Haiti

I am sure you all, like myself and thousands of others, have seen the horrible images that have came from the Tragedy in Haiti. It really is unbelievable. Some of the images I have seen, including pits filled with bodies, can only find comparison in the images of the Holocaust.

The troubles in Haiti are hitting me harder than they might have a year ago. Last semester, all first-years read a book "Brother, I'm Dying" that told the story of a Haitian and Haitian-American family. Before I read this book, I had no idea of the political turmoil this country has lived in. I had no idea of the economic struggles the people face. Whenever you hear journalists, politicians, and people of the like say things that underscore how a natural disaster couldn't have 'picked' a worse place to strike, it really is true.

Thankfully, though, at the basis of human nature there is a willingness to help others in times of desperate need. People have texted in donations, called in and pledged through telethons, and sent money to organizations like the American Red Cross. Even groups of people that, for anything else, have nothing to do with humanitarian aid have stepped in.

As a devout Harry Potter fan I am proud to mention that the Harry Potter fandom and its various websites (Mugglenet, The Leaky Cauldron, The Harry Potter Alliance, etc) joined together for a livepodcast and week long effort "Helping Haiti Heal" to raise fundst to be donated to "Partners in Health", an organization that has been on the ground in Haiti for years. Though the effort put on by these websites is still ongoing, at last report $35,000 was raised.

Transy too, has already started planning on a relief fund. Tuesday all campus leaders will be meeting so that all groups on campus can work together to raise money to send to Haiti on behalf of the entire student body. This philosophy will, in my opinion, work really well. It seems like a much better idea to send one large donation from all campus groups as opposed to many small donations from the individual groups on campus.

I know this doesn't have much to do with my "College Experience", as my blog's purpose dictates, but it is on my mind and I can hardly stop thinking about it. Writing about it seemed like a good idea. Some people criticize the "trending" nature of pop culture. Some argue that the mainstream media focuses strongly on one topic for a while, and then jumps to another. Well, that may be the case. In this instance, however, the problems of Haiti cannot be underscored enough.

Anyway, sorry that this post was off topic. I just really feel strongly that we should keep this in our discussions, as long as we keep talking about it it won't be forgotten.