Student Body President Patrick Kobler, along with seniors Nicola Muchnikoff and Rachel Carey, unveiled a proposal at Tuesday’s emergency Student Senate meeting. The proposal enacts a two weeklong fundraising drive to assist with relief efforts in the earthquake-ravaged island nation of Haiti.
The program, titled “SMU’s Heart Beats for Haiti,” will encompass all campus student groups and academic units, which Kobler said he hopes to unite in this effort.
“I felt that we, as the Student Senate, leaders of the student body—it’s our responsibility to coordinate and organize a collective relief effort to take place in the next two weeks to send aid to Haiti,” Kobler said.
Referencing recent reports of the death toll in the region, Kobler said the estimated 200,000 fatalities are unfathomable in normal terms.
“I started thinking of ways to interpret the number ‘200,000′ and I thought, that’s more days than any of us have lived, more miles than are on any of our cars, more dollars than any of us have paid to go to school here, and [the number] really shocked a lot of us,” he said.
Donations will be collected by campus organizations and will be deposited into a new account with the Students’ Association Comptroller located within the office of Student Activities and Multicultural Student Affairs on the third floor of the Hughes-Trigg Student Center.
The money raised at SMU will be sent en masse to the Clinton-Bush Foundation; a non-profit organization set up by former U.S. President’s Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to address the recent disaster in Haiti. In May of last year, Clinton was named the United Nations special envoy to Haiti with the purpose of helping the impoverished nation establish and maintain stability and infrastructure after a number of crises in recent years. Now, Clinton says his burden has grown exponentially, but that he is not shying away from the immense challenge.
The trio of SMU student leaders has already enlisted a host of volunteers to help with publicity for the campaign; students to man information and donation tables at the West Bridge and others to plan a variety of special events that will be held in the next two weeks. Kobler and Carey say they encourage competition among campus groups to see which can raise the most funds, but say they would like to ensure that all efforts are directed to this one account to provide a united front for the relief aid coming from SMU.
One of the team’s concepts includes selling heart-shaped placards to students that will be posted on campus to show the level of support the program has generated. Hearts will be sold in increasing size and value from a small $5 heart, to a medium $10 heart, and finally jumping to a large heart geared towards organizations that will donate $1,000.
While many details have yet to be finalized, Kobler said he wants “to raise as much money and awareness for Haiti as possible.”
Other local universities are also stepping up to meet the challenge of rebuilding Haiti.
Amy Simon, director of the Center for Leadership and Service at the University of North Texas, said her students are organizing a campus fundraising drive as well. Rather than collecting funds and sending one large donation from the school, Simon said UNT students are being asked to go online to donate directly to the American Red Cross.
In this way, she said, UNT would be unable to track how much money was being raised, but she said the money would be put to good use faster if donations were made directly to relief organizations.
Students involved in religious groups at Texas Christian University are helping by collecting materials and assembling hygiene kits for a non-profit relief organization, Church World Service. Office of Religious and Spiritual life staffer Teresa Shelton said the project is now well under way since TCU resumed classes Jan. 11, the day before the earthquake struck.
At SMU, Carey and Muchnikoff said they are also hoping to involve alumni in the Haiti relief effort, but said before any money can be raised; approval must be obtained from the SMU office of Legal Affairs as well as from President R. Gerald Turner. They are expecting approval within the next few days.
