Tulane students perform service outreach in cemetery

The cemetery, on the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, was established in 1864.
The cemetery, on the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, was established in 1864. | Contributed photo

Students from Tulane University recently spent a Saturday working in the Chalmette National Cemetery, where they cleaned, realigned and documented headstones that have been worn over time.

The 28 students in the Tulane Interdisciplinary Experience Seminar (TIDES) course More Than Just Business worked with the National Trust for Historical Preservation, and had the opportunity to learn about serving others through social responsibility.

The cemetery, on the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, was established in 1864 and is home to numerous headstones of soldiers who died in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World Ware II and the Vietnam War. The students and the National Trust aligned 19 headstones that had been shifted, and they also cleaned and documented a number of other headstones.

Rhonda Coignet, the instructor for the TIDES course and the director of development administration, spoke about the benefits gained from the outreach program.

"I think the experience helped connect the students to a part of the local community outside of uptown New Orleans that they most likely would not ever have experienced," she said.