Student groups provide relief

The quarter began Thursday with student groups of varied backgrounds united under a common goal – soliciting contributions for victims of the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged South Asia during the holiday season.

The scope and urgency of the disaster forced campus organizations into high gear during the normally relaxed winter break.

Resonance, LLC, a student-run clothing company, unveiled a $20 t-shirt Thursday whose profits will go to relief efforts coordinated by Operation USA, which has sponsored airlifts to about 20 countries in the past.

Tim Schulz, a fourth-year classics and philosophy student and Resonance’s marketing and research director, said he was celebrating Christmas with his wife when he heard about the events in Asia.

He and Joshua To, a fourth-year communications and design/media arts student and Resonance’s president, were in contact immediately to discuss ways to help.

The next couple weeks were a whirlwind of activity, with company leaders deciding on a design that included icons for items like syringes and water that Operation USA will donate to areas damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and in its aftermath.

The company hastened the t-shirt’s creation because the disaster requires immediate attention, To said.

“There was definitely a sense of urgency,” he said. “If we came out six months later with a design, people unfortunately wouldn’t care as much.”

The t-shirt will also detail how profits from its sales will be spent. Because Operation USA is able to purchase in bulk and enlist inexpensive services, money goes a long way. Ten dollars can buy a week’s supply of antibiotics for two, along with food, water and other supplies.

“To students, it’s really empowering,” To said. “We don’t need a million dollars to help out.”

Like Resonance, members of UCLA’s California Public Interest Research Group began discussing during winter break how to help those harmed in the South Asian crisis.

The frantic e-mails and phone calls exchanged during the holidays saw results Thursday, as students stopped by a CALPIRG table on Bruin Walk to give money to Oxfam, an agency providing relief to tsunami victims, or fill out forms volunteering their time.

Passersby dropped dollar bills into a white plastic bucket, and organizers said they wanted to give people an easy way to contribute.

“Students cannot fly to Thailand to actually help,” said Jolene Mitchell, a third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student. “Everyone has 50 cents in their pocket.”

The table and bucket will be out for at least a week, and CALPIRG also scheduled an afternoon meeting with representatives of the Vietnamese Student Union to discuss collaborating their efforts.

Hien Pham, a third-year psychobiology student and VSU member, said her group is leaning toward setting up a clothing run. She said that because the disaster hit home, affecting southeast Asian communities that many students in her organization are connected to, they had a strong desire to help.

Sami Hasan, a third-year international development studies student and president of the Muslim Student Association, said that while many Muslims died and are still living in regions hit hardest by the quake and wave, the disaster’s power would have compelled his organization to help regardless of where it occurred.

MSA is selling tickets to a dinner that will feature speakers and benefit Islamic Relief, which aids victims of disasters and emergency situations worldwide.

Hasan said MSA also plans to hold early Monday morning what Muslims call “qiyam,” standing and praying, during which students will have a chance to talk about lessons they can learn in the aftermath of the tragic natural disaster.

Other ways of helping are still in planning stages, Hasan said. Though he and other student leaders reacted quickly after the disaster that shook the world, they say they recognize this is only the beginning.