Barnard Students Set Aside September 20 as Katrina Coalition Day
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, students at Barnard College immediately began talking about how they could help. The result is a special day of events called, "Barnard Unites for Katrina 2005" scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005. Several campus organizations have come together to form the Barnard Katrina Coalition and will participate in events throughout the day.
"The Barnard College Katrina Coalition was formed in response to concerns and suggestions held by students, administrators, faculty and staff," said M.A. Moutoussis, president of Barnard's Student Government Association (SGA). Moutoussis is co-chair of the Coalition with Vanessa Anderson, president of Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters (BOSS), and Keondra Prier, social and cultural chair of BOSS . "We were looking for ways that the Barnard community could help the hurricane relief efforts being organized in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Setting aside a day was the best way to start."
Information about relief efforts and charities and how students can contribute to help survivors will be available during the event. Moutoussis also said they hoped to "get the word out about lobbying Congress to create a government-sponsored relief and reconstruction effort that takes into account the social and economic needs of all hurricane survivors."
Various student organizations and offices will set up booths along Lehman walk from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please bring any CLOTHING, CANNED FOOD, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, NON-PERISHABLE ITEMS and CHANGE. From 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on Altschul Plaza, an ice cream/sorbet sundae bar will be held for the community while students and professors from affected areas will speak about their personal experiences. A power point presentation will be played throughout the day in Lehman Lawn showing statistics and footage from the tragedy .
From 5:45 - 7:00 p.m. a New Orleans-themed dinner in Hewitt Hall will be served celebrating the city's culture and history and accompanied by a jazz musician from New Orleans.
"Barnard Unites!" T-shirts and wristbands will be sold throughout the day to raise funds for the following Coalition-designated relief organizations:
MADRE www.madre.org
Operation USA www.opusa.org
Mercy Corps www.mercycorps.com
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement www.mxgm.org
Plenty International www.plenty.org
For more information, please contact Suzanne Trimel in the Barnard Office of Public Affairs, strimel@barnard.edu or 212-854-2037
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