On Sept. 14, ASU students raised more than $21,000 for Hurricane Relief Day, the campus-wide effort to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
One of the staples of this fundraising was green, purple and gold Mardi Gras beads that many of the donation stations handed out to those who gave to the cause.
The Mardi Gras beads served as a reminder of the grandeur of New Orleans. But they mean even more to John Steinmetz, director of website operations and information technology for Beads by the Dozen, a New Orleans company that distributes Mardi Gras beads throughout the U.S.
"It's been unbelievable," Steinmetz said. "It's almost surreal right now."
Steinmetz said Beads by the Dozen is located about four miles south of New Orleans. He said his company was extraordinarily lucky because they only lost one building to Katrina.
He said Beads by the Dozen, which brings in more than $14 million in sales a year, is one of five major competitors in the New Orleans area that sell beads for Mardi Gras.
Several of these competitors were completely destroyed by Katrina. And although this might be good for business, Steinmetz does not seem happy.
"We come to work and there's military everywhere. The city's not the same," he said sadly.
Much of Beads by the Dozen's business comes from shipping to other states, including Arizona.
It's even possible that ASU's Hurricane Relief Day beads came from Beads by the Dozen. Stenimetz said that since Katrina hit, their business has actually increased because so many organizations are doing fundraisers and using beads as rewards.
But even though prospects might be looking good for business, no one is comfortable in New Orleans right now.
Steinmetz said he lost the roof off his own home, which is 30 minutes out of New Orleans. His daughter who lived in St. Bernard Parish, however, lost her home and is currently living in a Red Cross shelter.
Three out of Beads by the Dozen's 47 employees are missing from work and are hard to locate, because they lost their homes and all their possessions.
"I think everybody knows somebody who has lost everything," Steinmetz said.
And the images on the news only begin to portray the damage done to some areas of Louisiana.
"You have to have a special pass to get into the city to do anything," Steinmetz said. "None of the residents have been able to get back in, and a lot of people are really worried about where they're going to live."
With so much uncertainty about the future, there has been a lot of talk about what kind of Mardi Gras celebration the city will be able to stage in the Katrina aftermath.
Steinmetz said that as far as he knows, New Orleans will have a celebration, but it will be scaled down. He said he anticipates larger-than-usual parties in outlying cities like Baton Rouge to make up for the loss.
Beads by the Dozen's busy season for Mardi Gras sales doesn't normally start until the beginning of January, so there's no telling for sure at this point how Katrina will affect their Mardi Gras business.
But right now, Steinmetz said, many New Orleans residents have other issues in mind - like when they will be able to visit their homes and whether they will be able to stay.
"There's a really profound effect that this is going to have on the city. They keep telling us it's going to be the same, but its not," Steinmetz said.
Stephanie Berger is a journalism junior. Reach her at stephanie.m.berger@asu.edu.
