Following the massive, magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti last week and killed tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, University students decided to take action.
Several University groups and individuals came together Friday to consolidate their ideas and come up with ways to assist in Haiti relief efforts. Today, those students will be all over campus informing passers-by of the devastation in Haiti and encouraging them to donate time and money.
Students who want to donate cash to Haiti relief efforts can visit student tables at the Duck Store or the EMU Ticket Office, and students who want to donate money online or get more information about other ways to help can visit tables at the EMU Fishbowl, the EMU Amphitheater, the Knight Law Center, Hamilton Complex and the Living Learning Center.
“We see this not only as an opportunity to build a coalition and respond in solidarity, but to educate people on campus about the role of the U.S. in Haiti’s poverty, as well as what makes people vulnerable to natural disasters,” said University international studies major Katherine Philipson.
Philipson, who helped coordinate the relief effort on campus, said she hoped that students were both inspired to help Haiti in its time of need and to get more involved in the long term.
“I would encourage people to do some reading about the history of the U.S. in Haiti,” Philipson said.
Although it is certainly not the United States’ fault that the earthquake occurred, Philipson said there were many reasons the U.S. has made Haiti incapable of responding adequately to the earthquake.
“Ninety-seven percent of people who die in natural disasters die in poor countries,” Philipson said, because “they don’t have the systems in place to respond. That’s one thing to take away.”
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Students unite to provide relief in Haiti
Daily Emerald
January 18, 2010
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