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Copyright 2005 The Chronicle via U-Wire
University Wire

January 18, 2005 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Tsunami aid plans gain momentum at Duke

BODY:

   Online poker tournaments. Charity mixers. Benefit shows. Dance workshops. These are a sampling of the diverse fundraising ideas put forth Friday at Duke University's tsunami aid meeting.

   The purpose of the meeting was to create a single unified response from the Duke community to Dec. 26's Southeast Asian disaster. Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, said that he was "proud and pleased at the amount of response that has emerged" and indicated that there is now a need to coordinate communication and ideas among student organizations, the university and the general student body.

   Moneta said he hoped such coordination would result in a long-term sustained response to the tsunami's impact, given that relief will still be needed many months and years into the future.

   Keith Lawrence, associate director of the Office of News and Communications, said a soon-to-be-launched Duke tsunami relief Web site will serve as a clearinghouse for fundraising events, volunteer efforts, faith responses and other forms of aid. The Web site will include contact information for various student organizations and Duke offices that are assisting with tsunami relief. A link to the website will appear on Duke's homepage.

   Senior Mary Ellison Baars, co-director of the Community Service Center, hopes the CSC will facilitate collaboration and discussion and serve as an information center. She encouraged anyone with tsunami relief ideas to contact her.

   To date, the Duke community's response to the tsunami has taken on several disparate forms. In the immediate aftermath of the destruction, Duke University Medical Center established the Duke Tsunami Medical Relief Fund with an initial contribution of $50,000. The Medical Center is also investigating the possibility of establishing a payroll deduction system that would allow employees to donate to long-term tsunami relief. Student organizations have also been mobilizing. Remedy at Duke, a medical student organization, has already sent 60 large boxes of medical supplies to Sri Lanka.

   Junior Natasha Salazar of Duke Red Cross said her organization will also be raising money through corporate donations and fundraising events such as car washes and Duke Dreams, an auction of drawings created by elementary school children. The organization will also be selling Passion, a CD of piano music composed by junior Steven Lin, on the Bryan Center walkway and at the Marketplace from Jan. 24 to March 4. Proceeds from the $12 CD will be donated to tsunami relief.

   The Asian Students Association held a mixer at Cafe Parizade Friday night, with proceeds going to UNICEF (the United Nations Children"s Fund). Other fundraising sources the group is considering include a raffle and the proceeds from its Lunar New Year show in February. Junior Hirsh Sandesara, co-president of Diya, Duke's South Asian-American Association, said his group is planning a benefit show for Jan. 29. The group is also considering the possibility of an online poker tournament and a two-person comedy routine called Relief Theater.

   Sophomore Megan Ix of the International Association said her organization is contemplating a benefit show and a dance workshop. Senior Aneil Lala, Duke Student Government chief of staff, mentioned the possibility of students donating leftover food points on their DukeCards.

   When it comes to the religious response to the tsunami, Craig Kocher, acting dean of the Chapel, is working to put together a panel discussion of how different faiths come to terms with the deep suffering that the tsunami has inflicted.

   After the panelists spoke, members of the audience took turns expressing their thoughts. Comments included everything from encouraging Duke to take the lead in creating a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean to suggestions that more first-hand tsunami witnesses were needed to create a better connection between Duke and afflicted communities.

   (C) 2005 The Chronicle via U-WIRE

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