Published February 4, 2010

The earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that rocked Haiti on Jan. 12 brought out the best in people from all over the world. Doctors and good Samaritans mobilized quickly to provide aid in the relief effort. We’re hearing tales of heroism and amazing survivals every day—one teenage girl was rescued 15 days after the first quake. We’re also hearing calls of continued help. People lost everything of what little they owned and still have little to no access to food and water. From texting “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10, to donating money directly on the Red Cross’s Web site, opportunities to donate money are plentiful. However, what about those of us who would like to help, but live on a student’s budget? Fordham has trained us to be well-rounded men and women and to always provide service to others. Now is our chance to put that training into action.

In Christina Frasca’s article “Fordham’s Haiti Relief Efforts Lack Orgaization,” on page one of this issue of The Observer, United Student Government (USG) President Ryan Murphy, FCLC ’11, said that Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, explained that money is needed in the city now, while clothing and food donations are not helpful at the moment.

Why not?

Surely, our unwanted canned foods from grandma’s care package would be more helpful to those who must fight hordes of people to get a small stash of biscuits. And the T-shirts lying forgotten on the floor in our closets would do more good for the people who now only have the clothing they were wearing when they ran from the collapsing buildings.

Perhaps organization within Haiti is still coming together. If we send clothing and canned goods now, they’ll sit in an airplane hanger for months, until some order comes to the country. Does that mean we can’t start organizing now? Of course not. The sooner aid is organized and people are encouraged to give after a tragedy, the more people will help out. It’s a sad testament to humanity, but if we don’t organize product drives, rather than monetary drives, soon, we may lose steam. It is now 33 days after the quake struck, and Fordham has yet to organize a specific event for Haiti Relief. Now, in the wake of the tragedy, we are sympathetic and want to help. Two months from now? We’ll be overworked with papers and preparing for finals. It’ll be all too easy to assume others will take care of it.

Let’s uphold the values you taught us, Fordham. Let’s help those who need help, in whatever way we can.