Engineering students at Tulane University are gearing up to save their programs, which were among the academic units that Tulane announced last week would close as the university struggles to recover from Hurricane Katrina. The students have collected more than 2,300 signatures on an online petition and are receiving pledges of $1,000 per year for life from some supporters. The Save Tulane Engineering organization formed within hours of Tulane\'s announcement last Thursday that the university would cut its departments of civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, and mechanical engineering as part of its post-Katrina restructuring plan. Within a day the petition had 800 signatures. University officials, however, have no intention of reversing the decision, said Lester A. Lefton, the provost. \"We applaud the students\' passion and their commitment to educational goals,\" he said, \"but looking backward and trying to undo something that has been done is like trying to make the hurricane go away.\"