Students Mourn Tsunami Victims

Members of the Harvard community gathered on Wednesday in Memorial Church for a multi-faith service to remember and honor the victims of last month’s tsunami.

Student organizations on campus have also mobilized to collect donations to fund the international relief effort for the tsunami, which killed over 150,000 people in several nations across South Asia.

At the memorial service, administrators and staff spoke about Harvard’s connection to the tsunami, and students read sacred texts from different faiths.

Epps Fellow and Chaplain to Harvard College Mark D.W. Edington opened the service with comments on the University’s duty to help others.

“We are a university, and that means the concerns that occupy us are universal,” said Edington.

S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, said he hoped that the community would remain committed to the relief effort.

“Today we express our grief, our support, our prayers...for the families in South Asia who have lost loved ones, and who have been displaced from their homes and work,” said Counter. “We must dedicate ourselves to assisting in any way we can the victims in this staggering loss of life.”

The various religious readings focused on the importance of togetherness and prayer. Michael A. Sabet ’07 offered a traditional Baha’i prayer for the victims and a prayer for the unity of the world.

“At this time, when so many people are asking, ‘Where is God?,’ this prayer reminds us that God is there,” said Kennedy School student Rashad Hussain, who read a prayer from the Koran.

Kimberlea Tracey, the New England regional director of UNICEF, described its relief efforts, including an initiative to repair and clean up water sources, put an end to the trafficking of children and prevent disease and hunger. Tracey cited other, less obvious concerns such as training new teachers to replace ones who were killed in the tsunami and re-marking the locations of mines that might have shifted with the rushing water.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William C. Kirby spoke on behalf of the University, which has pledged to match student, staff and faculty donations, up to $100 per person.

“This university has become a global institution,” he said. “A place that studies the world and where the world comes to study...a place that grieves collectively for the loss and sorrow of any of its family and friends.”

This week, members of two student groups have set aside their exam woes to fundraise for the relief effort.

The South Asian Association (SAA) launched a campaign to collect donations for UNICEF in every dining hall, and several freshmen recently launched a group on thefacebook.com, Aid for Asia, to help coordinate Harvard’s response and possible fundraisers.

Mridula S. Raman ’06, SAA co-president, said students outside the group have been eager to get involved.

The group has worked to take the lead in what Raman described as a “multi-pronged foundation drive.” On Monday night, the SAA held a study break that raised over $650 for the tsunami relief effort.

Jason B. McCoy ’08 launched a group on thefacebook.com, Aid for Asia, after he learned of the tsunami disaster.

“A few days after the tsunami, I was sitting at home watching the news and wondering, ‘Why hasn’t anyone at Harvard started something yet?’” McCoy wrote in an e-mail. “I started the facebook group, sent a message to all of my facebook friends...and waited to see what turned up.”

The group has more than 300 members, most of whom are first-years.

While Aid for Asia is currently working with other student groups, McCoy said the group is also planning some solo initiatives, including awareness bracelets, door-to-door collections and a freshman fashion show.

“What was originally just the efforts of a few students to get the word out for donations to the Red Cross...has transformed into a group which is willing and able to provide manpower and time for other groups on campus working to help Asia,” said McCoy.