulf Coast is to donate to the Red Cross, which is what I plan on doing."

The counseling center is located in room 208 of the Student Services building. DuVal said counseling hours will be held Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Students also have the option of coming in at nights on Tuesday between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on Wednesday between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on undergraduate enrollment, call (415) 338-2037 or email outreach@sfsu.edu. Graduate students should call Graduate Admissions at (415) 405-3506 or email gradystdy@sfsu.edu.