Student groups and Haiti: In it for the long haul

Twenty days have elapsed since the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti last month. Faced with the reality of how long a human being can physically survive without food or water, rescue efforts have now largely come to a halt. The last "miraculous survival story" reported was days ago. The search and rescue teams have moved on.

However, the public as a whole seems to have moved on as well. Updates on Haiti are no longer front and center on the major news networks. Rather, they are increasingly found as sidebars and even afterthoughts. The record-breaking charitable donations that poured in weeks ago may begin to slow drastically as well. Truth be told, Haiti is quickly becoming "old news." 

At the university, however, fundraisers and charity events for Haiti are just getting started. From the Caribbean Students Association's candlelight vigil on Thursday to the upcoming Indian Students Association's spring charity dinner Feb. 8, the university community is still fired up and willing to help Haiti. At a recent meeting, many student organization leaders expressed their ideas on how to raise money and supplies for earthquake victims. Many more leaders were simply there to ask how they could help in collaborative efforts with other organizations. Right now, there is still a great passion among students for sending aid to Haiti.

But can this energy be sustained for another couple of weeks? Another month? The entire semester? As coverage of Haiti wanes, will students still remember and be willing to help out a country in desperate need? It is difficult to entice the general public to have a long attention span about any issue. However, the university community is small enough to coalesce yet large enough to make a significant difference in a country hundreds of miles away. We should endorse and implement a long-term plan spanning at least this semester to aid Haiti.

Right now, charity events are dense and large in number among different student organizations. However, come March or April, Haiti may just be a distant memory among students. There do not need to be a lot of events happening throughout the semester, but perhaps there can be a day each month specifically dedicated for raising money and supplies for Haiti. 

A country does not simply rebuild itself in a matter of days — or even in a matter of years. When was the last time you heard of a charity drive for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or the 2008 earthquake in China's Sichuan Province? Those places are still in the process of rebuilding, but the general public has largely forgotten them. Maybe Haiti can be different. The continued compassion of students on the campus can help facilitate the rebuilding of Haiti for the long run. Not only do the Haitian people need funding and support, but they also desperately need our remembrance.

Angelina She is a freshman physiology and neurobiology major. She can be reached at she at umdbk dot com.