Rina Thomas | A wicked problem down south

Halloween approaches, and our thoughts turn to wicked things. Vampires, ghouls and . problems in urban planning.

Wicked problems are practically indefinable. Issues like poverty, crime, broken infrastructure, failing schools and racism are tangled in a knotted mess. Every attempted fix could alter the system, and therefore the problem, irrevocably. It may be years before change becomes evident and you realize you've succeeded. Wicked problems are not for the faint of heart.

We, the Penn population, have the natural human urge to leave behind a legacy. It's a bit too early for babies so we settle for world peace. Indeed, we practically dance for joy when presented with a worthy problem to solve. We happily flock to all the consulting-case workshops and the Teach for America presentations. The Career Services dungeon is positively claustrophobic this time of year.

So I'd like to present you with the granddaddy of all wicked problems: the New Orleans reconstruction.

All the Peace Corps hopefuls and other do-gooder types don't need to go to sub-Saharan Africa to save the world. Going South would be an eminently more practical move for a plethora of reasons.

You can feed the poor and nurse the sick without laying down a couple grand for a transAtlantic flight. Plus, there won't be weeping mothers at the airport, fretting that you'll become embroiled in a civil war or contract river blindness.

The culture shock would be considerably less severe. With no need to acquire a new language you can dive right into New Orleans' issues. The native cuisine is only occasionally bizarre - you'll have the opportunity to sample nutria and alligator. On occasion, you may have to suck crawfish heads. Don't worry, it's not as vulgar as it sounds.

If this experience is starting to sound too tame for the more adventurous amongst you, think again. Life in Louisiana is a risky proposition.

The daily headlines of the local Times Picayune run the gamut of problems from A to Z: Aggravated Battery, Corruption, Disease, Electrical Fires . Every one of Penn's undergraduate schools and possible majors could find its place in that.

Ironically, even water may soon be in short supply. A third of the pipe network is over a century old so the system could kick the bucket any day now.

The Crescent City also has a severe shortage of healthcare professionals, honest politicians and halfway-decent traffic lights. (The ghost of my recently-wrecked car still haunts me.)

There's more. The city recently received the cheerful news that four local bridges score below the Minnesota span that collapsed over the summer. Before the untimely death of my car, I actually drove over two of those bridges nearly every other day. They received ratings of two and three out of nine. Anything under a four is considered structurally deficient.

Yep, there are thrills a-plenty to be had. New Orleans is the great melting pot for all the maladies that ail America. Maybe not terrorism - terrorists probably can't do much more damage there (if it's any compensation, the city is prone to natural disasters), but we've got pretty much every other societal ill you can think of.

Little wonder that nearly a fifth of the young adult population under 35 is thinking about leaving the area according to the T-P. Apparently, few people want to risk floods of biblical proportions.

But this accumulation of woes doesn't have to be depressing. Before Al Gore was laurelled by the Nobel committee, he appeared on Oprah to promote his environmentalist cause. He informed the public that "crisis" in Chinese is written with the symbols for "danger" and "opportunity." There is opportunity in even the worst of situations. Granted, it's a cheesy anecdote, but the man makes a good point.

Penn, on an institutional and individual level, has tried to lend a hand. Notable scholars watched authentic Creoles perform at a Katrina rebuilding conference. Hundreds of silicone bracelets stamped with "The Big Easy" were sold at fundraisers across campus. Waves of students wielding sledgehammers and shovels went South for spring break.

Penn students clearly don't lack for motivation or compassion. But I'm not sure that our interest will last. A shame, really. The reconstruction is one of the wickedest problems around.

I'm not suggesting that you immediately go racing off on a white charger to battle the dragon. Just take a closer look at the rebirth of a great American city. There is a tremendous opportunity to use our skills and knowledge to do something truly important. Finding your own way to save the world is closer to home than you thought.

Rina Thomas is a Wharton and College senior from New Orleans. Her e-mail address is thomas@dailypennsylvanian.com. The Gospel According to Thomas appears on Thursdays.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.