One intense course

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Some USF students are learning how hurricanes impact communities.

While many people are stocking up on supplies for hurricane season, some Bay area students are stocking up on knowledge by taking part in the first class of its kind.

The impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf region spread across the country and into the classroom at the University of South Florida.

"I think it's really important for us to be prepared and for our university to be a leader in helping advance hurricane preparation," undergraduate research director Naomi Yavneh said.

The faculty put together a seven-credit-hour program that focuses on

More Information
	Click here for updated hurricane information and predictions for 2006. Click here for a story about how a major hurricane would affect the Bay area.

researching hurricanes' impact on communities. The program consists of three courses that focus on research seminars, social interventions during and after hurricanes and research methods.

"The students are learning quantitative and qualitative research skills that will enable them to be research apprentices with faculty members who are working on hurricane-related research projects," Yavneh said.

To gain a seat in the inaugural class, students had to submit an essay on their desire to use the program in their post-college endeavors.

"Dealing with hurricanes isn't a scientific number anymore," USF senior Xiao Cui said. "You have to be prepared, you have to minimize the losses. You have to identify these vulnerable communities and help them the best to try and cope with these disasters."

The program is six weeks long. The students will take field trips to emergency management offices around the Bay area and the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

Once the course wraps up this summer, the students will have a chance to put their new knowledge to work. Each one will be matched up with a USF faculty member to conduct hurricane research projects.

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