Volume 16, Issue 12

March 10 - 24 2010

Students Stand up for Haiti

Shelby Petersen
News Editor

Amidst the Olympic media orgy that has permeated every aspect of our lives for the past
several weeks some students at UNBC miraculously managed to survive unaffected and even
remembered that there are other issues and events happening throughout the world chief
among these issues is the earthquake in Haiti. While it has been just under two months since
the devastating earthquake rocked the small island nation, the media has all but abandoned the
cause as new and more attention grabbing issues have come to fruition. The students of UNBC,
however, realize that a problem as devastating as an 7.0 earthquake remain long after the T.V.
cameras and reporters have gone back to their homes.

Organized by Kaleigh Milinazzo, who will become NUGSS president on April 1st, the event’s
main focus was to raise money for the people affected by the disaster and to show the student
population’s profound sadness for what has occurred.

“A group of concerned students at UNBC got together shortly after the earthquake, and
quickly decided we needed to mobilize a student-organized response to express our sadness
for what had befallen the Haitian people, and do our best to send as much aid as we possibly
can,” Milinazzo stated in a recent press release.

The event was held on February 24th. In addition to fundraising event hosted by various
UNBC clubs, the students also arranged to have several people lecture on the issue. UNBC
President George lwama, who has been very supportive to this cause, was just one of the
many people to speak to the students. International Studies Professor Heather Smith and Becky
Rowe from the Canadian Red Cross also spoke during the event.

In addition to speakers and fundraising tables, students were also awarded with the op-
portunity to dunk NUGSS members in a giant tank of water for a nominal fee. Whether or not
student support their local student union, they were all quite eager to see them submerged in
water on a brisk February afternoon.

The event was very successful and ran from 10:30 to 4:00. Awhopping $7388.14 was raised
during the event, with $3492.50 donated from the President’s Council and Board of Governors
as well as funds raised from Haiti Day and the ORTM pub night. $1200.00 was donated by
NUGSS and $2696.62 raised by the student Haiti relief table in the two weeks following the
earthquake. The money is being donated to the Canadian Red Cross where it will then be dis-
tributed as needed in Haiti. The Red Cross provides medical support, shelter, clean water, food,
supplies, and hope to those who have been affected by this horrendous disaster.

As Haiti is preparing to deal with years of rebuilding and recovery, events like this will be
greatly appreciated especially as media attention focuses on other issues and problems
throughout the world, taking viewers and their pocketbooks with them.

’
a n
Tyler Clarke, production coordinator
UNBC president George Iwama with a sign he found on his car in support of both its vandaliza-
tion and Haiti, and International Studies professor Heather Smith, speak about Haiti, on campus
February 24.

Inside...
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Back in action
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