Sit on the Levee and Moan

About two weeks ago I realized I had only come up long enough to say I was in Iowa City. As you've heard, there has been a lot happening to Iowa City in the last two weeks. I'm fine personally, being lucky enough to live near University Heights, which is called that for a reason.

The music program however is in a much different spot. The north campus, which houses all the music and arts buildings, was entirely flooded. (A picture at its worst.) The river crested about a week ago and sometime today the reservoir should go back under the spillway. However cleanup estimates are mounting with the worst saying the building won't be accessible until January.

The flood found its own way to mess with us. We were employed in Voxman's music library for three days before it was evacuated. At this point we were shunted over to the main library's own frantic preparations. The decision to put the special collections in the lowest part of the basement no longer seemed like the wisest idea. This again lasted three days until that building was evacuated.

A river flood is entirely unlike any other sort of severe weather. It is not a single act of natural violence but more akin to being pressed to death. While the hill made us safe from the flood waters themselves, as bridges were closed and the city's resources became taxed life in Iowa City became increasingly difficult. So much for buckling down and weathering it out, we split. A thanks to our parents and everyone else who helped or housed us during our quasi-nomadry. After leaving a furiously busy but insular scene for an ivory tower where we could be more participatory, it will be interesting to see how the community responds to said tower being washed over.

Any inquiries about helping said music program clean up should be directed here.