Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 2/5/01
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   122

SLU STUDENTS CONDUCTING SURVEY ON LIVING, WORKING CONDITIONS
     HAMMOND -- More than120 Southeastern Louisiana University students will conduct
door-to-door surveys in Hammond and the Village of Tangipahoa February 7-10 to collect
information on living and working conditions.
     Bonnie Lewis, director of Southeastern's Florida Parishes Social Science Research Center
(FPSSRC), said the survey "will serve as a much needed tool" for the Northlake Community
Development Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating economic
opportunities and affordable housing for lower income residents in Tangipahoa, St. Helena and
Washington parishes.
     Lewis said the project is a service learning assignment for students enrolled in two
sociology courses. The students will receive class credit for gathering the information;
compiling,
organizing and analyzing the data; and developing a final report. They are all taking Lewis'
Sociology 232, a social sciences statistics class, and her colleague Yanyi Djamba's Sociology
451, which explores methods of social research.
     Lewis said she and sociology students worked last semester with Northlake CDC director
Keith Bobb-Semple to develop the survey. They also wrote grant proposals to cover survey
expenses, which were funded for a total of almost $1,000 by Southeastern's College of Arts and
Sciences.
     After four days of in-class training, the students, working in pairs and supervised by
faculty and FPSSRC staff, will conduct face-to-face interviews with the approximately 300
households in the Village of Tangipahoa and residents of a lower income area of northern
Hammond. Bobb-Semple said the area was "identified as having a severe need for improved
housing conditions." Each pair of students will complete four interviews, keep a journal and 
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NORTHLAKE CDC SURVEY   Add One
share their thoughts and experiences during class discussions. 
     "Community revitalization projects that don't involve the intended beneficiaries are
generally not very effective," said Lewis, who has also directed FPSSRC research for the
Hammond Tree Foundation, the Tangipahoa Social Services Council and the Louisiana Legal
Services Corporation. "This project targets the needs and wants of the people who call these
communities their home. They will have a chance to speak out about what they most desire for
their community and what they believe to be the most effective plan to bring about change."
     Bobb-Semple said the survey data will be invaluable to Northlake CDC's planning efforts,
especially in refining the organization's strategic plan. "It will help us improve quality of life in
out service area," he said. "The partnership with Southeastern is absolutely fantastic. The rich
resources in our university ought to be used to impact the area around it. We see this as the
beginning of many other opportunities to collaborate."
     For additional information, contact Lewis at 504-549-5120 or blewis@selu.edu.
                             -SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp01.htm