COLLEGE
RALLIES TO AID VICTIMS OF TERRORIST ATTACK
By
Lucas Bernays Held
When
tragedy engulfed the tip of Manhattan on Sept.
11, Barnard students -- along with the rest
of the community -- were quick to respond, raising
thousands of dollars for the families of the
victims.
Several
fund-raising drives continue, and the College
has announced that it will make a gift to two
charitable funds, and has invited anyone wishing
to join that effort to contribute
at the Bursar's Office.
One
of the groups that moved rapidly was the Student
Government Association, selling hundreds of
red, white and blue pins at $2 apiece and holding
a massive bake sale on Friday, Sept. 14, in
upper-level McIntosh Center.
"As
SGA, we decided that we should take some sort
of initiative to channel the energy of the students
into something to help the World Trade Center
victims," said Lara Goldberg '03, the SGA president.
More than 70 students spent 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 13 assembling the red, white
and blue ribbons for sale the following day.
At first, they were sold only on Barnard's campus,
but then students moved to the steps of Low
Memorial Library, selling hundreds more to Columbia
students, graduate students and faculty from
across the University.
SGA also decided to host a bake sale, Goldberg
said, because leaders thought the act of making
something would bring people together. Goods
were sold Friday, and the remainder -- there
were leftovers because of the huge quantity
of goods contributed -- was given away to the
City Harvest food cooperative.
The grand total: just over $5,000 for the Red
Cross. Goldberg, who is no stranger to service,
(she has spent the last several summers volunteering
in Israel and Belarus), said she would like
SGA to continue to find ways for students to
make a contribution to the Barnard community
and beyond.
Elsewhere
on campus, the story was similar. On Tuesday,
in the residence halls on 116th Street, Resident
Assistant Katie Curran '03 felt the shock of
helplessness after watching the World Trade
Center towers burn and then fall.
"I
felt as RAs we were in a position to mobilize
other students on campus," she said. The next
day, at 9 a.m., she and several others set up
a table with a canister for donations.
"It
was remarkable the response we received, not
just from residents, but from people in the
community - people saying 'can we do an hour
shift, can we do an hour shift?' " said Curran.
"We had students, citizens, and a professor
at Columbia volunteer to sit at the table."
Within five days, the volunteers had collected
$2,000 - running shifts from the morning until
8 p.m.
Curran,
who has longed planned on becoming a doctor,
said of that goal: "this solidifies it if anything."
And
on 110th Street, students, led by LaToya Ingram
'04, 30 students undertook their own version
of a bucket brigade - using a water jug. "We
just asked people if they would empty out their
pockets of their change," Ingram said. Within
a day or two, they collected $512 for the Red
Cross.
Cherie
Sheridan, director of College Activities, remarked:
"I think it was an incredible testament to our
community how quickly students responded."
And
the response was not confined to fund-raising.
Led by Maliha Mustafa '04, 20 Barnard and Columbia
students spent Friday, Sept. 21, from 11:30
a.m. to 5 p.m., at Rockefeller Center, leafletting
for tolerance. At one point, former President
Bill Clinton, who was at the site, shook all
of their hands.
"It's
a very emotional experience, and along with
the process of helping others, you find a lot
out about yourself," said Mustafa. "I think
that leafletting and sending out a message helps
create a dialogue."
The
leaflet the students handed out read in part:
"After
the crimes committed against humanity on Sept.
11, all Americans immediately united regardless
of our race, religion, and political views to
help those I need. Our unity however is now
at risk. Hatred plays upon our fears. Terrorist
behavior is not determined by religious, ethnic
and racial background. Although we are justifiably
outraged and wounded by the acts of terrorism,
we cannot perpetuate the same hatred from which
it stems. Many people of color have become the
target of our anguish and frustrations. They
too are experiencing the same grief, while also
facing the additional of harassment, discrimination,
and in some cases assault. ... "
We
must show that our principles of equality and
tolerance are applied to all. Defend your fellow
Americans. We are all Americans regardless of
our race, religion or ethnicity."
As
much as any single statement, that last point
seemed to sum up the mood on campus -- and the
message that Barnard students, like others across
America, were sending through their actions.
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