Published: March 30, 2011

In the weeks following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, Fordham students have been vocal about their support for the relief efforts. As Laura Chang and Christina Frasca’s article, “Relief Efforts for Japan Underway” on page one states, student leaders have been working with administration to brainstorm ways that clubs can contribute to the university’s relief programs. There are already donation boxes available for clubs to use at any and all of their upcoming events, and several clubs have planned or hosted bake sales. This is a good start, but where are the specifically Japan-centered fundraising events?

At this point, there aren’t any in the foreseeable future. But we should all pause before hurling blame at student leaders for not coordinating a high-profile event over the course of two weeks; it would be simply impossible for them to do so. Although there are many students who want to help, clubs have few options to take immediate action other than setting out collection boxes and hosting bake sales on the plaza.

The process for planning a large-scale, student-run event at FCLC is cumbersome and time-consuming. Appeals for funding are only considered once every two weeks. Reserving a room can be a nightmare on short notice, especially if the event would best suit the student lounge—the most highly sought-after event space. More funding is allotted to events that are co-sponsored by several clubs, but coordinating such sponsorship requires additional time for more complicated delegation and planning. At this time of year, rooms are starting to fill up for the rest of the semester, and orchestrating a large-scale benefit event would be difficult for club leaders. We saw this last year after the earthquake in Haiti, when the USG-sponsored Haiti benefit took place nearly four months after the natural disaster. This delay was not the fault of the students involved; rather, it was an unfortunate consequence of the inefficient event-planning process that must be adhered to for each and every club-run event, no matter how urgent.

This is the second natural disaster in two years that has elicited widespread student responses. In both cases, students who want to take action have come up against a bureaucratic process that does not allow for any efficiently organized relief efforts in the days and weeks following the crisis. We understand that a standard event-planning process is necessary for accurate bookkeeping and scheduling, but in the face of international emergencies, there must be a way to expedite the process for large-scale fundraising events.

Perhaps there could be special-case hearings for funding appeals when it comes to events that respond to humanitarian emergencies, so that clubs don’t have to wait up to two weeks for approval. Communication could be facilitated between clubs to secure an event space; it’s likely that clubs who’ve reserved a room for a low-attendance event would be willing to reschedule in favor of a large-scale benefit with widespread student support (especially if they are offered co-sponsorship). There are ways to eliminate the administrative roadblocks that stand in the way of high-profile relief efforts in the weeks following a natural disaster.

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan were felt around the world, and Fordham students are no exception. We want to provide aid in whatever ways we can, and this is a crucial time to fundraise—while this tragedy is still at the forefront of students’ minds. Inefficient bureaucratic processes should not prevent Fordham students from being “men and women for others” when others need it most. Now is the time to take action—not to wait around for approval.